When the temporary houses were being custom-made, Zhao Qingye had already discussed everything with the manufacturer. Each level had a movable hatch built into both the floor and ceiling, along with locking clasps. As long as the staircase was aligned correctly and snapped into place, it would be secure.
“Move it a little more to the right — hey, hey, hey, okay! Don’t move anymore!”
“Alright, alright, come up here. Let’s go to the second floor.”
After an entire morning of work, the two finally finished installing staircases across all ten levels. Only then did the structure finally look like a complete building, though because of its narrow footprint, it resembled a wide chimney more than a normal tower.
Zhao Qingye pushed open the top hatch on the highest floor and looked upward into the space above.
“How tall is this thing exactly? I thought ten floors — over thirty meters — would at least take up half the height. But it doesn’t look any different from before.”
Shi Meiqing shook her head. She honestly couldn’t say. It just felt endlessly tall.
“Come on down. Let’s go eat first. The takeout should’ve arrived by now. We can rest a little after lunch and continue later.”
At the moment, all ten levels were still basically empty. Well… not completely. The top floor was filled with fuel drums — gasoline and some diesel they’d bought overseas.
There were also the takeout meals, weapons, and a few other supplies from before, but the remaining floors were almost entirely vacant.
Just thinking about all the work left made Shi Meiqing’s vision darken. “Seriously, what’s the point of me having this space? I’d rather have super strength. Then doing all this work would at least be fun.”
Zhao Qingye dusted off her hands as she climbed down. “Stop complaining after getting such a huge advantage. I’m the one with nothing here. Come on, let’s go eat. I checked already — adding another five floors shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Wait, you’re seriously planning to order more of these houses? Have you lost your mind? Sure, each floor isn’t huge, but there are already so many levels. How much stuff do you think one person can store?”
“Hmph, what do you know? Don’t question it — just listen to me. Hurry up and take me out already. I’m starving.”
“Fine, fine, I’ll listen to you.” Shi Meiqing coaxed her patiently.
“I just think climbing stairs is exhausting. Who lives in a multi-story building and actually walks up and down stairs every day?” It would tire someone to death eventually.
While washing her hands, Zhao Qingye rolled her eyes. “Your eyesight works fine, doesn’t it? Didn’t you notice? Those stairs I custom-made can be powered on and used like escalators.”
“If I had the technical skills to install an elevator, I would’ve built you a direct-access elevator too. That would’ve been even easier.”
Shi Meiqing reached over and touched Zhao Qingye’s forehead, only to have her hand slapped away. “What are you doing? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You already said the space is limited. Sure, we bought fuel reserves and can use generators for electricity, but fuel won’t last forever. Won’t I need to conserve power? How could I bear to waste electricity on an elevator?”
Zhao Qingye immediately rolled her eyes again. “Seriously, your brain’s barely functioning lately. Did you forget? You can teleport inside your own space.”
“Even if you generate electricity later, it’ll mostly just be for household appliances. How much power could that really use? By the time your fuel runs out, you’ll already have established yourself in the new world and figured out alternative energy sources anyway.”
As she spoke, Zhao Qingye suddenly sighed again.
“Sigh… why is your space so disappointing? If only it had a sun inside. Then solar panels would actually work.”
“But even if they don’t work now, I still bought some for you anyway. Maybe someday you’ll find a use for them.”
“No, just adding another five floors probably still won’t be enough. Better make it another full ten. It’s better to have empty space than not enough.” Zhao Qingye kept coming up with more and more plans every day.
“Alright, enough already. That’s such a waste. How much stuff could one person possibly use? I probably wouldn’t even finish all these supplies in an entire lifetime.”
“So what if you can’t finish them? Better too much than too little. Don’t argue with me. Living alone requires a ton of things. No, wait, I need to write this down before I forget.”
Shi Meiqing shook her head. “Fine then. Take your time thinking about it. I’m going to sleep for a bit first. Wake me up later.”
“Alright, go ahead.” Zhao Qingye didn’t even look up, her fingers still busily typing away.
Shi Meiqing was genuinely exhausted, so she never noticed the worried look in Zhao Qingye’s eyes behind her. Zhao Qingye had researched countless medical reports and consulted many doctors.
All of them said that with Meiqing’s illness, staying active was better than lying in bed all day.
There was no scientific proof, but many people believed physical activity might someday become part of future treatment approaches. That was why Zhao Qingye kept dragging Meiqing around constantly.
She wanted Meiqing to stay with her just a little longer. Not much — even one extra month would be enough. One more month meant more time to prepare things for her, and that would at least give Zhao Qingye some peace of mind.
As for whether Meiqing would really transmigrate, Zhao Qingye spoke confidently about it, but deep down she wasn’t certain at all.
She only hoped it was true.
With a twenty-five-story building inside her portable space — each floor about one hundred square meters — Shi Meiqing no longer hesitated when shopping.
Starting from Beijing, the two of them made massive purchases in every city they passed through.
Whenever they encountered temples or Taoist shrines, no matter which deity was worshipped there or how steep and remote the location was, Zhao Qingye would climb up alone and pray sincerely.
Along the journey, she also donated large amounts of money and did countless good deeds, all in hopes of accumulating so-called merit for Shi Meiqing.
After six months, they completed a giant loop around the country and eventually arrived in Northeast China.
This was both of their favorite place, and Shi Meiqing decided she wanted to spend her final days there.
Outside, snowflakes drifted endlessly through the air. Indoors, the heating was wonderfully warm. Wearing a short-sleeved lounge outfit, Shi Meiqing sat in front of the enormous floor-to-ceiling window, quietly admiring the heavy snowfall outside.
Her body was growing weaker and weaker. Going outside had already become an impossible luxury. If she truly wanted to leave the apartment now, she’d need a wheelchair. Shi Meiqing didn’t want more people seeing her in such a miserable state.
Even on the day she died, she wanted to remain beautiful.
Looking at her reflection in the glass — the sunken eyes, the dry lifeless hair — Shi Meiqing laughed softly at herself.
In the end, she was only an ordinary person. She had once thought she’d already accepted life and death calmly, but now that the end was truly approaching, fear still crept into her heart.
“I’m back! Isn’t it cold over there? Why are you sitting by the window again?”
Shi Meiqing quickly hid the self-mockery in her eyes and replaced it with a bright smile. “You’re back. It’s freezing outside, and you still insisted on going out. With that tiny little body of yours, what if the wind got any stronger? It’d be dangerous.”
“Tch. Don’t think I can’t tell you’re making fun of my height. So what if I’m short? I’m sturdy! My center of gravity is super stable. Forget this wind — even stronger winds wouldn’t stop me from walking around however I want.”