Nina Jacobs's rebirth wasn't the scary part.
The scary part was that they didn't know.
Because they had worked together to kill Nina Jacobs.
Nina Jacobs could be the one wild card in their midst.
The two people in the car fell silent for a moment after hearing Simon Abbott's analysis.
"Abbott has a point."
Wyatt Jacobs quickly came up with an excuse.
"Stay over? Of course, you can, but I just finished shopping and haven't made it home yet."
The moment Nina Jacobs got the call from Wyatt Jacobs asking to stay over, she guessed his intentions.
Wyatt Jacobs was testing her.
But Wyatt Jacobs couldn't possibly be this cautious on his own.
It could only be that person.
Simon Abbott.
Nina Jacobs's eyes darkened slightly.
The one she trusted the least, but who was also the smartest.
Renee Strong didn't know how to drive, so there had to be at least one other person in the car acting as the driver.
If Wyatt Jacobs was the driver, then this call must have been instigated by Simon Abbott.
Sure enough, Wyatt Jacobs asked her a question in the most casual tone he could manage:
"Nina, you're out shopping this late? Don't tell me you're sneaking off to eat some good food all by yourself?"
On the other end of the line, Nina Jacobs was silent for a few seconds.
The three people in the car all held their breath.
"Wyatt, there's something I don't know if I should tell you,
I'm feeling very conflicted right now."
"What... what is it?"
Wyatt Jacobs swallowed hard, suddenly nervous and guilty.
'Could Nina really be back too?'
Nina Jacobs seemed to sense his nervousness over the phone and let out a soft chuckle.
"Why are you so nervous?
It's not a big deal, really. It's just... I think my mom's pregnant. I might be a big sister soon."
So that was it.
"Nina, since you're not home, I'll just head out with my friends for now.
I'll catch up with you when I have time."
Wyatt Jacobs breathed a sigh of relief.
That would also explain why Nina Jacobs was out buying baby supplies so late.
It all made perfect sense.
Wyatt Jacobs hung up. The three in the car looked at each other and then burst out laughing.
"Were we being too paranoid?"
Renee Strong couldn't help but say.
'So what if Nina came back for revenge?
There were more of them.
Worst case, they'd just kill her again.'
"Now's not the time,
It's better if she doesn't die just yet. She might be useful to us later."
Simon Abbott's eyes were full of calculation.
"Are you talking about... that person?"
Renee Strong seemed to have thought of something as well.
"Besides, aren't you and Liam the ones who want to make her regret it the most?"
Simon Abbott said nothing, just smiling and shaking his head.
"Liam and I already have a plan.
Who cares about her?
Wyatt, let's get going."
Renee Strong glanced irritably out the window.
Over the past two days, Liam Grant had already mentioned Nina Jacobs unintentionally many times.
Once, he even called out Nina Jacobs's name.
She knew he still couldn't break the habits from their past life.
In their past life, every time they found supplies, Liam Grant would immediately have Nina Jacobs put them into her space.
'Is it because he misses the convenience of the space?'
Renee Strong decided that as soon as the apocalypse began, she would find a Space Superpower User to replace Nina Jacobs.
...
「On the day the acid rain fell.」
The morning air, which should have been fresh, was filled with a strange smell.
"The factories are polluting again.
You'd think the relevant departments would do something about it."
"Yeah, this smell is making me lose my appetite.
Boss, can you just pack this up to go for me..."
Wearing a mask, Nina Jacobs arrived at the front of a steamed bun shop. The moment she got out of her car, she heard a few customers eating breakfast complaining.
Her heart sank.
'So it wasn't without warning after all.'
It had been the same on this day in her past life, the very day she'd moved out of the school dorms.
"Boss, I'm here.
I've come to pick up the steamed buns I ordered yesterday."
Nina Jacobs kept her mask on the whole time. The shop owner only broke into a wide smile after she showed him her order.
"We made everything you mentioned yesterday, and we even have extra."
The owner of the bun shop led Nina Jacobs directly to the back kitchen.
The rich aroma of dough filled the air. Boxes packed with steamed buns were neatly arranged on the counter.
They were still warm to the touch.
She had only ordered 1,000 buns, but to her surprise, this shop was quite capable and had made over 2,000.
Nina Jacobs nodded in satisfaction. "I'll take them all."
"Also, you can prepare more ingredients today.
My company might place another order in a couple of days."
The moment the shop owner heard there might be a repeat of this excellent business, he became excited.
"Don't you worry, miss. We'll start preparing today.
We guarantee we'll be ready whenever you call!"
[Detected that Host's actions will save 5 human lives in 20 days. "Selfless Savior" title triggered. Reward: 5 bottles of Healing Potion.]
A look of delight crossed Nina Jacobs's face.
'Five bottles of potion this time.'
This potion couldn't just heal wounds; it could also restore Superpowers and stamina.
With enough Healing Potions, who needed an Advanced Healer?
She had placed orders with five such bun shops in total.
Every single one had exceeded the order quantity. The number of buns in Nina Jacobs's system was now enough to last her for many years.
Besides the bun shops, Nina Jacobs also visited fried-pancake shops, dumpling shops, and a few restaurants and fast-food places.
As soon as everything was loaded into her car, Nina Jacobs immediately transferred it to her system's storage grid.
And her intentional yet seemingly casual reminders had earned her 49 bottles of Healing Potion in just three short hours.
Inside the car, Nina Jacobs took off her mask and hat.
This was to ensure that no one would recognize her after the apocalypse.
After picking up some takeaway orders for pizza and burgers, Nina Jacobs received a call from a delivery driver.
The previous night, she had ordered another batch of outdoor survival gear, including inflatable rafts and the like.
She also bought plenty of disposable underwear and socks.
She spent the remaining balance of over 300,000 on Gold Bars.
The first storage slot she had activated was now completely stuffed full by Nina Jacobs.
Luckily, the Gold Bars weren't very bulky. After Nina Jacobs put the last Gold Bar into the storage slot, there was no room for anything else.
[Congratulations, Host, for filling a storage slot for the first time. "Resourceful" title triggered. Skill reward: "Five Senses Enhancement"!]
[Congratulations, Host, for successfully collecting your first pot of gold. "Doomsday Gold Digger" title triggered. Reward: 1 system storage slot!]
'It works like that?'
Nina Jacobs's first reaction was pleasant surprise.
This was the first time she had received a Skill reward.
But with the acid rain only a few hours away, Nina Jacobs couldn't dwell on it for long.
Next, she planned to visit Daniel Hale's house.
Before that, Nina Jacobs returned to her school dorm room.
Coincidentally, neither Joanna Lynn nor Chloe Pearson was in the room.
Her and Renee Strong's belongings were just as they had been when she left.
It seemed Renee Strong hadn't been back since that day.
Renee Strong had left in such a hurry that she hadn't even bothered to close her laptop.
'I don't know if this will be useful,
but it's not like I have anything to lose.'
Looking at the laptop on Renee Strong's desk, Nina Jacobs walked over.
Her fingertips tapped lightly as she quickly published several posts.
They were posts reminding people to hoard supplies.
Ever since the global pandemic, posts like these had become commonplace, and most people just glanced at them and laughed it off.
But there would always be a small portion of people who would take precautions just in case.
After all, it was just a matter of buying a few things in advance.
"Redirecting the fallout... done."
Nina Jacobs stood up, looking at her handiwork with satisfaction.
The dorm's computers all had registered IP addresses. In the future, if anyone with ulterior motives investigated, they would only trace it back to Renee Strong.