Grandpa Goose was rarely this serious. Qin Sang realized that her space might have actually changed. But he loved teasing her so much that she decided to tease him back.
So she put on a joking face and said, “Different? How is it different? I don’t feel anything!” She shook her head as she spoke and even pretended to walk away.
“How could you not feel anything? Your brain isn’t rusty!”
Seeing Grandpa Goose’s feathers puff up in frustration, Qin Sang finally got serious.
At first glance, the space looked the same as always. The grass was still green. The chickens, ducks, geese, cows, sheep, and pigs were still lively. The sky was still blue. The distant mountains, oceans, and lakes hadn’t gotten bigger, smaller, taller, or shorter.
Although the space had no visible boundaries, Qin Sang could confirm that its area hadn’t increased.
When part of the jade had disappeared before, Qin Sang had already inspected the space. At that time, she hadn’t noticed anything different either. But back then, Grandpa Goose had been secretive and said nothing. Now he was suddenly reminding her. It meant something in the space had definitely changed.
She closed her eyes and extended her mental energy. Countless fine threads of mental energy shot out from her body like a massive burst of water spraying in all directions. These threads interconnected into a net and quickly spread across the entire space.
With such fine-grained perception, Qin Sang finally discovered the anomaly.
“The energy in the energy water has increased.”
The small pool of energy water now contained a tiny bit more energy. That increase was roughly equivalent to adding a single raisin to a ten-pound cake.
Seeing this change, Qin Sang felt a bit speechless. If her mental threads hadn’t been so fine, she really wouldn’t have noticed this change.
Hmm, wait. There was another change.
Qin Sang extended her perception fully and finally noticed that the energy of the space itself had also increased slightly—even less noticeably than the energy water. To put it in perspective, it was like adding a single grain of iodized salt to a 500ml bottle of water. The difference was negligible.
“Well?”
Grandpa Goose’s tiny black bean eyes were full of expectation.
Qin Sang pretended to be clueless. “What do you mean?”
Seeing that Grandpa Goose was about to jump up in frustration, Qin Sang finally turned serious. “The energy has increased—just a tiny bit.”
Grandpa Goose finally showed a satisfied look in his small eyes. “At least my years of teaching you haven’t gone to waste.”
Seeing how proud he was, Qin Sang didn’t interrupt him. Instead, she asked directly, “What caused this change?”
“Use that pretty little head of yours to think…”
Qin Sang: Who describes a head like that?
Rolling her eyes, Qin Sang carefully thought back over the events of the past few days. It didn’t take long for her to figure it out.
But the answer was so unexpected. Still, she couldn’t think of any other explanation.
“Those two dead space owners?”
Grandpa Goose’s wings were crossed over his chest at some point. Hearing this, he nodded solemnly.
“Didn’t you keep asking me about the space before? The moment I noticed the change this time, I reminded you immediately. See how good I am?” He looked insufferably pleased with himself.
Getting confirmation, Qin Sang found it hard to believe.
The two space owners who had died near her were Manman and one of the intruders. Both had died while she was nearby.
Manman had been killed because Qin Wenbang and Qin Wenqiang wanted to get her space and supplies. But all they’d gotten were a pair of official silver bracelets. Meanwhile, she—a total bystander—had actually absorbed the energy from the dead woman’s space.
Yes, Qin Sang believed the energy boost in her roasted goose space had come from the energy that scattered after Manman’s death. The same went for that intruder.
“That doesn’t make sense! Why can I absorb the space energy that disperses when a space owner dies?”
This was what Qin Sang really couldn’t figure out.
When those two died, there had been other space owners nearby. Yet only her space had absorbed the scattered energy.
Could it be that the roasted goose space was a higher level than ordinary jade spaces?
Qin Sang looked at Grandpa Goose and asked directly.
He had jumped out today to remind her, so he probably wouldn’t hold back now.
Sure enough, Grandpa Goose maintained his wings-crossed pose and nodded. “Yes.”
Qin Sang waited a full minute, then widened her eyes. “And?”
Grandpa Goose extended a wing and waved it. The meaning was clear: that’s it.
Qin Sang was furious.
But Grandpa Goose, as usual, refused to answer.
Qin Sang had to analyze it herself.
First, her roasted goose space could absorb the spatial energy that dispersed when a space owner died. Theoretically, the more she absorbed, the more energy her space would contain.
