The shop owner paused, his eyes narrowing in scrutiny. He hadn't expected this pale, sickly-looking kid, who looked fresh out of a hospital ward, to possess such negotiation skills. He hesitated for a moment before sighing.
"Fine, fine! 400 it is. Seeing as you're in such a rush."
Kirin accepted the 400 Baht, tucked it neatly into his pocket, gave a slight bow of thanks, and walked away without another word. This small victory significantly improved his mood. At least his brain remained his most valuable asset.
Current Capital: 487 Baht.
Along the way, he scanned for a Government Lottery stall until he spotted an auntie diligently arranging tickets on a wooden panel.
"Auntie, one ticket, please," Kirin approached with a friendly smile.
"What number are you looking for, young man? The lucky ones? I have them," the seller looked up, greeting him cheerfully.
Kirin chuckled softly. "I don't have a specific number in mind... I'll take the very first one you pick for me. I trust in the seller's luck." His playful nature surfaced unconsciously; it was a tactic he always used to build rapport.
The auntie laughed, clearly pleased. "Oh, you're such a sweet talker... Here! Take this one. Good luck!" She pulled a ticket from the panel and handed it to him.
Kirin paid 100 Baht, carefully storing the ticket. He looked at his remaining funds... 387 Baht. He spent a portion on a large bottle of water and two skewers of grilled pork with sticky rice from a roadside stall before heading back to his rental room.
That night passed slowly. Kirin forced himself to eat and sleep as much as possible to rehabilitate this frail body.
The Next Day (T-Minus 6 Days to Apocalypse)
Late in the afternoon, Kirin walked to a small grocery shop at the entrance of the alley. A group of locals always gathered there, eagerly listening to the lottery results on an old radio. The atmosphere was thick with hope and excitement.
"Three-digit suffix prize, first draw... 4... 2... 5!"
"Ouch! Missed by one digit!" Groans erupted around him.
Kirin ignored the noise. calmly, he pulled his ticket from his pocket. His eyes scanned the numbers in his hand, cross-referencing them with the announcer's voice.
"First Prize Neighbors... The winning numbers are... 9... 8... 8... 4... 2... 4!"
"And... 9... 8... 8... 4... 2... 6!"
Kirin's heart nearly stopped... The ticket in his hand read 988426.
He had won.
...The First Prize Neighbor.
Kirin stood still for a moment before the corners of his mouth curled into a wide grin. It wasn't the trembling excitement of a gambler, but the cold satisfaction of an investor whose calculated risk had yielded the expected ROI.
The Blessing of Luck... it works better than anticipated.
"How about it, young man? Got eaten by the lottery again?" An uncle standing nearby asked jovially.
Kirin smiled back, smoothly folding the ticket away. "Just a little bit, Uncle... enough for dinner."
He didn't linger. He slipped away quietly. The old Kirin's memories suggested the First Prize Neighbor reward was 100,000 Baht. But this was a set of two tickets... That meant 200,000 Baht! It was multiples higher than his initial target!
...But wait. Memory can be unreliable. He needed to verify. He headed straight for the nearest claim center, a large wholesale store that also cashed lottery prizes.
Upon arrival, he handed the ticket to the clerk with practiced calm.
The clerk examined it closely before looking up in surprise. "It is indeed a First Prize Neighbor... However, this ticket set is from the discounted batch, not the full-price set. The prize is 20,000 Baht per ticket. Total is 40,000 Baht. After tax deduction, you'll receive 39,200 Baht."
Kirin nodded in acknowledgement. Though significantly less than the initial estimate, 40,000 Baht was still massive capital given his current liquidity crisis. It was more than sufficient for the next phase of his plan.
After handling the paperwork and receiving a thick stack of cash, Kirin immediately exited the shop. He felt multiple pairs of eyes on him. He gripped the cash in his pocket tightly, his heart pounding with paranoia.
This wasn't the old world where bodyguards surrounded him. Here... this amount of cash could cost him his life.
Kirin quickened his pace back to his safe house, locking and bolting the door securely. He dumped all the cash onto the bed.
The stack of gray banknotes lay there... His startup capital... The ticket that would decide whether he lived or died in the next 6 days.
Kirin's eyes glinted sharply. "Alright... Phase Two: Shopping Spree."
Kirin sat on the hard mattress. The musty smell of the cheap room didn't disturb his concentration in the slightest. In his head, he was reviewing the plan over and over again.
Wait... There's a loophole.
The initial idea of buying a car and securing a permanent safe house was quickly discarded. It was a foolish investment considering the unassessable risk of the meteor impact zones. Mobility was key. And his most valuable asset was the [Inventory], which effectively turned him into a mobile supply depot.
But to procure efficiently, he needed data... data available on the internet, which he could no longer access after selling his phone.
"A slight miscalculation," he admitted to himself, but didn't panic. "Acceptable. It can be fixed."
The Next Morning (T-Minus 5 Days to Apocalypse)
Kirin's first mission today wasn't heading to the shops, but straight to a small, 24-hour internet café he vaguely recalled from the host's memories.
"How much per hour?" he asked the owner, who was dozing off.
"20 Baht."
Kirin paid for 2 hours. He wasn't here to play games; he was here to work. He sat down at a terminal and began searching frantically. His hands moved across the mouse and keyboard with rapid precision, his brain processing massive amounts of data.
He pulled up city maps, saving screenshots of key districts onto the computer's local drive. He searched for the addresses of target suppliers: the largest agricultural supply store, the out-of-town wholesale hypermarket, specialized hiking gear shops, and major pharmacies.
Then, he opened a notebook and wrote down a detailed procurement list, categorized by priority, with estimated costs.
The Comprehensive Procurement List:
Two hours later, he had the perfect plan in a small notebook bought from a convenience store. He knew where to go, what to buy, and what to do next.
Afternoon of the Same Day
Kirin initiated his mission immediately. The first stop was the agricultural supply store. He spent nearly the entire day there, calmly buying up every type of seed on his list. The staff looked at him like a madman for buying such a bulk quantity, but Kirin didn't care. He paid and discreetly stored everything into his Inventory.
The Next Day (T-Minus 4 Days to Apocalypse)
Today was for equipment and barter goods. He hit the hiking shop first, selecting durable boots that fit perfectly, along with a knife and a top-tier water filter. Then, he headed to the wholesale hypermarket.
At the hypermarket, he didn't just buy rations for himself. He went straight to the alcohol and tobacco section. He swept up dozens of cartons of cigarettes and crates of strong white liquor. Then, he cleared out the lighter stock at the checkout counter—dozens of packs.
The cashier looked at him weirdly. "Little brother... opening a grocery store?"
Kirin smiled cryptically. "Something like that. I'm starting a business far away."
He gradually moved all items into his dimension in multiple trips until he was sure he had everything. He finished by buying medicines and supplies until his last funds were nearly depleted.
When he returned to his rental room that evening, he was exhausted. This frail body had been pushed beyond its limits. But when he sat down and closed his eyes to "view" the treasure trove stored in his dimension... all fatigue vanished.