Fatty Eric, the convenience store owner, stared at the group chat messages, his eyes wide with disbelief.

Shirley Inr Won!

His heart burned with jealousy.

Shirley Inr Won, the rich and beautiful girl he didn't even dare to dream about, had somehow fallen into James Lon's hands!

As the convenience store owner, Fatty Eric knew that the "Slave Collector" in the chat was none other than James Lone.

This group was originally created for delivering goods from his convenience store.

Jealousy gnawed at him as he muttered,

"A lot of the stuff at James Lone's house was sold to him by me at half price!"

Who would've thought those near-expired products would now become James Lone's lifeline?

His fiancée, Monroe Anne, was stunningly beautiful. Even though she was pale and gaunt from hunger, she still carried a certain delicate charm.

When Monroe Anne heard this, her eyes lit up.

"You sold it to him? Then go ask for it back!"

Fatty Eric hesitated.

"Well..."

It was true that he had pressured James Lon into buying those expired products.

But given the current circumstances, there was no way James Lon would sell them back!

Monroe Anne's beautiful eyes widened with anger as she scolded him,

"You useless fool! You're not even as good as a store clerk!"

She kicked him hard, her slender leg connecting with force.

Fatty Eric winced but didn't dare retaliate. He laughed obsequiously,

"Baby, take it easy. Don't hurt your foot."

Fatty Eric considered himself lucky to have someone like Monroe Anne. He endured her scolding and beatings without complaint and wouldn't dream of fighting back.

To him, Monroe Anne was a goddess.

They were about to get married, yet Monroe Anne had refused to let him touch her, insisting on saving herself for the wedding. The most she allowed was holding hands.

Fatty Eric was thrilled with her virtue.

To marry such a traditional woman—it's the blessing of a lifetime!

"Hmph!" Monroe Anne snorted coldly, glaring at him in frustration.

"Fatty Eric! I've lost so much weight these past few days! There's no food left at home. If you don't figure something out, are you planning to let me starve to death?"

For the past few days, Fatty Eric had given most of the food to Monroe Anne, eating only the bare minimum himself.

He had noticeably slimmed down, but even then, the two of them had finished their last sausage at lunch.

If he didn't find food soon, they'd have nothing left.

"Of course not! You won't starve, baby!" Fatty Eric exclaimed, looking at Monroe Anne's delicate face with love. Gritting his teeth, he said,

"I'll call him right now."

Fatty Eric hurriedly dialed James Lon's number.

Ring, ring.

James Lone saw Fatty Eric's name pop up on his phone and immediately guessed what he wanted.

No way am I giving food to that greedy jerk.

Fatty Eric had constantly found excuses to dock James Lone's pay—complaining about dirty windows, dusty floors, or even forcing him to buy expired goods as a condition for receiving his salary.

Even when he did pay, it was often delayed by days or weeks.

James hated him to his core. If it weren't for Anna Karenina needing money for her exams, he would have quit long ago.

Since you've come crawling to me, don't blame me for what's about to happen.

James's thoughts shifted to Monroe Anne, Fatty Eric's beautiful fiancée. A slow grin spread across his face.

Fatty Eric had often bragged to him about how much prettier Monroe Anne was compared to Anna Karenina.

Perfect. Monroe Anne will be mine now.

Smirking, James answered the call.

"Fatty Eric, what do you want?"

Hearing the casual insult, Fatty Eric felt his blood boil.

How dare James call him "Fatty Eric"? At 178 cm and 250 pounds, he despised being called fat—especially after Monroe Anne had started complaining about his weight.

But now wasn't the time to argue.

Once I buy his food, I'll teach him a lesson!

Suppressing his anger, Fatty Eric said,

"James, you must have plenty of food. Sell me half of it."

Sell you food? In your dreams! James thought, sneering. He decided to toy with him.

"Oh? How much are you offering?"

Fatty Eric said boldly,

"I sold it to you at half price. I'll buy it back at full price. How about that? You'll make a profit!"

James burst into laughter and cursed,

"Fatty Eric, are you stupid? What was the situation back then, and what is it now? It's the apocalypse, you idiot! You want to buy it at the original price? Are you out of your mind?"

Fatty Eric, now fuming, retorted,

"If it weren't for me forcing you to buy it, you wouldn't have so much food now! You should be thanking me! Don't forget where you came from!"

"Thank you? Screw you!" James snapped.

"Go starve at home, Fatty. Didn't your fiancée tell you to lose weight? Now's your chance! Good luck!"

"You bastard, James!" Fatty Eric roared.

"If you don't sell me food, I'll expose your location to the entire building and see if you can protect your stash!"

Threatening me? James's eyes glinted dangerously.

"Fatty Eric, stop wasting my time. Send your fiancée over in exchange for food. Otherwise, get lost!"

Click.

James hung up.

"James Lone! You're dead meat!"

Fatty Eric was so enraged he was about to explode. Monroe Anne was his treasure, and he hadn't even touched her yet.

The audacity of James to covet her!

Monroe Anne, however, was already scheming.

She didn't actually like Fatty Eric. She was only with him because of his wealth and his gullible, spineless nature.

Her long-term plan had always been to marry him, gain control of his assets, and then divorce him.

But now the world had changed.

Fatty Eric was useless. Food was the real power now.

James Lone was far more valuable.

Monroe Anne knew James's personality well enough to believe he would be easy to manipulate.

Why else would he let his ex-girlfriend use him to fund her three years of studying for civil service exams while he worked menial jobs?

What an idiot.

She found it laughable that Anna Karenina had dumped James the moment she passed her exams.

Pathetic.

Monroe Anne looked down on James for his naivety.

But with my looks, I can easily make him fall for me. Once I have him wrapped around my finger, I'll take control of all his food.

With James's stockpile, I'll survive comfortably until the government's rescue arrives.

She didn't even realize how much she envied Anna Karenina Wont.

That woman wasn't even as beautiful as she was, yet she had managed to secure someone as handsome as James Lon to fund her ambitions for three years.

It made Monroe Anne deeply resentful.

Compared to James's sunny and attractive personality, Fatty Eric was nothing more than a lumbering bear.