In the early morning, the air was stuffy and humid, sunlight tightly blocked by thick black clouds, leaving only a hazy glow.
Jiang Shengyue opened her eyes and sat up from the bed, instantly feeling stars burst before her eyes.
Only after she wolfed down a large meal from her Space did some strength return to her body.
Just then, her phone finished charging and turned on automatically.
“What’s going on?”
The time on the phone showed that a full ten days had passed since she lost consciousness!
With a complicated expression, Jiang Shengyue opened her right hand and skillfully drew upon the energy in her body—
Brown vines as thin as little fingers extended inch by inch from her palm, twisting and winding as they grew freely.
The vines quickly spread and filled the entire room!
These tough, bing branches intertwined and tangled like a nest.
Jiang Shengyue sat expressionless in their midst, like a female ghost.
Unlike these eerie, almost sinister plants, Jiang Shengyue could see bright Ability particles drifting up and down around her like fireflies.
Dreamlike and surreal.
After sustaining it for five seconds, she felt the energy in her body deplete.
Jiang Shengyue clenched her hand into a fist, and the vines in the room dissipated back into the world.
She frowned in thought.
In her past life, she had only Awakened her Plant Ability a year into the Apocalypse, but back then she hadn’t passed out—she’d merely had a fever for three days, and had even retained the ability to move during that time.
The greater and longer the reaction during Awakening, the stronger the resulting Ability and the higher its potential.
Jiang Shengyue’s situation back then was the sign of the lowest potential and weakest power.
And indeed, the facts proved it.
Later, she leveled up more slowly than others, her energy reserves were lower, and even using her Ability felt sluggish and awkward.
Meanwhile, those high-potential Awakeners commanded their power with breathtaking mastery—the kind of skill she’d envied even in her dreams.
Now she could feel that the energy around her was more than five times stronger than in her past life!
And she could sense that drawing upon the energy was as smooth and fluid as moving her own limbs!
This meant that the heights she would reach in the future were beyond imagination!
One day, she would let everyone know she was no useless invalid!
That her Plant Ability was no trash Ability!
She was quite satisfied with her optimized five senses, though it was a pity her physical constitution hadn’t improved.
Jiang Shengyue took a deep breath, feeling no disappointment.
After all, she’d been through this in her past life—her body would need another catalyst to fully recover.
Three days later, Jiang Shengyue, full of energy, drove to the western suburbs warehouse.
A light rain had begun to fall from the sky, and the air drifting into the car was still so hot it was suffocating.
She frowned and rolled up the window, shutting the oppressive heat outside.
“Looks like the heavy rain season is about to begin.”
Upon arriving at the western suburbs warehouse, Jiang Shengyue was astonished to discover that her Spatial Domain had grown by one meter in both length and width over these ten days!
This was good news, Jiang Shengyue thought thoughtfully.
It seemed the Spatial Domain still had plenty of room to grow.
It might even become an externally castable skill!
Jiang Shengyue made two round trips between Banshan Villa and the western suburbs warehouse before transporting all the goods.
When she returned to the Dixiacheng warehouse for the second time, the system notification sounded.
[Ding! Dixiacheng supply reserves have reached the standard! Dixiacheng Basement Level 1 unlocked!]
Arriving at Basement Level 1, even though Jiang Shengyue had grown accustomed to the system’s advanced technology, she was still stunned the moment the elevator doors opened.
This was the underground section of Banyue Mountain—the true Dixiacheng!
[Dixiacheng Basement Level 1 is the agricultural and livestock zone!]
【Once this floor’s growth rate reaches 50%, the host will unlock access to the next floor!】
【This floor features artificial sunlight, abundant water sources, and various auxiliary farming machines to help you achieve food freedom faster!】
Jiang Shengyue marveled as she stood at the edge of the thousand-mu farmland.
Before her stretched cultivated land as far as the eye could see.
Beside it were several farming machines, each with a slot for inserting an Energy Core—apparently machinery combining manual operation and nuclear power.
Energy Cores exist in the brains of level-two and above Zombies; they are clusters of energy that can be absorbed and converted by Awakeners.
Jiang Shengyue raised an eyebrow. She’d never seen anyone apply Energy Cores to machinery before—it was a brilliant idea.
If she got the chance, she might try it herself someday.
The water problem was solved too.
On one side was a row of water outlets. The system indicated the water came from groundwater filtered through multiple layers—perfectly safe.
On the other side of the farmland was a livestock area, along with enormous breeding pools.
Various machines stood nearby, including even gleaming silver mechanical arms.
Jiang Shengyue, about to become a landowner, gazed at the vast farmland that was now hers and fell into deep thought.
When would she ever finish planting all this land?
Jiang Shengyue decided to start by buying supplies.
Sheng Nuo’s 30 million had already arrived in her account—it had to be converted into supplies as quickly as possible.
First she rented an off-road vehicle, then bought a luxury RV outright for 800,000. There was no help for it—this model couldn’t be rented.
Finally, she found the Weilong Company and spent 1.8 million to fully upgrade and comprehensively modify both vehicles.
They were bound to become mobile little tanks of the Apocalypse!
Over the next dozen or so days, Jiang Shengyue not only scoured all of Róngníng Shì—to avoid drawing attention by buying supplies on a massive scale in her own city, she also went to neighboring Qingde City.
She searched out every highest-rated restaurant in the city, covering all eight great cuisines.
She ordered a total of 10,000 meals, to be delivered in batches to the western suburb warehouse at 6 p.m. each day for ten consecutive days, costing 500,000.
Every evening, Jiang Shengyue would arrive at the warehouse on time and store the still-hot meals into her Space, preserving the food’s taste to the greatest extent possible.
Jiang Shengyue then went to the farmers’ market and bought 100 tons of all kinds of coarse grains—black beans, mung beans, red beans, and more—for 2 million.
