Perhaps unable to bear seeing her raise her hopes only to be disappointed again, the system said, “Host, don’t get your hopes up…”
Before it could finish speaking, a ding sounded.
“Congratulations, Host. You have won one hundred cubic meters of space from the lottery.”
Jiang Lang seemed to hear the system’s mechanical voice rise in disbelief at the end.
System: Slapped in the face.
How was this possible? Since when had the roulette wheel become so merciful? This was not the roulette wheel it knew.
The space instantly expanded by one hundred cubic meters, changing from an area too small for even one person to fit into to a size large enough to build a house in.
Suddenly, someone knocked on the door.
Jiang Lang stood up and walked toward it. The moment she twisted the lock open, a dark figure lunged toward her.
“Sis!”
“I missed you so much!”
Jiang Gan, standing at over six feet tall, leaned his entire body against her with complete dependence.
Looking at the bright and cheerful boy before her, Jiang Lang could not help thinking that she had nearly missed him to death too.
In her previous life, she had watched helplessly as he grew weaker day by day, his face turning pale, his entire body losing vitality until he finally died in despair.
Her fists clenched tightly.
In this life, no one would be allowed to hurt her brother.
“It’s only been five days since you last saw each other. How much could you possibly miss her? Hurry downstairs and eat!” Madam Bai shouted from the living room.
The beautiful reunion between siblings was ruined, and Jiang Gan was extremely dissatisfied as he reluctantly headed downstairs.
Professor Jiang carried the final bowl of soup onto the table.
The family of four sat together at the dining table.
As he scooped rice into Jiang Lang’s bowl and enthusiastically tried to please her, Jiang Gan whined, “I really did miss my sister. I missed her so much I almost cried.”
“Then why don’t you learn from your sister? With grades as terrible as yours, how dare you call yourself her younger brother?” Madam Bai shot him a sidelong glance.
Jiang Gan pouted and decided not to speak to his mother for a whole minute.
Jiang Gan was sixteen this year and in his second year of high school. He resembled Jiang Lang by about fifty percent and was extremely handsome. His personality was famously sweet, considerate, and charming. All the elders adored him.
Except for one thing.
He simply had no talent for studying.
Professor Jiang had always been optimistic.
“So what if his grades are bad? If the road’s blocked, he can always walk on the sidewalk instead!”
Their father was a university professor and usually not very busy. When they were little, he had spent much more time with them than their mother had.
Madam Bai became even more displeased.
Jiang Lang quickly interjected, “Mom, I missed you so much.”
Madam Bai reached out and pinched her daughter’s cheek.
“Mom missed you too. I wish you’d never leave my side for even one step.”
Jiang Gan drifted over gloomily.
“Madam Bai, you just went out for a huge meal with Sis the day before yesterday. How much could you possibly miss her?”
Madam Bai immediately shot him a dangerous look.
Jiang Gan instantly fell silent.
It was fine before they started eating, but the moment the meal began, it triggered the survival instincts Jiang Lang had developed during the apocalypse—an instinct carved into her bones.
Snatching food.
She shoveled rice nonstop into her mouth, devouring everything wolfishly without the slightest concern for manners. Only when she accidentally looked up and saw the three of them staring at her in disbelief did she realize something was wrong, and embarrassment flashed across her face.
She slowly set down her chopsticks.
“I have something to say.”
The other three also put down their chopsticks.
Jiang Gan asked, “Sis, is it good news or bad news?”
She looked at her younger brother.
“You’ll never need to take the college entrance exams. Very soon, you won’t need to go to school anymore either.”
Jiang Gan shot up from his chair, his eyes shining brightly with excitement.
Madam Bai asked, “Baby, why would you say that?”
“Natural disasters are going to come one after another. The apocalypse is coming!”
Madam Bai and Professor Jiang both fell silent.
Only Jiang Gan’s eyes lit up faintly.
The apocalypse.
So cool!
“I had a very terrifying, very long nightmare. I dreamed that the apocalypse arrived. We couldn’t get enough food or warm clothes. All kinds of disasters appeared one after another, and in the end, we all died.”
Silence spread through the room.
Jiang Lang slowly lowered her head.
Who would believe something so absurd?
“So what do we need to prepare? Are cold weapons okay? Or should we just go overseas and buy firearms?!” Jiang Gan rolled up his sleeves, looking eager to launch into action immediately.
Jiang Lang raised her head.
“You believe me?”
“Silly child, I know you better than anyone,” Madam Bai said helplessly.
The child she had raised had never lied to her once since childhood. She certainly would not start now.
Professor Jiang also seemed to think of something, his tone turning serious.
“I’ve heard some rumors. Several smaller countries have been experiencing abnormal weather conditions one after another. Even if it’s not truly the apocalypse, some kind of disaster is unavoidable. We really should start preparing early.”
“Baby, tell us in detail what kinds of disasters might happen so we can prepare in advance!”
Under Jiang Gan’s eager anticipation, Madam Bai directly requested a long leave for him from school. After all, schools would not stay open in the future anyway.
The four of them quickly drafted a list of essential supplies at top speed.
“We’ll also need to prepare several large warehouses to store everything,” Madam Bai pondered.
“Mom, there’s no need.”
Jiang Lang took her mother’s hand, and in the next second, they appeared inside the empty space.
Madam Bai’s lips trembled visibly. She was clearly frightened.
“Is this some kind of magic trick?”
“This is a storage space. I can freely store and retrieve anything inside. We’ll never have to worry about not having room for supplies!”
Even while excited, Madam Bai did not forget to remind her daughter, “This is your space. You mustn’t tell anyone else about it, and you absolutely can’t bring other people inside. You have to learn how to protect yourself.”
Jiang Lang replied, “Mom, this is our space. Remember the jade pendant you gave me? The space actually came from it.”
Madam Bai’s expression changed from shock to delight.
“Good. I knew you and that jade pendant were destined for each other. Otherwise, how come I wore it for so many years without discovering a space? My baby is truly amazing.”
At the same time, outside the space, the father and son duo were completely dumbfounded.
The two living people had vanished just like that. No—it was more like they had evaporated from the face of the earth.
“Sis!”
“Madam Bai!”
“Jiang Jiang!”
“Wife!”
The two searched frantically around the house, yet found absolutely nothing, and their panic grew stronger and stronger.
“Dad, do you think Sis and the others got captured by monsters?”
Jiang Gan had recently been obsessed with Journey to the West. Every time a demon captured Tang Sanzang, a gust of demonic wind would blow past and Tang Sanzang would disappear.
Just as Jiang Lang and Madam Bai emerged from the space, they overheard Jiang Gan’s words and nearly burst out laughing.
Professor Jiang replied, “Nonsense!”
Madam Bai nodded in agreement.
Exactly. How could there be monsters in this world? This troublesome son of hers simply had too much imagination. If only he could apply even a little of it toward studying.
“Did you feel any wind?”
Jiang Lang: “……”
Madam Bai: “……”
As expected, only a father could keep up with his son’s wild imagination.
Jiang Gan nodded thoughtfully.
“That’s true.”
There had been no wind.
Then what exactly had happened?