Yang Xiaoyi looked through the window, past Mi Beibei’s shoulder, and into the space behind her. His eyes instantly widened, and his jaw nearly dropped.
There were neatly stacked supplies everywhere—self-heating rice meals, instant noodles, compressed biscuits… box after box, bag after bag, arranged in perfect order. The amount of food was astonishing.
“Wh-What kind of legendary boss is this?!” Yang Xiaoyi screamed inwardly.
In the apocalypse, clean and plentiful food was practically a fantasy. Most people fought desperately over a single bite to eat. Yet this person possessed such an enormous stockpile of food. It completely overturned everything he knew. He had originally thought he had met some clueless fool, but it turned out he was the fool himself.
After thinking for a moment, Mi Beibei said, “There’s something else I’d like to ask you.”
Hearing that, Yang Xiaoyi immediately straightened his back. A flattering smile spread across his face as he eagerly replied,
“Boss, just give the order! As long as it’s something I can do, I’ll definitely do it!”
Mi Beibei pointed toward the zombie lying not far away.
“Please help me clean that up.”
Yang Xiaoyi’s face stiffened.
“C-Clean up the zombie?”
“Yeah. It’s lying there ruining the view. If it starts to rot, I won’t even be able to open my window anymore.”
“…Alright.”
Resigned, Yang Xiaoyi walked over, dragged the zombie far away, and threw the garbage bag away as well. When he returned, he asked,
“It’s taken care of. Boss, can I trade for anything you have here?”
Mi Beibei nodded.
“That’s right. I’m planning to open a shop that mainly sells food. If there’s anything else you need, just let me know. I’ll see if I can find it.”
Yang Xiaoyi’s eyes lit up.
“That’s great! Boss, my teammates are nearby. I’ll go call them over—they’ve still got some gold.”
With that, he hugged the food and ran off before Mi Beibei could even respond.
She watched helplessly as he disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Sighing softly, she left the window slightly open before heading to the kitchen to cook.
…
Mi Beibei opened the refrigerator, and a wave of cold air rushed out.
Looking at the fridge packed so tightly with ingredients that there wasn’t even the smallest gap left, she found herself troubled instead.
Too many choices weren’t always a good thing. Just deciding what to eat nearly exhausted all her brainpower.
She stood in front of the refrigerator for quite a while before finally taking out a beautifully braised pig’s trotter and two eggs.
Just as she was about to turn away, she suddenly remembered.
Oh no—I forgot to buy vegetables today!
She lightly smacked her forehead in annoyance.
There was no time to dwell on it, though.
She walked to the stove, lit the burner, and poured oil into the pan.
Soon the oil began to smoke lightly. She carefully cracked the two eggs into the pan.
Sizzle…
The egg whites quickly set and gradually turned a tempting golden brown.
Once both sides of the fried eggs were crispy and golden, she poured a large bowl of boiling water into the pot and immediately covered it with a lid, letting the soup boil vigorously.
While waiting, Mi Beibei put on disposable gloves and tore the braised pig’s trotter into evenly sized pieces.
As soon as she tossed the pork into the pot, she remembered something else and quickly grabbed a handful of noodles from the cabinet and added them in.
The pot soon bubbled merrily, and the aroma grew richer by the second.
Not long afterward, a fragrant bowl of egg and braised pig’s trotter noodles was finished.
The creamy white broth cradled several richly flavored pieces of braised pork trotter, while the noodles remained springy and distinct. Just looking at it was enough to make anyone’s mouth water.
The only thing missing was a handful of bright green vegetables for decoration.
Mi Beibei silently reminded herself that she absolutely had to remember to buy vegetables tomorrow.
After washing the pot, she carried the steaming bowl of noodles to the dining table and prepared to enjoy her delicious dinner.
Just then—
Knock! Knock! Knock!
A rapid knocking sound suddenly came from the direction of the kitchen and storage room, breaking the silence inside the house.
She put down her chopsticks and walked curiously toward the storage room.
When she arrived, she found the window only slightly ajar. Through the narrow crack, she could vaguely make out someone outside repeatedly knocking on the window.
She leaned closer and peeked through the gap.
Seeing that it was Yang Xiaoyi, she finally relaxed and opened the window.
…
The moment Yang Xiaoyi saw the window open, he quickly withdrew his hand.
His face was covered with an eager smile as he cautiously said,
“Boss, I brought my teammates. This is the gold we’ve gathered.”
