Surviving the Apocalypse with my Multiplier System - Chapter 36

Chapter 36: Princess Dress
Brent went over all of the self-defense moves he’d taught Rayne so far.

“Good, you’re learning well. You even remembered the technique to break free from full-body restraint,” praised Brent.

Rayne was on the ground catching her breath. She had just successfully released herself from his grip.

“Instructor Brent, I wish to learn hand-to-hand combat. Or even knife combat, if possible,” said Rayne, looking serious.

She already had a good grasp on how to break free and run away, but she knew that in the future, she would need to stand her ground and fight.

Brent looked at her curiously. “Well, I don’t technically offer these classes. Why do you want to learn these combat techniques?”

“I have a feeling that something really bad will happen in the future,” said Rayne. She wasn’t sure how else she could explain that the apocalypse would be starting.

Brent thought for a moment. Ian had told him about the threat one of Damien’s men made while being interrogated. The man had told the boss that “something big” was going to happen.

Maybe this girl has really sharp instincts?

“Very well, I will teach you combat and knife skills under the guise of self-defense. Please don’t spread the word around,” replied Brent after a long thought.

Rayne stood up and thanked him! She didn’t expect him to agree to her request so easily and without demanding more of an explanation!

For the last twenty minutes of the lesson, Brent spent explaining and demonstrating different stances for hand-to-hand combat. Rayne watched and listened intently, knowing that these moves would most likely save her life one day.

After the lesson, Rayne drove home to take a shower before heading out to a textile store. She had driven by one on the way over to the shooting range that morning and figured stocking up on different kinds of fabrics and textiles would be useful in the future.

Rayne entered the store, which looked more like a large warehouse. There were shelves upon shelves of every kind of fabric imaginable. They were all neatly rolled into bolts, allowing for easy access.

As she weaved through the aisles, marveling at the sheer amount of different fabrics available, Rayne realized she had never dealt with fabrics outside of a basic sewing class she had taken in school during her earlier years, so she didn’t really know what to look for.

Shrugging her shoulders, she decided she would just store as much as she could.

Rayne had just finished storing all of the fabrics in the aisle she was currently in when a mother with a young daughter walked by.

“Mommy, my princess dress needs to be pink! Princesses only wear pink, don’t you know?” the young girl enthusiastically explained to her mother.

“Yes, yes! Let’s find the perfect pink fabric for your dress,” smiled her mother. They walked the shelves until the little girl’s eyes lit up.

“Mommy! I found it! I want this one!” she shouted happily.

Her mother walked over and looked at the fabric. It was indeed a really suitable fabric for the dress; however, there wasn’t enough fabric left on the roll.

“I’m sorry, sweetie, but there’s not enough fabric left to make your dress. Let’s look for another one,” she said gently.

Rayne saw the little girl do her best to hold back her tears, hanging her head low. She looked at the fabric the mother was holding in her hands while searching for a suitable replacement.

Rayne walked to an empty aisle and looked through her system panel to find that exact fabric. It was relatively easy to find since there weren’t many pink fabrics, and she quickly took a copy out of her system.

She walked back toward the mother and daughter, holding the bolt of pink fabric.

“Hello, I couldn’t help but overhear you were looking for more of this pink fabric. I found this in the next aisle; I believe someone must’ve misplaced it,” said Rayne, approaching the mother.

The little girl beamed at Rayne’s words. “Mommy, look! There’s more fabric for my dress! I can be a princess now!”

“Oh, thank you so much! This helps us out very much!” the mother thanked her, accepting the bolt of pink cloth.

Rayne nodded and excused herself, feeling happy that she could help. There were only a few more aisles of cloth left, so she got back to business, storing them.

When Rayne arrived back home, she sat down on her old couch and opened her system panel to organize the items she had stored today.

She created new folders and subfolders, trying her best to organize the bolts of cloth by material. Outside of the bolts of fabric, Rayne was also able to store sewing machines, needles, threads of every color, along with other sewing supplies.

The textile store also had a small section of quality blankets filled with soft materials. Rayne managed to store a good amount of the blankets as well.

After she finished organizing, Rayne realized it was getting late and she was hungry. She decided to cook today instead of pulling something out of her system for a change. She wanted to make use of her new, fancy kitchen.

She pulled out a cookbook that she had stored in the library, finding a recipe for pork dumplings.

She took out all of the necessary ingredients listed from her system: shepherd’s purse, chives, ground pork, shaoxing wine, sesame oil, soy sauce, white pepper, and some pre-made dumpling wrappers.

Thankfully, the luxury supermarket she had ‘looted’ earlier had all of these ingredients, in their highest quality versions.

Rayne mixed all of the ingredients together as instructed and began wrapping the dumplings based on the photos provided in the cookbook. Her first couple of dumplings came out looking very sloppy, but she quickly got the hang of it and wrapped the rest of them neatly.

Rayne enjoyed cooking and had a lot of fun trying a new recipe from a cookbook! She decided that she would try to make more new dishes while she still had the time.

Before she cooked the newly made dumplings, she decided to store them in her system. This way, she could enjoy them boiled or pan-fried in the future, depending on her mood!

While the dumplings cooked, Rayne thought about what she should do tomorrow. She had a free day without anything planned and wanted to maximize her productivity.

She decided that she would go back to the mall she had visited when she first left the hospital. At that point, she had very little mastery over her system and had only managed to store a few different outfits from several stores.

This time, she wanted to maximize her ability and store as much as possible—not just items suitable for her alone.

Her heart ached for the people who suffered in her nightmares, and she wanted to be able to help as many people as possible.

The dumplings were finally cooked and had a beautiful brown and crispy bottom, while the tops were white and chewy.

Rayne ate them with relish, proud of her successful handiwork! The dumplings came out juicy and flavorful, her inner foodie was left very satisfied!