Chapter 1

The End of the World, Hanging Upside Down: A Ballet of Despair

2135, the third year of the apocalypse.

Tie Lanyan found herself in a rather awkward predicament.

She was hanging upside down, suspended from a large tree on the edge of a cliff, her feet dangling precariously above a raging horde of monstrous, bloodthirsty zombies. Below her, a bottomless abyss yawned, a chilling wind whispering through the depths.

There was no escape. Trapped between the relentless undead and the treacherous precipice, any lapse in her precarious grip would mean certain death.

Tie Lanyan felt utterly cornered.

She had a jade pendant space, a recent and unexpected acquisition. But this space was more of a burden than a blessing. It was a barren wasteland, a bamboo hut with a courtyard surrounded by endless black soil.

No rivers, no grasslands, no forests. No food. Even a cockroach wouldn’t survive three days in that desolate space.

She had already been inside, and it was no longer a viable option. Even if she could escape the zombies, she would be back in the same predicament.

This perilous journey into the forest was a mission for her base: to gather a thousand-year-old Ganoderma lucidum, a precious medicinal mushroom.

Three years of apocalypse had ravaged the world, decimating cities and contaminating most of the flora and fauna. The black soil in her space was likely the last untouched land.

She longed to cultivate something, but she had no seeds. She had hoped to find some wild fruit seeds during this mission, but instead, she had stumbled upon a zombie horde.

And it had happened while she was picking the Ganoderma lucidum!

Now, she hung from the tree, the precious mushroom in her left hand, a dagger clutched in her right. The branch creaked ominously under her weight, threatening to snap at any moment.

A wave of regret washed over her. Why couldn’t she be a monkey? With a swift swing of her arms, she could have easily escaped this predicament.

“Drip!”

A foul-smelling, viscous liquid splattered onto her face.

Her heart lurched.

She turned her head.

Oh, god!

A half-brained, rotting zombie was climbing the tree towards her, its decaying flesh oozing and dripping.

Tie Lanyan almost choked on her own blood.

“Dude, is it really worth all this effort for a bite to eat?”

“Thump! Thump!”

The other zombies, mimicking their comrade, jumped off the cliff like dumplings. Some fell into the abyss, while others got caught in the trees.

The number of zombies on the trees grew, their decaying bodies clawing their way towards her.

“Hey, spitting on people is rude. Remember that for your next life!”

Tie Lanyan swiftly dispatched the half-brained zombie with her dagger. With a powerful kick, she launched herself into the abyss.

Everyone dies eventually, sooner or later. It was better to die a quick death in the abyss than be torn apart by the zombies.

Tie Lanyan accepted her fate with a strange clarity.

She smiled, spread her arms wide, and embraced the thrill of the freefall, mimicking the scenes she’d seen on TV.

Suddenly, a flash of memory crossed her mind.

Tie Lanyan’s eyes snapped open, her survival instinct roaring back to life.

No! She couldn’t die now!

She had cooked a bowl of noodles in her space, and she hadn’t even gotten to eat them!

“Oh, please, slow down my descent! Let me survive until midnight so I can eat my noodles in my space. I’ll die after that!”

Tie Lanyan frantically twisted her body, performing a bizarre upside-down ballet in mid-air.

The result? Her descent accelerated.

“Bang!”

Her brains splattered, painting the ground crimson.

Even in death, Tie Lanyan couldn’t forget about her noodles.

So when she opened her eyes again, staring at the steaming bowl of noodles before her, she couldn’t believe her eyes.

“You must be hungry. Want some noodles?”

An old woman, holding the bowl, smiled warmly.

Tie Lanyan was confused.

Did the ferryman in the underworld stop selling the soup of forgetfulness and start selling noodles instead?

“You’ll get all the noodles you want if you agree to what I ask.”

The old woman’s words made Tie Lanyan nod immediately:

“I agree!”

These were hot, fragrant noodles, sprinkled with green onions!

Whatever it was, she would eat first and ask questions later!

“That’s the spirit.”

The old woman smiled contentedly and handed her the bowl.

Tie Lanyan grabbed the bowl and devoured the noodles in a whirlwind of slurps.

In less than ten seconds, the entire bowl was empty.

The old woman was speechless.

Tie Lanyan wiped her mouth. “More? That was too little.”

She was truly famished. In this post-apocalyptic world, she had no special abilities. She relied solely on her combat skills to complete simple tasks and earn meager supplies.

Her appetite was enormous, a consequence of years spent barely surviving in the apocalypse.

“There… there’s a fresh pot of noodles… Should I serve you another half bowl?” the old woman asked.

Tie Lanyan waved her hand dismissively. “Just bring me the whole pot!”

At the entrance of the room, everyone was stunned as they watched Tie Lanyan devour the noodles from the pot.

“Mom, how can she eat like that? Her table manners are so rude!” Hu Xiaolian exclaimed, her face twisted in disgust.

“She must be starving after three days. She can’t hold it anymore,” Zhang Cui, Hu Xiaolian’s mother, explained.

“Honey, your plan is brilliant. Look, she’s behaving now,” Hu Zhuzi chuckled, his eyes lingering on the young woman.

He hadn’t noticed her figure before.

She was thin, like a skeleton, but her curves were undeniable. Her delicate face was captivating.

This girl was meek and submissive. He could take advantage of her, and she wouldn’t dare complain.

Tie Lanyan was oblivious to the thoughts swirling in the man’s mind. Her focus was solely on food.

She finished the entire pot in less than two minutes, even slurping up the last drop of broth.

But she was still hungry.

“Do you have any steamed buns?” she asked, turning to Zhang Cui.

“What do you need steamed buns for?”

Zhang Cui was speechless.

That was two and a half pounds of noodles, a whole pot, enough for five or six people.

And this girl had devoured it all by herself.

She was a glutton!

Even though the noodles belonged to the girl, they were now living in her house, so everything was rightfully theirs.

If she hadn’t needed the girl’s help, she would have already shown her true colors!

“There’s still some oil left in the pot. I want to dip the buns in it,” Tie Lanyan explained, her eyes shining.

Oil was a precious commodity in the apocalypse, a luxury reserved for the elite.

People like her, with no background or special abilities, could only afford boiled food.

Three years without oil had led to severe constipation.

Every time Tie Lanyan went to the bathroom, her face contorted into a series of grimaces.

It was excruciating!