After seeing the village chief off, Zhou Xiaomai chose an east-facing room to settle in. The bed inside looked to be the best as well.
She used her bundle to dust off the bed board before lying down flat.
Having been busy until afternoon, she was already starving.
Raising her right hand, she focused her mind. A faint pink lotus shape appeared at her fingertip—so pale it was almost invisible to the naked eye unless one looked closely.
In the apocalypse, Zombies were evolving, and so were humans, but not all Zombies or humans could.
Those who had evolved would bear a mark, varying in form—some had plants, others animals, and still others tools or objects.
But regardless of the mark, each corresponded to an ability.
She was fortunate to be among those who could evolve, tasked with the mission of leading humanity out of the apocalypse.
Generally, plant marks were mostly related to cultivation, but hers was the rare Space Ability.
Her Spatial Dimension was five hundred cubic meters, incapable of holding living beings but with a time-stasis function. In the base, she had been responsible for transporting supplies for humanity.
Now the space was empty; the supplies had already been sent to the last human city not yet reclaimed in the final battle against the Zombies.
Fortunately, before being ambushed by Zombies, she had handed over the supplies to the person in charge.
Zhou Xiaomai looked inward at her space. The supplies stored inside took up about fifty cubic meters.
These were her personal belongings—a bit of everything, though none in large quantities.
Some she had saved up herself, some she had seized from rivals, and others she had… stolen from other bases!!
Most had been handed over to the organization; all she had left now was this small amount.
The majority were Zombie Crystal Cores. These were useful for upgrading and strengthening abilities and also served as hard currency in the apocalypse, usable as money.
Zhou Xiaomai’s ability no longer needed upgrading; she couldn’t even use up the full five hundred cubic meters.
She manipulated the space with her mind, organizing the supplies neatly into categories like daily necessities and food.
From the space, she took out a box of Kung Pao chicken self-heating rice and a bottle of mineral water.
Having grown accustomed to the meals at the Han residence, eating self-heating rice now felt like a significant downgrade.
How to describe it? It tasted overwhelmingly of additives!
During the apocalypse, it hadn’t seemed so bad—to preserve food longer, additives were necessary.
Fortunately, most people in the apocalypse had evolved and could withstand such hardships.
After finishing her meal, she began tidying up the room.
She took out a mahjong mat, two pillows, and a thin quilt.
Then came some furniture.
Some items couldn’t be taken out. Although there were few households nearby, it would be hard to explain if people saw plastic products.
She had some wooden tables and chairs in her space that she could bring out for temporary use.
She also had bowls, plates, pots, and stoves, but it wasn’t wise to leave them outside.
In the countryside, no one used porcelain; earthenware was more common, as porcelain would attract too much attention.
There were many things she lacked, but for now, she had to make do.
Finally, she took out her household registration and placed it in the space, alongside two hundred taels of silver notes and some silver jewelry.
“Who moved into the village chief’s house?”
Hearing someone speaking outside, Zhou Xiaomai walked out.
The bamboo strips fencing the courtyard had rotted, leaving many gaps, so the yard didn’t really keep anyone out.
A woman stood at the entrance, hesitant to come inside.
It was Qiao Jiugui, a widowed woman with only one son.
Because Qiao Jiugui lived in a remote area, the original owner of this body had rarely seen her before.
“The village chief lent me the house for now. Is there something you need, Aunt Qiao?”
Qiao Jiugui didn’t recognize Zhou Xiaomai at first and said with a smile, “I thought someone from the village chief’s family had moved in. It’s nothing serious, I just came over to ask—whose daughter are you?”
Zhou Xiaomai didn’t want to acknowledge her maiden family, but without mentioning them, she couldn’t very well say, “I’m a transmigrator!”
“I’m Zhou Xiang’s eldest daughter.”
Qiao Jiugui understood immediately. Earlier that day, on her way to buy tofu in the village, she had heard many people say that Zhou Xiang’s eldest daughter had been divorced and sent back to the village.
She hadn’t expected Zhou Xiaomai not to stay with her maiden family but to live alone in the village chief’s main house.
Qiao Jiugui could probably guess the reason. Old Mrs. Jiang’s family was notoriously ill-reputed in the village—they must have been ashamed and refused to take in their divorced daughter.
Unlike others who looked at Zhou Xiaomai differently, Qiao Jiugui had become a widow early on. Over the years, she had faced plenty of gossip and disdainful glances—she knew the feeling all too well.
Why should one unfortunate person make things harder for another?
“You’re Xiaomai, right? Girls really change as they grow up—I almost didn’t recognize you.”
“Would you like to come in for a sit, Aunt Qiao?”
“We’ll be neighbors from now on, there’s plenty of time. I need to go do laundry now.”
“Where’s the well for water?”
“Our few households use water from the stream flowing down from Kui Mountain—it’s closer than fetching water from the village. Look, over there, it’s clean.”
Zhou Xiaomai followed the direction Qiao Jiugui pointed to the east, where a stream flowed down from the mountains. However, it didn’t pass through the village—the stream extended northward toward the farmland.
The original host had never been to the innermost part of the village’s east side before. Her family’s land wasn’t near Kui Mountain, so they didn’t use this stream for irrigation, which was why there was no memory of it.
“I see. I’ll go buy two buckets tomorrow and fetch water from there too.”
“Why don’t you borrow one of my buckets for now?”
“No need, it’s already afternoon—I won’t need much water.”
Zhou Xiaomai didn’t want to trouble Qiao Jiugui, mainly because they weren’t familiar at all.
“Alright then, I’ll go do my laundry. If you need anything, just come to my house.”
“Thank you, Aunt Qiao.”
“Ah, you haven’t even borrowed anything yet—what’s there to thank me for!”
With that, Qiao Jiugui left.
Though they were called neighbors, the two houses were at least two hundred meters apart.
There was another family at the easternmost end, also about two hundred meters away.
Unlike in the village center, where houses were packed closely together.
Zhou Xiaomai thought this was actually better. The village center might be lively, but if anyone talked in their courtyard, the neighbors could hear everything clearly.
There were no multi-story buildings or anything either—privacy was practically nonexistent.
Zhou Xiaomai walked toward the mountainside, wanting to familiarize herself with the terrain.
It was May, and the mountains and forests were lush and green. A gentle breeze carried the scent of earth in the air—it was a season brimming with vitality.
With every breath, she could feel the freshness brought by nature.
This was something she had never experienced in the apocalypse.
Due to war, humans had developed large quantities of biological weapons, polluting the air, land, and rivers…
Then humans became infected, died, and reanimated as zombies…
Zhou Xiaomai’s parents had died in a laboratory, though they weren’t the ones who created the disaster—they were developing a serum to suppress the zombie virus.
Unfortunately, a virus leak occurred. When she was six, both her parents died, and she became an orphan in the base.
If her parents were still alive and knew she had come to a clean world, they would surely be happy, wouldn’t they?
In short, Zhou Xiaomai was quite satisfied with this world, even though it was poorer and more backward than the apocalypse.
Humans were bound by laws, the air was fresh, and there were crops grown on unpolluted land—all things that people in the apocalypse yearned for the most.
As she approached the stream, Zhou Xiaomai spotted a large black bear from afar, walking in a posture surprisingly similar to that of a human.
She showed no intention of running away; instead, a flicker of excitement flashed in her eyes.
Instinctively, the lotus on her right index finger materialized.
Bears like this must be quite valuable in this world, right?
Take it down, and when she went to the county town to buy supplies tomorrow, wouldn’t she have a source of money?