“How on earth did those two rabid dogs sneak in? Was it that dead-beat matchmaker who pulled the strings?” “Damn it, if it has anything to do with her, I’m going to tear her apart!” “What a menace! Luckily, someone spotted them in time!” “The police station will investigate it. Everyone, keep your eyes open. It’s fine around old neighbors, but be careful around unfamiliar faces.” “Yeah, absolutely.” “It’s getting dark. Hurry home, everyone. Standing out here gives me the creeps.” “Let’s go, let’s go. Home, home.”
Amid the crowd’s urgent chatter to head home, Bai Bai silently turned around to follow suit.
However, having just trudged for hours on end, her legs were sore and weak. Her movements were sluggish, far less limber than her neighbors’. Though she was initially in the middle of the crowd, she fell to the back in the blink of an eye.
With the crowd no longer blocking her line of sight, she caught sight of a group of familiar faces walking down the driveway.
The Lulu Tong gang.
Bai Bai considered them worthy only of being called a “gang,” not a “team.”
Leading the pack was the gang’s boss, Zhang Hao. To his left and right were his two confidants, Wang Chao and Li Yong, followed by three to five lackeys and henchmen.
The entire Lulu Tong gang revolved around them as the core. Everyone else was either a cheap manual laborer sweating for peanuts, or a maid who held the nominal title of team member but was actually taken advantage of every day.
The very person who had shoved the original owner of this body, causing her to hit her head and die, was Li Yong.
Bai Bai quickly swept her gaze across their faces. Once they matched the faces in the original owner’s memories, she withdrew her eyes, grit her teeth, and quickened her pace to follow the silhouettes of her neighbors into the building.
The group chatting, laughing, and flattering each other on the driveway did not notice Bai Bai’s brief glance at all, walking straight past the front of the unit building.
Bai Bai grabbed the staircase handrail and dragged herself up floor by floor with great difficulty.
She stopped to rest three times by the tenth floor. It was no easy feat just standing at her front door. Her hands were trembling as she pulled the keys from her wallet, and it took her quite a while to unlock the door and step inside.
She reached behind her to close and lock the door, leaning against the door panel, gasping for air.
She surveyed the inside of the room. It was a single studio room of a little over ten square meters, lacking a dedicated kitchen or bathroom. However, a full row of windows lined the far end of the room, doubling as a semi-balcony.
The original owner had placed a small stove there, which was mostly used for boiling water on a daily basis.
After all, the water flowing from the public pay-per-use tap on the first floor had that strange, off-putting smell.
No point in turning one’s nose up at it—complaining wouldn’t change a thing. No matter how clean and clear the water was at the treatment plant, once it ran through the supply pipes, it came out tasting like that.
Even upscale residential areas couldn’t avoid it.
Those bizarre, otherworldly microorganisms always found a way to contaminate the water supply through the pipes. As long as it was drinkable once boiled, people just rolled with it.
Otherwise, why would wealthy people drink bottled water?
In her space, bottled water went for 100 yuan per 20-liter jug.
Bai Bai’s lips curled into a slight smile.
She now had absolute drinking water freedom.
Past the window, against the wall on her right, stood a simple wooden bed. The bedboard was pieced together from a few wooden slats, completely uneven, with gaps running down the middle. It was covered with just two bedsheets—one to lie on and one to pull over.
A few dirty clothes were tossed in the corner of the bed. Lacking the money to pay for water to wash clothes every day, the original owner only washed her outerwear once a month, while collecting her underwear to wash once a week.
Even that frequency was only because women had to maintain basic hygiene; daring to be as sloppy as the men would inevitably lead to falling ill.
The only slight consolation was that due to her extreme living conditions, the original owner’s period had stopped.
Bai Bai furrowed her brow. Not having to worry about feminine hygiene products was naturally a good thing, but she still needed to procure a batch as soon as possible.
