After happily finishing her lunch, Chu Ning stored the remaining braised meats, assorted braised dishes, and rice inside her spatial storage.
Then she immediately began cooking more meat dishes.
As soon as one dish was finished, she packed it up and stored it in the space.
She stayed busy until eleven o’clock that night before finally stopping.
Covered in the smell of cooking oil and smoke, she hurried to shower before going to bed.
The next morning, Chu Ning changed into fresh clothes and prepared to head to the fruit wholesale market.
She had suddenly realized she hadn’t stocked up on fruit.
There were also seeds.
The black soil inside her spatial storage should be suitable for planting, right?
Even if it wasn’t, once she awakened her Wood-type ability, she would be able to accelerate plant growth herself.
The fruit wholesale market wasn’t much busier than usual.
Pomelos, oranges, apples, grapes, bananas…
Whatever fruit was available, Chu Ning bought it.
Batch after batch was loaded into her van.
Each time the vehicle was full, she quietly transferred everything into her spatial storage before returning for more.
She spent the entire morning repeating the process.
At noon, she took out a prepared meal from her spatial storage and ate it inside the van before driving to a seed shop.
Ignoring the owner’s strange expression, she bought ten kilograms of every single type of seed in the store.
The seeds were packed into several large sacks and loaded into her vehicle.
Only then did she begin driving home.
Halfway there, a fierce wind suddenly began to howl outside.
Chu Ning’s expression changed dramatically.
She immediately accelerated toward her neighborhood.
The wind grew stronger and stronger.
The previously clear sky turned dark and overcast in less than ten minutes.
Fortunately, traffic remained smooth.
When she arrived at her apartment complex, the black rain had not yet begun.
However, the sky had already darkened so much that it was becoming difficult to see the road ahead.
Chu Ning drove into the underground parking garage.
Finding a corner outside the range of any security cameras, she quietly stored the van inside her spatial storage.
The apocalypse had arrived.
The vehicle belonged to her now.
If she had possessed more money, she would have bought an off-road vehicle as well.
Still, her recent outings hadn’t been in vain.
There was an automotive modification district near her neighborhood.
She had visited it a few days earlier and discovered plenty of modified vehicles there.
Once the black rain stopped, she planned to “shop for free.”
Carrying a bag of dried noodles in her hand, she entered the elevator.
After returning home, Chu Ning locked both of her apartment doors.
Outside the windows, the world had already become completely dark.
She switched on the lights and walked over to the window.
Smack!
A thick, viscous drop of black liquid splattered against the outside of the glass.
Chu Ning pressed her lips together.
The black rain had arrived!
She stopped looking outside.
Her heart felt heavy.
It had come two days earlier than in her previous life.
Fortunately, the government had issued a warning this time, giving everyone nearly ten hours to prepare.
Taking advantage of the fact that the utilities were still working, Chu Ning filled every container in her apartment with water.
At the same time, she continued cooking.
Every finished dish was packed and placed inside her spatial storage.
Meanwhile, she downloaded television dramas, movies, variety shows, and novels onto her devices.
She also downloaded offline maps of cities across the country, navigation data for the entirety of Jiang City, and detailed floor plans and three-dimensional layouts of both her neighborhood and the nearby shopping malls.
Even after everything she had collected, Chu Ning still felt it wasn’t enough.
She couldn’t shake the feeling that she had overlooked something.
But collecting supplies wasn’t her only priority.
She also needed to strengthen her abilities and increase her combat power.
Although she could hide inside her spatial storage, she had sensed from the very first time she entered it that she couldn’t remain there indefinitely.
She still didn’t know the exact time limit.
Besides…
She had never intended to hide there forever.
That evening, after dinner, she once again spent hours braising meat and simmering soups.
She didn’t stop until eleven o’clock.
After thoroughly washing herself and doing all her laundry, she checked the time.
There were only five minutes left before midnight on December 1st.
Chu Ning took a deep breath.
