Chapter 9

Chapter 9

At this moment, Chen Feng was toasting their success in Haicheng, accompanied by Jiang Nuan.

The two had obtained bid specs from the Huo Clan Consortium. Though they lacked the funds to swoop in on Huo's big-ticket bids, they managed to secure a few smaller contracts.

As expected, Huo Clan bids were practically guaranteed to win.

So caught up in excitement, they didn’t even notice that Huo hadn't submitted a bid for the Haicheng port development at all.

Same team went—same team came back empty-handed.

The Haicheng bidding was just for show. Meanwhile, Huo’s business department had locked in several seafood procurement deals, with contracts already signed. The seafood would be shipped to Jiangcheng tomorrow afternoon.

Among Jiang Family Food Processing Plant’s facilities was a canning facility, specializing in seafood canned goods.

Of course, Qi Mo knew nothing about any of this.

After his shower, he sat on the king-sized bed, taking inventory of the provisions stored in his space before searching for bulk drug suppliers.

He still needed to contact Third Master Bai.

Legal large-scale pharmaceutical purchases required licensing he didn’t have, but Third Master Bai operated in that gray area and had decent street cred.

If his figurehead husband said so, he wasn’t wrong about that.

Though the Huo Group did have a pharmaceutical division, Qi Mo couldn’t exactly announce he was stockpiling medicine. If asked why, how would he explain?

Better to make under-the-table purchases.

He had money to burn—why not be shameless about it?

After all, cash wouldn’t matter soon. Might as well spend it while it still could.

At worst, he’d leave some firearms and gold for his stand-in husband.

With access to Jiang Family Food Company and the grain reserves he proposed acquiring, his figurehead husband would have solid resources to work with.

Where those resources might take him, though, Qi Mo couldn’t say.

After finalizing his shopping list for tomorrow, Qi Mo glanced at the clock—6:30 PM. Time to meet the warehouse keeper and transfer today’s haul into his space.

He didn’t see his stand-in husband in the living room. Must’ve taken their little one to the playroom.

Perfect. No excuses needed—he snuck out quietly.

His figurehead husband was a real stickler about curfew. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have to sneak around like this.

Half an hour later, Qi Mo arrived at the warehouse. The inventory check took twenty minutes before he sent the warehouse keeper home.

He flipped off the main breaker—cutting power instantly blacked out the surveillance feeds.

Then he stowed away everything delivered today.

Pork—delivered. Lamb—delivered. Beef—delivered. Chicken, duck, and goose meat—all accounted for.

As for vegetables—tomatoes, cucumbers, pumpkins, winter melons, cabbages, greens, chicken eggs, quail eggs, duck eggs—you name it, it was ready.

Grain supplies were fully secured too.

Bottled water, milk, beer, and drinks—everything was fully stocked.

Those companies must’ve gone nuts over that free 1% payment!

Having a loaded husband makes shopping a blast.

The moment Qi Mo left the warehouse, his errand-husband called.

Checking his phone, Qi Mo blurted out an excuse: "I’m heading to the night market, hubby. Don’t worry—I’ll come back after I’m done."

Lately, Huo Liangzhou thought the little master was getting a bit too hyper.

Looking at the babbling toddler in his arms, Huo Liangzhou sighed helplessly, "Say ‘daddy,’ sweetie—not ‘dada’..."

Who’d guess the ruthless tycoon could be this patient teaching a little one to say “daddy”?

"Daddy ditched you to go play—what a jerk," Huo Liangzhou grumbled, poking the toddler’s forehead.

Qi Mo stumbled on a seed stall at the night market and suddenly realized—he hadn’t added these to his supplies list! He rushed in before closing time.

Snacks? Totally out of his mind now.

High-yield rice, wheat, corn seeds; millet, black rice, glutinous rice seeds—and more.

There were also regular grain seeds, non-hybrid varieties.

Sweet corn, veggie seeds, fruit seeds, saplings—he wanted them all, but they couldn’t fit into his space. They were technically alive, after all.

But dormant seeds worked—they’d sprout when taken out.

That was something he’d learned from potatoes in his past life.

The clerk hauled bag after bag of seeds to Qi Mo’s SUV...

After buying seeds, Qi Mo decided he should get some fertilizer too. He ordered it from the seed company, telling them to deliver it to his shop by 7 AM sharp tomorrow—no later.

Shop owners’d deliver at 3 AM if you asked—no mistakes.

With that done, Qi Mo parked his car and finally entered the night market. Trendy boba? Sold. Viral BBQ? Sold. Popular beef jerky? Sold. Famous fried chicken? Sold. Those viral skewers? Had to grab ’em—so damn good...

By the time he hit the end of the street, his stash was overflowing with snacks.

