The Endgame Chronicles (by Hugh White) novel Chapter 7

With that in mind, Hayley walked into a sports equipment store.

After picking up a few of the best, sturdiest baseball bats, she grabbed a bunch of adventure gear—flashlights, helmets, armor, pads, tents, protective suits, tactical jackets…all of it. Everything she needed for the outdoors. This alone cost her over 4,000.

The store also carried emergency kit accessories—tweezers, pliers, bandages, thermometers, and stuff like that. It reminded Hayley that she still needed to stop by the pharmacy.

She left the outdoor store and went to stock up on common medicines—cold medicine, bandages, fever reducers, vitamins, alcohol, iodine, and other essentials.

She wasn't interested in prescription drugs; she didn't need them, anyway. Anyone who had survived ten years of the apocalypse without dying probably didn't rely on daily meds. A few emergency supplies would do. In an apocalypse, poor health was just a weak spot you couldn't afford.

By the time she left the pharmacy, it was almost evening. The city lights sparkled, neon glowing all around.

Hayley had pretty much gathered everything she could—food, drink, shelter, tools—all the basics covered. Now, she could focus on upgrading daily necessities and a few extra comforts.

She still had about 260 thousand left.

She figured it was time to go on a shopping spree. Before the apocalypse hit, she was going to enjoy the world one last time.

First stop: a Michelin-star hotel she had never treated herself to before.

She ordered a full-on feast—mushroom soup, barbecued ribs, pan-seared cod, roasted chicken, and garlic butter prawns—everything she had never been able to afford before. She even had the kitchen prepare ten extra orders of her favorite garlic butter prawns and filet mignon to take home for Summer.

After that, she booked a suite and headed down to the mall.

The mall was packed with goods, from general stores to tempting food stands. Hayley, used to hard times, hit the food section first—sausages, mini corn dogs, sponge cakes, meat pies, fried skewers, fried chicken, pork cutlets, stew, ice cream, milkshakes, assorted pastries…everything.

She wanted it all, but there wasn't enough time or money to buy everything. Most of it was just luxury for a peaceful world—things that wouldn't matter after the apocalypse.

But right now, she could buy and eat without worry.

Hayley went store by store, quietly and extravagantly telling each clerk, "I want all your snacks."

She paid and had everything delivered to her hotel room upstairs.

At the first bakery, everything went into bags—fresh bread, cheesecake, cream puffs, petit fours, marshmallows, Swiss rolls, custard slices, custard tarts, waffles, palmiers—all packed and sent up.

At a fried chicken shop, she bought every flavor—sweet chili, barbecue, garlic, honey mustard—and every type of chicken: boneless, drumsticks, wings, whole chickens.

She then hit up the smoothie bars and ordered every flavor she could—berry blends, tropical fruit mixes, creamy yogurt smoothies, protein shakes, even frozen slushies—everything on the list!

She basically just paid and gave them a delivery address before leaving, not wanting to attract too much attention.

Just buying these snacks cost over 40 thousand. Each shop's stock usually totaled about 3,000 dollars. Hayley only spent around a few hundred dollars on smaller stalls, like the sausage stall and corn dog stand, ordering one of each flavor.

Still, she basically cleared the snack stores in one sweep.

But even with just 14 dollars on her, she could still window shop.

She bought a 3-dollar iced cocoa at a convenience store and browsed each clothing shop. By the time she finished the third floor, her drink was gone. She spotted a few items she liked.

"How much for this baseball jacket?" she asked.

"It's on sale for half price—400 dollars," the clerk said.

Hayley didn't reply. Even at half price, that was way too expensive.

Still, it was the best mall in town, and everything inside was from big-name brands. She couldn't afford anything in it right now.

After she walked out empty-handed, the manager nudged the sales assistant who had just given Hayley the price. "Why bother with her? She clearly can't afford anything. Look at her empty hands after walking several floors. Learn to read people next time…"

The clerk just pursed her lips and stayed quiet.

Despite hearing the insults, Hayley ignored them, walking on.

She wasn't some naive kid who would throw money around just because someone said something. After years of surviving the apocalypse, she knew better.

In a crisis, she didn't need to teach anyone a lesson—she could just kill them.