However, she wasn’t a murderer. She had no intention of hunting down space owners.
Second, the roasted goose space was on a higher level than the jade spaces. But if the energy was absorbed, where did the supplies stored in those spaces go?
Finally, if the roasted goose space could absorb energy from jade spaces, then the one-third of her jade that had disappeared earlier must have been consumed by it. But the change at that time was so small, and she hadn’t spread out her mental energy or full perception, so naturally she hadn’t noticed it.
Thinking of this, Qin Sang smacked her forehead. If she had known this would happen, she might have been much more careful with those jade pieces.
By the time she had sorted all this out, Grandpa Goose had long since vanished. Qin Sang didn’t go looking for him. Instead, she sat down cross-legged right where she was and began practicing the mental energy cultivation technique.
She’d been busy with all sorts of things these past few days and hadn’t practiced in a while.
This was also one of the reasons she hadn’t noticed the energy change in her space when that third of the jade disappeared.
As soon as she started the cultivation method, Qin Sang felt that her mental energy seemed to be growing slightly faster. The increase was tiny, but the pace had indeed picked up a little.
That was one of the benefits of increased energy.
Qin Sang clenched her fists. She could sense that her body had also grown a little stronger. This feeling was intoxicating—it gave her confidence that she could control her own destiny.
But Qin Sang immediately shook her head and forced herself to stay clear-headed. Don’t get reckless. Without enough firepower, you can’t afford to be bold. Better to keep a low profile—it’s safer that way.
Even though killing space owners could increase her space’s energy, Qin Sang wouldn’t do it. Because people needed to have boundaries. Once you cross a line, that line keeps moving lower. She wanted to remain human, not become a beast.
When she came out of her space, Qin Sang had a sudden thought and tried practicing her mental energy outside again.
She discovered that before, practicing outside had had no effect. But this time, there was a tiny response—like a flashlight that wouldn’t turn on suddenly flickering once.
But even that flicker was enough to be exciting.
After the excitement faded, Qin Sang wondered: what was happening with the energy in the outside world?
Had too many space owners died, causing spatial energy to scatter into the world? Or was the world beginning to experience an energy revival?
Unable to figure it out, Qin Sang decided to set the question aside for now.
Seeing her parents sitting in the living room watching TV and peeling garlic, Qin Sang quickly had the two of them practice their mental energy outside first. Before, neither of them had shown any reaction whether they practiced in the space or outside. Now, practicing outside still did nothing. But when they entered the space, they finally got a response.
The response was very small—incomparable to hers—but it still proved that the increased energy in the space allowed people to cultivate mental energy. And if the energy in the outside world continued to grow, someday her parents would be able to practice mental energy outside as well.
This discovery was undoubtedly exciting!
But at the same time, Qin Sang felt more and more that her parents’ ability to practice had a lot to do with the jade spaces they carried.
“The jade spaces haven’t changed at all?”
Qin Sang asked her parents, who had been practicing for over two hours. They both shook their heads. “We just feel much clearer-headed after practicing.”
Qin Sang understood that feeling. The first time she practiced mental energy as a child, she had felt exactly the same way—very noticeably.
“Then Mom and Dad, go into the space to practice whenever you can.”
Even if they couldn’t see any changes yet, being able to practice meant there had to be benefits.
Thinking back to what jade spaces had already proven to do—enhance their owners’ physical fitness and speed up wound healing—now there was a new benefit: the ability to cultivate mental energy.
It seemed this kind of space was nothing but good for humans.
Maybe it was a lifeline granted by heaven itself, seeing that humanity was about to face a cataclysmic disaster.
For now, that was how she chose to see it.
After all, these jade spaces really did seem like equipment bestowed by heaven—and the specifications were the same everywhere in the world.
Looking down at the family of three chatting and laughing in her space, Grandpa Goose, hiding in mid-air, sighed softly. Fortunately, they’re all smart kids. I hope everything goes smoothly.
—
Since jade spaces were so important, Qin Sang naturally wasn’t going to pass up the chance to acquire more.
It was already evening when she came out of her space. Qin Sang didn’t waste any time. She went straight upstairs to find Qu Meijing.
“What are you doing here?”
Qin Sang stood in front of the stairwell door on the fourth floor. Noticing that the lock was intact, she thought of her own six stairwell doors that the Lock God had pried open.
