Chapter 127: Set Up?

Jiang Yan recalled the heavy “plop, plop” sounds she’d heard that night while half-awake, her brows furrowing.

Looks like she hadn’t just been dreaming or hallucinating after all.

Most likely, that middle-aged couple had actually been thrown into the water alive.

If it weren’t for the surveillance footage, it would be hard to imagine that such things could happen so quietly, just a wall away.

But what she couldn’t figure out was why Zhou Wei and Wang Jin had tried to pry open Su Dai’s door.

Judging from the footage after Ma Longbiao’s group arrived, the door-prying was clearly Zhou Wei and Wang Jin acting on their own.

“Jie jie jie!” (cackling) Mom, come into the space, quick!

Jiang Yan was about to check the live feed from the 31st floor when she heard Huabao calling her anxiously from inside the space.

Back at Su Dai’s place, Huabao had already tried to urge her in through their mental link.

She’d gotten distracted by the surveillance footage after coming back and almost forgot.

Jiang Yan turned off the surveillance recording, got up, and with a thought, entered the space.

Outside, it was gloomy and cold, but inside the space, it was bright and sunny, warm and cozy.

Luckily, her constitution was better now and she’d basically adapted.

Otherwise, this kind of sudden temperature change would easily give someone a cold.

Huabao was already bouncing out of the apple pod.

“Jie jie jie!” Mom, look!

Jiang Yan had just stepped into the space when she followed Huabao’s leafy gesture upward—and her heart nearly leapt into her throat.

The space’s upgrade progress bar had finally reached 99.6%!

Looking down, she saw that little stream, now vivid and lifelike before her eyes.

Clear water flowed gently over sparkling pebbles, softly caressing the tender green water plants.

At a glance, it was beautiful and soothing.

But when Jiang Yan crouched down and reached into the water, her hand still only passed through an illusion.

She knew it was because the upgrade wasn’t complete yet.

Only when the progress hit 100% would the stream transform from a realistic hologram into a real, tangible feature.

“Huabao, just a little more and we’ll level up! Keep it up!” Jiang Yan beamed at Huabao, full of joy.

Huabao pouted, “Jie jie jie!” Mom, it’s not that I don’t want to work hard—it’s just that there’s nothing left to eat, so I had to call you in!

Jiang Yan: “Huh?!”

She reached out with her mind to check.

Sure enough, there was no trace of gold, jewelry, or luxury watches left in the space…

“That jade pendant—did you eat that too?” She remembered the one Tian Jiliang had traded for medicine.

Huabao nodded, “Jie jie jie!” Yep, of course!

Jiang Yan: “…”

Well, damn.

0.4%!

So close, and now she was stuck at the finish line.

And that last batch of jewelry had been quite valuable!

She suddenly felt like the space had set her up.

But who could she complain to?

Huabao’s little eyes darted around. “Jie jie jie?” Mom, what do we do?!

“There are ways,” Jiang Yan quickly calmed herself, taking a deep breath as ideas popped into her mind.

Now that everything outside was underwater, scavenging from below was no longer realistic.

But, thankfully, she wasn’t missing much.

She remembered Ye Qing mentioning that Ma Longbiao’s group had looted a shopping mall for gold and jewelry during the heatwave.

Those valuables probably hadn’t been used or traded away yet.

Although Ye Qing had only heard this from Tian Jiliang and the others and it hadn’t been confirmed, it was unlikely to be baseless.

If all else failed, there was a last resort:

With so many residents in Shallow Water Bay, most families would have some gold jewelry at home.

If needed, she could just barter for it.

But if all the residents were now under Ma Longbiao’s control, then all the gold and jewelry would likely be in their hands too.

So, no matter what, she’d have to deal with that group first.

Just thinking about this made Jiang Yan feel excited again.

“Huabao, I’ll take you out of the space with me in a bit,” Jiang Yan said, hooking its little leaf with her finger.

Huabao was, of course, delighted. “Jie jie jie!” Yay, yay!

When Jiang Yan went downstairs later, she’d definitely bring her gun.

To be safe, she planned to bring Huabao along too.

She could retrieve anything from the space with her mind, but to bring Huabao in and out, she needed physical contact.

So she’d have to carry it on her.

Anyway, Huabao could turn invisible, so no one would see it.

But since Huabao could only devour things once per natural month, and it would expire if unused, she wouldn’t unleash this trump card unless absolutely necessary.

With these thoughts, Jiang Yan walked over to the containers.

She opened the incubators one by one, turning the three eggs inside to ensure even warmth.

After double-checking the humidity and temperature and carefully recording everything, Jiang Yan returned to the apple pod.

Normally, chicken eggs take about 21 days to hatch.

Duck and goose eggs take even longer—at least 28 days.

But Jiang Yan guessed that with the space’s boost, she’d probably see chirping chicks in the space before long.

She was looking forward to it.

*

At noon, Jiang Yan had a simple lunch and rested for a bit.

She put Huabao back in her palm, and when it was almost 1 o’clock, she headed out.

As usual, she carried a black backpack and wore a mask.

Sun Jingtao and the other two were already waiting for her at the fire escape.

Ye Qing had even changed into all black, looking a bit like a professional SWAT officer.

Except there were no police badges or insignia—it looked like they’d been removed by hand.

Although the clothes were a bit faded and worn, paired with Ye Qing’s upright posture, they still looked imposing.

“That outfit looks pretty professional,” Jiang Yan said quietly as she approached.

A hint of a smile flickered in Ye Qing’s eyes. “Thanks. It was my father’s.”

Jiang Yan just nodded and didn’t ask further.

“Jiang Yan, Xiao Ye, be careful going down. If anything happens, just shout,” Sun Jingtao and Su Dai said quietly, concern in their eyes.

Both were holding weapons.

Sun Jingtao had a fire axe, Su Dai a watermelon knife.

“Okay,” Jiang Yan and Ye Qing nodded, then headed downstairs one after the other.

Jiang Yan had checked the hallway cameras before coming out.

The water outside had risen to the 22nd floor, so her surveillance only covered the 31st and 32nd floors now.

What surprised her was that the once-crowded 31st floor was now completely empty on the cameras.

The fire escape door was covered with all sorts of strange locks, and the hallway behind it was blocked with odd tables and chairs.

Probably the residents below were trying to defend against Ma Longbiao’s group.

The 30th floor was also tightly shut; pushing on the door didn’t budge it at all.

Probably the same as the 31st.

Jiang Yan remembered what Tian Jiliang had said: Ma Longbiao’s group controlled everything from the 29th floor down.

So she simply skipped the 31st and 30th floors, and with Ye Qing, headed straight for the 29th."