Her mother.
Nyx’s expression changed.
It seemed... her deceased mother had left behind an inheritance?
The thought had almost slipped past her.
Nyx stared at her phone, her fingers slowly tightening around it.
Her mother had died when Nyx was seven years old.
Her death had been announced publicly, condolences had been received, and the Arden family had moved on as though she had never existed.
A few months later, Edmund brought Camilla into the house.
After that, Nyx’s memories of her mother gradually became distant.
As she grew older, other things emerged to occupy her attention. Camilla had never bothered hiding her dislike for Nyx, while Livia had made it her personal responsibility to make every day as unpleasant as possible. Then Lucian arrived, and Nyx’s attention gradually shifted toward protecting him.
She only learned about her mother’s inheritance when she turned eighteen.
Nyx frowned as she searched through her memories.
There had been investment accounts. The money had originally belonged to her mother and had eventually been transferred into Nyx’s name.
At the time, Nyx hadn’t paid much attention to the details.
She had been studying and working part-time, saving her own money, and trying to establish some independence from the Arden family. The investments had been managed professionally, and Nyx had simply allowed them to remain that way.
She had never imagined that one day she would need every resource she could get her hands on.
Nyx lowered her gaze to her phone.
Her mother had also left behind something else.
Nyx’s brows slowly drew together.
Property?
She remembered hearing something about it.
The memory was vague. Her mother had owned a property before marrying Edmund, one that had remained separate from the Arden family’s assets.
In fact, she couldn’t remember the last time anyone had even mentioned it.
That alone was enough to make her suspicious.
Edmund had always been interested in assets.
He cared about status, influence, money, and anything else that could be measured or turned into an advantage. The fact that he had never shown much interest in her mother’s remaining property suggested one of two things.
Either it wasn’t valuable enough for him to care about, or he couldn’t touch it.
But there was still Livia, his precious daughter. No matter how little the property was worth, Nyx was certain Livia would want it simply because it belonged to her.
Yet it seemed Edmund hadn’t pursued it either, which meant there had to be another reason.
Nyx preferred the second possibility because if the property was legally hers, it could solve several problems at once.
She needed privacy.
She needed land.
She needed somewhere to receive supplies without attracting the attention of the entire neighborhood.
A warehouse would still be necessary, at least temporarily, but having her own property would give her far more options.
Nyx immediately opened her browser.
Before she could type anything, another translucent notification appeared before her eyes.
[Current Synchronization: 30%.]
Nyx paused.
The System’s synchronization had increased again.
Since the System had first appeared, the intervals between each notification had gradually become longer. The increase from eight percent to fifteen percent had happened after she saw Lucian, while the following notifications had appeared intermittently as she recorded her memories.
She didn’t know exactly what it was synchronizing, but she had an idea that it was related to its functions. What she hoped was that it would finish synchronizing quickly so she could find out what it was about.
Nyx looked toward Lucian.
He was still sleeping peacefully on the couch. The sight immediately eased something inside her.
Whatever the reason, the System was connected to her through her past life. It had even helped her fully activate the ability she had awakened, so she hoped it could help her in one way or another. Even if it wanted something in exchange, as long as it was something she could give, she would.
Nyx turned back to her phone and opened her contacts.
There were several people she needed to speak with, but she had the contact information for only a few of them.
The first was the accountant who had handled some of her mother’s affairs.
Nyx couldn’t remember his exact role in her previous life. She only remembered that he had known her mother personally and had continued managing some of her financial matters after her death.
She found his name after searching through several old contacts.
Her finger hovered above the number.
Then she stopped.
Not yet.
Nyx had only just regained consciousness. She didn’t know exactly what information she would need, and she didn’t want to contact anyone without first understanding the situation herself.
There were still too many things she needed to do.
Then there was her medical condition and—
Nyx’s expression darkened.
The Arden family.
She couldn’t remain at the mansion for long.
The thought of returning to the same house and pretending that nothing had changed made her stomach twist.
Livia had deliberately pushed her down the stairs.
And Edmund?
Nyx glanced toward the door.
She had been hospitalized, but had he even called?
The answer was obvious.
Her lips curved into a cold smile.
It was almost amusing.
In her previous life, she had spent years trying to understand why her ’family’ treated her differently.
Why Edmund always seemed indifferent toward her.
Why Camilla’s hostility never faded despite being the mistress.
Why Livia hated her despite Nyx never having taken anything from her.
After three years of the apocalypse, she no longer cared.
They could hate her, they could ignore her, and they could pretend she didn’t exist.
Nyx would be perfectly happy to return the favor.
And when the apocalypse arrived?
That would be the time for her payback.
She wanted to leave, but her arm was still fractured, and she had no intention of wandering around the city while injured and unprepared. So she would have to make do with them for a little while.
Thirty days was already an incredibly short amount of time. Now that she had spent part of the first day in the hospital, there were even fewer days remaining.
Nyx opened the notes she had been writing earlier and scrolled through the information she had recorded.
Some parts were detailed, while others consisted of only a few words.
There were memories she couldn’t recall no matter how hard she tried.
Nyx wasn’t surprised.
Three years was a long time, especially when most of those years had been spent trying to survive.
Her memories were useful.
But they weren’t omniscient.
The past had given her an advantage.
Nothing more.
A notification suddenly appeared.
[Current Synchronization: 35%.]
Nyx blinked.
Thirty-five?
She looked at the System panel.
"What exactly are you synchronizing?"
The question had barely left her mouth before another panel appeared.
[System is unable to respond.]
[Current synchronization is incomplete.]
Nyx stared at the words.
So it could answer.
Interesting.
She sat up slightly.
"Can you understand me?"
[System is unable to respond.]
Nyx’s expression remained unchanged.
So it was a repeated notification.
Either the System truly couldn’t communicate yet, or it was deliberately limiting its responses until synchronization was complete.
Nyx leaned back against the pillows.
Fine.
She could wait.
Nyx looked toward Lucian again.
His head had slipped slightly against the couch.
She sighed.
Even sleeping seemed difficult for him.
Nyx considered waking him and telling him to move somewhere more comfortable, but stopped herself.
He had probably been awake for hours.
Maybe longer.
She glanced at the time.
It was already past noon.
The realization made Nyx pause.
She had spent almost the entire morning either recording memories or thinking about the future.
She still hadn’t eaten.
Her gaze shifted toward the table beside the bed.
The meal was no longer steaming.
Nyx stared at it for a moment.
In her previous life, she would have eaten cold food without hesitation.
She had eaten food that had been sitting out for days.
She had eaten things without knowing what they were.
Once, she and Lucian had divided a crushed can of beans between them because it had been the only edible thing they found inside an abandoned building.
Now there was an untouched meal sitting only a few meters away.
Nyx reached for the table and pulled the tray closer.
The food was cold now, but she didn’t care.
She picked up the spoon with her uninjured hand.
The moment she did, another notification appeared.
[Current Synchronization: 40%.]
Then another.
[Current Synchronization: 45%.]
She paused, then put the spoon in her mouth and continued eating.
Then, ten minutes later, another notification came.
[Current Synchronization: 50%.]
Nyx’s pulse quickened.
It was already halfway.
If the System truly possessed the ability to help her—
No.
She stopped herself.
There was no point making assumptions.
She would find out when synchronization was complete.
[Current Synchronization: 55%.]
Nyx glanced at the notification.
As she slowly finished the meal, her mind continued working.
Even without the System’s still-unknown functions, she could begin preparing.