“Not enough.”
When Lu Chenzhou uttered those two words, Shen Niannian was curled up on the sofa reading through the inventory list he had prepared.
Page after page was packed with meticulous notes—from food and medicine to weapons and seeds, from RVs to helicopters. It covered nearly everything she could possibly think of.
“That’s still not enough?” she looked up at him in surprise.
Lu Chenzhou sat down beside her and flipped to the very last page.
It was blank.
“In your dream,” he asked, “how long did it take for society to recover after the apocalypse?”
Shen Niannian thought back to the world before her death in her previous life.
Zombies roamed everywhere.
The strong preyed upon the weak.
There wasn’t even the slightest sign of civilization rebuilding itself.
“I don’t know,” she answered honestly. “At least… it hadn’t happened before I died.”
Lu Chenzhou nodded and calmly wrote a number on the blank page.
100
“A hundred years.”
Shen Niannian stared blankly at the number.
“If civilization is going to recover after the apocalypse, it’ll take at least a century,” he said matter-of-factly. “So we’ll prepare enough supplies for a hundred years.”
She remembered what hunger felt like in her previous life.
Remembered risking her life over a single meal.
Remembered Lu Chenzhou going out to search for food despite being covered in wounds.
It wasn’t excessive.
Not even close.
“Okay.”
She nodded.
“A hundred years.”
The days that followed became a frenzy of stockpiling.
Every morning, Shen Niannian woke to the aroma drifting from the kitchen.
The butler, together with an entire team of chefs, prepared elaborate breakfasts that never repeated.
One day it would be abalone and shredded chicken congee with black truffle scrambled eggs and freshly baked butter croissants.
The next, fish maw chicken noodle soup accompanied by XO sauce-fried radish cake and handmade fish balls.
The day after that, bird’s nest milk, wagyu sandwiches, and mango sticky rice.
The fruit was always the freshest seasonal produce, artfully arranged.
The juice was always freshly squeezed and served at the perfect temperature.
Only one thing never changed.
Lu Chenzhou wasn’t at the table.
Coming downstairs one morning, Shen Niannian saw the butler arranging the dishes.
“Where’s Brother?”
The butler smiled.
“Young Master is in the gym. He said Miss should eat first.”
She thought for a moment.
Instead of sitting down, she turned and headed toward the gym.
The gym door was slightly ajar.
As she pushed it open, she froze.
Lu Chenzhou was wearing a black athletic tank top and shorts, lying beneath a bench press.
His tank top was soaked with sweat, clinging tightly to his body and outlining the contours of his chest and perfectly defined abs.
The muscles in his arms flexed with each push.
Sweat slid down the sharp line of his jaw, dripping onto his collarbone before tracing a path down the grooves of his chest.
Standing in the doorway…
Shen Niannian completely forgot to look away.
Lu Chenzhou noticed her.
Without stopping, he merely turned his head slightly.
The corners of his lips lifted into a faint smile.
“Come here.”
His voice was slightly husky from exertion.
She obediently walked over and stood beside his head.
He racked the barbell, sat up, and grabbed a towel to wipe the sweat from his neck.
His breathing hadn’t yet settled.
His chest rose and fell steadily.
The heat from his workout radiated from him, mingling with his familiar clean scent in a way that made her legs feel strangely weak.
“Why didn’t you eat first?”
He looked up at her.
Her gaze unconsciously drifted from his face…
to his collarbone…
then to the neckline of his sweat-soaked tank top…
Before quickly looking away again.
“I wanted to eat with you.”
Her ears had already turned red.
Watching them flush crimson, Lu Chenzhou smiled a little wider.
He stood up.
Being over a head taller than her, his presence felt even more overwhelming after exercising.
Lowering his head slightly, he leaned close to her ear.
His warm breath brushed against her skin, carrying the faint scent of sweat.
“Do I look good?”
His voice was soft and teasing.
Her ears immediately became even redder.
“W-What do you mean? I don’t know what you’re talking about…”
He chuckled quietly.
Straightening up, he slowly wiped down his arms with the towel.
Deliberately.
From wrist to shoulder.
