She silently focused on the phone—and in an instant, it reappeared in her hand from the storage space!
Han Qingxia's face lit up with狂喜. It worked just like she'd hoped! She'd read enough novels to recognize this—this was the legendary "system" everyone talked about!
Han Qingxia quickly accepted her new "cheat code" and began snatching up everything around her. Soon, she uncovered the system's pricing rule: it calculated items based on their original purchase price—even if they were worn out or taken apart.
Nothing could stop her now. She dived into a frenzy of grabbing, dismantling, and stowing.
Ding—Gold jewelry detected. Value: 58,000 yuan. Reward: 58 cubic meters of space!
Ding—Water cup detected. Value: 39 yuan.
Ding—Calendar detected. Value: 10 yuan.
Ding—Small desk detected. Value: 369 yuan. Reward: 4 cubic meters of space!
...
Ding—Redwood furniture set (4 pieces) detected. Value: 25,000 yuan. Reward: 25 cubic meters of space!
Ding—Trash can detected. Value: 15 yuan.
In just ten minutes, she'd cleared the house. Small items—clothes, shoes, dishes, bowls, pens, cups, trash cans, storage jars, photo albums, nail clippers—vanished into her space. Large items—tables, chairs, beds, cabinets—followed too. She even scooped up the rotten apples Han Ying's family had brought earlier!
Ding—5 jin (2.5kg) of rotten apples detected. Value: 2.5 yuan.
Han Qingxia spat in disgust when she heard the price. How ridiculous! They'd brought rotten apples (worth 0.5 yuan per jin) and lied about them being "imported," then had the nerve to demand her 3-million-yuan house? What a bunch of shameless leeches!
Still, she didn't hesitate to keep them. Even a mosquito's leg was meat—nothing went to waste.
Once all movable items were gone, she set her sights on the "immovable" ones.
Ding—Toilet detected. Value: 1,999 yuan.
With a heave, Han Qingxia tore the toilet out. She'd always been strong, but compared to her body after five years of surviving the apocalypse, this current form felt weak. She'd need to start working out soon.
After yanking out the toilet, the alerts kept coming:
Ding—Washbasin detected. Value: 699 yuan.
Ding—Range hood detected. Value: 2,599 yuan.
Ding—Cooktop detected. Value: 489 yuan.
Ding—Security door detected. Value: 1,589 yuan.
She swore under her breath—she'd take everything, right down to the last screw.
Ding—Glass window detected. Value: 400 yuan.
Ding—Floorboard detected. Value: 150 yuan.
By the end of the hour, the house was stripped bare. The only thing left was the walls—she'd torn up the floors, removed the windows and doors, and even chipped off the tiles to store them.
Ding—Countdown: 3 seconds remaining!
Han Qingxia sprinted to the doorway, climbed onto the railing, and grabbed the small light bulb in the hallway.
Ding—10W light bulb detected. Value: 5 yuan.
Time's up!
Total space earned: 289 cubic meters!
Satisfied, Han Qingxia turned to Summer. "Summer! Let's go!"
Not long after she left, Han Ying arrived with his pregnant fiancée to show off their "new home."
"Honey, this is our place!" he gushed. "Downtown, in a top school zone, over 100 square meters! Two units per elevator—our neighbor hasn't moved in yet, so we can use the whole hallway! Great natural light, the best layout in the community, and only a 100-meter walk from your office!"
"We can move in right away if you want! It's fully furnished with appliances too!"
The group marched proudly up to the third floor. But when they reached the east-facing unit, they froze in shock.
The house wasn't just empty—it had no doors, no windows, not even a light bulb in the hallway!
Han Ying's fiancée spun on her heel and stormed off. "A bare concrete shell? You expect my family to pay for renovations? Let me make this clear—no proper renovation, no wedding! And my name must be on the deed!"
Han Ying's grandmother was so enraged she nearly collapsed. She tried calling Han Qingxia to demand an explanation—they'd planned to replace the old furniture anyway, but this was absurd! The floors Han Qingxia's mother had laid were still in good shape—why tear everything out?
But Han Qingxia was already unreachable.
At that moment, Han Qingxia stood in front of an air-raid shelter on the outskirts of Anshi City. The shelter was built inside an abandoned tunnel—originally part of a mountain highway project canceled due to funding shortages and route changes. Later, the government had repurposed it as a civil defense shelter.
"What do you need an air-raid shelter for?" the real estate agent asked, going through the usual formalities.
"Starting a business—growing mushrooms," Han Qingxia replied casually.
She'd learned about air-raid shelters in her past life. There were three main types:
1. Civilian shelters (under malls, residential parking garages, underground hospitals): Convenient and well-equipped for quick evacuation, but useless in the zombie apocalypse—they'd be the first to fall, packed with people.
2. Tunnel shelters (like this one).
3. Military bunkers: These became critical in the later apocalypse, forming the backbone of major survivor bases—but they were impossible to rent.
This tunnel shelter was perfect for her. Remote (away from crowds), spacious, with a full ventilation system and a heavy steel door. And it was cheap—only 2,000 yuan a year, with a 20-year minimum lease. Paying three years upfront (6,000 yuan) got her a space the size of five basketball courts.
The agent stared at her like she was a fool—and barely hid his amusement. What an idiot! She'd only seen the low price, not the remote location. Transporting mushrooms from here would be a nightmare! He thought to himself: Nine out of ten startups fail—and this one was doomed from the start.
He didn't warn her, though. A fool willing to sign the contract meant easy money. He collected his 500-yuan service fee, handed over the keys, and left, grinning from ear to ear.
Han Qingxia watched him go, saying nothing. She'd never tell him her real plan. After ten years in the apocalypse, she'd learned one hard rule: Never warn fools about disasters—fools are disasters.
Once the agent was gone, Han Qingxia took Summer into the shelter. As she inspected it, she made two pleasant discoveries: a well (left by the previous tenant) and an electrical wire.
She tested the well water—it was mountain spring water, completely separate from the city's tap water system. When the water treatment plants were contaminated in the apocalypse, tap water would become undrinkable—this well would be her lifeline.
The electrical wire wasn't connected to power yet, but it meant the shelter already had wiring. All she needed was a generator to bring electricity here.