An hour later, Lan Jin retrieved the popsicle from the space. It was exactly the same as when she put it in. That confirmed it. Time inside the space was completely frozen. That made things much easier. She could store cooked meals and take them out when cooking wasn't convenient.
During that time, Lan Jin also figured out how to use the space. Not only could she physically enter and operate within it, but she could also cover the entire space with her consciousness and control it with her mind. It was unbelievably convenient.
After understanding how to use it, Lan Jin tossed the supply list she had just written into the space. Then she went to the bedroom to wake up her napping child.
As soon as she opened the door and saw her daughter's angelic sleeping face, Lan Jin couldn't help but lean down and kiss her on the cheek.
The motion must have been a little too big. The sleeping child shivered slightly, then slowly opened her eyes. The moment she saw Lan Jin, she called out in a soft and sweet voice, "Mama."
That one word shattered all the walls around Lan Jin's heart. Tears flooded her eyes in an instant.
Her daughter looked up in confusion. "Mama had been fine before the nap. Why was she crying now?"
"Mama, no cry," she said, trying to comfort her.
Lan Jin hastily wiped away her tears, pushing down the surge of emotions and forcing a shaky smile. "Alright, Mama won't cry."
Her daughter didn't understand what was going on. She simply reached out and wrapped her little arms around Lan Jin, offering the purest kind of comfort. The two of them stayed like that for a while before Lan Jin finally calmed down.
From now on, every single second mattered. She couldn't afford to waste time. But her daughter was only two and a half years old, far too young for kindergarten. She needed a place that was absolutely safe before she could go out and gather supplies with peace of mind.
And right now, Lan Jin couldn't think of anywhere safer than her own space.
At the same time, she wanted to see whether it was possible to bring someone else inside with her. Holding her daughter, Lan Jin focused. In the next moment, her daughter appeared in the space with her.
Lan Jin was overjoyed. Her daughter, however, looked around in confusion. One moment she had been sitting on the bed in her mother's arms, and the next, she was in a completely different place. "Was Mama doing magic? Was this a dream?"
"Mama..." her daughter said uncertainly, clinging to her while curiously examining the unfamiliar surroundings.
Lan Jin crouched down and used the simplest words to explain, "This is Mama and Qiao Qiao's secret place. When Mama goes out, Qiao Qiao stays here, okay?"
Ren Siqiao looked around, eyes wide with wonder. She stared for a long time, not saying anything. Whether she understood or not was unclear, but eventually she gave a serious little nod. "Okay."
Then Ren Siqiao pointed to the glowing lotus in the spring nearby and said, "Eat."
"Eat? You want to eat it?" Lan Jin raised an eyebrow. "How about Mama tries it first to see if it's dangerous?"
Truth be told, Lan Jin had been tempted by the glowing lotus pod too. But who knew what kind of effects it might have? She wanted to test it first. If it turned out to be something good, then she'd let her daughter try it too.
But Ren Siqiao disagreed. She immediately started whining, "Together."
When Lan Jin didn't respond, Ren Siqiao began to fuss in her arms, squirming and repeating, "Eat, eat, Mama, eat too!"
Lan Jin couldn't win against her daughter's stubbornness. And she suddenly realized that if she died from eating it, Ren Siqiao would be alone in the space with no idea what to do. Maybe it was better if they ate it together. If anything happened, at least they'd face it together.
Having made up her mind, Lan Jin carried her daughter over to the spring. She reached out and plucked the lotus pod from the glowing flower. Carefully, she pried out two lotus seeds, one for each of them.
"Don't rush. Chew slowly, alright? Don't choke. Make sure it's crushed before you swallow," Lan Jin warned gently.
Ren Siqiao nodded solemnly and popped the seed into her mouth, chewing slowly. Once Lan Jin saw that her daughter was being careful, she ate hers as well.
The two of them stood frozen afterward, blinking in confusion. One minute passed. Then two. Nothing happened.
"I want more," Ren Siqiao said, staring at the lotus pod in Lan Jin's hand with longing.
But there would be no seconds.
Five minutes later, the effects began. A horrible stench emanated from their bodies, followed by streams of black, oily grime oozing from their skin. Then came the pain.
Both of them collapsed to the ground, writhing in agony. Their entire bodies ached. Their stomachs twisted and burned.
Eventually, the pain passed. Lan Jin lay on the floor gasping, but she could feel the change.
It was like a massive weight had been lifted from her chest. Her body felt lighter. Energized.
The stench, however, was unbearable.
She picked up Ren Siqiao and exited the space, heading straight for the bathroom. It took a full hour to scrub the filth and odor off both of them.
Afterward, Lan Jin stood in front of the mirror. She didn't look much different. Maybe her skin was a little brighter, but skin always looked better after a good bath.
But deep down, she could feel it. The power coursing through her veins, the clarity in her mind. Her body had definitely changed. Even her grip strength had improved. In the past, holding her daughter for a long time would have left her arms sore. But now, even after carrying her all this time, she felt no fatigue at all.
That strength alone was already a huge advantage.
Lan Jin didn't overthink it. She placed Ren Siqiao in the living room play area and began taking inventory of her assets.
From her ex-husband's side, there were three properties, including the one they were currently living in, and over four million yuan in cash. All of it was now in her account.
On her own, she had more than three million yuan and two properties in her name.
That meant she currently owned five properties and had over seven million yuan in total.
She definitely wasn't going to keep living in this apartment. She needed to choose one of the five for relocation.
In her previous life, she had chosen the furthest one to stay away from her ex-husband and the mistress. But that unit hadn't been renovated yet. She had hired workers to start the work, but the apocalypse arrived before she could move in.
This time, things were different.
She didn't want to live too far away. That would make revenge inconvenient. But too close would give them more chances to provoke her.
After some thought, Lan Jin decided that the unit directly across the street had the best layout and security.
That building had 33 floors. Her unit was on the 32nd. However, due to a bizarre design flaw in the complex—which she hadn't known about when buying—each building's elevator only reached the 30th floor. To get to any unit on the 31st or above, residents had to take the stairs.
When they bought the place, the sales pitch promised full elevator access. But once the buyers moved in, they realized the elevator stopped two floors short. Lawsuits followed.
This didn't affect the residents on the lower floors, so units below the 30th floor were all occupied. But the top three floors had a very low occupancy rate.
And for Lan Jin, that was perfect.
There were two supermarkets nearby. One was a large warehouse-style store, like Sam's or Costco. The other was a regular chain store.
With the apocalypse approaching, she was absolutely going to take advantage of the opportunity to stock up.
More importantly, she had lived in this neighborhood for years. In her previous life, she spent the entire apocalypse within this area. She knew every street, every shortcut. If something happened, she'd know exactly where to run. Moving to an unfamiliar place would only leave her fumbling in the dark.
Since her plan was set, it was time to check out the new apartment.