Apocalypse Queen: My Space, My Rules Chapter 57: Great Haul

Mariella took a crowbar from her storage space, pried the safes loose, and stored them all.

She moved into the inner room, where a display shelf lined the wall, showcasing several exquisite blades along with various firearms.

The moment Mariella saw the antique dagger on the shelf, her eyes turned red.

She had spent every last dollar at an underground auction to buy it as a gift for Harvey. And in the end, he'd used that very dagger to kill her.

She would never forget the cold gleam of the blade reflected in Harvey's vicious eyes as she died.

"Mariella, if you won't hand over your kidney, then you'll die. Only if you're dead can Roxanna be saved!"

Mariella grabbed the dagger and pulled it free from its sheath, its cold edge flashing.

One day, she'd use this very dagger to send that cheating bastard and his precious woman straight to hell.

She stored the dagger, then collected the rest of the knives.

There were over a dozen firearms, both long guns and handguns, all of which she stored away.

She also found a crate of ammunition, at least 1,000 rounds.

Harvey had hoarded these weapons for his own schemes, never expecting they'd become crucial in a disaster like this. Without them, he wouldn't have been able to build a team and survive four years in the apocalypse.

Now all of it belonged to her.

Mariella gathered every weapon she could find and quickly left.

After exiting the hidden room, she reset the hook mechanism, sealing the wardrobe back into place, then retraced her steps with Lucky.

Back on the fifth floor, she returned to the window she had broken earlier.

The rain was still falling, though the wind had weakened. She took out the motorboat again.

With practiced ease, she and Lucky climbed aboard.

Using her phone, she searched for nearby gas stations and quickly located a medium-sized one about six miles away.

She started the engine and headed straight for it.

The typhoon was almost over. She had to get there before others started moving.

What she needed most was diesel and gasoline.

In a post-disaster world, nothing was more scarce or valuable than fuel.

Every vehicle depended on it. Every piece of machinery needed it to function.

With night vision on and navigation guiding her, she reached the flooded gas station.

It was completely submerged, with only the roof visible above water.

She stopped the boat and removed her night vision goggles.

Pulling a wetsuit from her storage space, she geared up and jumped into the water, tying the boat to a nearby utility pole with a rope.

She left Lucky on guard above while she descended with an oxygen tank.

Bubbles escaped from her lips as she swam, holding a high-powered waterproof flashlight and searching for her target.

She quickly found a fuel pump, but couldn't locate a suitable container.

Swimming around, she looked for a large fuel drum, but instead stumbled upon several tanker trucks.

Were they delivering fuel or coming to refill? Were they empty or full?

She couldn't check, so she decided to store them first.

When she absorbed the first tanker truck into her storage space, the force nearly flipped her underwater.

It wasn't just the size. The sudden displacement created a violent current that threw off her balance. And the sheer weight made it noticeably harder to take in.

But instead of worrying, she felt a surge of excitement. The weight meant they were likely full.

If those tanks were filled with fuel, she'd have struck gold.

Steadying herself, she took in the second truck, then the third.

Five tanker trucks in total, all stored.

Her vision started to blur, her strength giving out. She had no choice but to surface.

Dragging her gear, she struggled back onto the boat, completely drained. Too exhausted to even enter the cabin, she collapsed outside, letting the rain and wind hit her.

Lucky paced anxiously around her, occasionally licking her face, checking if she was okay.

Once she regained a bit of strength, Mariella brought Lucky back into the storage space.

Inside, it was still night, but calm and windless, a constant 77 degrees.

She ate a grilled steak to recover, grabbed a cup of hot cocoa, and tossed Lucky a chicken leg.

Only after confirming she was fine did Lucky happily start chewing on its meal.

Looking at the five massive tanker trucks stored inside the frozen space, all her exhaustion faded.

Even if there wasn't any fuel inside, the trucks alone were incredibly valuable.

One day, the floodwaters would recede. Building a base and transporting supplies would require heavy trucks.

Even though they'd been submerged, there was no mud damage. With repairs and rewiring, they could still run.

With these five trucks, she could trade for a huge amount of resources in the future.

A smile finally appeared on Mariella's face.

Just as she was about to leave the storage space, she noticed the space had expanded again.

The virtual display showed the frozen storage space had grown to 35,000 cubic feet. Even after taking in five heavy trucks, more than half the space was still empty.