Shennan Province, Shunan City. Standing in the middle of the country’s largest grain base, Xu Jiao looked around at the massive stockpiles. After realizing just how much grain was stored there, she was completely dumbfounded.
Wait, how is there so much grain? How much effort is it going to take to pull all of this into my space?
The one-time storage capacity of her space had a limit. Once it exceeded a certain volume, she couldn’t take everything in at once; she had to do it in sections.
“Is this our task for today?” Xu Jiao asked Yu Peng, who had been assigned by Liu Chengyun to assist her.
Hearing the question, Yu Peng remained quiet for a moment before shaking his head. “No. If we finish this early, we have another location to get to.”
His answer was strictly business, but that was exactly why Xu Jiao felt her soul leaving her body. In other words, there was currently no end in sight for her workload. She suspected that if it were physically possible, the government might try to stuff every single resource in the country into her space to ensure nothing got damaged.
But that simply wasn’t realistic.
If she remembered correctly, the apocalypse began at the end of January—on the 31st. It was already the 19th, and the day was almost over. They didn’t even have a full month to prepare.
Yet, Jiang Taian had told her previously that the comet would break apart in a month. That doesn’t add up… Xu Jiao frowned slightly, intending to ask about the discrepancy later, but as she waited, she completely forgot about it. She was simply too busy.
During a brief rest after her shift, she noticed a strange man. He looked quite young but appeared very introverted, standing there without saying a word. Xu Jiao had no idea what he was doing there, so she decided to take the initiative.
“Why are you here?”
Ji Lin took a moment to process the question before answering, “Because I like it here…” He paused and shook his head. “No, I mean, I want to help.”
That was the primary reason he was there. Since the apocalypse hadn’t arrived yet, there weren’t many places that needed his specific “talents,” but since he was tireless and possessed incredible strength, helping out here seemed like a good fit.
In matters like this, Tang Yunzhou was always exceptionally generous and understanding of Ji Lin’s choices. He hadn’t refused the request; instead, he personally sent someone to escort Ji Lin to the base.
Xu Jiao stared at him, finding him a bit odd. Suddenly, a thought struck her. “Do you know someone named Li Sang?”
Ji Lin froze, looking surprised. “You know her too?”
The moment he said that, Xu Jiao’s spirit instantly revived. She took a few steps toward him, her voice brimming with excitement. “How do you know her?”
For some reason, the moment she saw this man, she had an intuition that they were kindred spirits.
“She approached me herself…” Ji Lin began to recall the events of the previous day. “She knew things about me that I’d never told anyone, and then…”
Xu Jiao’s eyes widened even further, and she cut him off. “And then, she made you join the government?”
Amazement flashed across Ji Lin’s face. “How did you know?”
How could I not know?! It was because she had lived through the exact same experience! She hadn’t told anyone about her space either, and she still didn’t understand how that woman knew her secrets. She had followed her in a daze, and now here she was, relegated to hard labor in a grain warehouse!
She felt a wave of resentment. She was so bitter! How did it come to this? If she had known, she wouldn’t have agreed—even if she really was working for the country…
“Were you tricked into this by her too?” Xu Jiao asked with a face full of melancholy.
“No, I followed her voluntarily. She said she could make me normal,” Ji Lin replied slowly but earnestly. He didn’t seem to be lying at all.
Hearing this, Xu Jiao’s eyes nearly popped out of her head. What kind of Kool-Aid did Li Sang give this guy? How did she manage to play him like this? He’s been exiled to this warehouse, and he’s still speaking up for her?
Just as that thought crossed her mind, her phone suddenly rang. She jolted, her reflex being to hang up immediately, but then she realized she was in a granary, not a top-secret military base, and her heart settled.
“Who’s calling now?” she muttered, checking the caller ID.
The contact name was simple—just two words: Li Sang.
Why is she calling me? When things are abnormal, there’s always a catch.
With the intent to see what Li Sang was up to, Xu Jiao answered the call. As soon as the connection was made, Li Sang’s cheerful voice came through. “Comrade Xu Jiao, have you seen Ji Lin?”
Background noise—the sound of a car horn—accompanied her voice. It sounded like she was in a noisy area or a busy street.
Ji Lin? Is it this guy in front of me? Before Xu Jiao could ask, Ji Lin nodded proactively.
“Yeah, he’s right here next to me,” Xu Jiao replied, intentionally keeping her voice cold. “Do you need something?”
Li Sang, currently sitting in the passenger seat of the Wuling Hongguang van, watched as the speedometer neared an impossible 280 km/h. She said airily, “I do. I’m currently on my way to find you. Wait for me.”
Then, she hung up.
The entire call lasted less than two minutes—ridiculously fast. It was clear that Li Sang didn’t have anything truly important to say; she had likely just called because she was bored. At least, that’s what Xu Jiao thought.
But was that the truth?
Yes and no.
When Jiang Taian had asked her if there were any more people to find, she had thought about it for a long time before saying, “No more in the Capital.” One city, three “protagonists”—any more would be overkill. But there were others in different places, including Shennan Province, where Xu Jiao was.
The moment Li Sang told Jiang Taian, he had dragged her into the van and headed straight for Shennan without a single moment of rest. The current speed of 280 km/h proved his urgency. Jiang Taian was truly in a hurry.
“If you’re in such a rush, why didn’t we take a plane? Or the high-speed rail? Why do we have to drive this Wuling Hongguang?”
Because of the extreme speed, Jiang Taian didn’t dare to look away or answer. It was Ling Lan who replied, “This is a modified vehicle. It’s bulletproof—built from a failed test vehicle by Academician Lin. The glass is top-grade ballistic glass.”
Ling Lan concluded, “Simply put, if ten cars crashed into us simultaneously, we would be perfectly fine.”
Li Sang let out a surprised “Ah.” “And here I thought it was just a five-thousand-dollar piece of junk…”