A swift and decisive victory in the early stages, a post-apocalyptic survival story in America!

Concrete houses are a luxury reserved for the wealthy because they incur higher taxes. Spending so much money to renovate a house in a place like Hancock Park is simply too unusual.

Li Qi scratched his head, realizing he really needed a plausible reason to cover this up.

"I'm planning to reinforce the basement of the house. Some parts collapsed before, which was a big problem. I'm worried that it will affect the lifespan of the house, since it's an old house..." He tried to come up with some reasonable reasons and excuses to get by.

With the added advantage of being a "liar," the white woman believed Li Qi's story.

"If you need a builder, I have some reliable options here, you can consider them," the older woman enthusiastically recommended.

Li Qi casually asked for a few business cards and then paid.

"Cash?" The woman wasn't surprised. Such a construction project naturally had to start quietly. She took the cash Li Qi handed over and added, "If it's cash, you'll have to pay an extra 10% handling fee."

Li Qi was taken aback for a moment, then realized that this approachable white woman was also a master.

These building materials are quite valuable, and the fact that she dares to accept cash and even charge a handling fee suggests that the woman must have connections.

"No problem!" Li Qi paid generously, confirmed the delivery time, said goodbye to the white woman, and before leaving, he took a special look at the building materials store.

"Hao You Duo..." Li Qi looked at the English name and remembered it.

As a one-star accountant, I can only roughly guess the money laundering methods of this building materials store. Once I get the reward from this mission and unlock a three-star accountant, I'll be able to see things much more clearly.

Driving back to the Thomson mansion, as he passed the gatekeeper, Richie rolled down the window, frowned, and told the young guard that he needed to repair the basement and that a truck delivering materials would be arriving soon, hoping the guard would let him through.

The young security guard registered the information, and Li Qi drove home, clearing out the space by the pool to store building materials.

While he was busy, William Thomson's cell phone rang.

"Mr. Thomson, the lawn mowing company you booked has arrived. Would you like to begin mowing your lawn now?"

"Okay, I'm home now, let them come over!" After hanging up the phone, Li Qi shook his head speechlessly.

Lawn mowing can be done by oneself, but the homeowners' association insists on designating a specific company to demonstrate the social hierarchy of the entire community.

It's a classic case of taking your pants off to fart, but everyone seems enthusiastic about it. As someone with a guilty conscience and many guilty consciences, Li Qi decides to go along with it.

Soon the lawnmowers arrived, and a loud engine roared from the front yard.

One advantage of hiring a designated company for trimming is that you won't receive complaints from your neighbors.

Li Qi left the garage entrance gate wide open, brazenly exposing the backyard to anyone who might spy on it.

With the six women gone, he had nothing to hide.

The phone rang again, and the security guard confirmed that the building materials Li Qi had ordered had arrived.

A truck soon appeared in the driveway. The driver stopped at the entrance, got out, and asked Li Qi, "Sir, the truck is carrying sand. It's very heavy and might overturn your driveway..."

Li Qi, chin in hand, pretended to ponder, and asked, "Any alternatives?"

"We can unload the parts from the front yard and then have workers manually push them into the yard, but that would be very costly..."

"Then forget it!" Since it involves human resources, it's definitely not worth considering.

The longer it takes, the more problems there will be. It's just one lane; at worst, we can just re-pour the concrete.

"Unload the truck directly at the hospital!"

Watching the truck reverse onto the road, Li Qi felt a little uneasy.

I'm not worried about spending money; what I'm worried about is attracting attention and having too many people gossip.

The identity is fake. Even if Nick makes it look real, it's still fake.

Otherwise, Nick wouldn't have kept such a low profile.

Being low-key is never a mistake.

Li Qi was well aware that he would never attempt to fight the entire system with his own strength.

Fortunately, there were no signs of the driveway being crushed, indicating that the previous homeowner had taken this into account during construction.

The truck backed into the backyard, and the workers got out and began unloading.

Li Qi's heart was in his throat.

Unloading in the backyard—whether the task is completed successfully will determine whether I face hardship or misfortune...

If it cannot be completed, then the building materials will have to be moved into the underground pit. Given the distance and the quantity, it can only be done by one person, and it will probably take a lot of hard work to finish it.

It's okay to work hard, but seven points of endurance and seven points of strength are really not enough.

If you can complete it, you'll get six attribute points, which can be added to three points of stamina. This will make you more effective at doing physical labor.

As he pondered this, Li Qi watched the workers unload a steel bar and place it by the corner of the pool.

The task system remained completely unchanged.

"Wow, tsk tsk!" Li Qi cursed, utterly speechless.

Forget it, I'll do it myself. I'll just wait until the workers are done and then slowly move things in!

On the bright side, won't we need these materials for the next mission?

Li Qi comforted himself.

After unloading the steel bars and cement, they began unloading the sand and soil.

The truck bed was raised, and tons of sand poured out. Some sand remained in the bed, but as the truck moved forward, all the sand was dumped into the yard.

"Sir, all your goods have been unloaded. Here is the acceptance form; please sign it."

The driver, clearly a contractor, came over with a folder and asked Li Qi to sign it to confirm receipt of the goods.

Li Qi wrote his name with a flourish, imitating William Thomson's handwriting.

The final stroke of the letter "N" in "Thomson" flickers upwards almost the instant the pen leaves the paper. Before Li Qi, golden light flashes, and the system trembles once more.

This time, the main quest wasn't completed with the same fanfare as last time, and the system's reaction was noticeably more subdued.

After taking out a hundred dollars as a tip and seeing the truck off, Li Qi closed the wrought iron gate of the driveway, went to the poolside, sat in the wrought iron chair next to the sand pile, and looked through the system task interface.

After a grueling search in the post-apocalyptic wasteland, you've finally gathered all the building materials needed to upgrade your shelter! These materials are incredibly valuable, and you paid a heavy price to acquire them! But it was all worth it. With them, your shelter will be the starting point for humanity's revival! Prepare for new challenges, survivor!

[System task perfectly completed! Task rewards are being distributed!]

[Mission Completion Rewards: Inspiration Capsule * 1, Life Capsule * 1, Health Capsule * 1, Combat Capsule * 1, Free Attribute Points * 6.]

[Perfect Mission Reward: Architect.]

[Architect: The sturdiness and self-sufficiency of your civil engineering projects are paramount for your survival in the apocalypse. Mastering basic construction skills will provide a strong guarantee for your survival. You possess construction capabilities beyond those of ordinary people; brick by brick, you will build a towering skyscraper!]

Paid a heavy price? Indeed, it cost me a lot of money!

Li Qi thought to himself, shook his head to stop thinking about it, and directly accepted the skill reward from the mission.

After the task was completed, Li Qi felt dizzy and his mind was suddenly filled with a lot of knowledge about construction.

How to build scaffolding safely? How to mix concrete for underground environments? How to construct structural columns? How to avoid wasting materials? How to design structures to improve earthquake resistance?

Before Li Qi could even recover from the joy of completing the mission, a crisp "ding" sounded in his ear...

System task triggered again!