Back in the car, he pulled out his phone and opened a wholesale snack app.

Instant noodles, ready-to-eat hot pots, stinky rice noodles (luosifen), all kinds of biscuits, cakes, candies, chocolates, chips, dried meat, canned meat, canned fruit—he ordered a massive pile, all to be delivered to the warehouse.

After that, Qi Mo called Third Master Bai.

Third Master Bai sipped his tea, eyeing the caller ID with dread. *He’s rushing me.*

He kinda didn’t wanna pick up. He’d already told Huo Liangzhou about the kid’s wild ideas—he patted himself on the back for that one.

Hell, playing nice wasn’t exactly his style. But he *did* leave out the part about the kid putting properties on the line.

But for someone like President Huo, that was chump change—barely worth a blink.

As the phone kept ringing, Third Master Bai finally answered: “Hey, kid, I’ve already started preparing that thing for you. It should arrive tomorrow afternoon—I’ll have it delivered straight to your house.”

“Ah, really? That’s great! Thanks, Third Master,” Qi Mo said cheerfully. “But that’s not why I’m calling now.”

No blade or sword was as intimidating as a gun.

If he had more time and wasn’t hesitant about bringing the kid to the empire, he’d even consider raiding an armory.

Hearing this, Third Master Bai replied, “Young master, what else do you want? We don’t deal with dangerous stuff.”

“Oh? Is there anything Third Master Bai can’t handle?” Qi Mo teased.

*White-Faced Yama*, you’ve never seen my methods.

Of course, my methods probably shouldn’t be shown to you—otherwise, getting on that wolf of a man’s radar wouldn’t end well.

“Of course not! There’s nothing Third Master Bai can’t handle. Just name it—young master, hell, I’d even get you an atomic bomb.” Third Master Bai stubbornly insisted.

Qi Mo burst into laughter. “An atomic bomb is a bit much—that ‘firework’ is a bit too much for me to handle. What I need is a full range of medicines: fever reducers, anti-inflammatory drugs, cold medicine, stomach remedies, pneumonia treatments—for both adults and children. Also, all infant vaccines, flu shots, disinfectants, gauze, bandages, masks, and so on. Money’s no object—stock up enough for at least a thousand people per item.”

Third Master Bai thought, *Not exactly legal, but nothing too risky. Easy money.*

“No problem, I’ll make sure it’s ready for you,” Third Master Bai replied.

Qi Mo added, “No, Third Master, I need it by tomorrow. After that, I won’t take it.”

“You little punk, always springing last-minute requests on me. Fine, tomorrow it is. I’ll pull an all-nighter if I have to—guaranteed delivery by tomorrow afternoon,” Third Master Bai shot back.

Qi Mo smiled. “Good. Deliver it to my villa No. 9. Once the goods arrive, I’ll pay.”

“Deal. Cash is king—you’ll get top-notch service,” Third Master Bai chuckled.

Pleased, Qi Mo happily hung up.

Third Master Bai let out a sigh of relief. *Dealing with the Huo family’s young master is best done over the phone, not in person. When he’s not complaining, the kid’s actually kinda cute. After all, who doesn’t love a cash cow?*

Food? Check. Fruits? Check. Vegetables? Check. Dehydrated vegetables? Check. Meat? Check. Water stockpiled? Check.

Snacks ordered? Check. Medicine ordered? Check. Weapons arriving tomorrow? Check. Clothes and blankets bought in bulk? Check. Only seafood left.

Abalone, shark fin, lobster, king crab—just you guys left.

Once this was handled tomorrow, he could head to Haicheng for seafood.

Wait—there was still one more thing. After blowing through so much of his sugar daddy’s cash, he ought to leave him something.

The Jiang Family Food Processing Plant and warehouse were connected, and the Huo Security Group headquarters was right next to the Jiang warehouse. They had to be connected—otherwise, the first wave of the apocalypse would wipe them out.

Once Huo Liangzhou took over the Jiang Family Food Processing Plant tomorrow, he’d have to fire all the Jiang employees and replace them with Huo Security personnel.

Then, they’d need to urgently connect the buildings and build high walls.

And a shitload of crossbows.

Guns weren’t an option in this country, after all.

Hands on the steering wheel, Qi Mo called Tie Dong—he wanted a thousand crossbows, a ton of arrows, and he needed ’em ASAP—three days tops.

Tie Dong, a Huo Security retiree who’d taken over his old man’s business, picked up.

"Understood, I’ll do what I can," Tie Dong replied.

Qi Mo added, "But there’s more. You also need to move the blacksmith shop to the security department within three days and buy dozens of tons of steel—enough to produce crossbows, arrows, and blades."

