As soon as Liang Chen arrived at the gate of the Yangjiang City Storage Base, a security guard immediately greeted him.
"What are you doing? This is a restricted warehouse area, no unauthorized entry!"
"Sir, I'm here for an interview."
Liang Chen handed over a newly bought Huazi cigarette and instantly received a smile from the old man.
"To interview, you need to go through the door next to this one."
"Thank you, sir. How much does a security guard make here per month?"
"Three thousand five. What? You want to apply for a security guard position?"
Liang Chen nodded, and the old man looked surprised:
"How old are you to be a security guard? Porters here can earn six or seven thousand a month, and forklift drivers can make over ten thousand!"
Liang Chen chuckled inwardly:
"I'm not here to be a beast of burden. Is earning a lot of money important?"
But he said aloud: "Sir, you don't understand. Working hard your whole life, isn't it just to be able to get paid while doing nothing every day?
If I become a security guard, I'll have achieved that early, forty years ahead of my peers."
The old man took a puff of his cigarette, staring at Liang Chen's retreating back, as if his life had been sublimated at that moment.
Fifteen minutes later, Liang Chen stood in the security department manager's office.
Security Manager Wang Yong glanced at Liang Chen's ID card and asked in a routine tone:
"Age?"
"21."
"You're not a university student, are you?"
"No."
"Any special skills?"
"Can't wake up in the morning, can't sleep at night."
"Can you use a computer?"
"Was an internet cafe manager for three years."
"What's your opinion on labor arbitration?"
"What is labor arbitration?"
Wang Yong's face showed a satisfied smile. Could this kid be the legendary Innate Security Guard Saint Body?
He immediately handed Liang Chen a form:
"You're really lucky, kid. Someone just resigned yesterday.
Fill out the form, and come to the monitoring room for work tomorrow night. It's one night shift every two days, two thousand five a month. Any problems?"
Liang Chen shook his head: "No."
The gate guard said that security guards here make three thousand five a month.
Wang Yong was going to pocket a thousand yuan from him every month.
Liang Chen didn't mind this; in fact, he felt somewhat fortunate.
The greedier a person is, the easier they are to deal with.
If the other party were a serious and dedicated person, it would be a bit troublesome.
"Pay a five hundred yuan deposit and go to the first floor to get your uniform."
Seeing Liang Chen obediently leave, Wang Yong whistled, took out his phone, and continued to scroll through videos of long-legged beauties, a lewd smile on his face.
Half an hour later, Liang Chen walked out of the storage base carrying a security uniform.
"I didn't expect it to be so smooth; I got directly hired into the monitoring room.
This way, I can fully grasp the layout of the entire base, as well as the distribution of various materials.
Once the plan is ready, I can make my move in twenty-eight days."
The reason he wouldn't act sooner was that there were still twenty-eight days until the entire Huaguo would descend into a chaotic nationwide shopping frenzy.
Three days after the chaos, the apocalypse would officially arrive.
By then, the police would use all their strength to maintain order and wouldn't have time to deal with missing goods.
Even if they suspected him, without evidence, they couldn't do anything to him.
If he acted prematurely, he might be treated as a suspect by the police and directly called in for questioning.
Liang Chen didn't want to be singing 'Iron Window Tears' in a detention center when the apocalypse arrived.
An hour later, Liang Chen returned home.
After confirming that only he and Ergou were home, Liang Chen locked the doors and windows.
He took out a few bags of seafood and vegetables, as well as a clock, from his storage space. These were all things he had bought at a roadside supermarket that morning.
The fish and shrimp in the bags were already dead, but still fresh, as if just caught.
The vegetables were also fresh and dripping, with the water droplets perfectly preserved.
The clock's time remained frozen at the moment it was put into the space, and only when it was taken out did the second hand resume ticking.
Liang Chen smiled contentedly.
"It seems the storage space cannot store live animals, but the time inside is either stagnant or extremely slow, so there's no need to worry about food preservation."
He pan-fried a few pieces of the bought prime steak and poured two glasses of Romanée-Conti red wine.
As the tender and juicy steak entered his mouth, the rich meaty aroma made Liang Chen feel incredibly comfortable.
During the apocalypse in his previous life, Lu Jin Xuan kept him in a dog cage every day, only giving him half a bowl of rice or half a steamed bun.
Eventually, he could only survive on water. He never wanted to experience the feeling of hunger again.
Both man and dog ate quite contentedly at this meal.
Liang Chen didn't feel the slightest bit of regret feeding steak and red wine to Ergou.
His experiences in his previous life made him realize that only Ergou was utterly devoted to him.
Even after Lu Jin Xuan moved in and said she was afraid of dogs, and Liang Chen tied him in the stairwell to suffer, Ergou never gave up on him.
So Ergou was worth it.
Watching the well-fed Ergou go to dote on a pillow again, Liang Chen shook his head and walked into the bathroom.
After showering and lying in bed, Liang Chen began to think about what to do next.
"Tomorrow, I'll start building a safe house."
