Ye Shu retrieved a steaming bowl of red date porridge from her space, along with a large pork bun and a salted duck egg. She peeled the egg while browsing the news.
Da Piaoliang, freshly hauled out from her spatial stash, lounged nearby licking its fur, occasionally pouncing on a stray bug for fun.
After an hour's search, nothing worthwhile turned up online.
Pang Pangzi sent her a message.
"Haianxian888: Heroine, I'm in J City. Managed to get in touch with Young Master Fu Shiyi. Want to meet up with us?"
"Woshinidie: No rush. Stock up on supplies first. We still don’t know the core of this game, don’t make any rash moves."
"Haianxian888: Roger that, I’ll follow your lead."
Ye Shu reminded him to prepare fresh water and basic rations, then shut down the light screen.
The original owner lived on the outskirts of the city, and the nearest supermarket was a half-hour drive. Though her spatial stash had some reserves, with food, the motto was: the more the better!
Purified water—absolutely essential.
A person can last three days without food, but not a single day without water.
She also grabbed boxes of compressed biscuits in five flavors: red date, milk, seaweed, salted egg yolk, and scallion oil. Simple as she was, as long as food was edible, taste was just a bonus.
It was certainly not because her space was too small for heavier, more flavorful takeout meals.
Ye Shu went on a shopping spree.
Food: Thirty packs of bottled water, ten cases of eight-treasure porridge, ten bags of sausages, two cases of canned salted fish, five boxes of compressed biscuits, a case of tomato egg noodles, a case of braised pork self-heating meals, thirty bars of chocolate, ten bags each of assorted fruit and milk candies, and ten bags of whole-grain energy bars.
Supplies: Ten flashlights, ten alcohol lamps, five portable stoves, ten packs of batteries, one box of lighters, and ten boxes of candles.
Ye Xiaoshu was the definition of a domestic idiot—ten fingers unsullied by spring water.
So, she doubled back to the home goods section, tossing pots, pans, bowls, plates into her cart—along with oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea. She nabbed fish, pork, eggs, and milk, then plucked a few large lobsters from the seafood aisle.
Her aim was simple: savor life and never shortchange herself. Emergency rations were strictly for the hard times—if she could eat well, no one (not even herself) could convince her otherwise.
The bill totaled 3999.9.
Including her WeChat Wallet balance, she had used up all her starting funds perfectly.
Thankfully, her minivan could handle the load; otherwise, she'd have had to pay for another round of supermarket delivery.
By the time she finished unloading and organizing her haul at home, it was already three in the afternoon.
She cancelled her previous makeup appointments one by one, then hauled the original owner's precious diving gear to the living room, making space for the fresh rice, flour, oil, and grains she'd just had delivered.
Ye Shu boiled the lobsters she had bought, soaking them in a fiery red seasoning oil for a classic spicy lobster feast.
……
The first day passed in such plain, unvarnished simplicity.
Midnight.
At 11:50 PM.
The pitch-black sky flickered faintly with lightning, as if a monstrous beast lurked behind the clouds.
Someone caught the scene and uploaded it online.
Plenty of people thought back to the dramatic thunderstorm of the previous night.
"Strawberry Milkshake: I was camping in Shanxi. Saw the same lightning! Coincidence?"
"Lababa the Magician Peashooter: South Sea too."
"I Miss You in Taiwan: Same here! Lightning is terrifying."
"Nothing Beats Dumplings: I’m in Kashgar. Saw it too… But it should be daylight by now. The moment the lightning struck, dawn was smothered in gloom."
"Yogurt Cold Noodles: Is this the end of the world?!"
"Flower ’85: You’re a character! Just a thunderstorm and you’re talking doomsday? You should write fiction!"
"AAA Construction Supply Xiao Li: Don’t believe or spread rumors—just a thunderstorm."
"Sister Hua: Listen to yourselves! Those people are from all over. The whole country is storming? Has to be something special. Trust me—big changes are coming soon. V me 100 and I’ll predict your future!"
"Harmony in the Countryside: You talk so well you nearly convinced me!"
As debate raged online, the authorities stepped in with a second round of clarifications.
12:00 midnight.
Ye Shu, deep asleep in bed, suddenly furrowed her brow, then relaxed back into slumber.
Time passed in a blur.
At midnight, when tiredness hit deepest, she was sleeping heavily when a deafening boom suddenly erupted around her.
The shock of the explosion rattled the ground.
Ye Shu leapt out of bed, eyes scanning the room with wariness. Finding nothing amiss inside, she rushed outside.
Night's black veil overhead, she saw the jagged wreckage of an airplane's wing on the earth. The shattered fuselage, already torn apart, burned with leaping flames.
Other residents poured out as she did.
Staggering, they gaped at the blinding inferno in the distance—the crimson flames spreading rapidly through homes, explosions echoing across the night.
"What’s going on?"
"What is that? Quick, call the police! Help!"
"Hello? Fire! There’s a fire here—"
"Help… help, my family, my kids are inside—how did this happen?"
……
The crash site was right in the suburbs’ residential zone.
Survivors scattered, many heading into the city. Police, firefighters, and medics rushed to the area, and the road to G City’s outskirts devolved into chaos.
Smoke billowed thick and black—nearby, a chemical plant loomed. For safety, residents were herded into a bomb shelter.
Cordon lines went up.
Ye Shu peered toward the fragments of the downed plane. Debris was everywhere; fire crews fought the blaze, taming the inferno with practiced efficiency.
She noted the time: 12:20 AM.
Again, the dead of night.
Planes don’t just fall out of the sky—there must have been a cause.
Something related to the heavens…
A flash of insight struck her; she dashed for her phone. As expected, newsfeeds were drowning in stories of the G City crash, the headlines ablaze.
"Shocking! Plane crash: Accident or Foul Play?"
It topped the trending charts—every aspect dissected: weather, turbulence, crew behavior, and… thunderstorms. The lightning especially caught the public’s attention.
After all, the weather in G City was perfect, with bright stars and clear skies—zero risk factors.
But then Ye Shu discovered something else.
Besides G City’s incident, at least three other crashes occurred nationwide— all at that exact midnight hour!
What was the common link?
Being forcibly taken to the shelter, Ye Shu had no choice but to comply.
She slung her backpack on for cover; Da Piaoliang curled up on her shoulder.
Panic frothed among the people; a plane had come down on their rooftops, destroying homes…
A little girl stood frozen, lost—her pink pajamas dusted in ash and streaked with blood. Wide-eyed, lips trembling, she looked hopelessly around.
Ye Shu instantly realized she was separated from her family and quickly notified a staff member in the shelter.
Only when the wreckage was cleared were residents allowed to return.
Back home, Ye Shu noticed a new phenomenon: the dust near her front door was now riddled with dense clusters of tiny black specks.