Shang Xinglan considered all the possible reasons why Xia Mu would ask such a question. The most likely explanation had something to do with the rental house. A faint smile curved his lips, and his fiery red hair seemed to shimmer with it.
“Miss Xia Mu, are you asking about the population of our base?”
“The base we’re from has a population of a little over one hundred thousand. It’s considered a medium sized base.”
Xia Mu blinked at Shang Xinglan, while the little person inside her heart danced excitedly.
More than a hundred thousand people!
She could invite more than a dozen ability users to come and stay here.
That would fill the first courtyard with tenants in no time.
Her eyes sparkled with excitement.
“Then… then is your base far from here? If it isn’t, I’d like to go there and recruit tenants.”
Those words…
Shang Xinglan and the others all fell silent at the same time.
None of them spoke.
They had been away from their base for almost half a year. They were now in the far north, while their base was in the far south. They were separated by almost the greatest possible distance.
Seeing their expressions, the smile on Xia Mu’s face could no longer hold. The corners of her lips slowly began to droop.
Just then, the man’s deep voice broke the silence.
“Our base is very far away, but there’s a small private base about twenty kilometers from here. It has a population of roughly tens of thousands.”
The starlight that had faded from Xia Mu’s eyes instantly reignited, shining brilliantly.
“Really? That’s wonderful!”
Just like a cheerful lark, Shang Xinglan thought.
With what System 003 had told her, Xia Mu felt much more confident.
She immediately spent another 650 Interstellar Federation Credits to purchase land and build another single room. The decoration function had already been locked, and it could only be unlocked by completing missions.
Looking over the missions, she asked earnestly, “003, can I hire someone without abilities as the cleaner?”
System 003 checked the information in its files and nodded.
“Yes! You can also buy robots.”
Only after saying it did it remember that it had already closed the mall, meaning Xia Mu couldn’t purchase anything for the time being.
Hearing that she could buy robots, Xia Mu showed little interest.
She didn’t like robots.
By 2030, Earth already had highly advanced robots capable of chatting with people, doing housework, and performing all kinds of tasks.
She had seen videos online posted by wealthy people showing off their robots.
She had never liked them.
Whenever those robots looked at someone, their eyes always seemed strangely unsettling.
She simply couldn’t accept them.
She wanted her residential complex to be filled with living people.
Only then would it truly feel alive.
Thinking of her mother, Xia Mu cautiously asked,
“003… Can I hire my mother as the cleaner?”
“Ah?”
System 003 immediately went to ask Systems 001 and 002.
By now, Systems 001 and 002 had formed a clear impression of System 003’s Host.
She was like an extremely fragile glass doll that needed to be handled with the greatest care.
They told System 003 to read through the Interstellar System regulations twice more. It would find the answer there.
The hidden meaning was obvious.
If you can bend the rules, then bend them.
Your Host is far too fragile.
Just when Xia Mu thought the answer would be no, System 003 cheerfully replied, “Mu Mu, yes, you can. The connection point between the two worlds is the attic in the courtyard. But I don’t recommend letting too many people know about it.”
System 003 subtly reminded her.
Xia Mu was overjoyed.
She returned to her home in J Capital, skipped happily downstairs from the attic, and her cheerful mood even infected System 003, which began humming the most popular song in the Interstellar Federation.
Usually, Xia Chengren would be making handicrafts at home that could be sold later, but today, to Xia Mu’s surprise, he wasn’t working at all.
Instead, he was quietly looking at a family photograph.
It had been taken while Xia Mu’s grandparents were still alive.
She had been little then, but old enough to remember.
She could never forget those childhood days.
Back then, her Second Uncle, Third Uncle, and Fourth Uncle hadn’t become as successful as they were now.
Whenever they encountered difficulties, they would always call her father for advice.
During every holiday and New Year celebration, all of her uncles would come home to celebrate together with her grandparents and parents.
Everything changed after she turned twelve.
Her grandparents’ health deteriorated rapidly, and they both passed away when she was thirteen.
From that year onward, her uncles rarely came home.
They no longer called her father on their own.
Instead, it was always her father who worried about his younger brothers and called from time to time to ask how they were doing.
Xia Mu never understood why everything had changed so suddenly.
It saddened her deeply.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Hearing his daughter coming downstairs, Xia Chengren carefully put the family photo back where it belonged. Turning toward her, he smiled.
“Finished with work?”
Suppressing the sadness in her eyes, Xia Mu skipped over, wrapped both hands around her father’s arm, and said happily,
“Dad, I found Mom a great job. It’s much easier than working at the restaurant and the nightclub. When she gets home tonight, I’ll tell her about it.”
Xia Chengren let his daughter guide him to the sofa before asking, “What kind of job? How much does it pay?”
“It’s a cleaning job. As for the salary…”
She stammered under her father’s calm gaze, losing confidence by the second.
Finally, she spoke softly, “It’s… my own business. I want Mom to come help me.”
She finally managed to say it.
Xia Mu let out a long breath.
Xia Chengren frowned.
His daughter had spent the last two days in the attic supposedly working customer service. She hadn’t left the house even once.
Starting a business? What business?
The more he thought about it, the more serious the situation seemed.
Something wasn’t right.
He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he carefully looked his daughter up and down.
Xia Mu appeared calm on the outside, but inside she was panicking.
She had decided to tell her parents about the Apocalypse.
She wanted to prepare them mentally, so that when they eventually entered that world, they wouldn’t be overwhelmed with fear.
Once she obtained the treatment pods and cured them, they wouldn’t become suspicious.
She didn’t want to keep lying to them.
For the past two days, she had already lied by claiming she was working customer service.
It had weighed heavily on her heart.
Fortunately, System 003 had never forbidden her from telling them about the Apocalypse.
It had only stipulated that the rental rooms could only be rented to people from the Apocalypse.
After that, father and daughter found themselves with nothing more to say.
They quietly waited until it was time to prepare dinner, then, as if by mutual understanding, they both went into the kitchen together.
Xia Mu’s mother always came home for dinner before heading to the nightclub for her evening shift.
When she returned, she immediately sensed that something was off between father and daughter.
They weren’t angry.
The atmosphere just felt… strange.
After dinner, Xia Mu’s mother was about to leave when Xia Chengren stopped her and brought her into their room.
More than ten minutes later, the two of them came back out.
Xia Mu’s mother still wore the same gentle, loving expression.
Only Xia Chengren had a heavy look on his face, his brows furrowed with worry.
Xia Mu’s mother picked up her phone and dialed a number.
The call connected quickly.
In her usual gentle voice, she said, “Sister Long, something came up tonight, so I can’t come to work. I’d like to…”
“Liu Shuang, you’ve asked for leave again and again. You’re putting me in a very difficult position.”
“Sister Long, I really do have something important tonight. I…”
“Alright, alright, stop explaining. I’ll transfer this month’s salary to your WeChat shortly. You’ve always worked hard, so I won’t deduct your pay, but my little establishment can’t keep someone who asks for leave whenever they want.”
“I hope you can understand my position. Besides, hasn’t your daughter already graduated? You don’t need to work yourself this hard anymore. Take better care of your health.”
“Sister Long… alright. Then I’ll resign.”
Xia Mu’s mother hurriedly interrupted before the other woman could continue.
After hanging up, she looked up and found both her husband and daughter staring at her.
Father and daughter wore the exact same dark, unwavering expressions.
Had she just seen a trace of sadness in their eyes?
She wondered if she was simply imagining it.