Jiang Lang had never been the clingy type. After surviving through the apocalypse, her personality had become even more decisive. Yet today, she stood behind Madam Bai and stared at her for more than ten minutes straight.
She was afraid that the moment she blinked, her mother would disappear. Afraid that all of this was nothing more than an illusion.
Madam Bai felt uneasy from being watched by her daughter and eventually chased her back into her room.
The moment Jiang Lang saw the familiar room and familiar arrangement, she fell into another daze.
She had truly returned to the past.
Walking all the way to the dressing table, Jiang Lang noticed the especially bright jade pendant.
Her mother had given it to her. Supposedly, it had been passed down since her grandmother’s generation. In her previous life, she had worn it until Li Mei snatched it away.
She picked up the pendant.
Suddenly, a strange voice sounded from nowhere.
“Hello, my host. I am System 111.”
Jiang Lang was startled immediately.
“What the hell is that?”
“This system is not a thing. Of course, this system can also be anything.”
For some reason, the mechanical voice carried an oddly arrogant and smug tone.
Jiang Lang’s mind turned quickly, and she rapidly calmed herself down. Her gaze swept across the room before finally landing on the jade pendant in her hand.
“Host is very smart. I’m inside the jade pendant. Of course, I’m now bound to the host.”
Jiang Lang frowned.
“It bound itself just by touching the pendant? I wore it for so long before. Why didn’t it bind then?”
“Has the host forgotten? We were already bound long ago.”
Jiang Lang’s brows furrowed even deeper, and her guard rose further. Worried that someone was playing a prank on her, she thoroughly searched every corner of the room, yet still found no clues whatsoever.
“Where did you come from?”
Everything had an origin. So what was the origin of this thing?
“Host might as well feel carefully for yourself,” the system prompted, sounding suspiciously like it was changing the subject.
Jiang Lang closed her eyes.
Suddenly, the scene before her changed drastically. It was as though she had entered another space—a tiny, completely empty space.
Then a panel appeared in her mind.
[Points Balance]
[Item Exchange]
[Lottery Draw]
【Points Balance: 0】
The item shelves were filled with products.
Energy Fluid — 1 point.
Constant Temperature Clothing — 10 points.
Defensive Suit — 50 points.
Ability-Type Books — 1,000 points.
Vitality Pill — 10,000 points.
Behind those were even more products with prices so outrageous they had countless zeros attached to them.
Jiang Lang widened her eyes.
This was the system and storage space?
“A portable space? A system?”
An almost absurd sense of reality surged in Jiang Lang’s heart, and the slight trembling in her eyes exposed her excitement.
“That’s right. The space attached to this system has an initial size of one square meter.”
“So small. What can it even do?”
She wanted to hoard supplies, but one square meter could at most store a bit of food. It was nowhere near enough.
“Host, don’t worry. As long as you earn enough points, not only can you exchange for all the products in the shop, but you can also draw the lottery. There’s a certain chance of expanding the space!”
Jiang Lang’s eyes lit up, overflowing with interest.
“How do I earn points?”
“Energy stones can be converted into points.”
“What are energy stones?” Jiang Lang had never heard of them before.
“They are simply stones containing hidden energy. For example, this jade pendant.”
In the blink of an eye, the jade pendant disappeared.
【Points Balance: 100】
Jiang Lang stared at her hand.
The pendant had vanished, replaced by a leaf-shaped mark deeply imprinted on her skin. No matter how hard she rubbed, it would not come off.
Energy stones.
Suddenly thinking of something, she pulled out her jewelry box from the drawer of the dressing table.
Jade pendants, bracelets, diamonds—crystal clear and sparkling. These were all relatively expensive pieces of jewelry she had collected over the years.
Her mother had been too busy with work to spend much time with her, but she would always bring home beautiful jewelry and toys to make up for it.
The moment the jewelry touched her hand, it disappeared from sight.
【Points Balance: 152】
“How did all those jade pieces only add fifty-two points?”
“The host may not know this, but the quality of the jade determines the amount of points received. After analyzing the energy within the jade, they truly are worth only this many points.”
The jade pendant her mother had given her had been passed down through several generations and was extremely valuable, which was why it could be exchanged for one hundred points. Ordinary jewelry naturally could not compare.
Jiang Lang nodded.
It seemed that earning points would not be easy.
“The host now has one hundred fifty-two points. Would you like to exchange for items or draw the lottery?”
Jiang Lang rubbed her chin.
“Let’s do the lottery. One draw.”
If there was one thing she wanted most right now, it was naturally more space—the bigger, the better—so she could hoard as many supplies as possible.
Money was not a problem. What she feared was stockpiling supplies only for them to end up belonging to someone else because she couldn’t keep them under her watch. Thinking about it that way, a portable space was simply too convenient.
Just how many square meters could she draw?
Her imagination ran wild.
【Points Balance: 142】
After deducting ten points, the roulette wheel began spinning.
Then came a ding.
“Thank you for participating.”
Jiang Lang’s face darkened.
She had won absolutely nothing. That was not what she expected.
“Draw five more times.”
【Points Balance: 92】
The roulette wheel spun continuously.
A series of dings followed.
“Thank you for participating.”
Jiang Lang’s expression grew darker and darker.
Was her luck really this terrible?
“Does the host wish to continue drawing?”
“Is someone as unlucky as me truly one of a kind?”
“The host is overthinking. This system has seen people throw in a thousand points and still not get a single thing,” 111 said casually.
Jiang Lang narrowed her eyes.
“Sounds like you’ve encountered many hosts before?”
111 said nothing.
“Gone mute?”
111 pretended to be dead and stopped responding.
Looks like there was no way to figure out its origins.
Jiang Lang gritted her teeth.
“Draw nine more times.”
After all, expanding the space was the only thing she needed right now.
【Points Balance: 2】
“Thank you for participating.”
“Thank you for participating.”
…
After nine consecutive failures, Jiang Lang’s mood sank lower and lower each time.
It was over. All her points were gone, and she had gotten nothing.
Suddenly, the roulette wheel spun once more.
“Roulette bonus: Draw ten times consecutively and receive one free draw.”
Jiang Lang looked up abruptly.