When Shen Muyan woke up, she found herself lying in a bed at the mountain inn. Sometime while she had been asleep, someone had changed her dress into a comfortable set of pajamas.
Outside the window, the sky blazed with a sea of crimson clouds, ribbons of fiery orange stretching across the western horizon. The distant mountains and scattered buildings had already begun to disappear into the gathering darkness, creating a dreamlike landscape that was almost too beautiful to be real.
She got out of bed and stood by the window, gazing silently at the breathtaking view. Her fair hand rested on the windowsill, unconsciously curling into a tight fist.
A warm body pressed gently against her back.
The instant she felt the familiar embrace, the tension in her body melted away. Warm lips brushed the back of her neck, pulling her thoughts away from the painful memories of her previous life and back to the present.
“Mumu.”
Shang Qi gently turned her around and wrapped an arm around her waist before capturing her lips in a kiss.
She winced and instinctively tried to pull away, but he cradled the back of her head, stroking her hair with surprising tenderness. His deep, magnetic voice brushed against her ear.
“My good Mumu… what are you thinking about this time?”
He always knew.
One glance was enough to read her thoughts.
Just moments ago, she had been trapped once again in the agony of her past life.
She regretted coming to Qinglan Mountain to watch the sunset.
She regretted making Shang Qi humble himself and beg others for her sake.
She regretted forcing him to live every day in fear for her safety.
Shang Qi sighed softly.
His large hand cupped her cheek, gently wiping away the tears gathering at the corners of her eyes. He couldn’t bear seeing her suffer, even in the slightest.
“When will you understand, Mumu?” he whispered. “Without you, I can’t live.”
What did it matter if he had to beg?
Even if someone demanded his heart or his life in return, it wouldn’t matter.
As long as she was safe.
“Ah Qi…”
Her soft, delicate voice was enough to make anyone addicted to hearing it.
“I’m sorry.”
Shang Qi pulled her tightly into his arms.
“You have me. Don’t overthink anything. Just stay by my side and leave everything else to me.”
“…Okay.”
Her fingers brushed against his shirt, and only then did she notice he had changed into a charcoal-black dress shirt.
“Are you going out?”
“We’re flying to M Country. We’ll be back in a few days.”
He had waited two days.
It was finally time to collect everything he had prepared.
“I want to go with you.”
When Shang Qi didn’t answer immediately, she poked the firm muscles of his abdomen with a finger.
“Ah Qi… what if something happens to me while you’re away? You wouldn’t make it back in time.”
She had used that excuse countless times before.
It worked every single time.
Sure enough, after only a moment’s hesitation, Shang Qi gave in.
Before dawn the next morning, a black SUV came to a stop outside a secluded warehouse near the border in M Country.
Holding Shen Muyan’s hand, Shang Qi stepped out of the vehicle.
Someone had already been waiting outside.
The moment he saw them, a dark-skinned, heavily built man hurried over respectfully.
“Master Qi, you’ve arrived.”
His attitude was impeccably respectful. He didn’t even dare let his gaze linger on them for more than a second.
Shen Muyan knew Shang Qi had businesses operating in the shadows overseas.
Even so, seeing armed guards patrolling the compound with firearms still made her stiffen.
Shang Qi immediately wrapped an arm around her protectively.
“Don’t be afraid.”
As they walked inside, another man happened to emerge from the warehouse.
He wore gold-rimmed glasses and a black dress shirt, carrying himself with effortless arrogance and confidence.
Shen Muyan recognized him immediately.
He had attended their wedding.
As a wedding gift, he had casually given her an entire mine.
Zhou Mo walked over with both hands tucked into his pockets.
He had been about to say something else, but after noticing Shen Muyan, he changed his tone.
“Well, well… Sister-in-law came too? Shang Qi finally decided to bring you outside.”
As he spoke, he pulled a lollipop from his pocket and held it out to her.
“Thank you.”
Wearing a hat and a face mask, Shen Muyan’s voice came out slightly muffled.
She reached out to accept it—
Only for another hand to snatch it away first.
Shang Qi tossed the candy straight back at Zhou Mo.
“Cut the nonsense.”
Zhou Mo led them into an enormous warehouse before raising his chin toward the towering stacks of cargo containers.
“It’s all here. Don’t forget to settle the remaining balance in a couple of days.”
After working together for so many years, they understood each other without speaking.
The guards quietly withdrew, leaving the warehouse to them.
Zhou Mo didn’t leave immediately.
Instead, he looked Shang Qi up and down curiously.
“So you’re really giving up the Shang family and moving to that middle-of-nowhere mountain?”
“Yes.”
Shang Qi’s expression remained calm.
“If you want to visit me, do it before the twelfth. After that, don’t disturb Mumu and me.”
“Tch. As if I’d go see you.”
