Pain.

Too much pain.

Her body was blown apart, yet her spirit still felt the searing sensation of being torn apart by high heat.

At the instant of the explosion, she seemed to glimpse the smiles curling at the corners of her stepmother’s and her son’s lips, the two of them shouting loudly:
“She’s dead, she’s dead! We can enter the mountaintop survivor base now!”

Su You struggled in the agony of the blast, like shredded meat on a chopping board, letting out endless screams of torment.

Just then, a white light shot toward her, forcing her eyes shut.

When she opened them again, she found herself staring at a ceiling that was both strange and familiar. A soft, cloud-shaped chandelier hung above, glowing white, like she had ascended to heaven.

With three years of apocalyptic survival experience behind her, Su You immediately bolted upright from bed, alert to everything in the room.

White oak bookshelf. Transparent acrylic display stand. A cat tree in the corner, where a huge orange cat was sprawled lazily at the very top, dozing.

Perhaps hearing the sound, the orange cat lifted its head, spotted Su You awake, let out a single “meow,” then buried its head and went back to sleep.

What was going on? Her room—hadn’t it already been destroyed in the earthquake?
And Big Orange? Wasn’t he… killed by that woman Liu Qin?

Su You clutched the soft, pale-yellow cotton bedsheet, her eyes filled with shock.

But when Big Orange leapt down from the cat tree and burrowed into her arms, the furry warmth made her realize this was all real.

She could no longer hold back—tears streamed down in torrents.

She hadn’t been rescued. She had… returned to her own room.

In the face of this sudden change, Su You trembled as she hugged Big Orange tightly, her other hand groping for the smartphone by her pillow.

The screen lit up: 【August 16, 2055】

This was one month before the apocalypse!

The moment she saw the date, Su You’s emotions burst—she collapsed onto the bed and sobbed out loud.

The orange cat stared at its grieving master, then lifted its head and gently licked away her tears with its pink tongue.

Her face tingled faintly. She opened her eyes, realizing Big Orange was trying to comfort her.

Shaking her head, voice trembling, she whispered, “Big Orange, I’m fine. I… I really was reborn.”

After crying for a long time, Su You finally accepted this bizarre, shocking truth.

She pulled open the curtains. Warm, golden sunlight spilled in, carrying a faint vitality.

Su You had bought this small two-bedroom apartment in a bustling district.

The location was excellent—through the window she could see a nearby mall holding a promotion, cheerful music blasting while throngs of people bustled about, crowding the square.

But looking at that lively mall, her heart was filled with an overwhelming joy.

She was reborn. Truly reborn.

Back to before the disasters struck—before anything had yet happened.

Clenching her fists, Su You swore to herself: this time, she would never again be deceived by Liu Qin.

And Su Weiguo… thinking of him made her shut her eyes in raw pain.

She had trusted him so much, yet he colluded with an outsider to harm his own daughter.

Perhaps, in his eyes, he and Liu Qin were the real family, while she was nothing more than an outsider. Otherwise, why would he leak her whereabouts to the mountaintop base, conspiring with strangers to steal her powers?

When Su You opened her eyes again, they brimmed with determination and vengeance.

This time, she would never fall for their tricks again. She would live well—with Big Orange by her side.

At that moment, a mechanical, unfamiliar voice echoed in her mind:

【Survival Base System construction mode has been activated. Does the host wish to begin stockpiling and base building?】

The sound startled her. But once she realized what it meant, her eyes lit up with delight. She quickly answered in her mind: “Begin!”

At once, a pale-blue screen appeared before her.

【Survival Base: Lv1】
【Space Module: Warehouse Space (100 m²)】
【Other Functions: Locked】

Below was a long list of stockpiling and construction requirements:
daily necessities, food and groceries, building materials, medical equipment, and more.

Su You stared blankly. “But… I don’t have that much money to buy all this stuff!”

She had studied pharmacy in college. Graduate school competition was fierce—barely half of her classmates advanced.

But during university, she had made money as a gaming video creator. Thanks to that income, she hadn’t pursued grad school after graduation, instead joining a pharmaceutical company as an editor while continuing to do gaming content part-time.

Though tiring, she managed to earn a decent living.

After three years post-graduation, she had taken out a loan to buy this small, shabby apartment. Now she only had about 20,000 yuan in savings—barely enough.

Perhaps sensing her worries, the system said directly:
【Host, rest assured. Once you meet the stockpiling requirements, you will receive rebate returns proportional to the value. The more you stockpile and build, the greater the rebates. Money will not be a problem.】

Hearing this, Su You’s gloom vanished instantly. She gave a big thumbs-up toward the void. “Boss, you’re amazing!”

Before the system could respond, a thought struck her. “Where exactly is the base? If I buy supplies, where do I put them?”

The system replied:
【Simply think ‘Base Space’ in your mind, and you may enter.】

Su You tried it—sure enough, the next second she appeared in a completely unfamiliar space.

About 100 square meters wide, 4 meters tall, its walls a solid gray-black, like some kind of underground fortress.

But this fortress-like sturdiness gave her the greatest sense of safety.

Excited, Su You recalled many apocalypse novels she had read. In hoarding stories, spatial storage was always an incredible asset—safe storage, no spoilage, instant retrieval, and completely hidden from others.

She tested it with a cup of warm water at 37°C.

Suddenly, the system announced:

【Item detected in base.】
【Warm Water: 1 cup】
【Appraised Value: 1 yuan】
【100x Rebate: 100 yuan credited】

Su You’s eyes widened. Pulling out her phone, she quickly saw that her blue wallet app had received a 100 yuan transfer, marked as a rebate from an online shopping platform.

Her eyes sparkled.

She had thought the rebates would be crude and simple, but the system actually followed rules.

And if she used the stored item?

Ten minutes later, she retrieved the cup of water. The wallet balance remained unchanged.

She let out a breath of relief.

Measuring the water’s temperature—the screen read: still 37°C.

Her heart leapt. Just like in hoarding novels, the space preserved items perfectly, keeping them fresh and unchanged.

This was incredible!

At that moment, Big Orange rubbed against her leg.

A thought struck her—what if she brought Big Orange in?

She tried, and to her surprise, there was no resistance. It worked!

---

Author’s Notes:

1. New book release—if you like it, please add to your collections and vote with recommendations!
2. No CP, strong female lead. The heroine is an apocalypse powerhouse—ruthless, decisive, not a saint.
3. If there are typos, feel free to use the reader correction feature—I’ll fix them quickly.
4. Lastly, everyone is welcome to comment and discuss!