“It’s fine. I don’t want to keep working there either. Didn’t Mu Mu say she wanted to start a business? Then Mom will work with you.”
Mother Xia wasn’t angry at all. She remained as gentle as ever, as though time had never left a mark on her face. She was still graceful and kind.
Looking at her mother, whose mentality was so positive, Xia Mu couldn’t understand why she would end up developing breast cancer.
Smiling, Xia Mu stepped forward, linked arms with her mother, and affectionately rubbed against her shoulder.
“I knew Mom was the best. I love Mom the most.”
Xia Mu was cheerful and never hesitated to express her feelings because she had grown up in a loving family. No matter how hard life had been, her parents had always given her more than enough love and care.
“Alright, you’re already grown up. Didn’t you tell your father that you wanted to start a business? Tell your mother about it.”
As soon as Mother Xia finished speaking, Father Xia let out a disgruntled snort.
His precious little padded jacket had been all sweet and affectionate toward him this morning, only to give him the cold shoulder this afternoon. Now she was openly clinging to his wife right in front of him.
Hmph! His little padded jacket had sprung a leak.
Completely ignoring the dark look on Father Xia’s face, Xia Mu stopped laughing. The playful expression disappeared from her face, replaced by one of seriousness, and her sudden change in demeanor immediately affected both Xia Chengren and Liu Shuang.
The couple exchanged curious glances.
How exactly was their daughter planning to start this business? Has she already begun? Had she run into some kind of problem?
Xia Mu sat down properly, and the family of three faced each other.
“Ahem. Mom, Dad, I’m about to tell you something incredibly unbelievable. I hope you’ll be able to accept it after you hear it, because I’m going to take you away from here.”
Hearing her make it sound so fantastical, Xia Chengren almost interrupted her and told her to get to the point.
But Liu Shuang’s gentle gaze silently stopped him.
“So… I met a System…”
After explaining everything from beginning to end, Xia Mu’s throat had gone dry. She poured herself a glass of water and drank it in one go.
Xia Chengren and Liu Shuang remained remarkably calm, their expressions barely changing, which instead made Xia Mu lose her composure.
“Mom, Dad, you don’t believe me?” she asked, her eyes wide with hurt.
Xia Chengren sighed helplessly.
“How are we supposed to believe you? This is an age of advanced technology, not superstition.”
What’s wrong with my daughter? Has she suffered too much of a setback? he wondered.
Liu Shuang remained silent for a moment before asking, “Do you have any proof?”
There it was.
That was exactly the question Xia Mu had been waiting for.
With a bright smile, she replied, “The proof is that I’ll take you there so you can see it yourselves.”
“Huh?”
This time, both Xia Chengren and Liu Shuang were genuinely stunned.
Did the Apocalypse really exist?
Xia Mu was anxious to show them immediately. She wanted her parents to see the Apocalypse with their own eyes, to see the house she had built there.
The couple exchanged another glance before following Xia Mu upstairs to the attic.
Standing behind the attic door, they watched as their daughter turned a dial. When she opened the door again, endless snowflakes drifted through the air outside, stretching into a vast expanse of white.
“Th… this…”
Father Xia’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Even Liu Shuang, who was always calm and composed, completely lost control of her expression.
“I wasn’t lying to you, was I? I really did obtain a rental System, and now I’m running a rental property in the Apocalypse.”
“Right now, I need to recruit a cleaner. Once I complete that mission, I’ll receive a packet of flower seeds.”
“Only after planting the flowers can I restore power to Room 6, and only then can I raise the rent.”
Raising the rent was the real goal.
At first, Xia Mu had felt rather embarrassed about it. She still felt a little embarrassed now, but she figured her thick skin would improve with practice.
Watching their daughter blush as she talked about increasing the rent, Liu Shuang and Xia Chengren suddenly felt that their little girl had truly grown up.
The family of three went downstairs.
