Chapter 7: Heading to the Qin Family in N City

When Yun Zhi left the hospital, it was already ten o’clock at night.

At such a late hour, she dared not call a Didi ride, so she chose a female-driven taxi right outside the hospital.

The driver was considerate; seeing her exhausted expression, she played soft instrumental music.

After more than half an hour, they arrived at the urban village community where Yun Zhi lived.

Wearing her mask, Yun Zhi hurried home, deliberately keeping a distance whenever she passed male pedestrians.

Despite her caution, a few men whistled at her as she walked past the convenience store downstairs.

A blond young man holding a can of beer jeered, “Hey beautiful, want a drink? My treat.”

Fortunately, there were quite a few people around—the store owner, the landlord couple relaxing outside, and a security guard buying something inside—so the men only whistled and made lewd remarks but didn’t dare take further action.

Yun Zhi frowned but ignored them, stepping even further away.

People like that only get bolder if you engage with them.

The landlord’s wife, Aunt Liu, who was plump and unafraid, scolded sharply, “Hmph, with that ugly face of yours, you’ve got some nerve trying to flirt with a young lady!”

The blond youth, intimidated by Aunt Liu’s fierce tone, sheepishly walked off.

Yun Zhi thanked her, “Aunt Liu, thank you.”

Aunt Liu waved her hand, “It’s nothing. Just try not to come back so late next time.”

Yun Zhi thought about her errands and replied without much explanation, “Alright, I’ll be more careful next time.”

Back in her rented room, she locked the door behind her.

She wondered if it was time to move to a better place.

The current place was not only remote but also lacked security and even made simple things like heating water for a bath inconvenient.

After some thought, she decided to start the early process of terminating the lease tomorrow.

Luckily, she hadn’t paid next month’s rent yet.

As for the 800 yuan deposit she paid upfront, she no longer needed that money urgently.

Since she expected to be traveling frequently for some time, finding a new place to rent seemed less practical than staying in hotels nearby.

After all, she had everything she needed—clothing, toiletries—in her personal space.

Once she cleared all of Yun Xinbo’s debts, she would buy a new home outright.

Nothing beat the comfort and freedom of owning one’s own house.

As for reclaiming the old villa her family had lived in for over a decade, she decided against it.

Though it held many fond memories, it also carried painful ones—neighbors who once were friendly but became cold and distant after her family’s fall from grace.

Returning there would only deepen the awkwardness.

The past was best left behind; it was time to start anew.

While waiting for the bathwater to heat, Yun Zhi packed all her personal items not needed for the night into her personal space.

She gathered the trash and placed it in the corridor outside her door, planning to dispose of it first thing in the morning.

She organized one suitcase, a backpack, and a medium-sized travel bag—just enough to hold the belongings she was taking.

Though the items weren’t many, they were light but bulky.

Her personal space could hold everything, but she liked to maintain appearances.

After bathing and lying in bed, she remembered something.

She privately messaged Cen Junfei: “Junfei, won’t trading goods with production dates from nearly ten years ago but still in good condition raise suspicion?”

As far as Yun Zhi knew, Cen Junfei’s timeline was now in 2033, while she was in June 2024.

Cen Junfei’s ability wasn’t combat-oriented, so he mostly stayed in a secure base.

After receiving Yun Zhi’s shopping list around six that evening, he had a big meal, then spent the night watching anime and variety shows on his tablet.

Now, nearly midnight, he still hadn’t slept.

Cen Junfei replied, “Don’t worry, Sister Yun Zhi. The secure base I’m in is controlled by the national military, and the leadership are comrades devoted to serving the people. They’re absolutely trustworthy.

I plan to trade these goods with the base’s top officials tomorrow. I’ll explain that my ability is a system that had been dysfunctional due to insufficient energy, only allowing me a personal storage space; now that it’s repaired, a new function lets me trade a limited amount of daily necessities monthly, but not too much.”

He understood that Yun Zhi’s large purchases were risky and thus didn’t disclose too many details.

He wanted to convert his goods but lacked the strength to protect such valuable items, so cooperation with the authorities was the safest option.

Still, he withheld the existence of others in the chat group.

With the apocalypse upon them, disasters rampant, and various abilities ranging from flight and elemental control to healing, beast mastery, sharpshooting, and danger prediction, having a storage space and a limited trading system wasn’t particularly remarkable or worthy of capture and dissection.

Yun Zhi found Cen Junfei clever and felt somewhat reassured but voiced concerns early on.

She said, “Junfei, honestly, if we keep purchasing large batches every month without a trace of where these goods go, it will definitely arouse suspicion. When money’s tight, I won’t want to take such risks.”

Earth’s resources were now somewhat abundant, able to support several fellow time travelers, but couldn’t sustain a large group from another world indefinitely.

As the saying goes, “Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day; teach him to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.”

Yun Zhi continued, “Next month I can help you buy a large batch again, but it’s better to focus on seeds, saplings, fertilized eggs of chickens, ducks, and geese with incubators, books on planting and breeding, common tools and equipment that are easy to obtain, and allow a longer task period—say, a month. After that, we should limit ourselves to small batch trades.”

Completely avoiding trading tasks was impossible since Yun Zhi needed to accumulate points through trade missions.

Cen Junfei agreed, “Sister Yun Zhi, you’re right. I hadn’t thought it through before.

