By that point in her previous life, Lin Mingmei had already accepted reality.
She no longer believed she would ever reunite with her father. In an apocalypse like that, he had most likely died long ago.
Under Gao Lang’s relentless persuasion and sweet words, she had eventually handed over the jade bracelet.
Not long afterward, rumors spread that Luo Xinxin had awakened a space ability.
Then Luo Xinxin vanished completely, while Gao Lang became famous overnight as a dual-element superpower user with both fire and space abilities. Countless women flocked to him, desperate for his protection.
Only now did Lin Mingmei finally understand the truth.
Neither Gao Lang nor Luo Xinxin had ever possessed a natural space ability.
The storage space had belonged to her jade bracelet from the very beginning.
If she had realized this earlier in her past life, perhaps things would have turned out differently.
No.
Lin Mingmei immediately shook away the thought.
It would not have changed anything.
Back then, she trusted Gao Lang far too deeply. Especially during the early days of the apocalypse, even if she had discovered the bracelet’s storage space sooner, she probably would have offered it to him willingly, like a loyal dog presenting treasure to its master.
The more she thought about her former self, the angrier she became.
She bit down on her lip and slapped herself hard across the face.
Since childhood, she had been raised by her grandmother.
After her grandmother passed away during middle school, her parents wasted no time divorcing each other, remarrying separately, and abandoning her entirely.
Although they sent living expenses on time every month, no one truly cared about her. She lived alone at boarding school, surviving by herself.
It was during those lonely years that she met Gao Lang, who was also a boarding student.
From then on, he became her entire world.
From middle school to high school, then university, she paid for his food, clothes, tuition, and daily expenses.
Whenever her allowance was not enough, she worked part-time jobs.
In order to afford both their university tuition fees, she had even borrowed money through online loans.
She had no family.
No friends.
Only Gao Lang.
For him, she had willingly died countless times.
Yet in return, he treated her as nothing more than a source of money and an immortal shield.
Even now, she still remembered the despair she felt when Gao Lang openly brought other women into bed right in front of her, shamelessly fooling around without the slightest concern for her feelings.
Men truly were disgusting.
And love was more worthless than trash.
Lin Mingmei spat coldly onto the floor, then stood up and walked toward the pile of supplies she had purchased.
With a wave of her hand, she stored everything inside her space.
A ten-square-meter storage space did not sound particularly large, but it was far from useless. Even after storing the instant noodles and bottled water, there was still plenty of room left.
Suddenly, she remembered the supplies still downstairs.
Since there were not many residents in the building, and most apartments were rented to students, the place was practically empty during the daytime.
Her things should still be there.
She had to retrieve them.
After only a few seconds of hesitation, Lin Mingmei made her decision.
She truly could not bear to abandon those large water barrels.
After the apocalypse, clean water would become more valuable than gold.
She put on her electric scooter helmet, tucked the biggest kitchen knife from the apartment into her waistband, grabbed the only heavy claw hammer she owned, and headed downstairs.
Just as she expected, the stairwell was eerily silent despite the chaos outside.
She reached the first floor safely and immediately spotted the convenience store cart.
The water barrels still sat neatly stacked on top.
Lin Mingmei silently praised the residents for not stealing her supplies, but then quickly mocked herself inwardly.
People behaved politely during peaceful times.
But once they realized the apocalypse had arrived, would anyone still bother acting civilized?
After collecting the water barrels, she dragged the cart into the stairwell to avoid being seen, then stored all fifteen barrels inside her space.
Once everything was secured, she did not return upstairs immediately.
The discovery of the storage space had ignited something inside her.
For the first time in her life, she felt ambition.
She wanted to gather more supplies.
She wanted to completely fill her space.
In her previous life, even when she had been dragged around on a dog chain and used as living bait, she still fought desperately against zombies despite knowing she could resurrect.
Not because she was brave.
But because being torn apart alive hurt too much.
Now things were different.
She possessed a storage space, years of combat experience, and the courage forged through endless life-and-death battles.
As long as she filled her space with enough supplies, she could safely remain hidden inside her apartment for at least the first month of the apocalypse.
That first month would be the most chaotic period.
No one would understand what was happening.
Zombies would slaughter humans, while humans would take advantage of the chaos to rob, murder, and set fires everywhere.
Later, once the zombie population exploded, people would no longer dare commit crimes so openly.
Making too much noise meant attracting zombies.
And attracting zombies meant death.
As long as she survived this first month, the military would eventually establish survivor bases and begin rescuing civilians.
At that point, she could join them and finally live in relative safety.
Thinking about the remaining goods inside the convenience store, Lin Mingmei tightened her grip around the claw hammer.
Her heart pounded with nervous excitement.
Finally, she steeled herself and moved forward.
The residential community was sparsely populated, with only a few wandering zombies scattered around.
Lin Mingmei avoided them easily and headed straight toward the convenience store near the entrance.
Some residents had sensed the danger early and barricaded themselves indoors.
Others, however, had rushed outside to watch the excitement and lost their lives because of it.
The young male clerk from earlier was clearly one of those unlucky people.
By the time Lin Mingmei arrived, he had already turned into a zombie, wandering aimlessly in front of the store.
The moment it smelled living flesh, it staggered toward her.
Lin Mingmei stood still.
Only a short while ago, he had smiled warmly and even offered to help carry her groceries upstairs.
Unfortunately, kind-hearted people rarely survived long in the apocalypse.
At the very least, she could give him a quick death.
Lin Mingmei raised the claw hammer and swung it down with all her strength.
Bang!
The hammer smashed into the zombie’s skull.
Then again.
And again.
Rotten blood and shattered brain matter splattered everywhere.
Only after the zombie’s head was completely crushed did its body finally collapse motionless onto the ground.
Without another glance, Lin Mingmei stepped over the corpse and entered the deserted convenience store.
The shelves were mostly stocked with food, along with cleaning supplies and tissues.
She stuffed everything useful into her storage space, leaving only a tiny amount of room unused.
Then she picked up the dead clerk’s backpack, dumped out the contents, and slung it over her shoulders.
Greed quietly surfaced inside her heart.
Since she had already risked coming outside, she might as well make the most of it.
Without hesitation, she decided to visit another convenience store about a hundred meters away.
Peering through the glass doors, she saw the streets still engulfed in chaos.
Everyone was too busy fleeing for their lives to notice her.
Several screaming survivors were running wildly through the streets, drawing most of the zombies away.
As long as she stayed careful and kept a low profile, she could avoid direct confrontations and finish collecting supplies quickly.
Lin Mingmei pressed herself against the wall and moved cautiously forward.
Just then, frantic screams suddenly rang out from nearby, rapidly approaching her location.
“Help! Somebody save me!”
Lin Mingmei ignored the cries completely.
She knew her own limitations.
Because of childhood malnutrition, she was small and thin. No one looking at her would expect her to save anybody.
The cries were obviously not directed at her.
“Classmate Lin! Wait for me! Please!”
Lin?
Were they calling her?
Lin Mingmei turned in confusion and saw a girl sprinting desperately toward her, with a zombie chasing closely behind.
As the girl drew nearer, Lin Mingmei recognized her.
She was from the same sprinting club as Gao Lang.
A girl like that was asking her for help?
More likely, she wanted to use Lin Mingmei as bait so she could escape herself.
A cold sneer rose in Lin Mingmei’s heart.
The moment the girl reached her, before she could even catch her breath, Lin Mingmei lifted her leg and kicked her to the ground without the slightest hesitation.