"It should require a large sum of money. According to the current system's ability, twenty thousand soft sister currency can synthesize sixty thousand."
After much thought, Liang Chen still decided not to synthesize money.
It wasn't that he didn't trust the system's ability, but the primary system only had a limit of 3 types of items.
After synthesizing water, there were 2 types left. Whether choosing food, weapons, or medicine, or energy, they were all more useful than choosing to synthesize money.
"After the apocalypse arrives, money will be worth less than toilet paper."
A few seconds later, Liang Chen suddenly patted Ergou's head.
"If there's not enough money, just borrow it! Before the apocalypse, wasn't the easiest thing in the world to get money? Just borrow and don't return it!"
Not to mention various online loans that could be taken out blindly.
There were also usurious loans, known for their speed and high limits.
"Several online lending platforms combined could lend over three million, that's too little. I'll borrow from a loan shark first!"
As for who to borrow from, Liang Chen already had an answer in mind.
He took out his phone and searched for a moment, his gaze fixed on a contact—"Loan Shark She Bo."
To quickly get a lot of money, finding She Bo was the most efficient choice.
She Bo was a notorious loan shark in Yangjiang City.
He was known for being ruthless; he would even sell his own parents for money.
Back then, Liang Chen's parents needed money for their business and borrowed three hundred thousand from She Bo for turnover.
In the end, he extorted over a million from them using various means!
Liang Chen still remembered his parents' embarrassment and regret from back then.
So, when Liang Chen planned to get money, swindling a large sum from She Bo was the best choice.
The next day at seven AM sharp, Liang Chen was woken up by Ergou licking him.
After getting up, eating, and feeding the dog, Liang Chen dialed She Bo's number.
"Hello, what is it?"
"She Bo, I'm Liang Chen. I urgently need money now. How much do you have there?"
"Liang Chen, although your parents and I are friends, we have rules in this business. I need to ask you about the situation first."
"She Bo, are you still at the old place? How about we meet to talk?"
Liang Chen hung up the phone, picked up his sunglasses and cane, and left.
Half an hour later, Liang Chen appeared in a private room of a Cantonese dim sum restaurant.
A middle-aged man in a Zhongshan suit was engrossed in eating shrimp dumplings.
Five or six burly men in black suits stood by the table.
Liang Chen sat down casually opposite the man and started eating a plate of spare ribs with black bean sauce from nearby.
She Bo looked up at Liang Chen, grinned, revealing a few gold teeth.
"Nephew, you're in such a hurry to borrow money from me. Have you encountered some difficulty?"
"She Bo, I've been trying my hand at business recently, and I need you to help me with some turnover. I need eight million, and it has to be in my account today!"
She Bo looked up and scrutinized Liang Chen.
Liang Chen suddenly seemed a bit nervous, reaching out to pull down his rolled-up sleeve.
On his covered forearm, there were a few dark red spots.
She Bo stared at Liang Chen's forearm for a moment, smiling meaningfully:
"Tell me, what are you using as collateral?"
Liang Chen's heart stirred; the old fox had taken the bait.
"I'll mortgage my house."
"That house is only worth a little over five million at market price. No, no."
"Then what should I do?"
Liang Chen seemed a bit troubled.
A hint of greed flashed in She Bo's eyes.
"Eight million is no small sum!"
"She Bo, for the sake of your old friendship with my parents, please help me!"
"It's not that She Bo won't help you, it's just..."
Liang Chen felt the time was right and slammed the table, saying:
"If it really doesn't work, I'll put myself up as collateral! If I can't pay it back, you can dismember me and sell my organs!"
She Bo's eyes lit up, and he laughed heartily:
"Good! Sign the contract. It's the old rule: one-month loan period, three hundred thousand advance interest."
"She Bo, you're too ruthless."
Liang Chen made no secret of his complaint.
"Hahaha, you kid, these are all rules, don't worry!
Seven point seven million will be in your account in an hour! Remember to pay back on time!"
Liang Chen scratched his head and smiled, then signed the contract and left.
After leaving the teahouse, Liang Chen got into a taxi by the roadside.
Five minutes after the car drove off, Liang Chen rolled up his sleeve and happily wiped off the small red dots he had specially drawn on his arm.
At the same time, in the teahouse, a subordinate asked She Bo:
"Boss, eight million is our entire fortune. What if that kid can't pay it back? Wouldn't that be a huge loss?"
She Bo picked up his teacup and took a sip:
"No 'what if,' he definitely won't be able to pay it back. Didn't you see the red dots on his arm?"
"Boss, you mean...?"
"That's right, that kid is hooked on that stuff. His life is ruined.
This time next month, we'll go to the Liang family to arrest him.
Immediately contact overseas buyers. This kid's body parts alone should be worth several million, plus that house, we'll make a steady profit!"
A group of subordinates offered their flattery one after another:
"Boss is mighty!"
"Boss is awesome!"
"Following Boss means there's meat to eat!"
"Me too!"