In her previous life, the black rain had suddenly begun falling on the afternoon of December 3rd.
At midnight on December 4th, she had fallen into an unconscious sleep.
When she awakened again at four o’clock that morning, she had awakened her Wood-type ability.
It allowed her to accelerate plant growth and heal injuries.
At the same time, desperate screams had echoed throughout the neighborhood.
Everyone who had been caught in the black rain had transformed into zombies.
After checking once more that every window and door was securely locked, Chu Ning changed into a clean set of sportswear and lay quietly on her bed, waiting.
At one moment…
An overwhelming darkness suddenly engulfed her vision.
Then everything disappeared into blackness.
…
Her entire body alternated between unbearable heat and refreshing coolness.
One moment it felt as though she had fallen into a blazing furnace.
The next, a soothing chill spread throughout her body.
The sensation of fire and ice tormented her endlessly.
Then…
She vaguely heard the familiar screams.
Chu Ning abruptly opened her eyes.
The surroundings were eerily quiet.
Just like in her previous life, the power had gone out.
Electricity would remain unavailable for an entire day.
Yet…
Something felt different.
A trace of confusion flashed through her eyes.
Using the faint glow from the small bedside lamp, Chu Ning lowered her gaze.
Suddenly, her heart stirred.
To her astonishment, a tiny flame flickered above her fingertip.
“Huh?”
“Could it be…”
Five minutes later, Chu Ning finally confirmed it.
She had awakened not only a Wood-type ability…
…but also a Fire-type ability.
She was overjoyed.
Although she had no idea why this had happened, Fire-type abilities were offensive powers, unlike the supportive nature of Wood-type abilities.
Even better…
She sensed that her spatial storage had changed as well.
With a thought, she entered the space.
The moment she stepped inside, she immediately noticed the difference.
She could now remain inside the space for a full hour.
The underground warehouse had doubled in size.
It now covered three hundred square meters while remaining five meters tall.
The small garden in front of the villa had also expanded from five square meters to ten.
Chu Ning couldn’t help jumping excitedly several times.
Once she finally calmed down, she immediately left the space.
Now she could gather even more supplies.
She put on a pair of athletic shoes, slung a backpack over her shoulders, and equipped herself with a cap, face mask, and gloves.
In her hand, she carried a baseball bat.
Peering through the peephole and seeing no one outside, she cautiously opened the door.
Her residential complex consisted of five apartment buildings.
She lived on the twentieth and top floor of Building Three, Unit Three.
Each floor had two elevators and four apartments.
The apartment next to hers was vacant.
Across the hall, one unit was rented by a single man, while the other belonged to a family of five.
The hallway was silent.
Only faint screams drifted upward from below.
Carefully closing her apartment door behind her, Chu Ning silently pushed open the stairwell door and made her way downstairs.
After awakening her abilities, she could clearly feel that her physical strength had increased considerably.
She reached the first floor without incident.
The moment she left the building, she sprinted toward the gas station across the street from the neighborhood.
Upon arriving, her eyes immediately lit up.
A fuel tanker truck was parked there.
She hurried over to inspect it.
There was no one in the driver’s seat.
Climbing onto the tanker, she opened the lid.
A strong smell of gasoline rushed out.
A delighted smile spread across her face.
Without hesitation, she stored the entire tanker truck inside her spatial storage.
One truckload of fuel would last her for years.
After securing the fuel, Chu Ning took the seven-seater van out of her spatial storage and drove toward her next destination—
the large shopping mall three kilometers away.
When she arrived, her expression grew serious.
On the drive over, she had heard more and more screams.
Along with them came the familiar roars of zombies.
She had to hurry.
It was time for another “free shopping spree.”
After putting the van back into her spatial storage, she smashed the glass window of a first-floor shop with her baseball bat and climbed inside.
Putting on her night-vision goggles, she looked around.
It was a bakery.
Unfortunately, there was nothing useful inside.
Without wasting any time, Chu Ning headed downstairs toward the large supermarket on Basement Level One.