She added another 100 tons of rice for 1.2 million.
For meat, she took everything frozen. Though the taste certainly couldn’t compare to fresh meat, once the Apocalypse came, having meat to eat would be the finest kind of life—who was she to be picky?
She ordered 100 tons total of common meats like chicken, duck, beef, and pork, costing 5 million.
Plus 10,000 cans of canned meat, 120,000.
1,000 boxes of milk and milk powder, 50,000.
All kinds of cooking oil—peanut oil, soybean oil, olive oil…—10,000 barrels in total, 1 million.
10,000 boxes of bottled mineral water cost 300,000.
She also bought 3 tons of every vegetable seed she could find on the market, 3 tons of two-season rice seed, and 3 tons of premium wheat seed, totaling 130,000.
She didn’t know how to farm, but she could learn!
A Plant-type Awakened surely wouldn’t be too bad at farming!
There were also various one-year-old saplings that would bear fruit within the year—apple, pear, peach, apricot…
1,000 trees in total, costing 75,000.
She also stockpiled a large batch of farm tools—hoes, shovels, sickles, and the like. Among them, Jiang Shengyue’s favorites were the chainsaws in all different models and sizes.
This thing fit her aesthetic of violence, but unfortunately, aside from the smallest model, she couldn’t lift any of the larger ones. It cost 100,000.
She made a special trip to the flower and bird market and bought all the plants there, along with various rare flower seeds.
She herself had a Plant Ability, so plant seeds were vital supplies, yet they were surprisingly cheap—buying a full ton only cost 40,000.
……
Wholesale market.
1,000 sets each of men’s and women’s cotton sports clothing in one-size-fits-all, plus children’s one-size sports clothing, for 240,000.
She also specially bought 5,000 sets of premium athletic and casual wear in Jiang Shengyue’s own size S, 1,000 sets of pajamas, 5,000 sets of clothing for all four seasons, and 10,000 sets of high- underwear, totaling 1.44 million.
There were also quick-dry clothes, which could serve as thermal underwear in winter—1,000 sets each in unisex sizes, plus 1,000 sets in Jiang Shengyue’s fitted size, totaling 190,000.
And most importantly, down jackets!
5,000 one-size-fits-all jackets, plus 5,000 premium down jackets for Jiang Shengyue herself.
There were also 1,000 thermal tops for her own use, 1,000 pairs of athletic shoes, and 1,000 pairs of winter thermal boots, specifically for dealing with blizzards and extreme cold, totaling 2.568 million.
She then stocked up on a large batch of daily necessities—shampoo, body wash, soap, laundry detergent, toilet paper, and so on—totaling 1 million.
……
While Jiang Shengyue was out shopping on her sweeping spree, she noticed an electronics store having a sale.
She bought 20 tablets and 10 laptops. Even though there would be no electricity after the Apocalypse, her shelter had power.
Watching a movie while eating—how delightful.
She also got some household appliances as backups for home use, plus 500 surveillance devices.
She added 3 generators rated at 3,000 KW, 10 solar generators at 500W, 10 diesel generators at 5 KW, 20 hand-crank generators, and 100 solar-electric dual-use water heaters, totaling 3.984 million.
After comparing wilderness survival gear stores in two cities, Jiang Shengyue chose the largest one.
She purchased 500 sets each of men’s and women’s combat uniforms, 500 pairs each of men’s and women’s combat boots, 500 fully equipped wilderness survival packs, and 500 walkie-talkies, totaling 780,000.
Seeing such a big customer, the owner brought out his most treasured item—
Combat suits made of high-tech material, fireproof, waterproof, and stab-resistant.
While not offering complete protection, they were already excellent defensive gear.
Jiang Shengyue readily ordered 500 sets for 1.5 million.
……
Finally, Jiang Shengyue went to the farmers’ market to buy live chicks, ducklings, and other young animals. Faced with so many fragile little creatures, she hesitated.
Farming crops was fine for her, but raising livestock…
After careful consideration, she didn’t buy too many.
She settled on 50 chicks, 50 ducklings, and 50 goslings, but skipped animals like pigs and sheep.
She was just one person—even with machines, she would still need to look after them herself. These cost less than 1,000.
There was also cat food, dog food, and canned pet food. Don’t underestimate pet food—in the Apocalypse, it was a hot commodity.
Clean and containing meat, it was something many people fought over and couldn’t even grab. It cost less than 100,000.
Of the 30 million, only 350,000 remained. Jiang Shengyue topped up on mechanical parts at the building materials market, plus 10,000 sealed barrels.
And with that, she was once again a penniless pauper.
Only two days remained until the Apocalypse.
“Cough, cough!”
Jiang Shengyue sat on the sofa, clutching her chest as she coughed uncontrollably, her cheeks flushed with a sickly feverish glow.
Probably because she’d worn herself out gathering supplies lately, her body couldn’t handle the sudden relaxation—she had come down with a fever.
The thermometer read—38.6°C.
The sound of the TV mixed with the thunder and rain outside the window, filling the air with a restless, irritating unease.
“A series of car accidents occurred today on Heping Road… The cause of the accidents is still under investigation…”
“A stabbing incident took place today at a shopping mall in Damai Cheng… The attacker bit multiple bystanders and has been sent to the hospital…”
Jiang Shengyue narrowed her eyes, focusing on the footage captured on the TV—
That attacker was a fully transformed Zombie!
The Apocalypse was here!
Yunlan Gardens was quite far from Dongjiao, and the outbreak of Zombies varied in timing across different districts.
So she had set aside three days in advance—stockpiling supplies before then, and adapting as needed during those final three days.
The original plan was to sweep the pharmacies on the first day of the Apocalypse.
Now it seemed she would have to carry out the plan while sick.