He rolled his sleeve even higher, exposing his entire forearm.
The old scar on his wrist glimmered faintly beneath the moisture, somehow adding an indescribably alluring edge to his normally restrained appearance.
“I’m going to take a shower.”
“Ten minutes.”
“You eat first.”
She shook her head.
“I’ll wait.”
Lu Chenzhou looked at her.
Something in his eyes darkened.
He reached out, brushing his thumb lightly across her lower lip before pressing gently against it.
Then he withdrew his hand and walked into the attached bathroom.
Shen Niannian remained standing there, covering her lips as her heartbeat pounded wildly.
Ten minutes later, Lu Chenzhou emerged wearing fresh loungewear.
His hair was still damp.
Droplets of water slid from the ends onto his shoulders.
He hadn’t completely dried it, leaving a few loose strands hanging over his forehead, making him look less cold and restrained than usual and giving him an unexpectedly relaxed charm.
Shen Niannian was already seated at the dining table.
She watched him walk over and sit opposite her.
His pale skin glowed beneath the morning sunlight.
Tiny droplets still clung above his collarbone before slipping beneath his collar as he lifted his chopsticks.
She quietly swallowed.
Then lowered her head to drink her congee.
“The congee is really good today.”
Her voice sounded noticeably unnatural.
Lu Chenzhou glanced at her.
He didn’t expose her obvious attempt to hide her embarrassment.
Halfway through breakfast, Shen Niannian put down her spoon.
She took a deep breath.
“Brother…”
“There was still something I didn’t finish telling you yesterday.”
Lu Chenzhou set down his cup and looked at her.
“In my dream… you kept searching for me.”
“By the time you finally found me…”
“…you were already covered in injuries.”
“And then…”
“Someone used me to threaten you…”
Before she could continue, Lu Chenzhou reached over and gently grasped her wrist.
His fingers rested against her pulse, feeling how quickly her heart was beating.
“I’m here.”
His voice was steady.
“And so are you.”
She looked into his eyes.
Those deep brown irises reflected only her.
Calm.
Certain.
“That’s why we have to prepare.”
She inhaled deeply.
“Food.”
“Medicine.”
“Weapons.”
“Safe houses.”
“Transportation.”
“We can’t leave out a single thing.”
He nodded.
Opening the notebook beside him, he flipped to the densely packed inventory pages.
“The food order has already been placed.”
“The first shipment arrives today.”
He looked at her.
“Is your space ready?”
Closing her eyes, Shen Niannian directed her consciousness into the jade pendant.
The boundless space quietly awaited her.
The land stretched endlessly, smooth and fertile.
The air was warm and gentle.
She opened her eyes again.
“It’s ready.”
“We’ll start today?”
“We start today.”
The first shipment consisted of food.
Rice.
Flour.
Corn.
Every variety of beans and grains imaginable.
Purchased in quantities sufficient for a hundred years.
The total weighed well over a thousand tons.
The warehouse in the suburban logistics park looked like a mountain made entirely of grain sacks.
Taking a deep breath, Shen Niannian placed her hand on the nearest sack of rice.
With a single thought—
An entire row disappeared.
Her mental energy spread like invisible hands, enveloping every bag before transferring them precisely into the food storage section of her space.
But after collecting less than one-third…
Tiny beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.
A dull ache throbbed at her temples.
“Tired?”
Standing behind her, Lu Chenzhou gently wiped away the sweat near her temple with his thumb.
“A little.”
She admitted honestly.
“It’s more mentally exhausting than I expected.”
He frowned slightly.
Taking a bottle of electrolyte water from his backpack, he unscrewed the cap and handed it to her.
“Take a break.”
After she drank a few mouthfuls, Lu Chenzhou slipped his fingers into her hair and gently massaged her temples.
The calluses on his fingertips pressed with just the right amount of pressure.
Shen Niannian narrowed her eyes comfortably.
“It wasn’t this tiring before.”
“Before, you were storing things one at a time.”
His fingers moved from her temples to the back of her neck, gently kneading the muscles.
“Now you’re moving dozens of items at once.”
“Of course it consumes much more mental energy.”