I’ll tell them the system is repaired but energy remains low, allowing only two large trades. One is used; one more large trade can happen a month later, similar in volume to this one, with the extended time limit you suggested.

After that, only small trades under ten cubic meters are allowed. How about that?”

Ten cubic meters equated to the volume of a single truckload—small enough not to draw undue attention.

Yun Zhi replied, “That works perfectly.”

She also mentioned the royal green bracelet, which counted as a favor owed to Cen Junfei.

He took it in stride: “These things are only valuable in peaceful times. In the apocalypse, starving people wouldn’t even value such a bracelet as much as a steamed bun.

But if you ever have anything extra, remember to save some for me. I won’t let you lose out, hehe.”

Cen Junfei knew the bracelet was valuable and offered it as a token of goodwill.

After all, Yun Zhi traded not only with him but potentially with all group members.

The group even got new members from time to time.

Yun Zhi had intended the same but hadn’t mentioned it since she didn’t yet have anything valuable to offer.

She said, “Alright! If I have something, I’ll definitely save some for you.”

As for Tang Panpan, there was no need for special instructions—she wouldn’t often ask Yun Zhi to buy large amounts.

Just those 200 watches, if sold, could fetch around thirty thousand yuan, enough for Tang Panpan to buy two traditional courtyard homes in the capital after the college entrance exams resumed.

Moreover, Yun Zhi had prepared many other good items for Tang Panpan, such as a large batch of fabrics.

Yet, Yun Zhi felt Tang Panpan was hiding something.

A few days ago, when Yun Zhi was in dire straits with an uncertain future and many things to handle, she hadn’t thought much about it.

Now, with hope for a better life and a bright future within reach, she calmed down and reflected more carefully, sensing something was off.

She messaged, “Panpan, in your last life, did you really fall off a cliff by accident? Or was it a moment of despair... No, I know your character—you wouldn’t commit suicide. What really happened?”

Tang Panpan was deeply attached to her mother, who had passed away.

With her only loving parent gone, she felt utterly alone in the world.

Her father, a scoundrel, had cheated on her mother for years and fathered an older half-brother. After her parents divorced, Tang Panpan had lived with her mother and hadn’t contacted her father in over a decade.

Still, she was optimistic and energetic, loved good food, enjoyed reading novels, majored in drama and film literature at university, and planned to become an editor after graduation.

Before taking leave for a trip to clear her mind, she told Yun Zhi she just wanted to get away and see the sights her mother had wanted to visit but couldn’t due to terminal liver cancer.

During the trip, she sent Yun Zhi many photos and videos daily and posted often on social media.

She even planned a winter vacation trip to Hainan with Yun Zhi, completely unlike someone contemplating suicide.

Could it have been a genuine accident?

Tang Panpan fell asleep without replying.

Yun Zhi, exhausted, soon followed into a dreamless sleep.

At six the next morning, Yun Zhi rose, washed up, and packed away the few remaining personal items in her rented room.

She took out the trash.

Knocking on the landlord’s door on the first floor, Aunt Liu soon appeared, yawning.

“Yun girl, you’re up early today. Going somewhere? Something on your mind?”

Yun Zhi said, “Good morning, Aunt Liu. Sorry to bother you. I have to move out early for some reasons…”

Though Yun Zhi had signed a six-month lease without the required one-month notice, the landlords knew her parents were hospitalized and she was working nonstop to make ends meet, so they kindly returned her deposit.

---

In the shade of a tree on an unmonitored street, Yun Zhi placed her large luggage into her personal space, carrying only her backpack for light travel.

At the train station, after boarding the high-speed train and settling into her seat, she received a reply from Tang Panpan.

Panpan wrote, “Zhi Zhi, actually, I was pushed off the cliff deliberately. But I don’t know who did it…”

“You’re going to N City today to visit Brother Qin’s parents, right? You focus on that first. My matter isn’t urgent—it’s been six months anyway.”

“Also, if the mastermind behind my death finds out you’re investigating, they might target you to silence you… That’s why I didn’t tell you earlier. Wait until your affairs are settled and you can afford a bodyguard before digging into this. Otherwise, if you get hurt because of me, I’ll never forgive myself.”

Yun Zhi had suspected Tang Panpan’s death might be suspicious—never imagined she was deliberately pushed.

Since so much time had passed, investigation would be difficult.

Yun Zhi feared alerting the wrong people might endanger her family.

She resolved to put it on hold for now.

She replied, “Got it. Your safety comes first. Don’t go to the black market if you need anything. I’ll buy it for you next month, and when you use it, be discreet or find a reasonable cover story. Let’s wait until trading is legal again before making money.”

Tang Panpan: “Don’t worry. Having a second chance at life, I’ll treasure it. You be careful too, dear.”

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After several transfers, half a day later, Yun Zhi arrived at the wealthy pig farm in Wuping Town, outskirts of N City.

The Qin family ran the pig farm. Across the street from the farm’s main gate stood a three-story Western-style house with a yard—that was Qin Tianhai’s home.

Qin Tianhai had said, “Besides taking Xiaohu to the doctor, my parents are either at home or at the pig farm!”

As Yun Zhi reached the house and prepared to knock, a frail old woman of about sixty opened the door.

She looked Yun Zhi over curiously. “Little girl, who are you looking for?”