Catastrophe Countdown: 67 Days
Bank Balance: 15,071,659 Yuan
After returning to her rented apartment in Haicheng, Shen Hanyin looked at everything she had packed away inside her space and couldn’t help sighing.
This thing was practically the ultimate moving tool.
That evening, she checked on her space.
All kinds of vegetables were now growing on the land.
Although she had stockpiled an enormous amount of supplies, the open area still looked surprisingly spacious.
The third floor of the building was completely full.
About a quarter of the second floor remained available.
Beds, sofas, coffee tables, dining tables, chairs, kitchenware, and various household items taken from the villa and apartment were piled across the open ground because she hadn’t had time to organize them yet.
Meanwhile, the villa and apartment in Nancheng had already been sold.
The sale brought in another 10.5 million yuan.
Shen Hanyin immediately exchanged two million yuan for gold and kept two hundred thousand yuan in cash.
It was always better to be prepared.
She also bought a large quantity of planting soil and temporarily stored it inside the space.
Time was running short.
After some consideration, she requested two weeks of leave from school.
She had decided to go abroad and obtain a firearm.
Many foreign countries permitted civilian gun ownership.
Unfortunately, she lacked the qualifications to purchase one legally.
Nor was this the kind of task she could entrust to someone else.
She had to handle it personally.
On the second night after arriving overseas, Shen Hanyin disguised herself and went to a public park.
There, she found a homeless man.
After a lengthy negotiation, the man promised to deliver the firearms the following evening.
As payment, Shen Hanyin handed over a melted gold bar in advance.
During the daytime, she had little to do.
The homeless man helped her rent a vehicle.
Driving around, she began stockpiling gasoline.
Many foreign gas stations were self-service and completely unattended.
Whenever she refueled, she transferred the fuel directly into her space.
She remained cautious and never took excessive amounts from a single location.
Instead, she purchased normal quantities and simply visited many different stations.
After more than ten days, Shen Hanyin had acquired:
Two firearms
Five boxes of ammunition
Sixteen tons of gasoline
Although she had carefully disguised herself, she believed caution was essential.
She didn’t stay any longer than necessary and returned to school on schedule.
To be honest, she was somewhat worried.
If the catastrophe never came, her spending records alone might be enough to land her in serious legal trouble.
…
One weekend, Shen Hanyin visited the antique street again.
Previously, the shop owner had provided her with two blades.
One was a long Miao Dao.
The other was slightly shorter, which the owner had identified as a Tang Hengdao.
Shen Hanyin felt she had already given the man several months to convince himself she wasn’t planning anything criminal.
Now she was back for more business.
She understood perfectly well that one couldn’t keep shearing the same sheep forever.
But since they were already in the same boat, why not take advantage of it?
Unfortunately, when she arrived, she discovered that the owner had already terminated his lease and disappeared.
Shen Hanyin mourned the loss of a businessman willing to turn down money.
After wandering the antique street for half a day, she was eventually talked into purchasing a peachwood sword.
While driving home, regret immediately set in.
Thirty thousand yuan for a peachwood sword.
At the time, she must have completely lost her mind.
…
The next day after classes, Shen Hanyin headed to the archery club as usual.
Before she even reached the campus gate, someone called out to her.
“Yinyin! Shen Hanyin!”
She turned around.
“Senior Mu, what’s up?”
“Yinyin, we’ve got a performance next month. How are your preparations coming along?”
“I’m just the keyboard player for the band. No problems there.”
“Ni He’s group is short a backup dancer. Could you fill in?”
“I’m terrible at dancing.”
“It’s just jazz dance. Really simple. Please? Nobody wants to be a backup dancer. I know you don’t care about that sort of thing.”
Shen Hanyin sighed.
“Fine. Add me to the group chat. Let me know when rehearsals start. I’ve got somewhere to be right now.”
She was the type of person who knew a little bit about everything but mastered nothing.
Helping fill out the numbers wasn’t a big deal.
“I knew you were the best. Beautiful and kind-hearted. Come here, let me hug you!”
“Alright, alright. I’ve got to go.”
“Yes, ma’am. Safe travels, our beautiful star!”
Only after leaving campus did Shen Hanyin finally let the smile disappear from her face.
She patted her cheeks.
The persona she had created was excellent in every respect.
The only problem was how exhausting it was to maintain.
She wasn’t naturally outgoing.
She had simply spent so many years pretending to be the daughter her mother wanted.
Even though her mother was gone now, changing suddenly would create unnecessary complications.
It was easier to continue acting.
…
When she arrived at the mixed martial arts club, her coach was already waiting.
Her explosive power wasn’t particularly impressive.
Fortunately, she possessed excellent flexibility and could compensate with technique.
After two hours of training, she headed for the showers.
While washing up, a sudden thought occurred to her.
