“Okay, everyone,” Leo announced, sporting a huge backpack with the attitude of a grade-schooler who was about to go on their first errand. “Tina, Mark, I’m leaving it to you two to keep Carol safe.”

It’s only been two hours since the world as everyone knew it came to an end with the message from the aliens appearing before everyone’s eyes.

But…

Not everyone had the luxury to care for those portals. After all, even two hours after they appeared… There were hardly any incidents involving those portals or even the existence of the circuit!

In a sense, the world has yet to realize that the old was now over, replaced by a brand new future. But, just like any and everything on a massive scale, the change would still take quite some time to fully take effect. And when counting the repercussions of all the decisions everyone in power would make down the line, the period of chaos likely wouldn’t last just a few days.

Still, for all the people who worked dead-end jobs, servicing the customers from behind the counters of convenience stores or gas stations… But also for all those stuck between one team meeting and another deadline for submitting the monthly report to their bosses, their world was exactly as it was two hours ago, save for the city’s request to stay indoors.

People still had to eat, so stores and restaurants still needed their servers and clerks to operate. People still pissed and shat, forcing the plumbing to run as usual under the watchful eyes and dexterous hands of the city’s army of servicemen.

And it was this gap, a feeble illusion of the peace of the old stretching into the chaos of the new, that Leo aimed to exploit.

“Do you remember what to look out for?” Leo asked as he turned over to those who were to accompany him outside.

“Bandages, spices, herbal medicine, alcohol,” Millie reported, reciting out without a second of thought.

“Plastic-packaged food, preferably in a round, see-through packaging along with a stock of canned goods and a good supply of water,” Rob said his part while flexing his fingers to warm his hands up for the job. “Counting on luck, as much gas and, if possible, a gas-powered torch.”

“That’s right,” Leo nodded his head before turning towards the doors. “Then, let’s go.”

The world was going to change.

How the change would happen, not even Leo could predict. But it was better to have a stable supply of basic goods that would last them a few days rather than facing this problem later when the rest of the world would be caught up with the consequences of the change.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

The one problem was…

Leo’s plans came eerily close to a simple exhibit of panic buying, even if he had a few things in mind that other customers would likely leave alone in the rush. And that means, even with the city trying to restrict outdoor travel, all the shops and malls in the city were likely overrun by desperate mobs of customers by now.

‘Thankfully, we can get everything in one place,’ Leo thought, thinking back to the conversation he had with his family as they cleared out the corpses and stowed them away in the corner of the living room for the time being.

Apparently, in the six years that passed in this world while Leo was away, there was now a relatively unpopular mall nearby. A flopped investment that continued the business just for its owners to avoid bankruptcy. A project that was supposed to be on the level of a tourist attraction and that turned into nothing more but a dignified grocery center for the nearby residential zones.

And while the mall was a walkable distance away from Pesterny’s apartment, the trio still ended up borrowing Tina’s car from a nearby lot to make the trip.

“Remember, even if things are still relatively calm, everything can change in a single moment,” Leo broke off the curse of silence that suddenly overtook them from when they left the apartment all the way to when Rob was already driving up to the busy parking lot of the unsuccessful mall.

“It doesn’t look like we will have an easy time anyway,” Millie commented, slowly coming out of her shy shell as she grew used to Leo’s presence.

Her behavior was still a far cry from how she was six years ago, but it was as clear as a day she was trying to get back to her former, more carefree, and relaxed self.

On the point of the mall, though, Millie was right on the money. And the situation inside turned out to be even worse than what the busy parking lot of the place indicated.

“It seems like we will have to stick together, after all,” Leo muttered, already calculating in his thoughts how much this kind of delay would cost them in terms of the volume of the things they could get their hands on.

‘Well, it doesn’t really matter as long there are any supplies left in the art department,’ Leo thought, only to then do his absolute best to hide the unpleasant grimace that nearly took over his expression. ‘To think such a sentence would ever appear in my brain…’

It was important to stock the most vital of the supplies, for sure. From stuff like canned foods, water, or even something as simple as toilet paper, all of those things would come in handy. And in the off-chance the city’s government would, for once, show any sense of ability and keep things relatively stable, all of those things would still be perfectly usable.

But, in the grand scheme of things, Leo didn’t come to the mall to get his hands on something so simple, so… rudimentary.

“It looks like that’s going to be the case,” Rob muttered under his nose as he brought Tina’s car to a stop at one of the few free parking spots left. Thankfully, or by some miracle, it was relatively near the entrance to the mall, which would cut on the walking they would have to do with their hands full of merchandise… While also allowing all three of them to get a glimpse at the chaos within the mall.

‘That’s a case of panic buying at its finest…’

While not at the level of panic, the crowd inside the mall wasn’t all that far from that level.

“Let’s not dilly-dally, then,” Leo called out and opened the door as soon as his brother stopped the car. “We are going to get in, grab what we need, and get out right away,” he said.

‘And in a week's time, the things I’m going to produce are going to turn our household into the first nouveau riche of the new world!’