A/N: Thank you thank you thank you, everyone, for giving the story a chance! I hope to see everyone deeper into the story.

I love to hear your thoughts as well! If you can, please drop comments and reviews!

Thanks in advance for the votes! All of them would be ultra helpful to the story!

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Acero Town

Meanwhile, after making a few more online purchases, Naia went to check on the chemist. Though the usefulness of his fuel remained to be seen, especially in the resource-stripped apocalypse, his knowledge was invaluable.

A scientist with a spirit for innovation was invaluable for a continuing society.

In her time, nearly every scholar and scientist had already perished. They tended to be the weakest and the slowest after children and old people, after all. Many of them died as early as the disaster period, let alone the time when the aliens were awake.

It was why there had been very few technological advances in her time. Except for a few things like the nutrient solution and weaponry, the rest were stagnant even after fifty years.

Also...she had always been fascinated with the field. While her father was a captain of the guard team, her mother was a botanist who dabbled in pharmacy. The resources were lacking, but they did their best, and Naia had also found the subject quite fascinating.

This was why Naia wanted to save him if she could. Of course, the premise was that her own safety would not be compromised. Anyway, the storage warehouses weren’t too far away from where she was staying.

As such, she went to his warehouse and snuck in a very detailed letter under the roll-up door.

One part warned him that he was being targeted and that he ought to find a way to escape in a low-key way as soon as possible. She emphasized that he had to leave within a few days at most.

By the time those bastards find out their wealth was stolen, they would be busy looking for traces for a while.

They would definitely not find her. However, this also meant that after they realized this, they’d probably bite into this money-making target with even more gusto.

Another part of the letter was a detailed account of the imminent disasters, as well as what had been done. As for whether he would believe her, that wasn’t her problem anymore.

After that, she went to do one of the more important tasks of her hoarding journey: preparing her transportation method, particularly those she would customize because they would take time.

She’d also buy some normal, unmodified vehicles for her own convenience, including a bicycle, a motorcycle, and a van. Her only gripe was that she didn’t have a driver’s license.

The common fine for driving without a license, assuming she didn’t damage anything, was around 3000 danas. If she wasn’t careful, the vehicle might even be impounded.

She wasn’t afraid of the cost; she was afraid of the possible hassle. What she lacked now was not money, but time.

Carefully weighing the pros and cons, she still decided to head out.

Next was the handling of her (future) modified vehicles. Acero Town was only a town, but it was a fairly developed one due to its location. It did have shops doing automotive customization.

She found out the hard way that getting military-grade jeeps was not easy. One could buy it only if the official channels had a surplus. Some were even auctioned off.

She shrugged. For modified vehicles, having one good custom motorcycle in her space and one very resilient RV on the outside was useful enough for her.

As someone who had been through the apocalypse, she knew that the mobility of motorcycles was invaluable in many cases. As for the RV, she couldn’t ride a motorcycle the whole time, right? She’d be unwilling.

As for a house, she already had a few options in mind. She’d rent one out with the old man’s money after a while. Still, if there were any accidents, she might be staying out on the roads a lot. For that, a comfortable RV was necessary.

For the motorcycle to be customized, she bought an adventure motorcycle as the base vehicle. It was built both for the road and extreme terrain.

The most important customization here was the suspension system. She asked them for upgraded forks and rear shocks. This way, it could handle jumps, drops, and rocks/debris.

Next was its frame and durability. She asked them to add crash bars, reinforced subframes, and skid plates. Waterproofing also had to be top-of-the-line. Even if it didn’t work underwater, she wanted it fine even after a prolonged exposure to moisture.

For the RV, this was the more ’exposed’ vehicle, so it had to be designed with the extreme weather in mind. Basically, it wasn’t a normal RV anymore, but an expedition vehicle. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

The suspension system shall be top-of-the-line, had flood capability, and superior insulation. She’d also install climate control systems, top-of-the-line solar panels and batteries, and so on.

The RV should also have some off-grid systems like fuel tanks and filtration, fuel reserves, as well as solar banks.

Improving the structure was the most expensive aspect of this. They had to reinforce the chassis, add armor, and have shock-resistant interiors.

It could even have anchoring systems so that even if a massive tornado passed by, the RV would have a chance.

As for the interiors, it would have a bed, a kitchen, storage, a toilet, and a shower area. It was very comfortable, and she reckoned that 4-6 people could stay inside and sleep comfortably.

"That’s the minimum," she said, looking at the line of mechanics she hired. "You’re free to make suggestions."

The workers and mechanics gaped at her.

When they saw her enter the workshop, the men’s eyes looked at her with a lot of curiosity and wondered if she got lost. But then she started blurting out what she needed, complete with details and their backs straightened up.

They blinked, feeling a bit dizzy. Not because they did not understand what she was trying to make them do, but rather the shock that she was asking for these at all.

"Are you sure you want this, girlie?" the person in charge, Chin, asked. "It’s very expensive. Like, very."

Just the suspension system upgrade of the motorcycle was six digits, and improving the RV’s structure cost millions.

Chin was a tall, bald guy with tattoos, making him look very intimidating. Surprisingly, the pretty girl no more than 1.6 meters in height could leisurely look at him in the eye, casually spewing terms most adult men didn’t even know about.

If only she wasn’t incessantly chewing on something...maybe she’d look a bit more reliable.

Crunch!

Naia swallowed down the churros she was eating.

"Yes, I can pay down payment—provided you give a fair price," she said. "If I’m satisfied, I’ll even add bonuses. If you can finish before my deadline, I’ll add more bonuses."

Chin looked at her, realizing she was dead serious. He couldn’t help but feel really curious about this little girl, but remained professional.

"Deal!"

Naia smiled. Another task, check!