Zhou Mo snorted and strode toward the exit.
“Get moving. The higher-ups have been watching me lately.”
The warehouse doors closed behind him.
Shen Muyan stared at the countless shipping containers stacked neatly from floor to ceiling.
There were so many she couldn’t even estimate the number.
“Mumu.”
Shang Qi tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
“Scared?”
He smiled faintly.
“Too late even if you are. You’re already my wife.”
The truth was, the way he had married Shen Muyan hadn’t been honorable.
He had forced the Shen family into agreeing to the marriage.
As for the people who had opposed it…
Not a single one remained.
He had quietly dealt with every last one of them.
Still staring at the endless rows of containers, Shen Muyan asked,
“How much is all this worth?”
“One billion.”
A billion…
Just to fill this warehouse.
Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she looked at him.
“Ah Qi! Hurry and store it all! I want to see!”
In every apocalypse novel she’d read, the protagonist simply waved a hand and everything disappeared.
Shang Qi led her to the nearest stack of cargo.
Placing one hand against a container—
The supplies within roughly ten meters instantly vanished.
It wasn’t nearly as exaggerated as the novels described.
Even so, Shen Muyan’s eyes lit up.
“Ah Qi… you’re amazing.”
No man disliked being praised by the woman he loved.
The smile in Shang Qi’s eyes deepened.
“I’ll become even stronger.”
“How big is your space?”
She worried it might not be enough.
After all, he had already stored everything from the villa inside it.
“It’s huge.”
He rested his forehead against hers.
“Close your eyes.”
Strictly speaking, this wasn’t an awakened ability.
In his previous life, it had been a gift from an elderly man whose life he had once saved.
The jade bracelet Shen Muyan wore on her wrist had come from the same man.
It could protect her from mortal danger twice.
A wave of dizziness washed over Shen Muyan.
When she opened her eyes again, she found herself standing inside a vast gray world.
Nearby were all the supplies Shang Qi had just stored.
Farther away, a separate section had been carefully organized, containing only their personal belongings.
The space was dim and colorless.
Yet no matter how far she looked, she couldn’t see its end.
Only after she regained her senses did Shang Qi take out a chair for her.
“Sit here and wait for me.”
It took him another hour to finish storing everything.
The border region wasn’t safe, so he immediately took Shen Muyan to the airport.
Still suffering from jet lag, Shen Muyan fell asleep in his arms as soon as they boarded the plane.
She was still sleeping when they landed.
Rather than wake her, Shang Qi had someone drive over a luxury motorhome. He carried her inside and laid her gently on the bed.
Just then, his phone rang.
It was already seven o’clock in the evening.
Zhou Mo.
“The Yangs are dead.”
His voice was unusually serious.
“Yang Cangguo and Yang Zicheng both died overnight.”
“You knew something, didn’t you?”
Yang Cangguo was a nationally renowned geologist.
His son, Yang Zicheng, was a leading cellular biologist.
The father and son had devoted decades to scientific research, only to die suddenly on the same night.
Shang Qi looked out the window at the passing scenery before replying calmly,
“Isn’t there still one member of the Yang family left?”
“It’s not that I know something.”
“I’m simply preparing for the worst—for Mumu.”
Two days earlier, Professor Yang’s research institute had released a public statement claiming that an unprecedented catastrophe was approaching.
Whether it would be a natural disaster or a man-made one no longer mattered.
The announcement had been deleted within thirty minutes.
After that, every trace of it vanished from the internet.
Some people believed it.
Most didn’t.
Without concrete evidence, no government could afford to throw the public into panic.
“Yang Chenjie came back to the country six months ago,” Zhou Mo said.
His family had deep ties to the Yang family, and Yang Chenjie had inherited his father’s work, even surpassing him in several fields.
“Shang Qi… are you really sure the country will be safe?”
If such an unprecedented catastrophe truly arrived…
Who could escape it?
“Safer than overseas.”
Shang Qi answered quietly.
“Zhou Mo… no matter what happens, you can trust our country.”
“I have Mumu.”
“I won’t involve myself in these matters again.”
“If Professor Yang’s prediction is correct…”
“The twelfth is the final deadline.”
He had read that report before.
Not in this life—
But in his previous one.
The country had prepared as much as it could.
What no one had expected was that the catastrophe would be both a natural disaster and a man-made one.
Whether people chose to believe the warning or not had nothing to do with him.
All he wanted was to protect Mumu.
If others thought him cold-hearted, so be it.
After all, even after five years in his previous life, the source of the virus had never been discovered.
That wasn’t something a businessman, no matter how wealthy, could change.
Merchants pursued profit.
They studied politics, economics, and opportunity.
When disaster struck the nation, donating money and resources was only natural.
But if businesses themselves collapsed first…
There would be nothing left with which to help anyone.