She should buy more bedding sets.
And realgar powder.
Without even leaving the club, she pulled out her phone in the lounge and immediately placed several online orders.
While she was at it, she also purchased various insect repellents designed for outdoor use.
The online shopping delayed her departure.
By the time she finished, she assumed everyone else had already left.
To her surprise, someone was still there.
Her coach.
And he was secretly practicing with a crossbow.
The moment Shen Hanyin saw it, she felt as though fate had personally delivered it to her.
Whatever she lacked seemed to appear right in front of her.
There was no way she would let this opportunity slip away.
No matter what, she had to get one.
She immediately approached him.
After considerable pleading and persuasion, she finally obtained contact information for the seller.
Soon afterward, she ordered:
Four crossbows
Two hundred bolts
Two standard crossbows
Two repeating crossbows
The repeating models could hold six bolts at a time.
A week later, everything arrived.
Once the shipment was safely stored inside her space, Shen Hanyin felt her chances of survival improve yet again.
…
The countdown inside the space continued to shrink.
Shen Hanyin terminated the lease on her rental apartment and finally moved into her new home.
At the same time, she familiarized herself with the surrounding neighborhood.
After tidying the living room and replacing the bedding, her eyes landed on the peachwood sword resting atop the coffee table.
The more she looked at it, the more painful it felt.
Forget it.
She might as well hang it somewhere for good luck.
After walking around the apartment, she couldn’t find a suitable place.
Eventually, she tossed it into the space.
Out of sight, out of mind.
Then she went to sleep.
…
The next morning, Shen Hanyin checked her space out of habit.
The moment her consciousness entered, she froze.
The entire first floor of the building had changed.
The layout.
The furniture.
The appliances.
Everything.
It was an exact copy of the apartment she currently lived in.
A perfect duplicate.
Shen Hanyin pinched her arm hard.
Pain.
She wasn’t dreaming.
Entering the space again, she carefully examined the structure.
Her apartment measured roughly two hundred square meters of actual usable space.
The building inside the space measured around three hundred square meters.
As a result, one section remained empty.
A copied apartment?
What did that even mean?
A thought suddenly flashed through her mind.
Could people live inside the space now?
Excited, she withdrew her consciousness and entered again.
This time…
Her physical body entered as well.
Lying on the bed inside the space, Shen Hanyin burst into laughter.
This was incredible.
If she could actually live here, then she could stay alive indefinitely.
What did a catastrophe matter then?
Getting out of bed, she walked into the living room.
Above the room floated three glowing words:
2 Hours
She didn’t understand their meaning.
For the moment, she ignored them and went outside to investigate further.
…
Once outside, she immediately noticed another change.
A small attic had appeared on top of the building.
Beside the catastrophe countdown, which now displayed 20 Days, a new number had appeared.
1
Below it was something resembling a handprint.
Curious, Shen Hanyin pressed her hand against it.
Instantly, familiar images flooded her mind.
The university cafeteria.
The library.
The dormitory.
The mixed martial arts club.
Her former rental apartment.
The warehouse.
The villa in Haicheng.
The apartment.
The shooting range.
And many other places.
Every location displayed various numerical values.
She couldn’t understand what any of them meant.
Not wanting to experiment recklessly, she set the mystery aside for the time being.
When she lowered her hand, nothing around her had visibly changed.
The space remained exactly as before.
After making a full inspection, she returned to the living room.
The floating display now read:
1 Hour 42 Minutes
Several theories immediately formed in her mind.
Since the apartment had been copied exactly, perhaps everything inside functioned as well.
Would the water heater work?
Would the electrical outlets have power?
She tested them one by one.
The faucet worked.
Hot water flowed after a short delay.
The toilet functioned normally.
The power outlets supplied electricity.
Everything worked perfectly.
The only problem was that she couldn’t figure out where the wastewater went.
She searched the entire space several times and found nothing.
It made no sense.
Then again…
A pocket dimension that suspended time didn’t make sense either.
Why should she expect logic now?
Still, one question remained.
Why had the space suddenly evolved?
Carefully retracing her actions, she finally noticed something.
The peachwood sword was gone.
Completely gone.
Shen Hanyin immediately felt overwhelmed with gratitude.
Thank you, peachwood sword.
Thank you, peachwood sword and your ancestors for eight generations.
…
She glanced at the floating timer again.
1 Hour 35 Minutes
Leaving the space, she waited two minutes before re-entering.
The timer still displayed:
1 Hour 35 Minutes
Then she remained inside for one minute.
The display changed.
1 Hour 34 Minutes
“Ah…”
Realization struck immediately.
The timer only decreased while she was physically inside.
So the space wasn’t the perfect retirement home she had imagined.
Reluctantly, she exited.
Classes were about to start.
After all, the top student of her year never arrived late.