Chapter 1: Rebirth in the Apocalypse

“Miss Jiang, if everything looks good with the contract, please sign here.”

Dusty memories unfolded like a 3D projection. As her hazy consciousness stirred awake, Jiang Si’s gaze suddenly sharpened.

Wasn’t she dead?
Why was she… back at the real estate office from before the apocalypse?

The sycophantic smile^[1]A psychopathic smile usually refers to a smile that someone with psychopathic traits might show—often described as cold, empty, or unsettling. It can seem fake or forced, lacking genuine warmth or … Continue reading of the real estate agent, the impatient homeowner, the bottled water on the table…

Jiang Si grabbed the Nongfu Spring water^[2]Nongfu Spring (农夫山泉) is a very popular bottled water brand from China. It’s known for sourcing natural spring water and is one of the top-selling bottled water brands in China. People often … Continue reading and took a long gulp—it was sweet and refreshing.

The sensation of her lungs being nourished felt far too real.

She downed the bottle in one go, sighing with satisfaction, and looked at the wall clock — August 1, 2033.

Only then did she dare believe it: she had been reborn.

Reborn one month before the apocalypse, when she had just used her 3 million yuan savings to buy a 100-square-meter house in the suburbs of S City.

The house had just been bought and wasn’t even furnished yet when a mysterious global blackout struck.

Schools closed. Factories shut down. Communication broke off. Supermarkets were looted bare. Everyone’s daily life was thrown into chaos.

People thought they just had to tough it out for a few days and wait for government rescue, and everything would go back to normal.

But the power system never recovered.

With even basic living conditions unmet, a mass urban exodus began.

Jiang Si reacted quickly. When food started running low at home, she packed her gear and began biking back to her hometown.

What was a two-hour flight took her an entire month by bike.

She thought returning home would mean peace, but worse disasters followed.

From June to late August, an unprecedented heatwave scorched the earth. No rain fell. Temperatures soared from 40°C to 60°C, and then 70°C. Rivers and lakes dried up at terrifying speed.

People only realized the apocalypse had arrived when it was too late to stock up or escape. Solar radiation was so strong it could corrode human skin.

Jiang Si was lucky to have stockpiled some food at home, enough to survive a year—but then came the catastrophe.

A sandstorm blotted out the sky and buried her house. The roof was torn off, the food destroyed, and her grandmother was swept away.

Before they could grieve, torrential rain and a massive tsunami came and took her grandfather too.

Pain and disasters seemed endless—plagues of insects and snakes, flu, pandemics, viruses, zombies, earthquakes, mutated creatures…
To seize resources, humans fought one another more viciously than beasts over rotten meat.

Her father died leading zombies away to protect her and her mother.

Her mother, unable to bear the endless grief, fell into depression and committed suicide.

Her whole family died, leaving Jiang Si with just one final wish: “Live well.”

She endured ten years in the apocalypse—only to be dissected alive by a mutant.

Having come to terms with her rebirth, Jiang Si clenched her fists and shot to her feet.

This time, she would not let her family suffer the same fate.

The real estate agent was startled. “Miss Jiang, is something wrong?”

Jiang Si replied without hesitation, “Sorry, I’m not buying the house anymore.”

That house she had spent 3 million on would be worthless in just one month.

Now, she needed to use that money to stockpile supplies and buy survival equipment—that was what mattered.

The agent, seeing a sale slip away, chased after her.
“A full-cash purchase for a house like this is a once-in-a-lifetime deal! If the owner weren’t switching school districts, we’d never get this price. Miss Jiang, don’t miss this opportunity!”

Jiang Si shook her head. “There’s an emergency at home. I really can’t buy it.”

The agent’s face darkened instantly.
“Damn b*tch, no money but acting like a big shot! You wasted my time!”

After ten years in the apocalypse and killing more people than she could count, Jiang Si’s very bones reeked of danger.

Cross her, and it was either you die or she lives.

Her gaze turned icy—like a blood-soaked blade unsheathed. In a flash, she grabbed his throat with one hand and cracked his knee with a swift kick.

“You better be glad this is still a lawful society.”

The agent was forced to his knees, tears streaming from the pain. He instantly panicked.
“S-sis! I’m sorry! Please forgive me! I bet your hand hurts more than I do—my heart’s aching for you!”

Jiang Si’s cold, terrifying stare made his skin crawl. With one hand, she flung him aside.

“Get lost.”

The agent scrambled up and fled, not daring to call the cops—he had clearly messed with someone terrifying.

Suddenly, her phone rang. Jiang Si’s hostility faded.

“Hello? Sisi, have you eaten yet?”

The familiar voice of her father, Jiang Linhai, came through. Jiang Si had told herself she wouldn’t cry—but she couldn’t help it.

“Dad…!”

Jiang Linhai grew anxious. “What’s wrong? Who bullied you? I’ll go teach them a lesson!”

Hearing her father’s vibrant voice, Jiang Si couldn’t help but laugh through her tears.

He was still alive. That’s what rebirth truly meant.

Jiang Linhai was confused when Jiang Si spoke seriously:
“Dad, make sure Grandpa, Grandma, and Mom don’t travel anywhere in the next few weeks. I’ll be back in a week—I have something important to tell you.”

“What kind of thing can’t be said over the phone?”

“It’s not that I can’t say it—it’s that you won’t believe me. Just trust me, and tell everyone to stay home. I’ll explain everything when I return. Also, I’ll send you a renovation blueprint. Hire someone to work day and night—no matter the cost, it has to be done before the first of next month.”

“What’s this renovation for? The house is fine as it is.”

“Dad, please trust me. I won’t lead you wrong. Just follow my instructions exactly.”

In her previous life, their home was nearly overrun by villagers because it still had food and water.

This time, she would raise the protective walls, reinforce the roof, install thick insulation panels, dig drainage trenches around the house, lay waterproof mats and pipes, elevate the foundation, and replace all doors and windows.

Jiang Si had always been a thoughtful girl, and although Jiang Linhai didn’t understand, he trusted her and agreed.

Back at her rental apartment, Jiang Si opened her laptop, sketched out her ideas, hired a designer to draw up the renovation blueprints, sent them to her father, and then started drafting a massive shopping list.

The most precious resources in the apocalypse were medicines—as many as possible had to be stockpiled.

Common cold meds, fever reducers, stomach pills, anti-inflammatories, painkillers, antihistamines, anti-diarrheal meds, blood pressure medicine, antibiotics, headache meds, cephalosporins, heart-saving pills, insulin, glucose, thermometers, saline solution, iodine…

Her Taobao cart alone had over a hundred items—just for medicine.

No matter how much she bought, she wouldn’t be able to carry it all when the tsunami hit.

Jiang Si sighed. “If only I had a space dimension.”

Suddenly, her chest lit up.

Jiang Si appeared in a one-mu (about 1/6 acre) green-tinted private dimensional space.

The energy crystal that mutant ability users had tried to extract from her body was now floating above her head.

Jiang Si was stunned. She explored with her mind and realized—the reason they couldn’t extract the crystal in her past life was because she had absorbed it, and it had become a space ability unique to her.

The surprise came so suddenly. With a space dimension now in her grasp, she could directly visit wholesale markets to stockpile supplies—and wouldn’t have to worry about suspicious deliveries drawing attention!