Naia was not rich enough to buy everything now, but it would sure be helpful to have a goal in mind.

For now, she went to buy several boxes of some necessary herbs. These were dried, shelf-stable, and multifunctional. It was a very practical choice for the apocalypse.

The purchase limits weren’t as harsh as in pharmacies, too, not to mention she ’knew’ the owner. Herbal medicine was considered a food supplement, unlike modern medicine, which had strict drug regulations.

Her mother was a wood user who had studied botany, even if she was just a child when the apocalypse happened. She learned quite a bit from her. If she didn’t know anything, she could just Doogle it.

The first herbs she bought were for infections and wound control. In the apocalypse, infection could kill more than anything.

Examples would be the honeysuckle flower, which was good for infections and fever. Another was the isatis root, which had good antiviral properties. It was also good for fever, sore throat, and respiratory infections. Another was the Coptis root with its very strong antibacterial properties, and so on.

She would also get herbs to deal with pain, injury, and trauma, like the Angelica root, which could help with blood circulation and injuries, as well as fatigue and weakness. Notoginseng was also good to stop bleeding. It could also improve the body’s healing capabilities. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

There were also herbs specifically used for fever, heat, and detox, such as chrysanthemum, dandelion, and forsythia.

There were those for digestion problems like food poisoning (which would happen a lot in the apocalypse, considering how dirty a lot of food would get) like atractylodes, licorice root, and hawthorne. The last one even helped digest spoiled food.

Not that she nor any of her family members would need it (she hoped not), but these would sell or exchange for a lot of money in the future.

She even added herbs for stress, sleep, and mental stability. This was often overlooked, but extremely critical.

What use was living if one was too depressed to do anything? Worse, a person could even endanger other people without wanting to!

Examples of herbs for these were jujube seeds—which helped with sleep and anxiety—and the polygala root, which helped with mental clarity and reduces stress.

Finally, she would buy some core survival herbs (for daily health and immunity). Western medicine was not for prolonged use, so for health supplements, herbal was still better.

The main example was ginseng, which boosted energy, mental clarity, and recovery from fatigue. Another was astralagus for immunity support and Goji berry for digestion and energy.

Her ageing grandmother would need as much reinforcement as she could.

The weather in the apocalypse was too harsh, and too many old people died very early on.

Most dried herbs had shelf lives of about 5 years. To extend, she asked the lady to vacuum pack them. This amount should be good for 1 or 2 decades, if she were only to use it on family.

She also bought every variety of seeds she could buy. When her space expanded, she’d definitely allocate a large area for them.

...

Unexpectedly, the drama of this family wasn’t a one-time thing. Naia really bought a lot of things, so she had to go to her ’car’ to place the items, disappear into an alley, and take a few trips in (and then secretly place the items in space).

As she left with the last batch of medicine, she saw some thugs approaching. Judging by their expressions, they were not friendly.

Going to a CCTV blind spot and taking the last batch of herbs in her space, she furtively went back to see what was going on.

They were discussing debts. Specifically, by the useless son.

Rather, she went inside and stood next to the old lady, as if to tell them not to mess with her. "He’s in the police station right now. Why don’t you handle your issues there? Saves effort, don’t you think?"

"Who are you?"

"Relative."

"You..." Maria said, grabbing her arm. "You...you should go..."

"It’s fine grandma, your herbs might save my family someday, so I’m sending favors in advance."

Old Lady Maria’s eyes glistened, and not knowing what to say.

The gangsters were not intimidated by her at all. Rather, they looked at her lustfully. It was just that they were ’legal’ businessmen, so they didn’t do anything outrageous yet.

They looked at the old woman. "Are you going to pay or not?"

"Your name is the one on the IOU, not your son’s. You even agreed to give this shop if you haven’t paid."

The useless son actually mortgaged the shop to loan sharks?

"I have long paid for the principal! Can’t you consider—"

"One more month and this shop is ours," the man cut her off.

The old woman was too embarrassed to say that she signed something she didn’t know or understand. At the time, her son just said it was for one of his investments.

That was her son, so she could only indulge him.

Now...she knew she was wrong. This...this was karma. Her own suffering that she deserved.

Naia agreed that the old woman wasn’t blameless in her situation, but she shouldn’t take the entire responsibility for this either.

"You know there’s a law against harassment, even by lenders, right?" she asked. She doogled it before heading in. "There’s also a law for allowable interest rates."

She took out her phone. "I already called the police before I entered," she said. "Guess what will happen when they arrive, and you’re still here?"

The man smirked. "You think the police will help you?"

Translation: They had their people in there.

She chuckled. "So what? But I called the emergency hotline. That means the call is recorded in various channels. Do you think the local police would dare cheat?"

"You—" the man stepped forward, and the old woman stepped in front of her.

Naia’s eyebrows rose, but she didn’t look shaken at all. Instead, she looked mockingly at the gangster, er, loan shark. "Oh, you’re still here? I think I hear a siren—"

And there really was. Naia really did make a call, but an anonymous one.

At this, the gangsters flinched, and their faces darkened. They gestured to leave, but not without sending Naia a glare.

"We’ll come back! Be sure to prepare the money, old woman!" he spat in the direction of Naia and the old lady. The loan collectors left like this.

Naia naturally couldn’t just leave the old woman after irking the enemy.

She then turned to the old woman. "Grandma...actually, I work for the government," she said, lying with a straight face again.

"In less than three months, none of these would matter. Natural disasters will strike. I recommend you just leave the shop and go somewhere safe."

Naia couldn’t really say a specific safe place right now, as she truly couldn’t guarantee it. While there were safe havens before, who was to say it was still the same now?

She trusted her intuition, but only if it was related to herself. She wouldn’t dare make promises to others.

"If you have other, more trustworthy relatives, I recommend you to ally with them instead," she said. "I have a feeling that when something happens, your son will be the first person to sell you off."

...

Naia, after sending a few more words and explaining the situation to the police officers, she finally left the shop and entered several alleys.

No one was following her, but her face was dark.

That incident reminded her to get more powerful weapons!