Doomsday Is Coming: I Hoard Billions in My Hidden Paradise

"Ugh..." She couldn't breathe. The suffocation was unbearable— That familiar sensation of dying once again. Flailing helplessly in the darkness, Yu Duoduo finally broke free from the pressure crushing her chest. She sat up with a jolt, gasping for air... And froze. This was the apartment she had lived in right before she died! The sky outside was just beginning to lighten. The room remained dim, but the furnishings were exactly as they had been before the end—clean, tidy, untouched by ruin. On the bedside table, the electronic clock blinked: August 8th, 2028, 05:58 AM. Yu Duoduo was momentarily stunned. She had died, hadn’t she? Killed in the apocalypse. She had watched, with her own eyes, a hundred-meter-tall tsunami swallowing the city whole! This must be a dream— A final hallucination before she lost consciousness beneath that monstrous wave. “Meow~ Meow~” A familiar cat’s meow broke her thoughts, sounding rather aggrieved. A small blue cat leapt onto the bed and nestled against her hand. It was Maoku, her pet— The same cat that had been caught and eaten by those monsters in the third month of the apocalypse. Wait—! A stinging burn on her cheek snapped her back to reality. That wasn’t a dream. Her little blue cat had just kneaded her face with its paws, leaving behind scratch marks! And that earlier suffocation? It was Maoku’s pudgy belly, smothering her while she slept. Which meant... She had really come back. She had been reborn! Reborn five days before the apocalyptic flood that destroyed all traces of humanity. Just the thought of her past life sent a chill down her spine— Torrential rains. Floods. Plagues. Extreme cold. Scorching heat. Pandemics. Earthquakes. Tsunamis... She never thought she’d live through the true end of the world. It was a nightmare—one that no sane person would ever wish to repeat. Yet fate had played a cruel trick. She had returned, memories intact. Perhaps even Heaven had pitied her, granting her a second chance—five days to prepare. This time, she would no longer be that soft, naïve girl who died early because she cared too much. This time, she would live—for herself. Boldly. Fiercely. Without regret. Cradling her blue cat Maoku, she climbed out of bed and pulled open the curtains. Beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows lay a peaceful river view— Perhaps the last moment of tranquility before doomsday arrived. Very soon, this calm stretch of water would turn into a raging beast, surging forth to devour the city... This loft apartment was something she’d bought after three years of hard work, right beside the CBD on the banks of the Hui River—prime real estate. As one of the lead designers on the project, she’d been involved from blueprints to final inspection. Employees had access to insider discounts, and there were no purchase restrictions. She’d bought two units, knocked down the wall between them, and renovated the space into her dream home. Each unit was 50 square meters, combined into 100 square meters. With a ceiling height of six meters, she built an upper and lower level, creating 160 square meters of livable space, complete with a double-height living room. She’d only moved in six months ago. There were still ten years left on the 800,000 yuan mortgage. But in the apocalypse... who the hell cared about mortgage payments? Ding—ding—ding… Her phone rang from downstairs. Maoku must’ve thought it was too noisy and had dragged the phone downstairs for her. She left the bedroom. A wave of heat hit her at the stairwell—no AC was on. The summer heat was unnatural. Temperatures had been rising daily, nearing 50°C. It had been one of the many warning signs before the world ended, but back then, no one suspected a thing. There was air conditioning at home. In the car. At work. To city dwellers, the heat was just a minor inconvenience. She turned on the AC, picked up the phone from the couch. Five unread texts. All from that two-faced coworker asking to hitch a ride to work—changing pickup locations multiple times. In her past life, this woman had been seducing her boyfriend while pretending to be pitiful and sweet to her face. Never again, Yu Duoduo vowed. If she ever gave that manipulative witch even a crumb of benefit this time, she’d write her name backward! She ignored the texts. Let her wait. Let her sweat. She wasn’t anyone’s free chauffeur. Opening the cabinet, she poured cat food into Maoku’s bowl and grabbed some bread and yogurt for herself. Curled up on the couch, she munched on toast while using her phone to download over ten loan apps. To survive the apocalypse, the most urgent task was to stockpile supplies. And to do that—she needed money. After three years of work, aside from paying off her loan and saving bits here and there, she only had 100,000 yuan to her name. That wasn’t nearly enough. She filled out forms, tapped "agree" dozens of times, and an hour later— Her account showed 1,000,000 yuan. That was the most she could raise in a short time. Loan term: one month. Interest? Who cared? Once the world ended, money would be worthless. Let the loan sharks weep. With cash in hand, Yu Duoduo pulled out pen and paper. She had only survived two years in her past life—until a monstrous tsunami wiped out the city. She didn’t know what other disasters followed, but she was sure they weren’t good. She racked her brain, writing down every item she could think of—anything that might help her live. Eight full pages. Just as she finished, her phone alarm rang—8 AM sharp. Her usual time to leave for work. She pulled up her resignation message—two simple lines—and sent it to her boss. No explanations. No goodbyes. Just a clean break. Then, she photographed the pages listing medical supplies and sent them to her childhood friend, a deputy director at the hospital. > “A few colleagues are flying to South Africa on short notice. Need to prep a batch of meds by tomorrow night. Appreciate your help!” He didn’t reply. Probably busy. She didn’t wait—just went upstairs to change clothes. Just as she put down her phone, it rang again. Auntie. "Duoduo, it’s so hot these days, your uncle and I are taking your little cousins up to the mountains to cool off." No reaction from her end. Auntie cleared her throat and added sweetly, "Um… can you lend us a bit of money? We have to pay for our meals and stay there, you know..." Yu Duoduo rolled her eyes. Flatly: “No money. Not lending.” There was a pause on the other end, then came the angry tirade: "You ungrateful brat! Your uncle and I raised you so carefully. Now that you’re earning money, shouldn’t you at least show some respect? Can’t even lend a little money? Everything we did for you—was it all for nothing?! How could you—" Yu Duoduo cut her off, "You can borrow again after you pay back what you already owe. Otherwise, don’t bother asking." Beep—beep—beep. She’d hung up on her. Yu Duoduo shrugged. What a bunch of leeches.