As of now, Jiang Yan had roughly 2.2 to 2.3 billion yuan left—still a substantial amount.
However, converted to USD, it was just over 300 million.
She had no idea how much weapons would cost, as she was a complete novice in that area. She'd have to decide on the spot once abroad.
Additionally, despite exhausting every available channel during this time, she had only managed to exchange a few million USD.
Her black card supported automatic currency conversion, but the spending limit capped out at around 4 million USD after conversion.
The rest would require some... unconventional methods.
On June 1st, Children's Day, after storing 30,000 pre-made meals—ordered from five-star hotels, Michelin-starred restaurants, time-honored eateries, barbecue joints, hot pot spots, dry pot shops, and braised food stalls—along with 8,000 cups of assorted bubble tea from several famous chains into her dimension, she boarded an international flight to Maple Country.
Jiang Yan had always been a travel and food blogger, exploring not just domestically but internationally as well.
Her passport was filled with multiple-entry visas valid for a year from many countries.
She chose Maple Country first because she needed to purchase a large batch of supplies there, and her visa for this country was nearing its expiration date.
The visas for the other countries on her list were still valid, so she could take her time with those.
Although her dimension had significantly enhanced her physical stamina, the relentless travel and the long international flight—over a dozen hours—still left her exhausted.
At least she no longer had to worry about jet lag.
Her destination in Maple Country was Rain City.
It had a large Chinese population and was adjacent to the Land of the Free, making it an ideal place to secure many resources.
Her first order of business after landing, however, was to buy a second-hand iFruit phone and several anonymous SIM cards.
Then, settling into a café with an iced Americano, she logged into a few major domestic websites, created anonymous accounts, and posted the same warning on each:
#Attention!! A catastrophic disaster will strike in early August! All citizens are advised to stock up on supplies in advance!!#
Below the post, she included some basic tips for household stockpiling.
The posts went through successfully.
Whether they'd be deleted or if anyone would believe them was beyond her concern.
Though it might seem passive, she planned to continue posting these anonymous warnings for her fellow citizens every day during her time abroad.
She had actually wanted to post them while still in the country but feared unnecessary complications, so she held off.
After finishing this task and grabbing a quick bite, Jiang Yan embarked on her day of shopping and exploring in a foreign land.
The warehouse had been arranged remotely while she was still in the country, and she had already researched and contacted the suppliers for the goods she needed, ensuring they could restock in case of shortages.
Maple Country, with its frigid climate, was renowned for its cold-weather gear and outdoor survival equipment. It also boasted the world's largest fishing industry and was a major timber producer.
Additionally, it was home to the Mosquito Helicopter, the world's lightest helicopter, which could be easily piloted after just 15 hours of actual flight time.
Jiang Yan had previously obtained a private pilot's license. During her days as a travel blogger, she had even filmed several videos of herself flying planes.
Now, piloting this small aircraft was a breeze.
When it came to cold-weather gear, the "Fighting Nation" had excellent products, not to mention their abundant natural gas reserves.
But with the daily "bang-bang-bang" over there now, it wasn't safe, so she abandoned any plans to go.
As for the fishing industry, the island nation had the most and the best quality.
Unfortunately, that was in the past. Ever since they shamelessly started discharging nuclear-contaminated water, she wouldn't buy from them even if they gave it away for free.
Jiang Yan first went to buy cold-weather clothing.
Down jackets, cotton coats, fleece tops and pants, outdoor T-shirts, windbreakers, hiking boots, mid-calf outdoor boots, snow boots, waterproof jackets and pants—she bought various styles and sizes, totaling two hundred pieces per category.
Other accessories like cold-weather masks, shoe spikes, combat boots, anti-slip chains, goggles, and earmuffs—she purchased three thousand of each.
She had already bought plenty of cold-weather clothes back home, but the same brands were cheaper here, so she ended up spending over ten million.
Mainly because down jackets were too expensive—each started at over ten thousand—and the rest added up to quite a sum too.
After buying clothes, she stocked up on seafood.
Most seafood from Maple Leaf Country was pollution-free, and the island nation's contaminated waters hadn't spread here yet, so many varieties tasted great, especially raw.
Lobster, abalone, king crab, geoduck, tuna, yellow croaker, red grouper, sea cucumber, salmon—she bought a thousand kilograms of each. Other common seafood also totaled a thousand kilograms.
Tomato sauce and chili sauce were purchased in five hundred units each.
When buying lumber at the forest farm, whether it was Guang Touqiang popping into her mind or just a whim, she also bought three felling machines, two timber grabs, one wood cutting machine, and three excavators.
After purchasing five hundred tons of lumber and two Mosquito Helicopters, Jiang Yan crossed directly from Wen Village to Beautiful Country.
Beautiful Country was the key destination of her trip abroad.
After all, according to her stockpiling plan, weapons, yachts, helicopters, and amphibious boats were all to be acquired here.
Although some states in Beautiful Country didn't ban guns, buying weapons through official channels still required permits.
Jiang Yan had practiced with real guns at shooting ranges a few times with friends, but that was just for fun.
She wasn't a citizen, nor did she have a green card, so naturally, she couldn't obtain a gun license.
But when she first traveled abroad, her parents, worried about her safety, had arranged for top-tier bodyguards through a certain agency.
This agency was said to be incredibly resourceful.
This time, she went straight to the agency's representative.
Though called an agency, they operated in both legal and illegal spheres in Beautiful Country.
Rumor had it they even privately maintained a mercenary force and engaged in transactions not permitted openly, such as being behind-the-scenes supporters of the dark web.
But none of that concerned Jiang Yan—as long as they helped her buy the weapons.
She avoided dealing directly with shady arms suppliers because that would be like handing her wallet and head straight to the tiger's mouth.
She had dealt with this agency before, and they had a solid reputation in the industry.
All she had to pay was a hefty commission fee.
Compared to her life, this expense was more than worth it.
Of course, exchanging large amounts of US dollars was also handled by the other party.
Before going abroad, Jiang Yan had followed their instructions to open several securities accounts in HK and transferred 1.5 billion in advance through certain channels.
The weapons were soon delivered to the warehouse she had designated.
(End of Chapter)