The renovated basement was divided into two levels.
The lower level was about 100 square meters with a height of two meters, and it was now filled with the grape wine he had made.
The upper level was slightly smaller, a little over 80 square meters, also two meters high. It was packed with baskets of dried persimmons, bags of shelled and dried chestnuts, and many boxes of jars filled with pear paste. Since the basement was cool, the food could be stored for a much longer time.
Whenever Cheng Feng looked at all this, he felt extremely proud.
He had also organized the backyard and built a rain shelter. It was already stacked with firewood he had gathered and chopped—enough to last him through the entire winter.
Hanging under the eaves were wild rabbits, pheasants, and even a roe deer he had caught using traps. He had turned them all into preserved meat so they would last longer.
At times like this, Cheng Feng couldn’t help but think—if only his storage space were a little bigger.
But it was just a thought. He knew he was already far better off than most people.
Soon, it was December, yet the temperature hadn’t dropped much. This allowed Cheng Feng to continue stockpiling supplies in the mountains for longer. At the same time, he kept a close eye on what was happening outside.
Online discussions were becoming more intense. Whether people believed it or not, almost everyone had started stockpiling to some extent. The government had stepped in to regulate things, otherwise it would have become complete chaos.
Even the village at the foot of the mountain saw many people returning home after years away. With things becoming unstable, it was safer to be home than outside. As a result, more people had been entering the mountains lately. Cheng Feng deliberately avoided them and didn’t want any interaction. Fortunately, they didn’t dare go deep into the mountains, and his home was already near the edge of the deeper area.
Wang Yue had messaged him a few times, wanting to send him things, but he refused. Logistics were already chaotic, and lost packages were common. More importantly, he didn’t want to reveal his location.
Shen Mu still hadn’t replied to his messages. Cheng Feng didn’t know if he had picked up the supplies, but he had done what he could and didn’t think further about it.
What he didn’t expect was that around October, Jiang Yun and Shen Ke started messaging him repeatedly.
He didn’t know what they wanted, but it definitely wasn’t anything good. Most likely, even though they hadn’t seen the pendant, they had learned about its power through other means. Worried they might track his location, he simply threw his phone into his storage space and cut off all contact with the outside world.
Meanwhile, after dreaming that the pendants worn by Shen Mu and Cheng Feng were actually space artifacts, Jiang Yun and Shen Ke went crazy trying to find them. They wanted to obtain those pendants, but they couldn’t contact either of them. Even using every tracking method available, they couldn’t locate them.
They realized that both men had already activated their spaces and were being extremely cautious.
Thinking back to the two times they felt sudden chest pain—the feeling of losing something important—they connected it to the time when Shen Mu and Cheng Feng had started acting differently. That must have been when they activated their spaces.
Damn it! Those spaces were originally theirs!
The sense of loss proved that those things should have belonged to them.
Jiang Yun no longer looked as pure and gentle as before. She appeared exhausted, with impatience and suppressed fear in her eyes.
“They must have had some special opportunity too—maybe even earlier than us. They’re fully prepared. We won’t be able to find them.”
Shen Ke, already gloomy by nature, looked even darker. Hearing this, he suddenly stood up and flipped the table. Months of frustration had pushed him to the edge of collapse. Even in front of the woman he loved most, he couldn’t pretend anymore.
Ever since they had the dream about the apocalypse, they went to Father Shen to liquidate their assets—only to find they couldn’t sell them at all.
Shen Group shares used to be highly sought after, but now they couldn’t even be sold at a reduced price. Someone in their circle later told them about the precautions Shen Mu had taken before going abroad.
But what was the use of that now? Even industry leaders were preparing for the apocalypse. They wouldn’t use their liquid funds at this time to buy Shen Group assets.
Moreover, the company’s attempt to sell assets only reinforced the belief that the apocalypse rumors might be true. Some smaller companies had already started selling themselves, and some deals actually went through.
After all, only a small portion of people truly believed the apocalypse would come. The government hadn’t confirmed it, and many thought it was just another rumor—like past panics where people stockpiled salt, medicine, or masks for nothing.
So when some cheap properties and good assets appeared on the market, wealthy individuals began buying them, feeling pleased with themselves.
They believed that once the rumors passed, the upper class would be reshaped—and they would benefit.
But for a large corporation like the Shen Group, very few could afford to take it over. Even when they split the company into smaller parts to sell, the situation didn’t improve much. Worse, those who believed themselves rational were even trying to push prices down further.
This made Father Shen furious.
Jiang Yun and Shen Ke had to prepare for the apocalypse while also calming him down, persuading him to sell assets cheaply in exchange for cash.
They had no choice. The assets belonged to him, and neither they nor he had much liquid cash left—Shen Mu had already drained most of it.
Meanwhile, prices had skyrocketed, and government controls were tightening. They struggled daily just to buy supplies, and after returning home, they still had to soothe Father Shen. It was exhausting.
The Shen family’s once harmonious image completely fell apart. Big arguments happened every few days, smaller ones every couple of days—father and son, the couple, even the father-in-law and his future daughter-in-law fought.
If Shen Mu knew, he would probably just say they deserved it.
In his previous life, he had protected Father Shen, but behind his back, his father supported Shen Ke and even helped plan to kill him.
They succeeded in killing him—but fate gave him another chance, letting him be reborn with his memories.
In his past life, his weakness was his father. But in this life, he had no weaknesses. He would live well and watch what kind of ending these people would get.
Abroad was chaotic, but as long as you had money, you could still buy things. Shen Mu traveled through multiple countries, spending all his money before finally returning home.