Maddening Storm

Crazy Stockpiling

Aurora City was one of the most prosperous cities in Cyprus. Surrounded by water on all sides, the country was a little island with an independent government.

As the richest man in the Middle East, Jabri Vaahid did not only control some of the important political figures in Aurora City, but also had a voice in the country's laws and regulations. In a sense, his presence in Cyprus was tantamount to that of a king with a parliament government.

At this moment, Ella stood next to the man in a floor-length black dress and diamond studs. Her black hair was tied in a bun, and showed off the slender curve of her neck. But that was about all the skin she showed. As the continuous shutters of cameras rang around her, burning gazes of envy and jealousy seared her skin.

Without even doing anything, she became public enemy number one.

The immensity of the man's status was truly hard to ignore.

"Mr. Vaahid, you were the dream husband of the affluent ladies of Aurora City. Why did you marry a woman from an obscure background?"

"Lady Janelle of Kuben Enterprises has been pursuing you for 5 years. Everyone in Aurora City believed you would become the golden couple sooner, or later. But this change...don't you feel like you've let her down?"

"Is this Miss Elladine more capable than her?"

Though the reporters pointed their microphones at Jabri Vaahid, one didn't need a brain to figure out who their questions were meant for.

Jabri glanced at his wife. Seeing the frown on her face, his expression inexplicably turned dark. He wound his arm around her waist and stared directly into the cameras.

"First of all, my wife isn't an obscure woman. Out of all the women in Aurora City, only her presence was powerful enough to draw my attention. Second, Miss Janelle and I are only business partners. I've never made any commitment to her, so there's no reason why I should feel like I've let her down. And last, Elladine Jabri Vaahid doesn't need any qualification to be my wife. Being herself is all she needs to stand by my side."

His expression was cold, his voice even frostier. When the reports and jealous women heard his words, their minds couldn't help but go blank.

Only she was able to attract his attention...

She didn't need any qualifications to be his wife...

To the women who had been grooming themselves for years-studying business and politics, attending social events to form connections and networks-all just so they could become worthy of Jabri Vaahid, these words were like a slap on their faces.

The blow was so painful, they turned pale with shock.

Ella, on the other hand, didn't even blink in the face of her contract husband's almost confession. If she didn't know the difference in their status and the basis of their marriage, she might have been moved. But since she did, his words only sounded like the croaking of a frog and the quack of a chicken.

Loud and proud, without any depth.

Ignoring ugly expressions of the reporters and spectators, Jabri guided his wife towards the stairs. The second floor of Emerald Hotel only entertained the elite of the elite. Without a Black Membership Card, or formidable public image, entry was impossible.

To Ella, suddenly entering this group of elusive and wealthy businessmen felt like the dream before the awakening. It left a bitter and sour taste in her mouth, because she knew all this wealth, glory, and beauty would be reduced to dust in the indiscriminate storm of the apocalypse.

Ella smiled and chatted with the group of wealthy men, as if she had dabbled in their circle for years. Her confident and natural grace stunned the men and women, as they, unlike the media, knew the woman was from a poor background. With her level of education and the environment she grew up in, even if Jabri Vaahid had trained her in secret, such confidence could not be gained overnight.

Either her background wasn't simple, and the information they gathered was fabricated, or the woman had received upper-class training for over 5 years.

The affluent men and women grew more respectful in their attitude, certain of the fact that Elladine Muzhir was no ordinary woman.

What they didn't know was, the woman before them had already faced the horrors of the end of the world. Compared to surviving in a world without law and order, socializing with a few rich men was a mere child's play for her.

The morning passed in a blur. By the time the social event ended, the sun was already on its way to sink in the horizon.

"You did well today. My friends and business partners were stunned by your grace." Jabri glanced at his wife and slightly smiled. The pride in his eyes could not be concealed. Because it wasn't only his circle of friends who were stunned by her.

He had also been stunned speechless.

Ella yawned and casually said. "Well, good to know I didn't embarrass you."

Now that she had returned his favor, she owed him nothing.

Parking the car in the underground garage of the Vaahid Mansion, Jabri turned in his seat and looked at her. "Ella, the only way you could've embarrassed me would've been if you had refused to go with me. But since you didn't, you already eliminated any chance of that happening."

