Volume One, Chapter 14: An Intruder Breaks into the Courtyard!

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Startled by the shouting, Ning Jue sprang to his feet.
“You three stay here and don’t move. I’ll go take a look.”
Ning Lin nervously grabbed his sleeve, “Brother, be careful.”
“Don’t worry.” Ning Jue casually picked up an entrenching tool.

He followed the stairs from the basement to the first floor, opened the door, and saw several people dressed in green military uniforms outside.
Meanwhile, countless zombies surged from a distance.

A gust of wind brought with it a pungent stench.
With the rising temperature, the zombies’ flesh was decaying faster; some were even crawling with clusters of white maggots.

Ning Jue gripped the entrenching tool tightly and slowly stepped into the yard.
Only then did he clearly see that there were three soldiers stationed outside the gate, armed but obviously out of ammunition.

One soldier was knocking on the door, while the other two faced the zombies, holding their rifles backward, ready to defend against any attack.

“Comrade, please help us. We got separated from the main unit. Can you let us in to take shelter for a while?”
Seeing the wary look in Ning Jue’s eyes, the officer knocking quickly explained.

It was understandable—just days ago, someone had tried to kill him over a scrap of food and a woman.
He couldn’t bring himself to trust these three soldiers.

“I know it’s hard, but we’re too exhausted to run anymore.”

Ning Jue remained still, his gaze cautious as he studied the door and the soldiers.

The officer lowered his head, then forced a bitter smile. “Sorry to bother you.”
He turned away forlornly. “Brothers, let’s go.”

The other two didn’t even look back but stood firmly behind the officer, shielding him.

Ning Jue was stunned for a few seconds; this was the first time he had witnessed such humanity in the apocalypse.

Three soldiers could easily have forced their way into the villa, but they chose not to.

After a moment, Ning Jue spoke softly, “Don’t move.”

Hearing his voice, the officer’s face brightened—rescue was coming!

But Ning Jue stepped out, closed the door behind him, and stood firmly blocking the entrance.

The officer was puzzled by this gesture.

Then, Ning Jue’s Adam’s apple moved as he emitted a series of hoarse hissing sounds.

The zombies, less than ten meters away, heard the sound and immediately turned tail and fled.

Within minutes, all the zombies vanished.

Ning Jue sighed quietly, “I can’t let you in. The zombies have retreated. You should leave too.”

The officer asked in a trembling voice, “Are you an Awakened?”

Ning Jue said nothing, tacitly confirming.

“Colonel Xiao is recruiting Awakened. If you’re interested, come to our base—the Shuanghe District Refuge. You’re welcome there.”

The officer’s face was camouflaged with paint, making it hard to see his features, but when he smiled, two prominent canine teeth showed. “My name is Gao Yuan.”

“Hope to see you again.”

Gao Yuan waved to Ning Jue and led his soldiers away along the mountain road.

After the standoff, Ning Jue’s shirt was drenched in sweat.

This time, fortune favored him—he had encountered reasonable soldiers.

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It seemed the villa wasn’t safe either.

Ning Jue returned to the basement and found Qi Zheng and Xie An each holding a tool—one a pickaxe, the other an entrenching tool.

“All clear. They were three soldiers. They left.”

He furrowed his brows, feigning calm. “Tomorrow I’ll go to the grocery store alone to get supplies. If I can’t bring back the diesel generator and the diesel fuel, then I’ll escort you all to the Shuanghe District Refuge.”

“No! Brother, I don’t want to leave you!” Ning Lin shouted, throwing herself into Ning Jue’s arms.

Ning Jue’s voice was hoarse, as if covered in dust.

“I have to make sure you all survive.”

...

8 p.m., West Suburban Warehouse, Nanyuan City.

Qiao Yuan arrived early and parked outside the warehouse.

She dozed off briefly.

A few sharp honks startled her awake.

Under the streetlights, Qiao Yuan saw three trucks approaching on the road.

A black sedan led the way in front of the trucks.

Soon, all four vehicles stopped in the empty parking lot, standing out starkly.

“Qiao Yuan! Right on time!” Xu Lian called out loudly as she got out.

Qiao Yuan looked at the three trucks stacked as high as a small building and couldn’t help but gape.

Her old classmate was really impressive.

While the workers unloaded, Xu Lian leaned against the car door, smoking.

“Qiao Yuan, don’t you want me to help you haul the goods? My family has a fleet and offers a 30% discount.”

Qiao Yuan chuckled softly. “The big boss said he wants to transport it himself. We don’t have to bother.”

“Alright.” A gleam flashed in Xu Lian’s eyes.

Businesspeople didn’t need to pry too deeply into some matters.

“How much in total?” Qiao Yuan asked.

“Cost price is 800,000.” Xu Lian gave an honest figure.

Actually, this was a test for Qiao Yuan.

She understood perfectly and smiled softly. “Deposit is the commission. 800,000—check your account.”

As she spoke, she didn’t pause, the transfer screen glaring in front of Xu Lian.

“200,000 commission?” Xu Lian asked urgently.

“What, too little?” Qiao Yuan joked.

Xu Lian quickly shook her head. “Stop talking nonsense.”

“It’s just buying stuff. Earning 200,000 in three days—isn’t that a bit nerve-wracking?”

“Don’t worry. You’ll get used to it.”

After unloading, Qiao Yuan pretended to leave with them but circled back to the warehouse after parting ways at the intersection.

After completing Task 4, her space grew by another 200 square meters.

Sitting in the car, Qiao Yuan’s consciousness entered the space.

It was a gray haze inside; supplies were piled chaotically like a junkyard.

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If only the space could be divided into functional zones—for example, here, a garage.

Qiao Yuan sighed inwardly.

Then, with a series of heavy “bang bang bang” sounds, a huge garage rose from the ground, just big enough to fit three motorhomes.

Could it be that the space could change at will according to my imagination?

Qiao Yuan’s mind raced.

This is the food zone!

This is the reservoir!

This is the daily necessities zone!

The medicine zone!

The wilderness living zone!

The living tools zone!

...

Qiao Yuan silently recited and pictured the rooms she wanted.

Soon, the 700 square meter space was divided into several large sections, each a neat square metal room.

The supplies she stored were also sorted meticulously.

In this way, half the space was freed up.

Qiao Yuan exited the space and stored all the materials Xu Lian had purchased.

“Perfect!”

She snapped her fingers and contentedly closed the warehouse door.

Today, Yongle Village was plunged into darkness due to a power line failure.

But in the pitch-black night, a small courtyard remained lit, looking somewhat lonely.

“How could this be? I specifically ordered their power cut!”

Chen Wei, having finished playing poker, saw the lit grocery store on his way home.

“Damn it, tonight I have to see what’s so strange about it.”

Chen Wei, a little drunk, climbed over the courtyard wall, fueled by alcohol.

Inside, Qiao Yuan was taking a shower in the motorhome.

“I love showering—the skin feels so good… oh oh oh~”

Back home, Qiao Yuan found no water in the pipes, so she parked the motorhome in the yard and enjoyed a thorough shower.

“What a huge motorhome!”

Chen Wei jumped down from the wall and crouched forward.

By the light inside the house, he looked at the towering gray motorhome.

He had seen such motorhomes on TV; they supposedly cost over a million yuan.

Chen Wei swallowed hard, greed flickering in his eyes.

“Damn it, where did that unwelcome little bitch get so much money?”