“The authorities are really generous. Not just rice, flour, and oil—they even gave a home medical kit, five cases of compressed biscuits, and ten 500ml bottles of mineral water.”
Mom Qin and Dad Qin had gone to the community office early that morning to line up for the care package being distributed by the authorities. The package was only for registered space holders—people who had a space. They each got one. The supplies from both packages combined were enough to feed a family of three for a month.
Before going, they had imagined what the package might contain, but Mom Qin hadn’t expected it to be so abundant.
Just then, the sound of the door opening came from the entrance. Mom Qin happily patted Dad Qin. “Sangsang is back.”
Qin Sang opened the door and happened to hear this. She smiled. “Mom, Dad, you’ve picked up the care packages!”
She then invited Brother Fa inside.
“Uncle Ming, Aunty, sorry for the intrusion.”
“Ah Fa, come in, come in. Have you gone to the community to pick up your space care package yet? Look how generous the authorities are—giving away so many supplies at once.”
Brother Fa smiled. “Not yet. I’ll go later.” With that, he placed Qin Sang’s supplies in the designated spot, had her re-check the inventory list, confirmed everything was correct, and left. He had a lot to do and couldn’t stay long.
After seeing Brother Fa off, Qin Sang turned back to find her parents examining the small safe.
“Sangsang, what’s inside this? It’s got some weight to it.” Mom Qin hefted the safe curiously.
Qin Sang didn’t hide anything. She briefly described going with Brother Fa to pick up the supplies, then opened the small safe and took out the handgun.
“Oh, this handgun is so delicate and cute!”
Mom Qin looked at the silver handgun resting in Qin Sang’s hand and thought it was very pretty.
Dad Qin, meanwhile, was silently comparing it to the other handgun. “I think the previous one was better. It was bigger, so probably more powerful.”
Qin Sang didn’t know much about firearms either. But having this thing on hand was purely for increasing their safety margin. The chances of actually needing to use it were probably slim. The one she had gotten from Qu Meijing last time was still sitting in her space.
But soon enough, Qin Sang would realize she had thought too simply.
For now, though, after distributing the supplies with her parents, Qin Sang went into her own space. Most of the food supplies this time were stored in her space. Her parents’ spaces held only a small amount. The bulk of the supplies remained in the family heirloom space.
After all, that space had been passed down through generations and was far more reliable than the ones they had suddenly acquired.
Just as Qin Sang was stacking the dog food cans into categories in the warehouse, Grandpa Goose, whom she hadn’t seen for a while, suddenly appeared.
“Little Sangsang, what’s that delicious thing?”
Qin Sang: Right, Grandpa Goose the foodie had probably never tried pet food. After all, he couldn’t leave the space. He usually ate either what the family brought in or what was grown right there in the space.
As for pet food? The family had owned a dog a long time ago, but it ate the same food as the family. Back in those days, pet food was hard to come by.
So no one had ever brought such things into the Roast Goose Space.
Thinking of this, Qin Sang grinned slyly. “Grandpa Goose, if you tell me about the space, and I’m satisfied with your answer, I’ll let you have these dog food cans.”
As she spoke, she cheerfully opened a can of meat and pushed it toward Grandpa Goose.
And honestly, why did that dog food smell so good? Qin Sang sniffed and realized she was actually craving it a little.
Grandpa Goose’s little black bean-like eyes darted around. Qin Sang knew exactly what he was thinking. She immediately locked the warehouse door. Although Grandpa Goose had control over the space, he wouldn’t touch anything she locked away.
Seeing how firm Qin Sang was this time, Grandpa Goose sighed. “Collect as much jade from outside as you can. As for the secret of the spaces, now is still not the time. Telling you wouldn’t benefit you or this world. Be good, listen to Grandpa Goose. You’ll find out sooner or later.”
With that, before Qin Sang could react, he flapped his wings and, with a whoosh, snatched the open can of meat right out of her hand. The speed was almost like light itself.
Qin Sang stared wide-eyed at him. Her response was Grandpa Goose’s cackling laughter—nothing like the profound tone he had used just a second ago.
Qin Sang: Sure enough, the older you get, the better you are at bullying people…
But at least Grandpa Goose had said one useful thing: collect more jade. Or more precisely, collect more jade that could potentially become spaces.
With that in mind, Qin Sang went into the wooden house next to the warehouse. The house was built of wood, reminiscent of rural homes from the ’60s and ’70s. She had her own house, and her parents had the one next door. Many of the family’s important items were stored in these houses.
Pushing open the door led to a small living room. Behind a folding screen was her bedroom.
In the small living room stood a five-drawer chest. Qin Sang pulled open one of the drawers to take out her collected jade pieces and count them.
But when the drawer opened, only two-thirds of the jade was left. One-third had vanished without a trace.
Qin Sang immediately reacted and shouted toward the door, “Grandpa Goose, did you take my jade?”
“No.” Grandpa Goose didn’t appear, but his cackling voice came through.
If he said no, Qin Sang believed him. So where had the missing third of the jade gone?
Qin Sang immediately thought of a possibility. But if her space had indeed absorbed that third of the jade, why hadn’t her space gotten any bigger?
At that moment, Qin Sang didn’t notice that the energy powering her space had increased—by about as much as a strand of hair.
Baffled, she exited the space without mentioning this to her parents. She decided to get more jade to experiment with. As for the remaining two-thirds of the jade, she could confirm that they wouldn’t turn into spaces.
——
After exiting the space, Qin Sang told her parents about Qin Wenqiang and Qin Wenbang, emphasizing that Qin Wenbang had murderous intentions.