There was a hidden meaning to his words. Ella felt it in his searing gaze, burning holes on her face. But she only frowned and didn't reply.

Before he bought her, Jabri Vaahid was only a distant stranger in her life. He might've treated her well so far, but that didn't change the basis of their relationship.

"Here, this is for you."

He handed her a black card. From the blank surface, she knew it was one of those membership cards with unlimited spending. "Why are you giving me your bank card? Are you trying to make another transaction with me?" A mocking sneer surfaced on her face.

Ella clenched her fist and glared at him, barely restraining herself from roaring in his face that she wasn't for sale!

Jabri's expression turned blank for an instant, before understanding dawned on him. His face immediately frosted over. "What transaction? This is your spending card. As my wife, you have a fair share in my earnings." He coldly threw the card at her and stepped out of the car.

It wasn't her fault that she viewed him that way. It wasn't, but that didn't lessen the suffocating feeling in his heart. Jabri needed to get away from her before he lost control.

Ella watched him stride away with long, brisk steps and disdainfully smirked. He resembled a weak lamb running away from the ferocious jaws of a predator.

Between her and him, who was the real beast?

"Forget it. Since I have money now, I might as well go on a shopping spree and stockpile on supplies."

Money would soon lose its value. Even if she spent his entire card on food, it would be considered a priceless investment. The radiation from the meteor would contaminate drinking water, spoil plants and vegetables while animals mutated.

If she had sufficient food and clean water, she could even survive in an abandoned farmhouse.

Of course, the prerequisite was that there were no zombies around.

In the last vestiges of the sunset, Ella hit the nearest supermarkets and grocery stores. She hoarded frozen meat, frozen desserts, frozen vegetables, cases after cases of water bottles, boxed food, canned food, plates and utensils, toothpaste and all bathroom necessitates.

She would stuff the trunk of her car, backseat, and passenger seat before driving to an alley or isolated corner. After making sure no one was in the vicinity, with a touch of her hand on the items, she would shift everything into her spatial space.

Jabri Vaahid had left the car without taking his keys. Compared to her broken down car, his expensive Rolls-Royce carried more items.

And surprisingly enough, the man didn't even ask back for his keys!

Ella could only look up at the sky and sigh at this display of wealth. The rich truly didn't care for one car, when they had 8 lined up in their private garage.

Ella didn't feel burdened at all, as she used the Rolls-Royce like a mull. For three days straight, she made trip after trip to all the wholesale stores, supermarkets, shopping malls, and grocery stores in Aurora city.

Her favorite skirts and blouses, dresses, shoes, jackets, scarfs, belts, heels, jewelry...not that she wore most of the items, or that she would need all of them, but she just wanted to make someone cry after seeing her spending amount...

Next, she visited a military facility and fancied a bullet-proof vest, a military truck, a row of guns and bullets...of course, she didn't have the license to buy them now, but she took note of everything she liked and left.

Once the meteor dropped, she would return and use the status of Mrs. Jabri Vaahid to snatch everything she fancied.

With that settled, she visited stores that sold all types of seeds. Whether it was vegetable seeds, flower seeds, or fruit seeds and tree seeds, she bought everything she could see. She made stops at the fishing bay, bought tanks of sardines and all types of fishes, and stored them in the house.

Since time didn't move there, the fishes would stay alive even if she didn't feed or water them.

Finding livestock was a little harder. Aurora City was a downtown city, and she had to leave town and go to the countryside to buy cows, chickens, goats, hens, and ducks.

With the black card in her hand, even though people found her behavior strange and baffling, they just treated it as the crazed actions of a rich woman not knowing what to do with the money in her hands.

And in such a manner, the day of the meteor hitting the earth finally arrived.

"According to the speculations of the apocalyptic scientists, the humans directly exposed to the first wave of radiation received a boost to awaken extra abilities. In my last life, I only awaken a metal based ability after being placed in a life and death situation."

Ella stood a meter away from the Epien Forest. A piece of the meteor would land in this region. This time, she wanted to awaken at least two abilities.

And for that to happen, it was imperative that she appeared before the meteors' descent...