“We can strengthen the patrols, Calista,” a bald mercenary who had stayed behind at the estate interjected. He stood nearly two meters tall.

  Calista gnced at him and found him a little unfamiliar. Then she remembered—this was Rickson, the captain of the other squad Leah had mentioned.

  Two teams had gone to Afghanistan for the mission. She was mostly familiar with Leah’s squad.

  Only eight members from Rickson’s squad remained at the estate; the other fifteen belonged to Leah’s team.

  Calista raised her voice slightly.

  “Rickson, this estate is my property. It’s our home! The outside world is already in chaos, and you’re the professionals here. You can’t just rely on something as vague as ‘patrols’!”

  She paused, her sharp gaze sweeping across the others.

  “I need a clear security pn. I need to know what each of you is responsible for. I need to know where the estate’s defensive weaknesses are. And I need people going out regurly to monitor what’s happening outside.”

  Her words made the atmosphere in the room stiffen.

  The Calista they knew had always been either the proud yet sweet estate owner who never concerned herself with details, or the pampered young dy who clung to Leah whenever trouble arose.

  But now she stood there—pale, injured, a bandage on her head—yet the look in her eyes carried a determination they had never seen before… and a desire for control.

  “Miss Norton, we’ll handle those things. You just need to stay somewhere safe, right, Leah—”

  Rickson tried to reassure her, turning to Leah for support.

  “No!”

  Calista cut him off.

  “From now on, I won’t just ‘stay somewhere safe.’ I’m the owner of this estate, and Leah is my sister by blood. That means every action concerning the estate must happen with my knowledge and under my supervision.”

  She deliberately emphasized the word “supervision.”

  “I want to know your response pns. More than that, I want to participate in making decisions about the estate’s security.”

  A fsh of surprise crossed Rickson’s eyes, along with a faint trace of condescension that was difficult to notice. But it was quickly hidden beneath professional composure.

  He had already heard about what happened to the young dy at Macy’s today. She had probably been frightened and was trying to regain a sense of security this way.

  “Miss Norton, these matters are complicated and dangerous. There’s no need for you to—”

  “There is!”

  Calista didn’t give an inch.

  “Because you don’t know what’s happening outside right now. If nothing unexpected happens, the government is going to colpse! Rickson, all you need to do is answer me—can you do it?”

  Her gaze locked onto Rickson.

  The innocent sweetness that used to be in her eyes was gone. In its pce was the determination of someone who had already made up her mind and would not turn back.

  Calista knew her situation clearly.

  She had no weapons and a weak body. Her only leverage was the estate’s ownership, its stored supplies, and her retionship with Leah.

  The ownership itself was technically fake—it still belonged to old Mr. Norton.

  But better that it stayed within the family than fall into the hands of strangers. She believed Mr. Norton would much rather see her occupying it than some random survivors.

  Still, she had to take this step.

  She had to change from “the protected one” into “the one in control,” even if it was only the beginning in name.

  Rickson remained silent for several seconds, studying the young estate owner who seemed to have changed overnight. Then he turned his questioning gaze toward Leah, who was deep in thought.

  Calista also quietly looked at Leah.

  Facing the sincerity in her sister’s eyes, Leah simply couldn’t refuse.

  She rubbed her nose awkwardly and avoided Rickson’s gaze.

  “…Alright, Calista. We’ll prepare a detailed report for you. And we’ll listen to your opinions as well.”

  With Leah’s support, Rickson stopped objecting.

  Calista let out a quiet breath. Her fingertips had turned pale from tension, but her expression showed no weakness.

  She nodded.

  “Good. Now I’ll tell you about the supplies currently in the estate. We have compressed biscuits and canned food in storage, plus what we collected today. We also have a rge number of food seeds.”

  “The stored food is enough for all of us to eat for three years. If we ration carefully, it could st four or even five years. That’s enough to get us through this temporary crisis. Later, we can pnt all those seeds.”

  Originally, she had pnned to reveal these supplies gradually with reasonable expnations so no one would grow suspicious.

  But now the pn had changed.

  A sp followed by a reward.

  These mercenaries lived with their lives on the line. The only things they truly respected were strength and profit.

  Calista scanned the room.

  Everyone was listening to her. When they heard that supplies were plentiful, several mercenaries who had looked uneasy earlier visibly rexed.

  “Ancheta, tomorrow morning take a few people to survey the surrounding terrain and see how we can build defensive fortifications. Also, when you have time, organize the walkie-talkies and radios we picked up today and distribute them.”

  “With the situation outside, cell phones might stop working at any time. Later on, electricity, water, and the internet could all go down. Everyone should prepare for that.”

  Leah spoke quietly.

  “Calista, how many weapons are currently in the estate?”

  When they carried out international missions, heavy weapons were always supplied by the contractor.

  So when this group flew back home for vacation, they had only brought their personal light firearms and melee weapons.

  Calista counted on her fingers.

  “Three boxes of guns. One box of pistols, one box of rifles, and one box of submachine guns. Each type has four boxes of matching magazines.”

  “And knives—two boxes. One box of Swiss Army knives and one box of triangur bayonets.”

  “Oh! And there’s also a civilian helicopter, but the pilot hasn’t arrived yet.”

  Leah thought for a moment and shook her head.

  “Still not enough.”

  Calista added calmly,

  “When I say boxes, I mean shipping containers.”

  Leah paused.

  “…Then the quantity is enough.”

  “The helicopter isn’t useful right now, but it will be ter. I’ll ask Rickson’s team if anyone knows how to fly. They usually handle transportation during missions.”

  “The guns in the estate are all civilian weapons, right? Civilian weapons still fall short of military weapons in terms of firepower.”

  Calista nodded.

  “Yes.”

  She wanted military weapons too.

  But the preparation time had been too rushed. And when she first arrived in this world, she had been completely clueless. Even with money in hand, she had no connections.

  The original owner of the body had been a carefree rich girl who never worried about anything—she just went to school, had fun, and hosted parties occasionally.

  All family connections and major matters had been handled by Margaret.

  After Margaret left, the situation had quickly grown cold. Of course she had been lost.

  Military weapons weren’t something you could buy overnight.

  Leah thought for a moment.

  “Do you still have money in your account?”

  Calista nodded quickly.

  “There’s still a few hundred thousand in the card. And there are several houses that haven’t been sold yet.”

  Leah rubbed her chin.

  “With the situation now, no one’s buying houses. But money might still be useful. I know someone who deals in smuggled weapons. I’ll contact him ter.”

  “Tomorrow I’ll take a few people out and see if we can get some military automatic weapons. If we can get heavy weapons like rocket unchers, that would be even better.”

  “Alright, I’ll give you all the remaining money!”

  Calista said excitedly. Then she suddenly remembered the “big toys” from the original storyline.

  “Sis… can we buy a tank?”

  Leah’s mouth twitched. She shot her a look that clearly said, “What are you even thinking?”

  Calista sighed in disappointment.

  “Alright… I thought we might be able to get one. If we had a tank, our defenses right now would be unbeatable.”

  She thought back to the plot.

  It made sense. Guns appeared quite often, but there were only two tanks in the entire story—one in Atnta that was filled with walkers, and another seized by the Governor.

  Both belonged to the National Guard.

  Looks like they would have to wait until order colpsed further ter on and see if they could pick one up then.

  In the corner of the living room, Mrs. Howard pulled her coat tighter around herself and leaned close against her husband.

  “Will we really be able to wait until order returns?”

  Her voice was so soft it sounded like she was asking herself.

  But the question made the entire room fall into an even deeper silence.

  ...