That morning, Han Yue woke up with a rare kind of energy bubbling inside her—not the kind fueled by panic or survival instinct, but something far more thrilling:
Purpose.
She finally felt like she had a real direction in life.
Sure, it still involved hoarding... but not just mindless bulk-buying. Now it felt meaningful. Purposeful. Connected to something bigger. Her goal wasn't just stockpiling for the apocalypse anymore—it was to preserve the essence of nature itself.
Seas. Rivers. Lakes. Mountains. Forests. Jungles. Hills. Sand. Stone. Air. Even energy veins beneath the earth…
She wanted to collect them all.
"Ehehehe," Han Yue giggled in bed like a villainess on the rise. "This is what true hoarding feels like!"
Her stomach growled.
"Okay, first... breakfast."
Downstairs, the house was lively as usual, with staff preparing dishes and her assistants already buzzing around. Han Yue scarfed down her breakfast with a speed that shocked the housekeeper, then called Secretary Wen to come over for a small meeting.
Meanwhile, she rode out to the city warehouse, again chauffeured by her assistant.
There, she collected tools and supplies: farm tools, fencing materials, more seeds, fodder, feed, takeout food, and another bulk of miscellaneous items to restock her eight full warehouses.
After making sure everything was accounted for, she headed back home—she had important things to discuss today.
Back at the mansion, Secretary Wen was already waiting, chatting with Long Yi about the Shadow Guards' current training and deployment status. Her two assistants followed her into the meeting room, notebooks in hand.
Once seated, Han Yue got straight to the point.
"There's been a change in my space."
Everyone looked up.
"At first, I thought the jade could only unlock artificial expansions—a hut, some black soil, a fountain, a river, forest, warehouse. But even as it grew, it still felt… entry-level. Too constructed. Not real enough."
"But yesterday… after I absorbed that sea for almost an hour… something changed."
Her tone turned a bit reverent.
"I could smell the sea breeze. The waves… they sounded alive. It felt real. Too real. And I realized—it wasn't just the space growing from jade alone. It's evolving. And this evolution… I think it's linked to absorbing natural earth energy. Real-world nature."
She paused dramatically, then grinned.
"So from now on, I want to collect not just jades—but the earth itself. Lakes. Rivers. Volcanoes. Soil. Trees. Sand dunes. Air. Resource veins. Even mountains."
The room was silent for two seconds—then all three assistants began scribbling like mad.
Secretary Wen calmly tapped on his tablet, already opening a separate file labeled "Natural Resource Project." He began inputting keywords: "volcano," "natural gas field," "rainforest," "rare mineral veins," and so on.
Meanwhile, Han Yue continued talking.
"I'll also go to the seafood wholesale market later to buy tons of live fish—breeding stock too—and toss them into my sea space. I want to create a self-sustaining marine ecosystem inside."
"Also—my livestock's arriving this afternoon. I want to section off the flat terrain in the mountain region for different animals and plant zones. I'm thinking: cows, bulls, sheep, goats, rabbits, ducks, chickens, geese, pigs, even deer—each in their own fenced area."
"Secretary Wen—I want to ask your help in selecting trustworthy builders for this."
Secretary Wen was already halfway through drafting the requirements.
Just then, Long Yi raised a brow and turned to Han Yue. "Are you saying people can enter the space now?"
Han Yue nodded, excited.
"Yes! I felt a rule in my mind. Some areas are now 'permitted zones' for human entry—like the forest, the mountain, the sea, the black soil field. But there's a time limit, and you can only stay in the area you were placed in. It's like a permission-based zone."
"I want to test it."
Long Yi smiled slightly, intrigued.
Secretary Wen, still typing, felt Long Yi's gaze and paused.
A chill ran down his spine.
He slowly turned. "Ahem... How about I go in and try it?"
Han Yue, amused, nodded. "Let's do some experiments."
Thus, Assistant Chen and Assistant Liu were volunteered—rather forcibly—and were placed into different areas of the space.
Inside, the rules were very clear.
Chen, placed in the sea zone, couldn't leave the beach or swim too far out.
Liu, placed in the forest, felt an invisible pressure if he tried to walk out of the trees.
Secretary Wen, in the black soil field, was also confined by an unseen boundary.
When they returned, all three had the same stunned expression.
"It's like being boxed in by air… but respectful? Like it doesn't want to hurt you—just stop you."
Han Yue nodded, already planning next steps.
Long Yi took the moment to speak again.
"We'll need real farm hands and construction experts. Let me contact my end too. But Secretary Wen—you're in charge of recruitment. Blindfold them. Have them sign a confidentiality contract. No questions asked."
"They'll be told to install fences, animal coops, dividers, watering systems. All the equipment and materials will already be inside."
Secretary Wen straightened up. "Understood. Two-day maximum install time. Experts only. No communication devices allowed. They won't know where they are or what they're doing beyond their assigned task."
"We'll pick them up in a black van, blindfold them for the drive… and once inside, Miss Han Yue will place them into their respective zones."
With the meeting now in full logistics mode, Secretary Wen and the assistants excused themselves to begin preparations.
As the door closed behind them, only Long Yi and Han Yue remained in the meeting room.
Han Yue paused, then turned to him, a little blush creeping up her cheeks.
"So… what happened when you went to your grandpa's place?"
Long Yi leaned back slightly, voice low and warm.
"After I left, I met with Grandpa and Colonel Long. At first, Grandpa didn't believe the world would end. He thought we were being dramatic."
"But when we told him that his second son would imprison him next month, chain him, and leave him to die… and that he'd be kidnapped…"
Han Yue gasped softly.
"I showed him the power of my dragon ring. After that… he got quiet."
Long Yi's eyes softened.
"Then he stood up, grabbed a vase, and threw it against the wall yelling—'That bastard stinky son of mine!' He called him unfilial and useless and—well, a lot of colorful things."
Han Yue burst out laughing, already picturing it. "AHAHA! I knew it! Grandpa's got fire!"
Long Yi smiled, the corner of his lips curved just slightly.
"After we calmed him down, we told him our six-month plan: One month for our family to prepare. The remaining five months for the government to handle their end."
"He agreed. Completely."
Han Yue smiled warmly, eyes sparkling. The future felt terrifying—but with people like this around her?
She wasn't alone.