Playthrough screenshot, university student, Loop 1, 30–31 Aug 2026. This card opened at $1,500 with 09:59 on the hourglass.
The preparation phase is a logistics puzzle with a clock. You are not “surviving” yet. You are converting time + cash + free loot into four systems: transport, power, defense, food. If a purchase does not serve one of those, skip it.
Shopping order below is still the community route (August 2026 patches). Prices and UI labels marked this run were read off a Student playthrough on 30–31 Aug 2026. Starting cash changes with origin and difficulty — confirm on your card.
Opening wallet
This Student run’s HUD showed $1,500 at wake-up, then $2,000 after taking the maximum Quick Loan. Community notes still list thinner wallets on harsher cards; do not assume $2,000 on every origin.
| Source | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Starting cash (this Student run) | $1,500 | HUD at 09:59. Other difficulties still reported as $1,000 / $700 |
| Quick Loan (this run) | $500 maximum | Day-1 app. Tiers: $100 / $300 / $500. UI fee: $15 per $100 borrowed |
| Wallet on the table | $70 | Community. Grab before you leave |
| Neighbor at the discount supermarket | $100 | Community. Talk to her; you may not have this in hand on trip one |
| Return a flowerpot | $10 | Community. Tiny, but it also frees a furniture grid |
Playthrough screenshot, 30–31 Aug 2026. The $500 line is highlighted; the screen also lists a 468% APR line and a $15 / $100 fee.
Take the $500 line if you are buying the car. The fee is real; walking the map is still more expensive in hours.
Harder community “zero-rebirth” totals sit closer to $1,370 (700 + 500 + 70 + 100). Cut the second freezer and the “nice” oven first.
Buy order (the one that pays rent)
1. Strip the house, then move
Dismantle the sofa / beanbag, newspaper piles, and the wood stack west of the workbench. Park scrap in cabinets. Install the house plant if it is sitting on a tile you need for appliances. Grid space is a resource.
2. Used Car Lot — buy the $500 car
The lot’s own header is One-time Purchase · Expand Trunk Capacity · Reduce Travel Time. After you buy, shops give you a Shopping Cart that loads into the trunk.
Playthrough screenshot, 30–31 Aug 2026. Clock 08:22, cash $2,000 before the purchase.
| Vehicle | Trunk | Round-trip time saved | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bicycle | 20 spaces | 15% | $150 |
| Car | 80 spaces | 45% | $500 |
| SUV | 120 spaces | 45% | $900 |
Buy the $500 car. The SUV is the same time save for $400 more; spend that on the house. Loot the lot floor for electronics and fuel before you leave — those piles are rarer than canned food.
Playthrough screenshot, 30–31 Aug 2026. After buying: HUD $1,500, clock 08:20.
3. Renovation company — house kit
Playthrough screenshot, 30–31 Aug 2026. Clock 07:36, cash $1,455. Left rail is home slot caps (small / medium / large / door / window), not a shopping list.
Sell furniture you will not keep (bed and toilet stay). Then buy systems, not décor.
| Item | Why it exists | Skip if broke |
|---|---|---|
| Titanium / alloy door | Wave HP. First-wave “2000 durability” comments assume a real door | Never |
| Bulletproof window | Wave two hits glass | Never |
| Air conditioner | Cold snap ~day 35 on many runs | Never |
| Home battery | Holds solar / generator overflow | Rarely |
| Fuel generator (medium if you can) | Overcast / later weather makes solar unreliable | Buy small if needed |
| Microwave or electric oven | You need one powered cooker | Microwave is the budget cooker |
| Juicer | Flagged mandatory after the 13 Aug patch — juice is trade bait | Do not skip |
| Large fridge | Student runs often want two | Second fridge is the first cut |
| Solar panel | Craftable later on some characters | Optional if cash is ugly |
Do not buy books for morale. Neighbor gifts cover that loop. Do not buy large storage racks if your character can craft them.
Install two pieces on the first home drop (AC + door is a strong pair) because stamina is free during prep.
4. Tool shop — fragments, not toys
Buy a small stack of broken glass, iron, plastic (about six each shows up in several lists). After 13 Aug, more glass can be traded from the base once the holdout starts — so this is a starter pack, not a lifetime supply. Grab diesel if the shelf has it. An energy drink ($50 in one English route) buys a sleepless night one for furniture assembly.
5. Farmers’ market — food that keeps paying
| Buy | Role |
|---|---|
| Full-spectrum hydroponic station | Core calories |
| Grow box / plant light if cash allows | Extra slots |
| Seeds that do not need perfect light: mushrooms, then tomatoes / strawberries / watermelon depending on patch | Strawberries and tomatoes got a farming talent bump around 15 Aug |
Skip ordinary flowerpots if you can craft them. Skip “pretty” furniture.
6. Discount supermarket — cash, rice, then the riot
Talk to the female neighbor for $100. Do not blow the prep budget on food if hydroponics is already in the car. Rice is the exception: one bag cooks into multiple meals (community: eight portions). Cheap ham / cola shows up as efficient because cola returns glass.
Last ~3 hours: news reports that people have lost it. Re-enter shops for the riot / zero-price window. Renovation company, discount supermarket, and (as of 20 Aug reports) the farmers’ market all get a free-grab pass. Ground loot includes stacks of 90-ration biscuits. Time the last loop so you are not walking home when the clock hits zero.
Two-trip skeleton (if you own the car)
This run’s Old Town map labels the same jobs the community route uses: Home, Used Car Lot, Renovation Company (functional appliances), Hardware Store (crafting), Convenience Store, Farmers’ Market (planting), Discount Mart (food).
Playthrough screenshot, 30–31 Aug 2026. Clock 08:10, cash $1,455. Home travel shown as 50 minutes on this selection.
- Car lot → renovation → tools → home. Unload, install door/AC.
- Farmers’ market → convenience store → home.
- Riot hour: discount supermarket → renovation (oven or extra solar) → farmers’ market → optional second supermarket if ~33 minutes remain.
Convenience store is a short spur (about 11 minutes each way by car in one timing comment). Use it as a shortcut home when you are bleeding minutes.
What not to buy
- Extra beds, vanity storage, solar-if-you-can-craft-it, morale books, meds (hospital loot after the city opens is described as plentiful), electric fences (low damage, high power).
- A second character’s entire kit. Shop for the origin you actually selected — see characters.
Hand-off to day 1
When the countdown dies, you should have: a car or a refunded car’s worth of time, a real door and window, AC, a cooker, a juicer, power, and a hydroponic that can be assembled tonight. Research farming and cooking before you sleep — unless you are burning the energy drink to assemble in the dark.
After a Student clear (or her ending), the Warehouse Manager unlock is the logistics lap — do not shop a clerk kit during this first prep.
Next: the 100 days walkthrough for what those systems have to survive.