Apocalypse Queen: My Space, My Rules Chapter 5: Trying to Poach Him

The scorching barrel pressed against Kingston's forehead, making him yelp in pain.

Mariella walked over and unleashed a flurry of punches and kicks on him.

"Trying to ambush me? You rotten bastard!"

Kingston was beaten half to death—first cursing, then begging for mercy.

Mariella ignored him. She needed to vent first.

In the end, the man who had stepped in to help stopped her."If you keep hitting him, he'll die."

His voice was low, slightly husky. It was pleasant to the ear.

Mariella looked up to size up the man who had helped her.

He looked about 25 or 26, tall and muscular, with wide shoulders and a trim waist. His thin T-shirt clung to his body, faintly outlining the firm, powerful muscles of his chest and abdomen.

He was handsome and rugged, his features sharp and defined, with deep, piercing brown eyes and a sharp jawline.

At that moment, his large hand gripped the gun with prominent knuckles, his arm muscles taut and flowing, radiating raw strength.

He studied Mariella as if sizing up her profession and status.

She was incredibly skilled—fast, precise, and ruthless, never wasting a single move.

It was clear she had been forged by countless harsh battles.

Yet outwardly, she looked like a recent college graduate, making a striking contrast to her fierce combat ability.

Mariella kicked Kingston, who was struggling to get up, flat onto the ground and said briskly, "Then call the cops!"

...

At 9 a.m., the executives of the Graham Group gathered in the conference room.

Harvey glanced at the empty seat beside him, his face tightening with anger.

Damn it! Mariella actually dared to skip work?!

She had been with the Graham Group for two years, and it had never happened before.

Jennifer walked in, her face full of indignation. "Mr. Graham, Ms. Townsend isn't answering her phone!"

Harvey's patience snapped. "Call HR immediately and fire Mariella now. She'll never work at this company again!"

She wants to act tough and try to strong-arm me? Fine. I'll let her dig her own hole!

When the time comes, she'd better not come crying and begging me for mercy!

...

Kingston was arrested for attempted murder, letting a dog attack, and illegal possession of a firearm. He ended up with a shiny pair of handcuffs and was thrown into the police car.

That dead dog was also taken by the police as part of the evidence.

Mariella had acted in self-defense, while the man who grabbed the gun to save her had acted out of kindness. Both of them cooperated with the police to give statements.

"Name? Occupation?" the officer asked formally.

"Chandler Zimmer, bodyguard," he replied, showing his ID.

Mariella took a second look. So he was a bodyguard.

Lucky for whoever had hired him. Not only was he skilled, but he also had great character.

She was about to hire bodyguards, so she couldn't help thinking about how to poach him.

As the police car drove away, Mariella saw Chandler turn to leave and hurriedly called out, "Mr. Zimmer!"

He stopped and glanced at her.

"Can I get your contact info?" she asked, holding out her phone.

She didn't expect he'd refuse without hesitation. "No need."

Then he turned and walked away without looking back.

Mariella was speechless.

A good deed with no desire for recognition or reward?

Good people like him were rare.

Mariella's temptation only deepened, and the thought of winning him over grew stronger.

Just as she was about to dig into Chandler's background, Connor and her stepmother, Fannie Shepherd, rushed over after hearing the news.

One looked furious, the other tearful. They had clearly just learned about Kingston.

Mariella didn't bother wasting her time on them.

She climbed into her truck and locked the doors.

Before they could stop her, she hit the gas and drove off.

...

Mariella had ample funds to stockpile supplies, but her storage space was limited, so she had to plan carefully.

She first went to a nearby supermarket, picking her favorite brands of rice, flour, grains, oils, meat, eggs, fresh produce, seasonings, fruits, vegetables, and drinks.

After four years surviving the apocalypse, the abundance of supplies made her eyes practically glow with hunger.

Too bad her storage space wasn't big enough, or she would have hoarded all 90-plus million she had left on food.

After filling eight shopping carts, Mariella had a few employees help her push them to the checkout.

The cashier looked at the eight carts piled high and sounded a little shocked. "Miss, are all of these yours?"

Mariella nodded and requested, "Please have a few employees help load them into my truck."

...

The groceries from the eight carts filled more than half the bed of her pickup truck.

Mariella rented a temporary garage and drove it in.

She closed the garage door and transferred everything from the truck bed into her storage space.

The storage space had a preservation function. Food stored inside would never spoil.

Mariella checked the virtual display and saw she only had 5,220 cubic feet left. She felt a bit sore about it.

Just buying eight carts' worth of food had already used up about 80 cubic feet. Clearly, she had to plan the remaining space carefully and not waste a single inch.

Driving out again, she headed to the local market.

The ingredients there were even fresher, such as live chickens, ducks, rabbits, fish, pigeons, and quail. Too bad none of them could go directly into the storage space.

Any live animals placed inside would get kicked out the moment she left the space.

So she only bought freshly slaughtered animals.

The freshly killed poultry were still warm when bagged, heavy and unwieldy.

Mariella tipped the vendors a little to help carry everything to the outdoor parking lot.

There were 100 chickens, 100 ducks, 100 rabbits, 100 tilapia, 100 catfish, 100 trout, 100 pounds of shrimp, 100 pigeons, and 100 quail. They were all freshly slaughtered, still steaming.

She drove back to her private garage and loaded everything into the storage space again.

She barely had time to organize before heading back out again.

She kept stockpiling.

Back at the market, Mariella bought beef, lamb, and pork.

Whole racks of ribs, whole legs, entire pig heads, full sets of pork offal, beef tripe, lamb blood, livers, and so on were all freshly slaughtered.

She filled an entire truck bed and returned to the garage, unloading it all into the storage.

...

It wasn't until the afternoon, with her stomach grumbling, that Mariella finally took a break from her frantic stockpiling.

She went to a nearby barbecue joint and ordered the roasted chicken wings and lamb skewers she had been craving for ages, along with grilled shrimp, squid, and flatbreads.

She ate until her mouth was dripping with grease, washing it down with a cold beer to beat the heat.

Full and satisfied, Mariella paid the bill, but she didn't leave immediately, planning to rest a bit.

She pulled out her phone and was shocked to see dozens of missed calls and unread messages.

Most were from Connor and Fannie, some from Roxanna and Harvey, and even Jennifer.

She had blocked Harvey and Jennifer, but they had called and messaged from new numbers. They were clearly getting anxious.

Connor's texts accused her of plotting against her brother, claiming she was ruthless. Fannie begged her to write a letter of understanding so Kingston could be released on bail sooner.

Roxanna asked Mariella not to misunderstand her and not to take her anger out on Kingston. Harvey demanded she get back to work immediately, while Jennifer notified her that she had been fired.

Mariella skimmed through the dizzying flood of messages and couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculous it was.

Those were the very people who had caused her death in her previous life or had helped them do it!

She was busy stockpiling supplies and building her new home, with no time to deal with them, yet they were all hopping around like mad.

Mariella sent them a mass text, "Fine. Just wait and see!"