When Shen Xiaoyuan left the detention center, it was already noon, and torrential rain was pouring from the sky.
She loved this kind of weather. It gave her the feeling that no one was going to survive.
She found a secluded corner and entered her space to get an umbrella. Fortunately, there were no surveillance cameras in this era. Every time she entered the space, she only needed to find somewhere with no one around, so she didn’t have to worry about being captured by a phone or surveillance camera.
When she got home, she locked herself in her room, preparing to wait patiently for Shen Hanning and his wife to return with the rest of the family’s assets.
Hotpot was the perfect food for a rainy day. She had said last time that she wouldn’t spend any more money, but today she still couldn’t resist. She spent 145 yuan on a Midea induction cooker and another 7.5 yuan on a packet of Haidilao hotpot base.
Then she took a large amount of ingredients from the warehouse—pork, lamb, and beef. She sliced the meat thinly with a knife, then cut up some spare ribs, chicken cartilage, tripe, and other ingredients. She also took out some fresh vegetables.
Finally, she used the spiritual spring water to cook the hotpot and treated herself to a private feast.
She had to admit, perhaps because of the spiritual spring water, the hotpot tasted especially delicious.
The slices of meat gently danced in the boiling pot, soaking up the rich broth. Every bite was filled with happiness!
After eating her fill, she moved her mind, and the antique thousand-worker canopy bed she had collected from Shen Hanning and his wife’s bedroom appeared in front of her. She then took a silk bedding set from the warehouse, spread it out, and lay down for an afternoon nap.
With no one disturbing her, she slept incredibly soundly. When she woke up, it was already six in the evening.
Shen Hanning and his wife still hadn’t returned.
The last time they had gone back to their hometown, they had left at seven that evening and returned at ten the next morning.
That was fifteen hours round trip, including several hours of rest. Since they had left during the day this time, they probably wouldn’t rest for so long, so Shen Xiaoyuan estimated that the couple would be home very soon.
She had eaten too much at lunch and still wasn’t hungry at this hour, so she ate two slices of bread with some spiritual spring water.
She didn’t know whether it was just her imagination, but ever since she started drinking the spiritual spring water, her sleep quality had improved.
Her sleep had always been good—she could fall asleep the moment her head touched the pillow—but she used to dream frequently. Now, she almost never dreamed at night and woke up full of energy every day.
After bathing several times with the spiritual spring water, her skin had also improved.
Although the original owner had inherited her grandmother’s naturally fair complexion, years of farm work and constant exposure to sunlight had left her skin somewhat rough, with scattered freckles on her face.
Now, her skin felt as smooth as a peeled egg, so tender it seemed as though water could be squeezed from it.
However, the calluses on her hands and the scars on her wrists were still there.
That suited her perfectly. She wanted to keep the marks of the hardships she had endured so that she could continue using them to gain sympathy in the future.
Her hair had changed too.
The original owner had thick hair, but because she rarely took care of it, it had always been rather frizzy.
After washing it with the spiritual spring water, however, her hair had visibly become shinier, stronger, and more elastic. With one gentle stroke, it fell smoothly like flowing water.
Her body seemed to have become stronger as well.
She took an advertising stand from her space and performed a kicking motion. The advertising stand was immediately smashed to pieces.
Her speed was indeed faster, her strength greater, and her strikes more precise.
Her eyesight and hearing had also improved.
For example, she was currently on the third floor, yet she could clearly hear what people passing by downstairs were talking about.
Even when they were more than three hundred meters away, she could still clearly see what clothes they were wearing and what they were carrying in their hands.
She estimated that her range was roughly five hundred meters. Beyond five hundred meters, she could neither see nor hear clearly.
But even that was an unexpected bonus.
In her previous life, she had been nearsighted at four hundred degrees. She hadn’t experienced such crystal-clear vision in a very long time.
This spiritual spring really was an incredible thing.
Shen Xiaoyuan felt much more secure now.
In a society where women had such a low social status, having abilities like these meant she could at least protect herself to some extent.
