“It really wasn’t me! Master, Madam, how could I possibly have such abilities?”
Auntie Zhang explained in terror.
She had never imagined that something like this would happen in the household! Even more absurdly, she had somehow become the thief!
Thinking about the missing documents, Lin Zhiyuan was extremely anxious.
Although the loss of so many valuable belongings was already devastating and painful, compared with those items, the confidential company documents were far more critical! Not to mention the share ownership certificates…
Furious and impatient, he strode forward, kicked Auntie Zhang to the ground, and shouted angrily:
“You’re still making excuses! All morning, only you and Lin Wan were at home. The surveillance footage at the entrance clearly shows Lin Wan leaving the villa empty-handed, carrying nothing but her car keys!”
“If it wasn’t you, then who else could it have been?”
Pain throbbed around Lin Xu’s eye, making him feel extremely irritated.
First, Lin Wan had nearly blinded him that morning. Now, their home had inexplicably been robbed. His three watches alone were worth several million yuan, and they had simply vanished!
Then there were the cars in the garage! Some had only been purchased a few days ago!
Seeing his father’s furious state, Lin Xu realized that something extremely important must have gone missing from the study. Hearing Lin Ran crying uncontrollably only made his anger burn even hotter. He felt that absolutely nothing had gone right that day.
He stepped forward and slapped Auntie Zhang several times across the face.
“You’re still refusing to admit it? Let me tell you, the police are already on their way. You won’t get away with this! Speak! Where have you hidden the things you stole? Who are your accomplices?”
Auntie Zhang collapsed on the floor, her mouth covered in blood. Clutching her fallen teeth, she trembled in terror.
“It really wasn’t me! It wasn’t me! Madam, you have to believe me! You know everything about my background. I really don’t have the ability to pull off something like this!”
Auntie Zhang grabbed Xu Lan, who was standing nearby and glaring at her just as angrily, and cried out in desperation.
Xu Lan was also grinding her teeth in fury. She wished she could immediately catch the thief, beat her mercilessly, and get back all the missing jewelry and accessories!
Those were the results of years of her hard work! They were the safety net she had prepared for herself and her daughter, as well as the vast majority of her assets.
And now, they have all vanished!
However, she had also checked the surveillance footage. It was true that Auntie Zhang had been the only person at home throughout the morning.
Moreover, Auntie Zhang had gone upstairs at one point. There were no cameras upstairs, so it was entirely possible that she had gone there to contact her accomplices!
When Lin Wan left, she really had not taken anything with her. She had not even carried a handbag.
The only suspicious thing was that after she went to the underground garage, the surveillance cameras had suddenly lost power and stopped recording.
However, although the cameras in the underground garage had stopped working, the surrounding surveillance cameras had clearly recorded Lin Wan driving out.
Therefore, it was absolutely impossible that she had been responsible!
Truthfully, Xu Lan did not entirely believe Auntie Zhang was the culprit either. The woman was not bold enough, nor did she possess the skills to pull off something like this.
But the surveillance footage was right there. For the time being, they could not think of anyone else.
“Zhang, if you really did this, just return everything you took. I can put in a good word for you and make sure you aren’t held responsible.”
Auntie Zhang was completely unable to defend herself. She could only keep repeating that she had not done it.
Lin Ran could no longer hold herself back. She desperately needed an outlet for her anger.
She rushed forward, grabbed Auntie Zhang by the hair, and began beating her.
“You filthy old hag! Who else could it have been besides you? You’ve certainly got a huge appetite! Did you think you could get away with this without anyone noticing? Are you going to talk or not?”
Lin Ze stood watching with a gloomy expression, his eyes cold.
At that moment, they were too preoccupied to even think about going after Lin Wan.
Lin Zhiyuan’s forehead veins bulged, and his expression was sinister.
Just as Auntie Zhang was being beaten until she was barely conscious, the sound of police sirens came from outside.
By the time Lin Wan’s plane landed, it was already past eight in the evening.
She had slept for more than four hours. Now, she felt completely refreshed and full of energy.
The weather had turned cold early this year, and the sky over Japan was already pitch-black.
Lin Wan tightened her trench coat, stepped off the plane, and turned on her phone. Immediately, she saw a barrage of messages from the Lin family.
She only glanced at the latest few.
Lin Ze: Where are you?! Come back immediately! Something has happened at home!
Lin Xu: Return immediately, or you’ll bear the consequences!
Lin Zhiyuan: If you don’t come back, don’t ever bother coming back again!
After briefly scrolling through the messages, she understood the situation.
The messages had clearly progressed from angry insults to increasingly frantic demands. At this hour, they must have discovered that their belongings were missing.
The entire family had probably spent the night in a state of panic.
How refreshing!
It was a pity she could not witness it in person.
Just as she smiled and her eyes curved with amusement, Lin Zhiyuan called her.
Lin Wan sneered and immediately hung up. With a few taps of her slender fingers, she blocked every single one of them.
Afterward, she chose a hotel, checked in, and headed straight to her destination.
She went to an extremely discreet secondhand trading market where transactions could take place twenty-four hours a day.
Back then, when she had been raising money for her mother’s medical treatment, she had sold quite a few belongings herself.
