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The difference in strength between the two sides was significant. Shu Xin and the others, wearing ice skates, moved with agility on the frozen ground. The dozen or so opponents weren’t even enough to serve as a proper warm-up before they were all lying on the ground, completely subdued.
Back home, Shu Xin still felt a lingering excitement. Unfortunately, no more troublemakers appeared on their way back.
As it happened, a few other residents had been out scavenging at the time and witnessed the entire scene. They spread word about the swift and ruthless way Shu Xin’s group handled the robbers. Combined with the fate of those who had previously provoked them and suffered miserably, this solidified their reputation—no one wanted to mess with them.
Unintentionally, this deterred further unnecessary conflicts, allowing their daily life to return to its usual rhythm. They continued venturing out periodically as before.
Ye Yuan’s life, however, was about to get much busier.
During one of her supply runs, she made an accidental discovery. While searching for resources, she had absentmindedly tossed a top-quality jade piece into her bracelet space. Later, she realized it had vanished, and unexpectedly, the previously packed space had gained a tiny bit of extra room.
That increase was minuscule—so small it would have been impossible to notice under normal circumstances. But because Ye Yuan meticulously arranged her supplies to maximize every inch of space, leaving no gaps, she detected the change immediately.
A bold idea formed in her mind: the bracelet space could expand!
Testing her theory was simple. All she had to do was place more jade or gemstone-related items inside and see if the space reacted.
At the time, Ye Yuan was inside a large shopping mall, and several world-renowned luxury jewelry stores were conveniently located on the top floor. It was the perfect place for an experiment.
The results confirmed her hypothesis—her bracelet space could indeed grow larger by absorbing jade and gemstones. The rate of expansion varied based on the quality and quantity of the materials used.
After looting all the jewelry stores in the mall, her bracelet space had grown by approximately fifty cubic meters. More space meant more room for supplies, and Ye Yuan fully understood the significance of that.
Now that she knew the secret to expanding her storage, she became even more proactive in searching for resources.
Most jewelry stores were located on the first floors of malls, but since she had already scoured those with little gain, she shifted her focus to the private collections of the wealthy.
She raided four different high-profile individuals’ private vaults and had astonishing success. As expected, the rich loved collecting these kinds of items. Three out of the four vaults contained valuable jade artifacts, while the last one was stacked entirely with gold bars. When she opened the safe, the sheer amount of gold almost blinded her.
“Ugh, so tacky! Absolutely vulgar!”
Despite her words, the corners of Ye Yuan’s mouth lifted uncontrollably as she swiftly stored away all the gold.
“In peaceful times, people treasure antiques. In chaotic times, they hoard gold.”
This principle had held true throughout history, and the apocalypse was no exception.
With resources scarce, the value of all materials had skyrocketed, and precious metals like gold were no exception.
While Ye Yuan was busy expanding her space and stockpiling supplies, back in the residential complex, Du Hanxu and Wang Yayun were scheming against her, recklessly marching toward their own demise.
Meanwhile, after months of silence, the government finally made a move. Across the country, they established more than a dozen refugee shelters, dispatching large military forces to carry out rescue operations. They began transporting willing survivors to the nearest shelters, where they could receive protection.