Ye Qingning did exactly what she said she would—she left after nightfall.
She switched to another small motorbike and rode toward the Imperial City.
With the darkness and thick smoke, it was truly impossible to see even one’s own hand. Only the faint flickers of distant firelight guided her direction.
After riding for who knew how many hours, Ye Qingning grew drowsy and entered her space to rest.
This wasn’t a time of peace—maintaining physical strength was extremely important.
She wouldn’t blindly rush just to save time.
The moment she entered the space and was about to turn on the tap for a hot bath, she noticed a blackened hand—and her clothes were filthy too.
Her movements froze. In disbelief, she ran to the mirror. Who was this dirty, disheveled child in front of her?!
She cautiously picked up a cotton swab and dug into her nose. It went in white and came out black.
Had she really looked like this all day?
A sloppy-looking queen.
She hurriedly took a shower. Watching the black water flow away and gradually turn clear, she finally relaxed and lay back comfortably in the bathtub.
She had no idea where the hot water came from.
This space was really something.
Afterward, she took out a seafood feast and enjoyed a satisfying meal.
By the time she woke up refreshed, it was already broad daylight outside when she exited the space.
Children really couldn’t stay up late—otherwise, once they slept, who knew what time they’d wake up.
Back in the day, even if she stayed up late, she would still wake up early the next morning.
By the time she finally made her way to the Imperial City’s Queen’s palace, she heard that the Queen and the nobles had already fled with the gold.
She hadn’t caught up—what a wasted trip.
It had only been the fourth day of the war, and they had already run away. It seemed this war would end soon.
Ye Qingning could only wander around slowly for now. There were still plenty of good things in the palace, and she took the opportunity to sample the royal cuisine.
She packed all the cooked food—it was convenient. As for raw ingredients, her space already had far more variety than what existed in this era.
She couldn’t take everything; she had to leave something behind. Otherwise, what would be the point of coming back later?
When night fell, Ye Qingning casually found a clothing shop and changed into overalls with a lace-trimmed blouse.
There weren’t many children’s clothes in her space—she needed to stock up.
Next, she planned to continue heading south.
The next city was the largest port city of Windmill Country—Deer City.
By the time Ye Qingning arrived, bombs were raining down from the sky over Deer City. Wherever they fell, that place turned into ruins.
Were they trying to wipe out the entire city?
Then she would help clear it out. According to ancestral principles—nothing should be wasted.
Previously, she had never targeted civilians—only royal families, nobles, officials, and wealthy merchants.
As for those with a ton of gold at home, they certainly weren’t ordinary people, but she couldn’t distinguish them.
Now she didn’t need to distinguish anymore.
From the northern part of Deer City all the way to the south, Ye Qingning ran wildly through the rain of bombs.
She swore she had never run like this in her life! Her speed even surpassed those adults fleeing for their lives.
“Dear, look—even such a small child is running to survive. How can you give up?”
“Is that child all alone? Should we help her… she’s running so fast.”
“We can’t be worse than a child…”
“Sweetheart, look—that little girl is alone too… Mommy believes you can do it… run! Mommy loves you…”
“Dad, I promise… I’ll live… just like that girl… I’ll run very, very fast… Dad, I love you…”
“Don’t cry… we have to be brave… big brother is carrying you… look, that little sister is alone…”
“Big brother, put me down. I can run like her too. I’m not afraid anymore. I want to race with her!”
“For survival, charge! Head to the air-raid shelter…”
Of course, Ye Qingning wasn’t just running. She was simultaneously using her spatial perception to collect things, leaving her utterly exhausted.
The bombing lasted about fifteen minutes. Who knew how much had been destroyed.
But her beloved gold remained unharmed.
The bombers left.
Yet smoke filled the air everywhere. Even though it was still afternoon, it was as dark as night.
Ye Qingning didn’t need to guess—she knew she must look miserable. Without a gas mask, her eyes were stinging and streaming with tears.
She even received concern from quite a few people.
It should be concern. Although she couldn’t understand their language, their eyes didn’t lie.
Why did she feel a bit guilty?
If she couldn’t figure it out, she simply wouldn’t think about it.
It took her a full two days to leave the bombing zone.
Fires were blazing everywhere, so she had to be careful not to get burned or struck by falling debris.
At that time, the main forces of Svastika Country arrived, and she got another free ride.
After all the trouble, Ye Qingning realized it was better to just follow the army. Otherwise, she couldn’t even find her way.
Aside from her native language, she only understood German. Asking for directions was difficult.
She did feel a little embarrassed toward these soldiers—she hitched rides from them while they bore the reputation of being robbers.
Unfortunately, they didn’t seem to know the truth.
They were actually paying for goods, just with highly skewed exchange rates.
In truth, it wasn’t much different from looting.
Was this what civilized robbery looked like?
So fancy—her own methods were much more straightforward. The small shops she had spared were all bought out by them.
Ye Qingning blended in and took whatever she liked.
For example, cigarettes—something she had previously found useless. But seeing soldiers buying them by the crate, it must mean they were valuable.
Maybe her current grandfather or uncles liked to smoke.
She also had plenty of Svastika Country currency in her space—should she exchange it at a jewelry shop?
Mm, no time like the present.
She also exchanged quite a bit of Windmill Country currency.
Only for gold jewelry.
She didn’t trouble anyone—she completed the exchanges herself.
She was really considerate.
Though it did end up getting those soldiers blamed again.
In just a week in Windmill Country, Ye Qingning hitched rides all the way into Blue Country.
Blue Country—another nation that had once bullied Hua Country.
Fierce battles were underway. It turned out Svastika Country had split its forces into multiple routes.
On the battlefield, the allied forces of Mist Country and Romance Country had already retreated. Only Blue Country’s soldiers remained fighting. Watching them, Ye Qingning felt her feet itching again.
Their fighting style was just brute force—hardly worth watching and easy to get shot.
Since she was already here, she might as well not miss the opportunity.
Later, she could follow the sound of artillery fire to find her way back and catch another ride.
That settled it.
Museums, art galleries, and warehouses became her primary targets.
Wait—why were those two speaking in Svastika Country’s language? What were they saying so secretly?
“The reserve gold in the national treasury must be transported safely!”
“Mission guaranteed! 4,944 boxes of gold—not one box missing! 221,730 kilograms—not a single gram less!”
“Everything must be done in secrecy, and quickly. We probably won’t be able to hold out much longer.”
“If Mist Country were willing to attack from the flank, it would ease our pressure. Hmph, they only think about retreating!”
“Relying on others is worse than relying on ourselves. We must protect our assets!”
“Yes!” The escort saluted and turned to command the fleet: “Set off!”
Ye Qingning couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
She didn’t even need to weigh it to know how much gold she had just taken.
Her mood was excellent—until she was nearly blown up by a bomb falling from the sky.
Even though it wasn’t her first time, it still made her heart race.
Sure enough, collecting things on a battlefield was a dangerous job.
At this point, she didn’t need any disguise at all. Covered in dirt and ash, even her own parents wouldn’t recognize her.