Therefore, she was quite familiar with places like this.
Since there were so many items, Lin Wan divided them among several different trading locations.
Right now, turning everything into cash was the priority.
Lin Wan had taken nothing but high-quality goods. Combined with the tough experience she had gained during five years in the apocalypse, she had become both shrewd and extremely sociable. Everything went smoothly.
Throughout the process, she wore a black mask and a hat. She also disguised her figure, making slight changes to her appearance each time she visited a different location.
After selling the belongings, she conveniently managed to purchase two handguns that she particularly liked, along with ammunition.
These were indispensable and valuable weapons in the apocalypse.
Secondhand trading markets like this also saved her a great deal of paperwork and trouble. They were simply perfect for her.
She remained busy until late at night. Apart from the several cars, she had sold everything else that could be sold.
Looking at the balance of more than eighty million yuan on her phone and the weapons she now had for self-defense, she was extremely satisfied.
She returned to the hotel first and entered her space to take stock of everything.
Including the large amount of cash she had taken from the Lin family, she now had more than ninety million yuan at her disposal.
That was enough to purchase a great many supplies.
The apocalypse would begin with a massive earthquake one month later.
After that would come continuous hailstorms and torrential rain, followed by one natural disaster and virus outbreak after another.
Having been busy all day, Lin Wan took out the leftover barbecue from her previous meal, added a bowl of steaming hot rice noodles, and grabbed a cup of milk tea. She ate until she was completely full.
Since she had traveled all this way, she naturally could not return empty-handed.
She still remembered that particular day quite clearly from her previous life.
Back then, she had also been suffering from a high fever when they forced her to transfer ownership of her house.
The last remaining traces of familial affection she had felt toward them had completely vanished that day.
She remembered that after Lin Ran returned, she had even brought over the things Lin Zhiyuan had bought for her abroad and flaunted them in front of Lin Wan.
Filled with grievances and indignation, Lin Wan had gotten into a huge argument with Lin Zhiyuan. The three men in the family had taken turns blaming and berating her.
Xu Lan and her daughter had only made things worse by adding fuel to the fire.
She had been barely in her twenties, and on top of that, she had been sick. At that moment, she had been incredibly vulnerable.
Overwhelmed by despair, she stormed out with her head spinning and returned to Jinghua No. 1, where she had cried for a long time.
The following evening, she drank a great deal of alcohol.
The night was silent, and the enormous, empty room contained no one but her. She had not even turned on the lights. She felt helpless and frightened.
So she left the television on all night. She also opened a short-video app, turned up the volume, and let the videos play automatically.
At least that way, there would be some noise. She would not feel as though despair was swallowing her whole or that she was the only person left in the world.
She drank until her stomach hurt. When the pain became unbearable, she remembered a short video that an old classmate from abroad had once posted.
Japan will experience a major earthquake tomorrow.
It was the largest earthquake in Japan’s recorded history. The casualties would be severe, and it would cause widespread power outages and a complete collapse of internet services for a time.
Therefore, tomorrow would be a perfect opportunity to acquire supplies for free!
The long history of hatred and conflict between Japan and China had long been deeply etched into the hearts of every Chinese person.
In her previous life, when the apocalypse arrived and global order collapsed, this small island nation had been among the first to take advantage of the chaos. They had invaded China, burning, killing, and looting. They had also spread viruses and seized a great deal of China’s important supplies.
This time, with her space at her disposal, she would see whether she could empty their warehouses!
She would make sure they were so overwhelmed with their own problems that they would not even have the strength to steal anything from China!
Suddenly, she thought of Shen Mochi.
Lin Wan picked up her phone, wanting to call him. However, after checking the time, she realized it was already past midnight. He had probably been busy all day and was now asleep.
In her previous life, this earthquake had not affected Shen Mochi, so he should be safe tomorrow.
After hesitating for a long time, she stared at the string of numbers she had already memorized. Her emotions were complicated.
Just then, her phone suddenly rang.
Shen Mochi…
When she saw his name on the incoming call screen, Lin Wan was completely dumbfounded!
In a panic, she tossed her phone onto the bed. A few seconds later, she picked it up again and finally swiped to answer.
Her heart was pounding so hard that it felt as though it might leap out of her chest.
Lin Wan clutched her phone tightly, hardly daring to breathe.
Then a deep, magnetic voice came from the other end.
“Hello? Lin Wan, where are you?”
His voice was clear and pleasant, and his words struck her ears with such force that she was once again reminded of the moment just before her death, when he had resolutely exchanged his system for her life.
An inexplicable wave of grievance welled up inside her.
She truly hated being kept in the dark, especially when she owed someone such an enormous debt of gratitude that she could never repay.
“Shen Mochi, I’m in Japan.”
“Which hotel? I’ll come find you.”
Lin Wan told him the name of her hotel. The only response she received before he hung up was two simple words.
“Wait for me.”
Although the two of them had previously disliked each other, that brief conversation had sounded as though they were extremely close, speaking with effortless familiarity and intimacy.
Half an hour later, the doorbell rang.
Lin Wan’s heart immediately began pounding again.
Wearing her slippers, she walked over and opened the door.