Lucky ran too fast, her four paws tangled up, and she tumbled forward, smacking her chin on the ground. Natalie burst out laughing, tears almost coming to her eyes. "You silly dog! You want to try everything, don't you?" After dinner, Natalie stood for half an hour to let her food digest. Sitting too long after a meal can add belly fat, but moving around right away isn't good either—it makes digestion harder. A short walk after eating helps with digestion and keeps you healthy, but it was nothing but a myth. Exercising too soon after eating only drains your body and makes it harder to process food. Half an hour later, she changed into her climate suit and got ready to head out for another night of free shopping trips. The reason she had eaten so much dinner was because she needed the strength for tonight's work. She drove her armored SUV out of the neighborhood, the tires crushing everything in her path. Tonight, the streets weren't as empty as the night before. A few people had started coming out, desperate to look for supplies. The heat had risen too quickly. Some sharp-eyed people already realized this was the beginning of another round of apocalypse. So, even though it was still sweltering outside, they braved the night air, hoping to gather what they could before things got worse. God knows how high the temperature might climb in the coming days? As Natalie's SUV roared past, a few people spotted her and started waving frantically. "Give me a ride! It's too hot—I can't take it anymore!" "Please, help me! I'm too old; I can't walk far!"Natalie ignored them and sped on. In a world like this, the moment you let someone in your car, the next second they might throw you out and claim it as theirs. Sure enough, when the group saw she wasn't stopping, their faces twisted with anger. They grabbed rocks and hurled them at her SUV while shouting curses. "Rich people are all the same! What's wrong with letting us sit in your car for a while?" "You cold-blooded asshole! Hope your brakes give out and you crash!" The armored SUV was bulletproof. The rocks bounced harmlessly off, not even leaving a scratch. Still, Natalie was upset. "Cursing my car? Really?" She slammed the gear into reverse, floored the gas pedal, and shot the vehicle backward. The moment Natalie's SUV backed up, the group panicked and jumped to the side, afraid she might run them over. They kept their eyes fixed on the door, tense and ready. "She must be ticked off that we cursed her and threw rocks," one of them muttered. "Perfect. As soon as she steps out, we'll jump her, beat her down, and take the car." They glared at the vehicle, waiting like wolves. But the door never opened. Instead, the window slid down with a soft hum. Before they had time to react, a bucket of sticky, slimy stuff was dumped straight over their heads, splattering across their faces. "What the heck?!" The stench hit them instantly. They gagged, wiped at their faces, and then froze when they saw what was smeared on their hands. "It's poop! It's freaking poop!" "AAARGHHHH!" The group screamed in disgust, bending over and throwing up on the spot.But the more they vomited, the more the nasty poops ran from their foreheads and noses right into their mouths. It made them gag even harder. Furious and humiliated, they cursed between retches. "You dirty cheat! Who the heck throws poop?! This situation is messed up!" Natalie only raised an eyebrow. "What's with all the screaming? That's not just poop. If it were, it wouldn't be so thick." It was Lucky's poop and pee, carefully stored in her space for fermenting into homemade fertilizer. Valuable stuff, in her opinion. "Consider yourselves lucky. You just got the premium batch." She gave a short, amused snort. With that, she hit the gas and drove off, vanishing into the night. Behind her, the group stood doubled over—angry, filthy, and utterly sickened.The people never even saw whether the driver was a man or a woman, nor could they figure out how that disgusting stuff had been dumped on them. The vehicle roared off, vanishing into the night until even its taillights were gone. Natalie drove steadily and soon reached her destination—the jewelry district. The whole street was lined with jewelry stores. Hardly anyone came here looking for supplies, so it was unusually quiet. After all, no matter how valuable jewels had been before the apocalypse, they were useless now. You couldn't eat them, you couldn't drink them, and you sure couldn't trade them for food or water. What good were they? But for Natalie, this street was pure treasure. She started at the very first shop, a small but well-known brand. The moment she stepped inside, she was greeted by rows of glass display cases filled with gold, silver, gemstones, and fine jewelry. Natalie headed straight for the emerald counter. Dozens of emerald bracelets, necklaces, and rings lay on display. Some were caked in grime from the flood; others were cracked or even snapped in half. Still, as long as the material was real, none of that mattered—the pieces were perfect for upgrading her storage space. She gave the collection a quick glance. Most were low- to mid-grade stones, with only two high-quality pieces set apart in their case. The funny thing was, even these average-looking stones were tagged at sky-high prices. The old saying in the gemstone world popped into mind. "Take off a zero from the jewelry store price tag, and that's the stone's real worth."Like that bracelet she had picked up at the floating market—it was worth about 50,000 dollars, but here, they would've marked it up to 500,000 dollars. If you wanted a real deal on emeralds, you had to buy from trading hubs like Gemford or Jasperton. In Northlorn, all you got were mall chains and brand shops that bled you dry.