Heiqiu’s voice sounded especially pitiful as it spoke.
“Master, come with me.”
Lin Mingmei followed behind it until they arrived at a tiny hollow in the ground. She stopped in confusion, unable to understand what it wanted her to see.
“Master, look down,” Heiqiu said as it gestured excitedly.
Lin Mingmei lowered her head.
Inside the shallow depression was a tiny puddle, barely larger than a shot glass. She stared at it blankly for a moment before her eyes widened in disbelief.
A puddle?
“Don’t tell me this tiny puddle is my water superpower?”
“Master, you’re so smart!” Heiqiu bounced around happily. “But this isn’t an ordinary puddle. This is a Space Spiritual Spring!”
Lin Mingmei looked at the miserable little puddle, then turned toward Heiqiu with a dark expression.
“You stole my water superpower just to make this pathetic thing?”
“Technically, it belonged to Qin Yueming…”
“Shut up! I took it first, so it’s mine!” Lin Mingmei snapped irritably. “Out of all the abilities you could’ve absorbed, why didn’t you take the strength superpower instead? Do you even understand how valuable a water superpower is?”
Heiqiu tilted its round body as if trying to reason with her.
“Master, the strength superpower is far more useful to you right now! With enhanced strength, you can slaughter zombies with ease. You can smash their heads apart like watermelons, collect the crystal nuclei inside their brains, and use them to upgrade both your powers and the space system. You can also go out to gather supplies and steal even more abilities to become stronger!”
It paused dramatically before continuing in an enthusiastic tone.
“As for the Spiritual Spring, it’s incredibly powerful. One drop can instantly restore your stamina. A small cup can improve your skin and appearance. An entire bowl can cleanse your marrow and completely transform your physique…”
“Heiqiu!” Lin Mingmei interrupted coldly. “Did you secretly take a pyramid scheme training course before this?”
“Master, I’m telling the truth!” Heiqiu protested defensively. “If you don’t believe me, try a drop yourself!”
Lin Mingmei stared at the lone droplet inside the tiny puddle, her face filled with disgust.
“Master, if you don’t want it right now, I can save it for later,” Heiqiu offered carefully.
Lin Mingmei pressed a hand against her forehead, already feeling a headache coming on.
“Heiqiu, besides stealing my water superpower, did you take anything else?”
The little black sphere visibly stiffened. Its voice immediately became guilty and evasive.
“Master, the space system needed energy to upgrade, so… but don’t worry! You still have nine lives protecting your soul. As long as you stay careful and keep growing stronger, nine lives are more than enough for you to waste.”
Lin Mingmei went silent.
So her resurrection ability from her previous life had truly followed her through rebirth.
Fortunately, she had never intended to rely on that power anyway, so hearing this didn’t hurt too much. What truly made her heart ache was something else entirely.
“Heiqiu, I’m asking about the survival supplies I stored inside the space before.”
“Master, the system required…”
“The system needed them for the upgrade?” Lin Mingmei finished flatly. “So all my supplies are gone?”
“Yes, Master. But think positively! Look how amazing the space has become after the upgrade. It’s so much bigger now, you can store far more supplies than before. Master, you should hurry outside and gather more immediately!”
Heiqiu bounced excitedly through the air.
Lin Mingmei felt as though her heart were bleeding.
What kind of miserable luck was this?
She had risked her life tonight trying to get rich overnight, only to end up completely broke instead.
Still, Heiqiu was right about one thing. She really did need to gather more supplies immediately.
However…
“Heiqiu, why are you so eager to send me out scavenging? Are you planning to wait until I fill the space again so you can swallow everything for another upgrade?”
“Absolutely not!” Heiqiu hurriedly denied it. “The space system no longer needs ordinary supplies. Master, you can safely store whatever you want here. I guarantee I won’t touch a single thing!”
Lin Mingmei remained suspicious, but she had no better choice than to believe it for now.
With a thought, she exited the space and returned to the pharmacy storage room beside the unconscious Qin Yueming.
He lay there quietly, breathing steadily. When she reached out to touch his forehead, she discovered his fever had completely disappeared. He would probably wake up soon.
“What should I do with him?” she muttered.
“Master, gathering supplies is more important right now,” Heiqiu reminded her immediately.
That was true.
They were complete strangers. Saving his life already counted as an act of kindness on her part. There was no reason to waste valuable time guarding him. In times like these, collecting resources to fill her massive storage space was the top priority.
Lin Mingmei turned to leave, but after taking two steps, she stopped again.
If she hadn’t interfered, Qin Yueming would have become one of the apocalypse’s top powerhouses with three different superpowers.
Now he only had a fire ability left.
Worse, he would never know what he had originally possessed, nor would he realize that she had shamelessly stolen from him.
Leaving him behind suddenly felt a little too cruel.
After struggling internally for a moment, Lin Mingmei finally sighed, hoisted Qin Yueming onto her shoulder, and carried him all the way back to her apartment.
After placing him on her bed, she immediately stored the food and water left in the room back into her space.
She waited nervously for a while. When nothing disappeared this time, she finally relaxed and slipped back out into the night before dawn arrived.
This time, with her strength superpower and expanded storage space, she confidently targeted the nearest large supermarket.
Tonight was only the first night of the apocalypse. The world had not fully descended into chaos yet.
Televisions and radios continuously broadcast emergency announcements, urging people to stay indoors, lock their doors and windows, and wait for government rescue.
Lin Mingmei silently hoped everyone would obediently remain hidden at home. The fewer people wandering outside, the fewer zombies she would encounter while looting supplies.
She reached the supermarket smoothly enough.
However, several zombies in employee uniforms wandered around the loading area behind the building. It seemed the outbreak had started while they were unloading deliveries.
Sneaking around them was impossible.
Besides, Lin Mingmei intended to take the entire delivery truck, cargo included, into her space.
She had already tested her strength superpower on a lone zombie earlier, so she knew she could fight.
Without hesitation, she gripped her claw hammer and charged straight toward the nearest zombie.
The feeling was almost identical to landing a perfect headshot.
With one brutal swing, the hammer crushed the zombie’s skull effortlessly.
Strength.
The sensation of overwhelming power felt incredible.
Thinking about taking this entire supermarket for herself filled Lin Mingmei with excitement. Her body surged with energy as she smashed zombie after zombie without mercy.
But the moment the final zombie collapsed, Lin Mingmei fell to the ground as well with a heavy thud.
Her body was covered in foul-smelling black blood, and several sharp scratches hidden beneath the grime burned painfully.
She had completely exhausted herself.
Halfway through the fight, she had already realized how foolish she had been.
Even with a strength superpower, her body was still far too weak. A single person simply could not fight an entire group of zombies without paying a price.
If she hadn’t relied on the suicidal fighting style she developed in her previous life, combined with Heiqiu feeding her that single drop of Spiritual Spring water to restore her stamina, she probably would have wasted one of her nine lives tonight.
“Heiqiu, you were right. The Spiritual Spring really is useful. Give me another drop.”
“There’s no more, Master. You’re still too weak, and the space system can’t upgrade further yet. Right now, the Spiritual Spring can only produce one drop per day…”
The word weak struck directly at her pride.
With a dark expression, Lin Mingmei forced herself back to her feet and immediately stored the fully loaded delivery truck into her space.
“Use these supplies to upgrade the space,” she ordered.
Heiqiu didn’t move at all.
“Master, I already told you. The system has no use for ordinary supplies anymore.”
Lin Mingmei frowned deeply.
“Then what exactly does it need?”