When Shen Xiaoyuan came out of her space, it was already nine at night, yet Shen Hanning and his wife still hadn’t returned.
Bored, she wandered around the house and searched through everything one more time.
For example, she moved the flowers and plants from the balcony into her space to decorate it and add some color. Since she spent so much time in her space, making it prettier would naturally improve her mood.
She also took the magnolia-patterned glass lamp from Shen Hanning and his wife’s bedroom, the bookshelf and all the books in the study, the umbrella stand to the right of the living room entrance, the screen between the living room and dining room, the clothes-drying rack on the balcony, the kitchen utensils…
Anything she could take, she took.
Even if it was as small as a fly’s leg, it was still meat.
After scavenging for about an hour, she finally stopped with satisfaction.
However, Shen Xiaoyuan began to feel uneasy.
Why hadn’t Shen Hanning and his wife returned yet?
Could the two of them have gone straight to the docks?
The moment this thought occurred to her, Shen Xiaoyuan jumped to her feet in shock. She rushed downstairs three steps at a time and ran outside.
As she hurried along, her mind raced.
Shanghai had four cargo docks and five passenger terminals.
Since they were planning to sneak into Hong Kong, they would most likely use a cargo dock.
Of the four cargo docks, only Wusongkou Wharf and Waigaoqiao Wharf handled international ocean freight.
Waigaoqiao Wharf was close to the free-trade zone and frequently transported military equipment, so cargo inspections were much more frequent there than at Wusongkou Wharf.
Moreover, Wusongkou Wharf was the closest to the Shen family home. It was only about twenty minutes away by car.
Thinking this through, Shen Xiaoyuan pulled a bicycle out of her space and sped toward Wusongkou Wharf.
In less than half an hour, Shen Xiaoyuan arrived at Wusongkou Wharf on her bicycle.
The sound of a ship’s horn pierced the twilight, long and heavy.
She jumped off her bicycle, her eyes sweeping through the crowd before locking firmly onto a ship that was currently casting off.
She sprinted toward it and discovered that the ship strangely had no lights on.
Fortunately, her eyesight and hearing were now astonishingly sharp.
When she got closer to the ship, she clearly heard several voices coming from inside the cabin.
They were Shen Hanning and Pang Dongling, whispering to each other.
“At long last, everything has finally settled. After tonight, we’ll start a new life in Hong Kong.”
“Yeah. It wasn’t easy. This ship wasn’t supposed to take passengers today. I had to pay them quite a bit extra before they agreed to let us on.”
“Once we get settled, we have to find a way to bring Jiawei over. My son… I wonder how he’s doing in the Northwest…”
Pang Dongling’s soft sobbing drifted out.
Shen Xiaoyuan immediately rushed forward and kicked the young man who was untying the mooring rope.
“Fuck! Who are you?”
The young man who had been kicked away clutched his chest, which felt as though it had nearly been shattered, and glared angrily at her.
But the moment he saw Shen Xiaoyuan, his eyes went wide.
This girl was damn beautiful.
But how could such a thin and delicate-looking girl have so much strength?
Shen Xiaoyuan quickly tied the mooring rope back up.
“Sorry, bro. I was just anxious and hit you a little too hard. I’m here to see my family off. Could you let me go inside and say a few words to them?”
“You’re related to those two?” the young man asked.
Shen Xiaoyuan nodded. “Yes, brother. They’re my parents. It’s their first time traveling so far from home. Please take good care of them.”
“Don’t worry about that. Since we’ve been paid, naturally we’ll make sure they reach their destination safely. It’s just that we’re short on time.”
The young man paused and glanced around.
“Those people are almost going to patrol this area. Hurry up.”
Shen Xiaoyuan’s thoughts began to turn.
Those people?
Who were they talking about?
She glanced at the dark cabin behind the young man.
Her instincts told her that these people were not ordinary, and this ship didn’t seem like an ordinary cargo vessel either.
A ship traveling without lights…
There was a very good chance they were smuggling.