“Anyway, both of you need to be careful when you come and go. The apocalypse is coming, and people’s hearts are already in chaos. Especially you, Dad—don’t treat Qin Wenbang as a good nephew just because he calls you ‘Uncle.’”
Dad Qin found it hard to accept that his nephew might have homicidal tendencies. But he knew his daughter wouldn’t speak without cause. He sighed and held his forehead. “I understand. From now on, I won’t even let your Second Uncle through the gate.”
The night before, he had let his younger brother come up. But he wouldn’t dare do that now. He wasn’t alone. He was afraid that one day, his brother or nephew might go crazy and hurt his wife and daughter.
After this small interlude, the family of three had a hearty lunch. After the meal, Qin Sang went upstairs to see Qu Meijing.
This was the last time she would need to give Qu Meijing an IV. From then on, Qu Meijing could handle the daily disinfection and dressing changes herself.
Seeing Qin Sang arrive, Qu Meijing had a faint smile on her face.
Qin Sang, business as usual, hung the anti-inflammatory IV, explained the follow-up wound care steps, and was about to go check on the planting rooms upstairs.
But Qu Meijing stopped her.
“Qin Sang, the smell from the chickens your family is raising upstairs is a bit strong.”
Qin Sang, who had been about to leave, stopped. She looked at Qu Meijing, who seemed a little guilty, and chuckled. “It’s probably your own livestock that smells, don’t you think?”
Hearing this, Qu Meijing tensed up. It was true that she had been raising chickens and ducks in the next room. But she hadn’t told anyone, and she had made sure to ventilate and soundproof the space. How did Qin Sang know?
“No need to look so nervous. We have no interest in your little operation. As for the smell you mentioned? With this recent heat, odors are normal. Don’t think for a second that your own livestock don’t stink. You raise yours, we’ll raise ours—just drop this subject.”
The rooms from the fourth floor up had all been converted into planting and livestock rooms. The planting rooms grew fast-yielding vegetables. The livestock rooms housed chickens, ducks, geese, quail, and other poultry.
These were all essential for disguising the Roast Goose Space later on.
And it wasn’t just their family doing indoor planting and livestock raising. In their entire urban village, almost every household was doing the same. So there was no point in complaining about who smelled worse.
Qu Meijing’s sudden remark today was completely out of place—she was protesting too much. She thought her farming was secret, but the villagers had sharp eyes. The first time Qu Meijing made large-scale purchases in the area, word had spread throughout the village. And that was before her “prison-style” renovations.
All of that had already drawn attention. When the disaster announcement came, all of Qu Meijing’s actions suddenly had an explanation.
Everyone in the village knew that Qu Meijing was one of the “precogs” from the news. She had been stockpiling supplies for days ahead of time.
For now, every household had some reserves. But after the apocalypse, when supplies ran short, the first target of resentment would be Qu Meijing. A few people coming after her would be manageable. But if many families were short on supplies, even Qin Sang’s family wouldn’t be able to stop the mob.
The truth was, Qu Meijing shouldn’t have stayed in the village. The authorities’ call for non-locals to return to their hometowns was precisely because of this.
At any time and in any place, xenophobia is a deep-rooted human flaw.
That said, the existence of her space did offer some protection for Qu Meijing’s supplies. If she was smart, she might still survive this.
——
At the moment, Qu Meijing was feeling a bit frustrated.
Her intention had been to get Qin Sang to deal with the smell from the livestock rooms. Otherwise, after the apocalypse, people might find out they were raising chickens, ducks, and geese. And since they lived in the same building, it would indirectly expose her as well.
But seeing Qin Sang’s reaction, she didn’t know how to express herself.
The reason she feared people coming after her came from her experience before her rebirth.
In her previous life’s apocalypse, the extreme heat had led to severe food shortages. They hadn’t reached the point of trading children for food, but everyone’s daily mission was to find something to eat. And once they found food, they’d stuff it into their mouths as fast as possible—otherwise, it would be stolen within moments.
Qu Meijing had even witnessed someone who had already swallowed food being punched in the stomach until it came back up, with others scrambling to grab it and shove it into their own mouths.
That level of desperation over food was unimaginable to people now.
If Qin Sang knew what Qu Meijing was thinking, she would have rolled her eyes and shaken her head. Focus on the things that matter. As for farming? When every household is doing it, who’s going to believe you’re not? It’s better to do it openly. Hiding and sneaking around only makes people think you’re hoarding something good.
——
Seeing Qu Meijing like this, Qin Sang didn’t say anything more. Instead, she remembered another question. They hadn’t had much interaction before, so she hadn’t felt comfortable asking. But now, she decided to take the opportunity.
“Qu Meijing, I’ve always been curious. You’re from the provincial capital, and the place you lived isn’t far from the military district. When you knew the disaster was coming, why didn’t you stay there instead of coming to this second-tier city’s urban village to rent a place?”
Still stewing in her frustration, Qu Meijing froze at the question. Then she wondered if Qin Sang had somehow discovered her secret.
One look at Qu Meijing’s expression told Qin Sang she was overthinking again. Holding back the urge to roll her eyes, she said, “I’m just curious. Actually, it’s not just me—everyone around here who knows you is curious too.”
Qu Meijing was startled. “That many people know me?”
Qin Sang said with exasperation, “What do you think?”
She clearly had no idea how high-profile her actions had been.
Qu Meijing’s face was a mess of conflicting emotions. She looked up at Qin Sang, then thought about her parents. Although the family wasn’t particularly warm-hearted, they had never tried to take advantage of her. When all the other tenants in the building left—some even evicted by their landlords—they hadn’t thrown her out. And she and Qin Sang had worked together before.
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