It was the morning of the fourth day. As usual, Dean had gotten up and was working out when suddenly the notification sound from his phone rang. Since the last time he bought stocks, they had skyrocketed, and he had put some of them up for sale earlier. He now had quite a lot of money in hand; for the rest, he would have to wait for the stocks to sell.
Dean muttered, "Ah, whatever… this is enough for now. I should get started."
He went to the bathroom, took a relaxing shower, put on his new clothes, and stepped outside. He immediately hailed a taxi and headed toward a large market in Detroit, thinking he could do some serious shopping there. Upon entering, he looked for an official or someone in charge.
"Hello, I want to make a large purchase. Could you call someone in charge, please?" Dean asked.
"Please follow me," the employee replied.
Dean followed the employee to a small office, where a middle-aged Black man with short hair and a small mustache looked tired as he sat behind a desk.
The employee said, "Manager, there's a customer who wants to buy in bulk."
The manager replied, "Ah, yes. Come in. I am Axel Miller."
Dean extended his hand. "Dean Wilson."
Axel squinted at him. "How much are you planning to buy?" Most people didn't shop in bulk here—they usually placed orders. Bulk purchases from the store were rare, though there were exceptions.
Dean answered, "I want to start with 1,000 boxes of canned food. Of course, I'll need a truck to deliver them. Can you handle delivery?"
"Ah… yes, of course. Give us the list of foods and the address, and we'll deliver within three days," Axel replied, still looking slightly confused.
"Okay, I'll give you the address later. For now, I'll just take your number and call you with the address," Dean said.
"No problem, Mr. Dean," Axel said as they shook hands.
"Then we'll talk soon. The list will be prepared accordingly."
"Alright, Mr. Dean. See you," Axel replied.
Dean left the market and headed out of the city. In a forested area outside Detroit, he and a few specialists began digging underground and starting their shelter operations.
The supplies were stored nearby in a warehouse that had enough food to last 1,000 people for ten years. Another warehouse held weapons and ammunition obtained from the black market, enough for 1,000 people as well. The city outskirts housed ten other shelters, each located far apart. Each shelter could house at least 1,000 people and had nearby food and ammunition storage.
Each shelter also included food production facilities, ammunition manufacturing plants, and entertainment centers. Every shelter had multiple helicopters, along with mechanisms that allowed them to rise via an elevator system.
At the same time, Dean bought an abandoned beer factory a little outside Detroit. He built tall walls around it, restored the interior, and transformed it into a livable safe haven. The only problem now was figuring out how to fill it with people before the apocalypse.
Dean muttered, "Ah… I think there's only one way."
When Dean restored the shelters and the prison, they were done so that no one could notice. Forced entry was impossible—only Dean's right eye could open all doors. If someone tried to break in, the doors would collapse or explode on their own.
Now, he would slowly gather trustworthy people for the base. The problem was how to invite them—all people could not be trusted. He decided first to gather his team, then find other people he could rely on.