This apartment had originally been rented by Gu Nuan for Chen Qingzhou, a small studio for a single person.
Looking around at everything she knew so well, Gu Nuan felt an overwhelming sense of relief. It was wonderful. She was alive again.
“I’m heading out for a while. Get some rest, I’ll bring dinner back,” Chen Qingzhou said before turning to leave.
Gu Nuan stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him.
“Mm, go ahead. Come back early.”
For some reason, she couldn’t shake the feeling that Chen Qingzhou had changed. Before her rebirth, he had never treated her like this. This time, she hadn’t said those things to him after coming back to life.
What was going on?
“Mm.”
With that single word, Chen Qingzhou walked out.
Left alone, Gu Nuan quickly grew bored and decided she should start preparing for the coming Apocalypse.
Right. She needed to stockpile supplies.
She rummaged through her handbag for her phone so she could start ordering things online.
By accident, she knocked a jade bracelet onto the floor.
Only then did she remember it. She had bought it at an auction the day before. The moment she saw it, she had fallen in love with its appearance.
Picking it up, Gu Nuan frowned.
“Oh no… it’s cracked.”
A fine fracture had appeared after the fall.
It didn’t seem important, so she tossed it back into her bag and continued searching for her phone. Instead, she accidentally nicked her finger with an eyebrow razor.
“Hiss…”
A drop of blood landed squarely on the jade bracelet.
Before her eyes, the bracelet absorbed the blood at a visible speed.
Gu Nuan rubbed her eyes, convinced she must have imagined it.
The next instant, everything blurred, and she found herself standing in an entirely different place.
Startled, she looked around.
Ahead of her flowed a small stream. To the left lay a stretch of uncultivated farmland, roughly three mu in size. To the right stood an orchard filled with lush green leaves, though none of the trees had blossomed or borne fruit yet.
Turning around, Gu Nuan froze.
There was a small villa behind her.
She cautiously pushed open the front door.
“Is anyone here?”
No one answered.
Summoning her courage, she stepped inside.
The villa was completely empty.
Well… that settled it. There really wasn’t anyone here.
Leaving the villa, she walked over to the stream.
The water was crystal clear.
She dipped her injured hand into it.
The next moment, something miraculous happened.
The cut on her finger healed instantly.
Gu Nuan checked it again and again before finally believing what she was seeing.
“Oh my God… this is incredible.”
After looking around once more, she became convinced this was the golden finger she’d received after being Reborn.
A space! Just like the ones she’d read about in novels.
“Haha… Heaven really hasn’t treated me badly.”
With this space, wouldn’t she be able to stockpile supplies? When the Apocalypse arrived, she’d never have to suffer from hunger or freezing again.
She scooped up a handful of stream water and drank it.
It tasted sweet and refreshingly cold.
Even the lingering discomfort in her lower body disappeared completely.
This stream had healing properties.
What an incredible treasure.
“Ding! Congratulations, Host. You have completed the beginner’s tutorial. System Space 066 is now officially bound.”
“What? So it really is a space?”
“Are you 066?”
“Yes, Master. I am System Space Spirit 066. This system space levels up according to the amount of supplies you stockpile. The more you store, the faster it levels up. As its level increases, the area you can develop will expand, and new functions will be unlocked. Crops also mature much faster here, grow larger, and are far more nutritious. They’ll strengthen your body and improve your health,” 066 explained patiently.
“This is seriously amazing.”
Just thinking about it made Gu Nuan feel unbelievably lucky.
She really had obtained a golden finger.
Suddenly, a flash of white light enveloped her.
When she opened her eyes again, she was back inside the apartment.
“What just happened?”
“066, are you still there? Why was I suddenly sent back?” she asked cautiously.
“I’m here, Master. It’s because our energy is insufficient, so the amount of time you can remain inside the space is very limited.”
“Insufficient energy? How do I replenish it?”
“Well… you’ll need to have plenty of physical contact with the Male Lead.”
“What?”
Gu Nuan stared in disbelief.
“What kind of logic is that? It’s my space, yet I have to touch him just to replenish its energy? What kind of setting is this?”
“I don’t know either. Ever since I came into existence, that’s simply how it’s been. Master, I’ve run out of energy, so I’ll be entering dormancy now. Please work hard.”
“Hey! Hey, 066!”
There was no response.
Still, Gu Nuan was thrilled.
She finally had a golden finger too.
Taking out her phone, she immediately began stockpiling supplies.
The first thing she bought was water.
She remembered that in her previous life, after several days of black rain, every water source had become contaminated.
Anyone who drank the polluted water gradually became violent, hurting others as well as themselves. Later, countless people fell gravely ill, their bodies rotting away until they died.
Gu Nuan contacted four different water suppliers and ordered eight hundred barrels of purified water.
To avoid attracting attention, she also rented a warehouse and had everything delivered there.
She then purchased several hundred empty barrels to fill with tap water for washing and other daily needs.
After finishing all that, she looked at the luxury goods filling her walk-in wardrobe.
They would all become worthless after the Apocalypse anyway.
She packed everything up, arranged an online collection, and waited for the staff to come and buy them back.
As for her clothes, she could simply store them in the villa inside her space later.
While Gu Nuan busied herself, Chen Qingzhou was no less occupied.
Having lived through the Apocalypse once already, he knew that survival depended above all on having a reliable means of escape.
He went to a 4S dealership and commissioned a fully customised motorhome with a petrol-electric hybrid powertrain.
The reason he chose a hybrid was simple.
Petrol would become increasingly difficult to find later in the Apocalypse, but electricity would still be available, making charging much more convenient.
The windows were all explosion resistant, with steel mesh welded over the outside for added protection.
The engine was upgraded to the highest specification.
The roof was fitted with high output solar panels connected directly to the interior heating system, allowing the vehicle to stay warm even while parked.
After all, the weather during the Apocalypse would become unimaginably harsh, eventually turning into endless cycles of rain and snow.
Inside, only the driver’s seat and front passenger seat remained.
Above them was a bed for resting.
A kitchen and bathroom were also retained, while everything else was cleared out to maximise storage space for supplies.
According to Chen Qingzhou’s requirements, the custom build would take at least half a month to complete.
Naturally, it came with an enormous price tag.
Although Gu Nuan didn’t love Chen Qingzhou, she had given him several bank cards before.
He had never used any of them.
Using one now didn’t seem like a problem.
After leaving the dealership, Chen Qingzhou checked the time.
It was already quite late.
He bought dinner before heading back to the apartment.
Meanwhile, Gu Nuan noticed a spending notification on her phone.
Only then did she realise it was from the bank card she had given Chen Qingzhou.
What on earth did he buy?
He had spent more than 600,000.
She had given him that card long ago, yet he had never touched it before.
Did this mean she had become someone different in his heart?
Chen Qingzhou: No! You’re overthinking it.