“I’m here to talk about your rent, and about how we should deal with enemy invasions going forward.”
Qu Meijing had gotten the worst of it the last time she dealt with Qin Sang. She really didn’t want to engage with her now.
But Qin Sang wasn’t about to let her avoid the conversation.
“You realized our house was invaded last night, didn’t you?”
At these words, Qu Meijing’s back stiffened. She had heard the commotion. As a reborn person, she was especially alert to changes in the outside world. The moment the whole building lost signal and all her cameras went offline, her phone received a pre-set notification.
Naturally, she had been the first to notice there were intruders in the building. But she lived on the fourth floor. The intruders hadn’t dropped from the sky—they had come up from the first floor. Until they reached the fourth floor, she was safe.
Qin Sang could read her thoughts and let out a dry laugh. She hadn’t expected Qu Meijing to help anyway, nor was she going to morally blackmail her with talk about neighbors helping neighbors.
If Qu Meijing wouldn’t lend a hand now, then when she ran into trouble later, Qin Sang could do the same.
However, for the sake of the jade pieces Qu Meijing still had, Qin Sang decided to talk.
“First, about the invasion. Most families in the village have kicked out their tenants—they think having strangers in the house is unsafe with the disaster coming. But my family hasn’t kicked you out. And before, I helped you.”
“That was because I paid—”
Qin Sang waved her hand and cut her off.
“The apocalypse is almost here. You think people are going to be reasonable? I’m not here to talk about that night. I’m talking about the future. If there are invaders again, even if you won’t fight, you need to warn us. I’m sure you understand the concept of ‘when the lips are gone, the teeth feel cold.’”
Qin Sang couldn’t be bothered with a long speech. She got straight to the point.
Without her family’s protection, when the apocalypse really arrived, certain people in the village would come after Qu Meijing first.
“And then there’s the rent issue. Cash is useless now. The rent for one floor used to be 2,000 a month. Now it’s 20 points.”
Qu Meijing was still mulling over Qin Sang’s earlier words. Hearing that rent would be collected in points, she lost her composure. Points were so valuable—she didn’t have a single point, and even if she did, she wouldn’t want to spend them on rent!
Qin Sang shrugged. “No points? Jade pieces work too.”
This made Qu Meijing furious. “You already took all the jade I collected last time.”
Qin Sang: “Then pay in points.”
She didn’t believe for a second that Qu Meijing had no jade left on her. Qu Meijing was a reborn person, and from her behavior, Qin Sang could tell that jade spaces hadn’t existed in her previous life. That was why she had been so generous with the jade before.
But after Qin Sang wanted so much jade, a reborn person like Qu Meijing would naturally get suspicious and secretly hold some back. Just in case jade turned out to be really useful.
Qin Sang could see that just by looking at her.
So Qu Meijing definitely still had some jade—and it was probably high quality.
“If jade were really useful, you’d have found out by now after keeping it in your space so long. But you haven’t noticed anything.”
“If it’s useless, then why do you want it?” Qu Meijing asked grudgingly.
Qin Sang spread her hands. “I know people in the authorities. I can trade it for hard-to-get supplies.”
That made Qu Meijing pause. She didn’t have any connections with the authorities. In fact, deep down, she was afraid that if she did get connected, they’d find out she was a reborn person. Hearing Qin Sang’s offer, she couldn’t help but be tempted.
“Give me all your jade, and I’ll trade with the authorities for supplies. High-tech sun-protective clothing, high-tech heat-insulating shoes—I can get those.”
After painting these two big promises, Qin Sang walked away with the last of the jade Qu Meijing had hidden.
There wasn’t much—seven or eight pieces.
She had no idea how many of them contained spatial energy.
Tossing the jade into her space, Qin Sang washed up, set her alarm, and went to bed satisfied. She was planning to wake up at midnight to grab the new heat-insulating shoes from the mall.
As for the promises she’d made Qu Meijing? They were just promises—not easy to fulfill. One of those seven or eight jade pieces would go toward the rent. She’d worry about the rest later.
Qin Sang fell asleep with a clear conscience. She woke up at exactly midnight and grabbed a pair of shoes.
Only one pair—not a thrill, but acceptable.
She sent a screenshot to Da Linzi with a laughing emoji.
He sent a voice message back.
But the moment Qin Sang heard it, she sensed something was wrong. She called him directly. No one answered.
Something bad had definitely happened.
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