Chapter 37: Important Guests—Time to Make a Good Impression

This fruit store was quite upscale. From the brand-new storefront, gleaming floor tiles, and neatly arranged shelves, it was clear that the shop usually carried high-end fruit.

Unfortunately, it hadn’t escaped being looted. Fruit was scattered everywhere, some crushed underfoot into a pulpy mess. The air was thick with the stench of rot and a faint whiff of fermentation.

Bian Changxi felt a pang of regret. In the apocalypse, fruit was a rare luxury, practically food for the nobility.

But even these rotting fruits were precious to her. As long as there were seeds, it meant that before long, delicious, juicy fruit would be growing on her own farm.

She scanned the mess: common fruits like apples, fragrant pears, cherry tomatoes, bananas, oranges, and jujubes, as well as more premium varieties—cherries, durians, mangosteens, loquats, kiwis, nectarines, red grapes—most of them imported.

She picked out a few of the best-preserved examples of each. She wasn’t sure how to grow things like bananas or durians, but she collected some anyway, planning to bury them in the soil and see what happened. Who knew—maybe she’d manage to grow them.

After this round of scavenging, her mood improved greatly. Fruit was now off her worry list. Next up: vegetables, grains, poultry, livestock, river fish—and, if possible, some nuts.

Wait, she reminded herself, the time when plants and animals would start mutating was fast approaching. She had to hurry; she definitely didn’t want to eat mutated food.

Since she needed to keep her farm a secret, Bian Changxi couldn’t make any big moves. She browsed a few more shops, picked up some rolling suitcases and backpacks from a luggage store and stashed them in her jade bracelet, then switched to two larger bags for herself—one for food, one for clothes and daily necessities. It was a hassle, but if she wanted to pretend she didn’t have a storage space, she had to make it convincing.

She also snuck into a home textile store and quietly collected a bunch of quilts, blankets, and bedding sets. She had her eye on a black-and-white bed in the back, and after a moment’s hesitation, she glanced around like a thief before slipping it into her stash.

She sighed. Traveling with others was such a hassle.

When she came out, Lin Rongrong was dragging herself along like a dead dog. Her storage ability was a superpower, and overusing it left her drained, dizzy, and nauseous. Bian Changxi quickly called out, “If you push yourself too hard, it’ll affect your mobility.”

The two of them sat on the steps, basking in the last warmth of the sun. Bian Changxi took out some milk and bread from her bag and started eating. The nourishing liquid sliding down her throat was pure bliss. She loved this feeling of relaxing and eating after hard work—a balance of work and rest that made her feel truly alive, not just numb.

If the sun had been a little warmer, she might have dozed off right there.

Lin Rongrong’s eyes lit up at the sight of the food. “Changxi, you have so much to eat! Can I trade you something for some?”

Bian Changxi was surprised. “You don’t have any food?”

Lin Rongrong gave a bitter smile. “I ran away from my group before dawn, just focused on dodging zombies. I was lucky to find this place without any undead, but I finished my only piece of bread ages ago. All I have left is two bottles of water.”

Bian Changxi pushed her bag over. “Help yourself, don’t be shy. The person I was talking to earlier is in the nearby supermarket. It’s big—there’s bound to be food there.”

Lin Rongrong was overjoyed and, after a sheepish smile, started rummaging through the bag.

Bian Changxi asked, “Why did you run away?”

Lin Rongrong’s hands paused. She opened a can of eight-treasure porridge and gulped down half, cheeks bulging. After wiping her mouth, she said with a hint of sadness, “You know I have a storage space, right? Actually, there’s already a girl in our group with a space ability. She’s really valued. When I realized I had one too, I wanted to tell everyone and celebrate together, but…” She lowered her eyes, stirring her porridge gloomily. “I went to find the team leader, but overheard them talking about keeping that girl under tight control. Someone even suggested the leader should, you know, sleep with her—make her his woman so she’d be loyal. Others said she was too full of herself, and that if they found someone with a bigger space, they’d just kick her out.”

“Disgusting!” Lin Rongrong said angrily. “That girl is my classmate, you know? I went to warn her, but she was actually quite smug about it. I asked her what she’d do if someone else with a space ability showed up, and she…” Lin Rongrong shuddered, unable to imagine how such a vicious, cruel expression could appear on the face of someone usually so gentle and quiet.

Bian Changxi nodded in understanding. “So you left them?”

Lin Rongrong nodded. “Honestly, I’d already been thinking about it. They’re ruthless. If someone’s a bit weaker, they bully them and use them as zombie bait. If someone’s strong, they suck up to them, but their eyes are full of jealousy and resentment, always scheming. The world’s changed, and so have people’s hearts—but how did it happen so fast? I only have a space ability, nothing else. If I didn’t run, what else could I do?”

Actually, with enough effort, space users could develop other skills—like teleportation for escaping, or spatial folding for powerful attacks—but the odds were low. Still, Bian Changxi wasn’t about to share that with someone she’d just met.

She opened a pack of spiced chicken drumsticks and handed one to Lin Rongrong. “Eat this, it’s filling.” She herself gnawed on a chicken wing, then suddenly said, “Let’s pretend you don’t have a space ability. The person coming soon is named Gu Xu. I don’t know him well. You can act like you don’t have powers and decide later if you want to reveal it.”

“Is that okay?”

“It’s up to you. Besides, we’re not just hiding it from them—there are probably other people in that supermarket too.”

Just then, her communicator beeped. Bian Changxi answered, and Gu Xu’s voice came through: “We’ve arrived.”

“Okay.” Bian Changxi finished her bread and milk, dusted off her hands, and stood up. Lin Rongrong gritted her teeth. “Alright, I’ll pretend!”

Bian Changxi handed her the bag with clothes. “No time to get another—use this for now.” Lin Rongrong had just taken it when two figures appeared at the corner of the pedestrian street.

The man in front was tall and lean, walking with steady strides. His features were strikingly handsome, his sun-bronzed skin exuding masculinity. His eyes were righteous but carried a hint of coldness, giving the impression of a sharp, deep, and not-easy-to-mess-with man.

Lin Rongrong murmured in awe, “That aura… makes all the campus heartthrobs look like trash.”

Bian Changxi squinted at the newcomer.

In her previous life, except for one or two years when she visited the Tengyang base, she’d never seen this man. Even then, she often only glimpsed his side profile, surrounded by admirers—cold, powerful, and utterly solitary, as if set apart from the world…

Suppressing the surge of emotion in her heart, Bian Changxi’s lips curled slightly. Right now, Gu Xu hadn’t made his mark yet, while she had powers, space, and experience. And at this moment, he was the one seeking her help. Wasn’t this a reversal of fortune? In the past, she’d never have imagined meeting him again under such circumstances. Life’s twists and turns were truly unpredictable.

Steadying herself, she looked up. Gu Xu had already strode over, put away his gun, and met her gaze. His dark eyes weren’t cold and distant, but instead held a faint smile, carefully masking his urgency and making him seem friendly and courteous. “Miss Bian, thank you for waiting here. I’m Gu Xu. Let me introduce my comrade, Qiu Yun.”

Qiu Yun—the mastermind behind that betrayal in the past?

Bian Changxi’s gaze shifted to the handsome young man behind. He had reined in his usual roguishness, and in front of someone who might have saved his comrade’s life, even his probing look was well-mannered and restrained as he greeted her politely, albeit with excitement.

“Bian Changxi, this is my classmate Lin Rongrong. No time to waste—let’s go.” From the look on the two men’s faces, she could tell just how anxious they were. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be acting so polite and eager to please, which was both novel and a little flattering to her.

Well, just for that, she was determined to make a good impression."