"If Huo Liangzhou isn’t around, you’ll have to keep things running at the security department," Qi Mo reminded.

Hearing this, Tie Dong felt a sudden unease.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

Qi Mo chuckled. "Nothing major. Don’t worry about it, Uncle Tie. I’ll tell you in a few days."

"I’ll start the move tomorrow," Tie Dong agreed without pressing further.

After the call, it was already past nine. Qi Mo thought it over—he needed to let Huo Liangzhou know what was coming at the last moment, but he also had to warn the government. He hoped that emergency call would go through; otherwise, it’d be hard to convince the higher-ups that the apocalypse was here.

Still, with what had happened in the empire, the authorities might believe him. Now, it all hinged on that urgent call.

Bai Bin—was he real? He’d have Third Master Bai look into it tomorrow. If the man existed, then the call must be real too.

He needed to buy an untraceable SIM card. Once the power went out, no one could trace it back to him. He’d be safe.

"The poor fend for themselves; the powerful save the world." Qi Mo gazed at the city lights before him. Too bad—soon, they’d all be gone.

The idea put him in a good mood. He stepped on the gas and headed home.

At the villa, the little one was nestled in his father’s arms, chewing on his fingers. The moment he heard the turbo engine, he babbled excitedly, scrambling to crawl outside—he recognized his daddy’s car.

Qi Mo walked in, upbeat, only to freeze at the sight of Huo Liangzhou and Qi Huai standing close, looking like they were kissing.

Was it just the angle? Or were they flirting?

Qi Huai could flirt with anyone—just not his stand-in husband.

"I can walk away, but you can’t take him from me."

Qi Mo saw red. How dare they pull this behind his back?

He stormed over and slapped Qi Huai hard as the man turned. "Have you no shame? Flirting with your brother’s husband—right in my home!"

Qi Huai was stunned. He’d set up these fake romantic scenes with Huo Liangzhou many times before, always smoothly and without consequences.

Qi Mo had never cared or gotten angry.

Huo Liangzhou seemed to reciprocate his interest—at least he never stopped it. If not for Qi Mo stepping in first, Huo Liangzhou might’ve been his.

But Qi Mo was lucky—he could have kids. Qi Huai couldn’t. Huo Liangzhou chose Qi Mo out of duty and for the child.

Now that the baby was here, though, maybe it was time to make his move.

Qi Huai feigned hurt. "Xiao Qi, what’s gotten into you? I just came to see the baby. Huo… Xiao Qi, you’ve got it all wrong. There’s nothing between us…"

His over-the-top excuses only made it seem more suspicious.

"Got it wrong? You sneak into my house late at night to seduce my husband. I’ve ignored all your flirty photos and messages outside, but now you’re doing it here? You think I’m stupid? Get out! Now!" Qi Mo growled, fists clenched.

Qi Huai looked at Qi Mo, who was practically seething with rage, and turned to Huo Liangzhou: "Boss Huo."

"You should leave first. My Xiao Mo's upset," Huo Liangzhou said.

Qi Huai clenched his jaw upon hearing this. "Alright, then you explain it to him. That was all tabloid gossip—total nonsense. Cousin, you have to believe me."

"Screw off! Why don’t those reporters chase after others' shadows instead of yours? Where there’s smoke, there’s fire!" Qi Mo shot back, pointing angrily at Qi Huai.

Since when was his cousin so quick with comebacks? Qi Huai wondered as he watched Qi Huai bolt.

Huo Liangzhou reached out and gently stroked the young master’s head. "Easy there. I know his little schemes—he just wants to milk my fame. I usually ignore it, but if Xiao Mo doesn’t like it, it won’t happen again."

Qi Mo glared at him. "You knew he had ill intentions, yet you still gave him chances. You’re just as bad. Hand over the baby. You're not holding him anymore."

Huo Liangzhou looked down at his now-empty arms—his baby was now hostage in the young master’s grip.

More importantly, the young master wasn’t just obviously jealous; he was genuinely angry.

Huo Liangzhou… did I just shoot myself in the foot?

I pushed it too far.

But if I didn’t stir the pot a little, the young master would think no one cared about me—and wouldn't get jealous.

He chuckled quietly and sent a message to his assistant.

The young master should like tomorrow’s gift.

Grumbling, Qi Mo marched off with the baby to his third-floor studio.

Looking at the half-finished painting of the baby—so freaking cute—all chubby cheeks and giggles…

No time today, but after the apocalypse, I’ll have all the time in the world. Then I can paint the baby every day. And photos—I’ll print a whole stack tomorrow.

Keep them as mementos for the little ones in the future.

But… hitting someone hurts.

Qi Mo looked at his reddened palm. His eyes prickled with tears. He sulked, feeling a little wronged…