Even if she didn’t need them right now, she had to keep them stocked. What if her body recovered one day? That wasn’t something that would send a polite notice in advance saying, “I’m coming at such-and-such time.”
Just as the thought crossed her mind, an idea suddenly popped into Bai Bai’s head.
Now that she was an awakened user with superpowers, why should she still be bothered by periods instead of letting them come and go freely at her own will?
Just like in Taoist cultivation, couldn’t a female awakened user perform the specific practice of “slaying the red dragon”?
When she wasn’t an awakened user, she had no choice but to bear it. But if being an awakened user still brought such inconveniences, wouldn’t her awakening have been in vain?
After lingering in her mind for a bit, Bai Bai set the thought aside. It was too early to think about this right now; she would take things step by step.
Other than that, this room of just over ten square meters—roughly the size of a standard bedroom—was completely bare, the very definition of a destitute home.
Touching the door lock once more to confirm it was securely locked, Bai Bai walked over to the bed, lay down, and fell asleep the moment she closed her eyes.
When she woke up, it was bright daylight outside. Sunlight streamed onto the balcony, illuminating the dust floating throughout the room.
Bai Bai stared blankly at the bright window for a while, spending a dozen seconds recalling who she was, where she was, and what had happened.
Only after her mind snapped back to reality did she gradually remember that she had transmigrated. She had left behind that world where food delivery arrived at a moment’s notice, and dropped into this wrecked body that panted after walking just a few steps.
She hadn’t slept particularly well, dreaming continuously throughout the night. The dreams were filled with the original owner’s life, especially the two years since the apocalypse arrived. The memories she hadn’t received during the daytime transmigrating experience were completely filled in through her dreams.
The incidents involving the Lulu Tong gang were recalled the most, showing just what kind of impression they had left on the original owner.
Just briefly reminiscing about it made Bai Bai frown, feeling a headache coming on.
In her memories, the Lulu Tong gang was started by the trio led by Zhang Hao. They made it sound grand at first, saying everyone was banding together, everyone was a shareholder, they would work together, and make money together.
It was indeed very nice in the early days, but once Zhang Hao’s core team built up their power, things turned sour. They gradually revealed their true colors: they didn’t want a team for collective survival, but obedient slaves.
The moment the original owner realized something was off, she decisively pulled out.
Zhang Hao sent people to look for her several times—both men and women came to her doorstep, cursing at her and beating her, but the original owner never looked back once.
Even though it was the end of the world and death was a common sight, they didn’t dare to kill her to silence her. First, they weren’t combat-type awakened users; second, they weren’t an organized underworld gang. Everyone had loose lips, and if they actually committed murder, there was no guaranteeing that someone wouldn’t blab about it one day.
A gang that relied on delivering goods for a living would be boycotted by business owners if a past involving murder came to light.
Moreover, concrete proof wasn’t even necessary; as long as rumors started spreading, the bosses would abandon them immediately.
Because under current conditions, the bosses who could open shop and run a stable business were a force to be reckoned with in their own right.
Because of this, the only thing Zhang Hao and his crew could do was boycott the original owner, forcing her to eke out a living taking on jobs under the difficult status of a freelancer.
The good reputation the original owner possessed was truly earned bit by bit.
Bai Bai didn’t want to waste the original owner’s hard work. Those business owners were crucial contacts; even if she moved away in the future, maintaining a bit of goodwill with them would still serve her well.
With a heavy sigh, she pushed her noodle-like arms against her equally weak body to lift herself up. Utilizing micro-manipulation techniques with her space, she mixed herself a fresh pot of salt and sugar water. After filling her stomach with water, she pulled out a rice ball and slowly nibbled on it bit by bit.
As she ate, she noticed the flavor of the rice ball tasted a bit off.
Bai Bai instantly sensed something was wrong.
“Holy crap! The rice ball went sour!”
“Tsk! The space doesn’t preserve freshness…”
Bai Bai realized in hindsight what a non-preserving space actually meant.
Not only would hot food cool down, but it would also spoil.