Yang Rong comforted his son, “When the water recedes, we can go back.”

Going back also meant they could buy things again. Whatever they wanted to eat, they could have it then.

No need to just stand at this cursed doorstep, nursing a bellyful of anger for no reason.

Yang Sizhu squatted to the side, hugging her feet silently.

She had a premonition deep inside that the home her father mentioned—they wouldn’t be able to return to it.

She had always trusted her instincts.

More supplies were brought into the hallway again.

There was rice, flour, vegetables—though the prices were shocking.

Aunt Liu stood in the hallway, squinting sideways: “I really think you all are loaded. With these prices, you’re not eating rice, more like eating gold.”

But she still didn’t dare to buy anything.

Yang Rong, however, managed to squeeze a pair of pearl earrings from Xu Qingrou and exchanged them for a bag of rice.

A couple of days later, the cotton blankets Xu Yun bought arrived.

The blankets were easy to recognize by their style.

They were soft and fluffy.

Yu Xifeng also went to help.

When she came back, she saw the family full of hatred, and Xu Qingrou’s hesitant, unspoken gaze.

Yu Xifeng ignored them, but Xu Qingrou still came closer.

“Xiao Yu, do you have any extra food? Give some to your little brother and sister. If not, lend them some water at least, so your siblings can wash. It’s windy here. Your brother got kicked by you, and after being in the wind all night yesterday, he has a fever today.”

Yang Silong had snot hanging from his nose, looking even more sloppy.

Yu Xifeng glanced at the group and said, “Unless you’re handing me a one-way ticket out of here, I wouldn’t even feed my dog with any extras.”

Yang Rong’s face turned pale and then flushed. Losing patience, he raised his hand to slap.

But his palm didn’t land on Yu Xifeng’s face—instead, Yu Xifeng grabbed his hand.

Yang Rong’s arm bent awkwardly midair and ended up slapping Yang Sizhu’s face instead.

With Yu Xifeng’s added strength, Yang Sizhu was pushed back two steps.

A bright red handprint appeared on her cheek.

Yang Rong looked as if he was about to faint, staring helplessly into Yu Xifeng’s cold, expressionless eyes, unable to say a complete sentence.

Xu Qingrou stood nearby, frowning deeply.

Yu Xifeng smiled at Xu Qingrou and said, “When you’re ready to leave, just call me.”

Then she went straight home.

According to the original plan, Yu Xifeng was supposed to check the villa area again.

Now that Yang Rong’s family was blocking her door, she didn’t intend to change that plan.

She just needed to clean the house carefully.

With eight eyes watching outside, nothing that shouldn’t appear could be seen—not a single hair.

Yu Xifeng counted everything in the house carefully, just in case, making sure the home was empty except for a few brick-like pieces of furniture.

Even the little orange cat was placed inside the space.

The next day, Yu Xifeng stepped out.

Yang Rong’s family didn’t dare look at her. Xu Qingrou was not with Yang Rong.

Yu Xifeng saw her on the 12th floor, chatting with Aunt Liu.

Yu Xifeng ignored her.

The water level had dropped a lot. When she reached the villa area, there were damp, half-dry water stains everywhere, and the ground was uneven.

The kayak was useless, and the path became even harder to walk.

Yu Xifeng stepped carefully forward.

This used to be a place only for the powerful and privileged. After being away for a while, it was even more desolate, with wild plants growing very tall.

The plants were full of thorns, easy to scratch and draw blood if one wasn’t careful.

Yu Xifeng wrapped scraps of cloth around her hands and used a machete to clear a path.

She found the nearest villa and headed straight to the garage.

Prying cars open, stealing gasoline.

She was a repeat offender now.

Unlike her previous life, when out of ten cars only one had any fuel left, now nobody seemed to realize the importance of fuel.

The ruthless didn’t care for such trifles, and ordinary people had not yet woken up to its value.

This abundant resource was a blessing for Yu Xifeng.

She kept moving and prying.

Gasoline was great; it could generate electricity. She took as much as she could.

Then she gathered the decorative items inside the villas—stones, wood, jade carvings.

She even pried the beads off the railings.

There were safes, usually in the master bedroom.

Safes were wall-mounted, floor-standing, or embedded in cabinets—Yu Xifeng didn’t discriminate and stuffed them all into her space.

Others had already come to the villa area before, so these items held no value to those intruders.

But Yu Xifeng wanted to create her own haven in the space, enough to raise chickens, ducks, maybe pigs and sheep—these things were indispensable.

She patiently searched room by room.

She found many useful things.

There were Tang-style swords, cabinets full of fine liquor.

One room looked lively and decorated—it was a children’s room. Yu Xifeng saw various game consoles.

“Mine!”

Playing games to pass time wasn’t a bad idea.

The kitchen still had some food, but it was moldy. However, the storeroom held two boxes of milk powder that looked intact.

Yu Xifeng went from the first to the second floor, taking all she could carry.

Now that her space had a vast expanse of wild mountain land, she didn’t have to worry about storage.

She stuffed in as much as she could.

One villa owner seemed to be an outdoor enthusiast. Yu Xifeng found many well-sealed tents, backpacks, nylon ropes, and flints.

These were very useful items.

In the living room, Yu Xifeng found a jade Buddha statue, translucent and emitting a faint green glow.

A good thing.

But at first glance, Yu Xifeng instinctively judged it.

Sure enough, as soon as the jade Buddha entered her space, it disappeared like a drop of water merging into a lake.

Its pure energy invigorated Yu Xifeng.

Her consciousness was connected to the space. Every improvement of the space brought an indescribable change to her body.

It was like her whole being became transparent and comfortable.

Apparently, the space still held many mysteries she hadn’t yet uncovered.

Yu Xifeng silently noted this to herself.

At dusk, Yu Xifeng picked a villa to settle in.

This villa was especially secluded. After the storm, no one had come here.

It was damp inside and covered with a layer of dust.

The smell was unpleasant.

Who would have thought that upon entering, she found the house stripped of anything usable.

The decorative items had been knocked down and broken all over the floor.

Someone had been here and caused great damage—possibly settling old scores from before the apocalypse.

They smashed everything they couldn’t take.

Yu Xifeng sighed silently.

Seeing this, she knew without guessing that there was little left to get here.

She took a quick walk around and decided to rest for a bit.

She set a simple trap at the door and windows to alert herself if someone entered.

Yu Xifeng ate a jianbing guozi (a Chinese pancake) and some fruit slices, then took a nap on the bed.

The bedding came from her space.

Early morning.

Yu Xifeng solved her physical needs in the space, ate a sticky rice cake, drank some water, then walked out of the villa.

She looked back once.

She felt that something was off.