After resting for ten minutes, she stood back up and continued.
When the final sack of flour disappeared into her space…
She was nearly exhausted.
Her legs gave out beneath her.
If Lu Chenzhou hadn’t caught her, she would have collapsed onto the warehouse floor.
“It’s done.”
One arm wrapped around her waist as he effortlessly lifted her against him.
“Everything’s stored.”
She buried her face against his chest.
“So tired…”
He looked down at her.
There was concern in his eyes…
along with something deeper he couldn’t quite put into words.
His hand gently patted her back while his chin rested atop her head.
“Another shipment arrives tomorrow.”
“We’ll take it slowly.”
“No rush.”
Transportation was one of Lu Chenzhou’s highest priorities.
“Roads may not be usable after the apocalypse,” he explained.
“We need multiple options.”
They purchased:
Two custom-built luxury RVs with complete living facilities, bulletproof bodies, reinforced chassis, and solar charging systems.
Three heavily modified bulletproof off-road vehicles.
Four lightweight off-road motorcycles.
Two helicopters stored in a suburban warehouse, complete with maintenance equipment and spare parts.
Two speedboats.
Four inflatable rafts.
Numerous reconnaissance drones.
Large reserves of aviation fuel, gasoline, and diesel.
The first time Shen Niannian saw the helicopters…
She stood there in stunned silence.
“You can fly one?”
She turned toward Lu Chenzhou.
“I learned.”
“When?”
“The night I made the inventory list.”
He answered as though it were nothing.
“I hired an instructor.”
“I’ve learned the basics.”
“It’s enough.”
Looking at his calm profile…
She felt like crying again.
This man approached every single task with absolute seriousness.
Weapons required the greatest caution.
Cold weapons.
Firearms.
Protective gear.
Through every connection available to him, Lu Chenzhou acquired each item one by one.
During those weeks, he became even more vigilant.
He spoke less.
His eyes constantly swept every corner around them.
Every night after returning home, he thoroughly inspected every inch of the villa before allowing Shen Niannian inside.
One evening, after showering, Shen Niannian found him standing alone on the balcony.
Moonlight outlined his figure.
His back looked strangely lonely.
Walking over quietly, she wrapped her arms around his waist from behind and rested her cheek against his back.
“What’s wrong?”
He didn’t answer.
Instead, he turned over the object in his hand.
It was an old hair tie.
Hers.
The elastic had already loosened with age.
Her heart tightened.
“When did you keep that?”
“A long time ago.”
His voice was almost inaudible.
“You threw it away.”
The day she discarded it…
he had picked it up.
Cleaned it.
Carefully kept it.
Carried it in the pocket closest to his heart.
During all the years she had told him to stay away…
that worn-out hair tie had been the only thing of hers he could still touch.
Shen Niannian tightened her embrace around him.
“You won’t need it anymore.”
Her voice was muffled against his back.
“I’m right here now.”
Closing his hand around the hair tie, Lu Chenzhou turned around and pulled her into his arms.
His chin rested gently atop her head.
“Okay.”
Farming and raising livestock became the part Shen Niannian enjoyed most.
Lu Chenzhou purchased nearly every type of seed available on the market.
Knowledge was equally important.
He collected thousands of physical books covering survival, medicine, construction, agriculture, engineering, astronomy, geography, and virtually every field that might prove useful.
For three entire months…
their lives revolved almost exclusively around stockpiling.
Her spatial dimension grew larger and larger.
Through constant exhaustion and recovery, her mental strength steadily became stronger as well.
One day, after finishing another delivery, Shen Niannian sat inside the car and suddenly laughed.
“Brother…”
“Don’t you think we’re like two little hamsters?”
Lu Chenzhou glanced sideways at her while driving.
“Hamsters?”
“Mhm.”
“All we do is hoard, hoard, hoard…”
“Then we’ll hide in our burrow for the winter.”
A smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
He reached over and intertwined their fingers.
“You aren’t a hamster.”
“No?”
“Then what am I?”
“Mine.”
His thumb slowly traced a circle across the back of her hand.
“Everything about you…”
“…is mine.”