Chapter 147: Chapter 147: It’s a Third-stage Space Ability
With that, the living room of the portable villa felt much more comfortable.
It was no longer so crammed it was suffocating, with barely any room to stand.
Their family hadn’t had much to put in the storage room to begin with, aside from two large cabinets of daily necessities her mom had hoarded.
Her mom had even joked that once she had a baby, they would convert the storage room into a playroom.
Xie Ning thought her mother was quite the dreamer.
’A baby? This is the apocalypse. Who has the time or mood to fall in love, get married, and have kids?’
Now, looking at her storage room, six wardrobes stood neatly against the walls. A ton of things were piled in the center, but overall, it wasn’t too crowded. She could still fit more if she acquired more goods.
She surveyed her domain with glee.
Aside from the gym, washroom, and two guest rooms, nearly everything on the first floor was unlocked.
But what made Xie Ning even happier was that her and her mother’s bedrooms on the second floor were also unlocked.
Seeing her walk-in closet filled to the brim with supplies, she couldn’t stop her eyes from welling up.
The memory of her past life—standing outside someone’s door in the dead of winter, wearing tattered jeans with shoes full of icy slush—made her heart ache for her former self.
’Back then, even a thick down jacket would have felt so warm.’
The story of the Little Match Girl was real.
She had often imagined what it would be like to see her father again.
She desperately wanted to ask him, ’Can you even imagine what it feels like to stand outside, freezing to death?’
’It must feel nice, staying in a house that’s warm as spring all year, toasting by the fireplace, and eating bread with jam.’
The warm, orange light reflecting off the villa’s windows had seemed so cold and merciless.
Xie Ning pulled herself from her thoughts, blinked her glistening eyes, and closed her bedroom door.
God knows how many times she had lain on the frozen ground back then, dreaming of this very room in the dead of night.
Besides her and her mother’s bedrooms, a massive terrace on the second floor had also been unlocked and was now usable.
Actually, she’d been suspecting it for a little while, ’Could a Second-Order Space Ability really provide this much of an upgrade?’
After sensing it again, she was almost certain. She had probably advanced to the Third Rank!
’Was this some kind of special treatment for how miserable my last life was?’
The young woman stared at the Water Ball floating in mid-air and guided it into the large water tank beside the terrace.
The ball of water splashed down, but it barely made a difference in the massive tank. The water mass dissolved into a mere trickle, collecting only slightly at the bottom.
The flowers and plants on the terrace were all thriving.
When Xie Ning had this massive terrace built, she’d had an automatic irrigation system installed.
You just had to set the timer, and the sprinklers would turn on automatically. The only catch was that the storage tank needed to be kept full.
Besides her beloved flowers and plants, her mother had also carved out a patch for potted fruits and vegetables on this large terrace.
Xie Ning glanced over and saw it all: chives, celery, lettuce, carrots, bean sprouts, scallions, and garlic.
Nearby were also several pots of cherry tomatoes, kumquats, dragon fruit, and strawberries.
The tomatoes were a little small, and the strawberries hadn’t even begun to fruit, but in the apocalypse, it was far better than nothing...
Xie Ning thought her mom was quite capable. At the very least, they never had to buy scallions or garlic for their stir-fries back home.
After happily inspecting her available Space, Xie Ning exited and chuckled foolishly.
"Greetings, Host. Detecting significant emotional fluctuations and an abnormally elevated mood. Would you like to play ’Good Fortune’s Here!’ to regulate the current atmosphere?"
Xie Ning was speechless.
"Let’s watch a show. The one called ’My Date with a Zombie’."
A massive virtual screen materialized in front of her.
Xie Ning wandered around the room, practicing her Gold Ability, while enjoying the close-up of a zombie’s grotesque, magnified face on the big screen.
Aside from the sweltering heat, everything seemed to be going smoothly.
"How ugly," Xie Ning remarked, her expression blank. She threw a Metal Spike that embedded itself in the ceiling, and her body rose into the air as if pulled by an invisible string.
When she retracted the Metal Spike with practiced ease, a small hole was left in the pristine ceiling.
The mother-daughter duo trained with such frenzied focus that they didn’t stop until seven in the evening, when their rumbling stomachs reminded them it was time for dinner.
Song You’ai placed a piece of braised pork in her daughter’s bowl as she chided, "You didn’t even have lunch. When you came to find me this afternoon, you didn’t say a word, and I completely forgot myself."
"I did eat," Xie Ning insisted. "I had a pork floss bun."
"Buns aren’t filling. Eat more." Song You’ai held her bowl and suddenly sighed. "I wonder how your grandparents are doing. What will they do in this heat?"
’For ordinary people without superpowers, surviving this heat must be incredibly difficult.’
Xie Ning sighed. "They’ll have to adapt. Humanity’s potential is stronger than you think. Maybe we should have a little faith in Grandpa and Grandma."
That night, a torrential downpour caused the half-repaired highway to collapse once more.
Fortunately, the repair crew escaped in time, and there were no casualties.
Gu Chen stood grim-faced at the entrance to the Lanshan highway, his phone nearly shattering in his grip.
Zhai Ruobai asked cautiously, "Boss, how about we repair the signal network for this section first?"
"The road," Gu Chen bit out the two words. "It has to be fixed within three days. Add more manpower."
At 11 p.m., Xie Ning was jolted awake by a cacophony of frantic screaming and fighting.
She thought another building had collapsed, but a glance out the window showed that while the rain was still pouring relentlessly, the buildings were all still standing.
It was as if a hole had been punched in the night sky, pouring all its misfortune down upon the world.
The sounds of the struggle seemed distant, carried faintly through the rain and mist.
"There’s trouble at Building 13," Li Xiang said, gazing into the distance from her balcony.
"And how would you know? It’s so far away," Zhao Yingying couldn’t help but roll her eyes.
’Who comes banging on someone’s door in the middle of the night?’
’What kind of sister-in-law barges into her brother’s bedroom at night? This country bumpkin has no manners at all.’
"What the hell do you know?" Li Dawei snapped. "Li Xiang is incredible now. She awakened a Visual Ability superpower. She can see things from far away. If she says it’s Building 13, then it’s definitely Building 13."
"I’m on high ground. I can see everything within five hundred meters," Li Xiang said smugly.
Zhao Yingying was green with envy, but her words were dripping with sarcasm. "And what good is that? You can see a bit better than normal people, so what? It’s not as powerful as your big brother’s Strength Ability. When push comes to shove and you run into a zombie, is good eyesight going to save your life?"
Li Xiang shot Zhao Yingying a harsh glare. "It’s better than having nothing at all, like you."
"Dawei!" Zhao Yingying shrieked, smacking the bed in frustration.
"Alright, that’s enough!" Li Dawei snapped impatiently. He turned to his sister. "Li Xiang, take a look. What’s happening at Building 13? Isn’t that Tie Zhu’s little shop?"
"Yep. A big group of people are smashing down the door to the shop. They’re grabbing a lot of stuff." Li Xiang watched with rapt attention. "Tie Zhu’s dad just came out with a knife and started slashing at them."
