After getting out of the elevator, Chen Xing first found the fire hose cabinet and took out the fire axe.
The axe was a little heavy, but it could kill a zombie in one hit. It felt amazing.
Just as she’d guessed, Cheng Fang was lying on the ground in a super-short miniskirt and a tight blouse. That was her standard outfit.
Chen Xing walked to the desk and picked up the utility knife on it.
Bye-bye!
Without hesitation, Chen Xing gripped the utility knife and plunged it directly into Cheng Fang’s temple, taking her revenge for the past life in a simple, brutal fashion.
As she got up, she noticed the ring on Cheng Fang’s index finger.
’This ring... Though the color is a little different, I remember it.’
In her last life, after Cheng Fang tricked her into a zombie horde where she was bitten and torn to pieces, Cheng Fang had walked up, looked down on her condescendingly, and twirled this very ring. She’d gloated that it was a Space Ring, one that could not only store items but also grow fruits and vegetables. She had even asked Chen Xing if she remembered it.
At the time, she’d found the ring incredibly familiar, but she had no memories from before the apocalypse.
’I might as well test it...’
Chen Xing took the ring from Cheng Fang’s hand. The moment she put it on her own, she felt a connection to another dimension. The ring on her hand changed from dark green to a vibrant green—the exact color Cheng Fang had worn in her previous life.
’So... does this ring’s spatial function only activate when the apocalypse is about to begin?’
As long as she focused her mind, she could perceive a lush green space with grassy fields and a river.
She tried concentrating. With a thought, the fire axe in her hand appeared inside the space. When she looked again, it was gone from the outside world.
Even though she was mentally prepared, she was still quite shocked. ’Something like this actually exists?’
She had always wondered why Cheng Fang’s complexion remained so delicate so long into the apocalypse, looking as if she had never gone hungry. Now she knew it was all thanks to the space.
After a final glance at Cheng Fang, she walked into the director’s office.
She was very curious to see who this director was. In her ten years of the apocalypse in her past life, she had never once met him.
She had only heard that countless people revered and worshipped him, as if he were a god.
Unfortunately, the man wasn’t here. There was only a safe standing in the corner.
As if guided by some unseen force, she walked over and placed her palm on the safe.
Instantly, she could perceive the items inside, and could even touch them.
A loaded handgun, a box of bullets, and a pile of cash next to them.
Without hesitation, she took the gun and bullets.
’Money? It’s just waste paper!’
Then, she walked toward the filing cabinet by the door.
She needed to find someone. In her last life, this person had pretended to be her friend, but not only deceived her but had also put her in danger several times.
In this life, she naturally couldn’t let her have an easy time either.
Hao Wenli... Amidst a stack of clerical files, she found the name she hated with a passion.
’I knew it. Hao Wenli was from the Research Institute. A shame I never suspected a thing back then.’
Time was short. After stowing away Hao Wenli’s file, she immediately headed for the elevators.
Originally, she had just planned to grab some food so she wouldn’t have to starve from the very beginning. Now, with the Space Ring, she could take all the supplies in the basement.
She rode the elevator all the way down.
The first basement level was the size of a small soccer field, piled high with countless supplies, mostly food.
And the best part was, the entire floor had no surveillance cameras.
Wherever her hand passed, the items instantly vanished into the space.
The space, which didn’t seem that large, had surprisingly managed to hold so many things, and there was still plenty of room left over.
’And there’s more than just this one room in the basement.’
She was about to continue searching when her body swayed, and she felt a distinct wave of fatigue.
’If I collapse now, not only will I fail to get the supplies, but I’ll likely be captured again when those researchers wake up.’
She had no choice but to enter the space. She intended to find some emergency food among the things she’d just taken to replenish her energy, but her eyes immediately fell upon a spring.
For some reason, she found the water inexplicably enticing.
Walking to the edge of the spring, she scooped up the water with both hands. The moment the cool water went down her throat, she felt as if she had been completely reborn.
Not only had her fatigue vanished, but she was also filled with strength.
Only then did she realize what a treasure this spring was.
Her energy restored, she immediately began to search the remaining areas. Besides the lowest level she had escaped from, there were two more floors.
The things on the next level were her absolute favorite.
It was all frozen food, cured meats, and various High Level meat products, filling the entire floor.
She didn’t know if these frozen goods would spoil after entering the space.
Still, leaving them behind meant leaving them for the people at the Research Institute, and she wasn’t about to do that.
So, she simply took the freezers along with everything else. After that... aside from a patch of grass and a low-lying area, the space was almost completely full.
The last floor was filled with meat... live meat, of course, kept in a breeding room.
Pigs, cattle, sheep, chickens, ducks, geese... horses, rabbits... ’These will all be treasures later on.’
She tentatively reached out and touched a chicken. Instantly, the chicken was inside the space, looking far more energetic and lively than it had outside.
Chen Xing absolutely loved this space.
’It seems that as long as I protect this ring, I’ll have food no matter what happens to the world.’
’Take it, take it all...’
In an instant, the entire basement was empty.
The apocalypse was drawing near.
’Water!’
Only after coming up from the basement did Chen Xing realize she should have stored more water in the space.
Although there was plenty of bottled water among the supplies she’d just taken, she should use tap water for bathing and daily life whenever possible.
After finding the breakroom on the first floor, she turned on a faucet. The moment water started flowing, she reached out her hand while focusing her consciousness.
The water entering the space flowed directly into the low-lying area, forming a reservoir that filled continuously.
She only turned off the faucet once the entire basin was full.
The space was limited; there was nothing she could do about it.
’If only the space could get bigger!’
With that thought, she walked out of the laboratory building.
The outside world was silent, but order had collapsed.
Cars that had been driving on the road hadn’t had time to brake. Some had crashed, others had caught fire. The people inside were already burned to a crisp, yet no one was calling for help, and no one was coming to put out the fires.
Chen Xing glanced at the time. Ten minutes until the apocalypse officially began.
She looked up at the azure sky, then at the towering high-rises around her.
’There’s nothing more I can do now.’
’With so many people, I have no way of knowing who will turn into a zombie and who will survive.’
All she could do was find a safe place and wait for the apocalypse to arrive.
Next to her was the city’s tallest skyscraper, which overlooked all of Hualai City.
She quickly ran over.
Upon entering the building, she wanted to block the main entrances, but there were too many of them. She didn’t have enough time.
She had to give up on the idea. Grabbing an access card from the chest of a front desk employee, she quickly entered an elevator.
She reached the top floor, walked down a long corridor, and saw a glass door leading to the rooftop.
After going outside, she locked the door behind her and then wedged a nearby wooden chair against it.
It was a large open-air rooftop, a recreational area for employees. At the far edge was a one-and-a-half-story structure, a few dozen square meters in size, which was probably a water tank or something similar. The edge was lined with a railing overlooking the street, offering a panoramic view.
She sat on the railing, dangling her feet over the edge hundreds of meters in the air. Holding a bottle of a crystal-clear drink, she gazed down at the deathly quiet street and said leisurely, "Welcome to the apocalypse!"