As he spoke, he carefully held out a tangled pile of gold pendants, gold necklaces, and gold bracelets with both hands.
The moment Mi Beibei looked at Yang Xiaoyi, she noticed a man standing behind him.
The man radiated an icy, intimidating aura, like a silent ice sculpture.
Farther away, several other people were fiercely fighting zombies.
The sounds of combat echoed continuously, accompanied by the zombies’ distinctive growls and dragging footsteps from all around.
Clearly, the battle had attracted even more zombies, and a large-scale fight seemed inevitable.
Seeing that the people in the distance appeared to have the situation well under control, Mi Beibei stopped paying attention to them and looked at the items Yang Xiaoyi was holding.
They looked fairly clean.
She asked,
“What would you like to trade for?”
At that moment, the cold-faced man beside Yang Xiaoyi, Zhang Minglang, answered curtly,
“Compressed biscuits.”
Mi Beibei raised an eyebrow.
“All compressed biscuits?”
“No, no, no!”
Yang Xiaoyi hurriedly interrupted with a wide smile.
“We’d like some ham sausages and instant noodles too. A little of everything. We need all of it.”
Zhang Minglang frowned, seemingly wanting to object.
However, Yang Xiaoyi quickly stopped him and whispered a few words into his ear.
After glancing at Mi Beibei, Zhang Minglang reluctantly nodded.
Mi Beibei said,
“Alright.”
She turned and walked inside, returning shortly afterward carrying one box each of instant noodles, self-heating rice meals, ham sausages, and compressed biscuits.
She handed them over.
Yang Xiaoyi moved the boxes aside before beckoning to a thin, small-framed man nearby.
“A Yan, come here.”
Li Yan quickly stepped forward.
After taking a deep breath, he slowly extended his hand.
The instant his fingers touched the supplies, something astonishing happened.
The box of instant noodles, the box of self-heating rice meals, the box of ham sausages, and the box of compressed biscuits all vanished without warning right before Mi Beibei’s eyes, as though they had never existed.
Mi Beibei’s eyes widened in disbelief as she looked Li Yan up and down.
A thought immediately flashed through her mind.
Could this be the legendary spatial ability?
Yang Xiaoyi smiled warmly.
“Thank you, Boss!”
Mi Beibei asked curiously,
“Why do you keep calling me ‘Boss’?”
Yang Xiaoyi looked as though she had asked the most obvious question in the world.
“Boss, just look around. This apocalypse is full of ruined buildings and desolation everywhere. People like us wander from place to place all day, filthy and exhausted. We have to risk our lives just for a bite of food or a little clean water.”
“But look at you.”
“You’re clean, your clothes are spotless, and you’re living comfortably. Just from that, it’s obvious you never have to worry about food or supplies.”
As he spoke, his eyes drifted toward Mi Beibei’s window again.
He recalled what had happened earlier.
The window had looked as though it could be opened with a light push, yet no matter how hard he pushed or knocked, it hadn’t budged in the slightest.
The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became.
With such an incredible supernatural ability, how could she not be a true powerhouse?
Looking at Mi Beibei, his eyes became even more respectful.
Mi Beibei smiled.
“My surname is Mi. From now on, just call me Boss Mi. Stop calling me ‘Boss’ like that—it sounds a little awkward.”
“Got it, Boss Mi!”
Yang Xiaoyi answered cheerfully, his eyes narrowing into crescents with his smile.
“Then we’ll be leaving.”
Mi Beibei waved.
“Goodbye! If you ever need anything in the future, just come find me here. As long as I can get it, I’ll sell it to you.”
“Alright!”
Yang Xiaoyi replied enthusiastically.
Zhang Minglang also nodded to Mi Beibei before turning around and leaving.
Watching them disappear into the distance, Mi Beibei closed the window and returned to the house.
…
She continued eating her bowl of noodles.
The chewy noodles, coated in the rich, flavorful broth, were incredibly satisfying.
After spending the past few months eating ordinary dried noodles, Mi Beibei had come to prefer thicker alkaline noodles with a firmer, chewier texture.
After swallowing the last bite, she wiped her mouth.
Her thoughts began to race.
Since she had already decided to open a small shop in the apocalypse, she would need to prepare a proper signboard.
However, after checking the time, she saw it was already nearly seven o’clock.
It was getting late, and the sign-making shops were probably already closed.
She decided to go another day instead.