I let out a cold laugh.

Katie had, at the very least, mastered the skill of being duplicitous.

I checked the date—ten days left until the apocalyptic heatwave from my memories arrived. I needed to get everything ready so I could sit under the air conditioner and enjoy the show.

I quickly rented a detached villa in the same neighborhood.

Our neighbourhood was out in the suburbs, so it wasn't very densely populated. Because it was marketed as a high-end retirement community, most of the residents here were wealthy elderly couples. That was also why our security was the best in the whole city.

I only found out in my last life that, after the world was hit by the deadly heatwave, a lot of desperate people showed up.

In the apocalypse, humanity meant little. Everyone answered only to themselves.

But our community was the only one that never got attacked by any looters, all thanks to the top-notch security forces here. It stayed safe until the scientists finally managed to build weather bombs strong enough to fight off the deadly heat, and the heatwave finally ended.

Everyone in our community survived.

After signing a three-month lease, I took a good look around my new villa.

The house came with a huge basement. Honestly, that was the real reason I rented it.

Maybe it was because we were in the suburbs, or maybe the basement was just dug deep enough. Even with a jacket on, I was shivering inside. The place was like a natural icehouse. I silently praised myself, hoping it would be this useful too when the heatwave hit.

Still, I wouldn't put all my hope in just the basement.

With temperatures soaring up to 140 Fahrenheit, even God would feel the heat.

-

For extra safety, I got permission from the property management to reinforce the villa's courtyard walls.

I replaced the gate with a solid iron-forged one. The workers, eager for the extra pay, finished the job quickly and well. The walls were doubled in height and topped with rows of sharp iron barbs, the iron tips gleaming in the burning sun.

With all that, I didn't have to worry about anyone climbing over in desperation. In this heat, the iron would be burning hot—like red-hot branding irons.

"Miss, can I ask why you turned such a nice villa into something like this?"

The day I paid the workers for finishing the work, a man in his twenties finally asked the question everyone was thinking.

I scratched my head awkwardly as I looked at my villa, which now looked a bit like a prison. I chuckled and said, "I have a really coddled cat. I'm afraid she'll sneak out when I'm not paying attention."

Everyone instantly got what I meant.

Behold, here stood another crazy cat lady... Only someone rich would go this far for their pet. The world of the rich was beyond them.

To prepare for power and water outages, I bought many solar panels. I was a science major, so following the instructions to install them was a piece of cake.

With those, I didn't have to worry about losing power when the transformer caught fire in the heat. At least I would have air conditioning.

I also ordered huge water tanks and matching water filters, as well as lots of replacement cartridges to keep the water clean through filtering.

After that, I used my hairless cat as an excuse to buy several more air conditioners at a discounted price from an appliance store that I was friendly with. I installed them in every room and even bought a few standing air conditioning units as backup, just in case one broke.

While paying, I complained to the staff about how hard it was to care for a cat.

I also ordered four large freezers, saying it was to stock up on food for my cat.

It was all about saving money. The more cat food you purchased, the bigger the discount you'd receive.

I had money, true. However, it would never hurt to be smart with it.

At the same time, I placed online orders for instant noodles of every flavor and self-heating meals. Basically, every kind of pre-prepared food you could think of.

Then, I stocked up on all my favorite snacks. Potato chips, nuts, chocolate cookies, beef jerky... Anything that came vacuum-sealed and didn't need refrigeration got stacked in the cool basement.

Since fresh fruits and vegetables wouldn't last in extreme heat, I bought many vacuum-packed vegetables and even ordered sun-dried vegetables from a northern farm online. All you had to do was soak them in water before cooking, and they would be nearly as good as fresh.

I got plenty of staples like grains and flour, too.

Next, I hit all the big supermarkets to buy my favorite food items. Fish, shrimp, steak, pork, lamb, beef, free-range chickens, ducks, geese, and every kind of frozen food such as raviolis, pastries, samosas, and my favorite chocolate eclairs.

Finally, I filled a giant freezer with ice cream. In my last life during the heat apocalypse, ice cream was something that only appeared in my dreams.

Other than food, I went to the pharmacy to stock up on Panadol and other essential medicine, making sure to ask for the newest batch. I even bought every fever patch in every store.

I know, I know. As an adult, I should be more mature, but I really couldn't stand the bitter taste of medicine.

On the way past a hardware store, I picked out a few sturdy machetes and some iron rods. Even though my defenses were solid, it wouldn't hurt to have something for self-defense.

To avoid suspicion, I told people I was buying for friends in other areas. I made all my supply runs late at night using a rented van to move everything myself, one load at a time.

After all that heavy lifting, I went from getting easily winded to actually building up some stamina.

On the last day, I felt satisfied as I looked at the villa packed full of supplies.

This time, I was sure I could hold out until the heatwave was finally over.

While I was busy stocking up, I also kept checking in on my dear sister.

Ever since I had messaged her that I wouldn't be coming over, I started ordering her favorite takeout meals every day, for all three meals.

I told her it was because the weather was too hot to visit her, so the least I could do was order food for my beloved sister since going out for groceries in this heat was just too much.

Sure enough, from the day I started sending her takeout, she stopped buying groceries and bringing food home.

That was exactly what I wanted.

On the last day before the apocalyptic heatwave arrived, I put on something comfortable and knocked on my sister's door.

"Who is it?" Katie's lazy voice sounded from inside, and the door creaked open as a trickle of cold air seeped out from the room. "Oh, Jennifer. It's you. What are you doing here?"

My sister frowned a little, dressed in her brand-new silk pajamas.

I smiled, taking a casual look around her apartment.

"I finished my work early today and asked my supervisor if I could leave early. I'm here to have a nice meal with my favorite sister."