Sensing a strange scent, Egg Tart sniffed Wen Ruchu carefully again.
“Woof woof.”
“Human, are you hurt? Why do you smell like blood? That bastard actually dared to hurt you?”
Of course, Wen Ruchu couldn’t understand what Egg Tart was saying. Her great revenge had been settled, and she held Egg Tart on the floor, crying. She felt wronged—between the psychological pressure of these days, the hatred carried from her past life, and the uncertain future ahead.
Seeing her so heartbroken, Egg Tart didn’t move anymore. Instead, he gently licked her face with his tongue, making a soft “mhm mhm” sound.
After a while, Wen Ruchu calmed down and took a deep breath. It was alright—she still had Egg Tart.
She looked at the little dog trying to comfort her and smiled. “Egg Tart, I’m fine. You must be starving. Come on, I’ll give you an extra meal.”
She took out dog food, a chicken drumstick, and some goat milk, placing them in Egg Tart’s bowl. She patted his head. “Eat quickly.”
Egg Tart blinked. Humans were strange. Just now, she cried so hard, and now she was feeding him. Were all humans like this?
But he didn’t care. He really was hungry. Seeing that his human was unharmed, he relaxed and began filling his belly.
Wen Ruchu was also exhausted. She hadn’t slept all night, so she took a shower, washing off the blood, and then lay down to sleep.
That night, she had a long dream—she dreamt of her parents, her childhood. They told her to take good care of herself, that they would always watch over her from above…
…
Wen Ruchu woke from the heat, sitting up drenched in sweat. The room was dim, and Egg Tart paced anxiously on the floor, tongue lolling.
A power outage? Already? Wen Ruchu remembered that in her past life, blackouts hadn’t occurred so quickly. This one was caused by extreme heat; a power plant had self-ignited.
She checked her phone and saw the news confirming it.
Quickly, Wen Ruchu connected the pre-installed solar panels, then looked outside. Everything was pitch black. The once brightly lit Residential Community had no lights at all—only the street lamps still emitted faint light. Even those street lamps relied on solar cells.
Well, Wen Ruchu had no choice but to use a small night lamp. She didn’t want to draw attention yet. She believed many neighbors also had solar setups, so she would wait for others to turn on their lights first.
But it was unbearably hot. Wen Ruchu took Egg Tart into the Dimensional Space—a literal instant heaven.
She didn’t bother Egg Tart and first washed herself in the house, staying in the Dimensional Space for twenty minutes before emerging. She couldn’t linger too long; Dimensional Space had limited time and had to be conserved for later.
But why did she hear the air conditioner outside?
She ran to the window and realized that the two units downstairs, including 2902, were running their ACs loudly.
In that case, Wen Ruchu wasn’t worried. She turned on the lights and AC herself. If trouble came, it would come to everyone; she wasn’t alone.
Soon, the room cooled. Wen Ruchu retrieved a watermelon from Dimensional Space, cut it in half, stored one half back in the Dimensional Space, and held the other half, scooping and eating it while enjoying the AC—a truly pleasant moment.
Several days passed like this. One day, as Wen Ruchu considered what to have for lunch, she heard a knock at the door.
Instantly alert, she approached the door and checked the monitor. A young-looking girl stood outside. Wen Ruchu opened the two inner doors, keeping the outer security door closed.
“Who are you? What do you want?”
Chen Yunxue, seeing the door open to an even prettier woman than herself, felt a flash of jealousy but quickly masked it with a hesitant expression.
“Sister, hello. I’m from 2002. I wanted to ask if you have any food… could you share some with me?”
The flicker of jealousy did not escape Wen Ruchu’s eyes, but she chose not to dwell on it. It was hot outside; the AC-cooled room was much more comfortable.
“No.” She was about to close the door.
Chen Yunxue quickly said, “I… I can trade something.”
Wen Ruchu’s cold gaze pierced her. “Oh? And what would you trade? I only accept lives in exchange.”
Perhaps Wen Ruchu’s icy stare sent a chill down Chen Yunxue’s back. “Fine, I won’t trade. What kind of person is this?”
Wen Ruchu ignored her and closed the door.
Back in her room, she lay on her bed and checked the news on her phone. She realized that all Hua City supermarkets had already closed. No food was available, and with the blackout, many households without solar power would literally cook to death.
Hua City now faced daily death tolls in the tens of thousands—a terrifying number. Cremation couldn’t keep up; bodies were piled together and doused in gasoline for burning. If not, the extreme heat could easily trigger epidemics.
The situation was severe. Water hadn’t been cut yet, but when it eventually stopped, there would be even less hope.
Wen Ruchu wasn’t worried. If anything annoyed her, it was the constant knocks at her door for food over the past few days. She opened her door five or six times daily. It was truly irritating. Now, if someone knocked, she simply ignored it.
This day, someone knocked persistently for about five minutes. Annoyed, Wen Ruchu grabbed a kitchen knife, opened the door, and said, “Try knocking again…”
Outside stood no one else but 2902, Goose Mama. Awkward.
2902 looked at the knife in Wen Ruchu’s hand. “What’s that?”
Wen Ruchu quickly placed the knife behind her back. “May I ask what you want?”
2902 noticed her gesture and smiled. “You’ve probably been bothered a lot recently by people asking for food. I want to install a security door at the staircase of the 29th floor. Would that be okay?”
Wen Ruchu couldn’t have been happier. Heaven knew how annoyed she had been. Those people were like flies, yet she couldn’t go on a killing spree yet.
“I have no objection.”
“Good. I’ll give you the key once it’s installed.”
Adhering to the principle of not taking advantage of others for free, Wen Ruchu offered to help with tools.
2902 understood immediately. “I’ll go get the door.”
“I’ll fetch the toolbox.”
Wen Ruchu waited in the hallway with the toolbox, watching 2902 carry the visibly heavy security door alone.
Those biceps—thicker than her thigh! She suspected that one punch from him might end her life.
She hurried forward to grab the handle, but the man said, “No need. This is very heavy.”