Looking around, they found that the side rooms were almost identical to the ones in their home in J City. The only noticeable differences were that the rear wall had been opened into a doorway and several large display screens had been added.
Everything else remained largely unchanged.
The shock they had experienced was simply too great.
The couple decided they needed some time alone to discuss everything.
As they returned to their room, Xia Mu cheerfully began chatting with System 003.
“I’ll finish a couple of easy missions first, then I’ll go kill zombies.”
System 003 asked, “Mu Mu, are you going to look for tenants?”
Xia Mu chuckled twice before inelegantly rolling her eyes.
“I haven’t even built up any muscle in my arms yet. How am I supposed to go looking for tenants? We need to be smarter than that.”
“We already have five tenants, don’t we? I’m planning to hire them to help recruit new tenants. I can waive their rent, or maybe their water and electricity bills, as payment.”
Water and electricity still had to be paid for by Xia Mu herself every month using her own card. If she didn’t pay, the utilities would simply be cut off.
System 003 thought its Host was incredibly clever and immediately flattered her.
“Mu Mu, you’re so smart.”
Xia Mu narrowed her eyes with a smile.
She didn’t think she was smart at all. If she really were, she wouldn’t have been unable to find a job in J City, nor would she have been humiliated by her own youngest uncle.
Thinking about those uncles immediately soured her mood.
Shouldn’t family members love and care for one another?
Shang Xinglan and the others were eating instant noodles they had scavenged from the Apocalypse.
However, the taste was worlds apart from the instant noodles sold in the mall.
They all preferred the instant noodles from the mall. After eating them, their bodies felt full of strength, and even their spirits became much better.
“Life without the mall is terrible. I can’t even go to admire the hover cars anymore,” Ye Lixuan said gloomily as he scratched his yellow hair.
Rong Yulong and the others felt the same.
Every day, they would visit the hover cars and weapons on display.
Even if they couldn’t afford them, they still wanted to look. Even if they couldn’t use them, they still wanted to admire them.
Shang Xinglan fell into thought, his slender fingers lightly tapping his thin, attractive lips.
His mind drifted to the newly completed single room in the courtyard.
She probably needed more tenants.
More tenants meant more income, and perhaps then she would be able to reopen the mall.
Then there was the StarNet, capable of increasing Mental Strength, improving physical constitution, and even awakening abilities.
It was simply too tempting.
“Fu Honghui. Ye Lixuan.”
The two men immediately stood up as soon as their names were called.
Shang Xinglan nodded.
“You two will do. Go over to the neighboring Mighty Base and spread the word.”
He suddenly felt strangely embarrassed saying “Xia Mu’s Rental House.”
Shaking the thought away, he continued, “Promote Boss Xia’s rental property. Make sure you emphasize the prices, and don’t bring over people who aren’t capable enough to avoid causing trouble for Boss Xia.”
Ye Lixuan and Fu Honghui exchanged puzzled glances.
They had no idea what their boss was planning, but carrying out orders was their duty.
The Dark A Squad moved out.
Meanwhile, Xia Chengren and Liu Shuang came out of their room. Seeing that their daughter wasn’t around, they began examining the large display screens.
One displayed rental information.
The other displayed exchange information.
Ignoring how out of place the futuristic screens looked against the old-fashioned interior, both displays seemed incredibly advanced.
Looking at the rental prices, Xia Chengren frowned.
“Our Mu Mu wasn’t like this before. She used to be so kindhearted. Just look at these prices. They’re way too expensive. Isn’t this practically a black market shop?”
Even Liu Shuang, despite her gentle temperament, became a little impatient. She shot Xia Chengren a glare before pointing at the exchange screen behind him.
“Look at the Interstellar Federation Credits first. I haven’t seen what the single rooms look like yet, but I think the prices are reasonable. Mu Mu said this place can withstand zombie attacks.”
Being protected from zombies was what truly mattered.
Who wouldn’t want to stay alive?