Apocalypse countdown: 13 days.
The little team was getting ready to head out and "commit a crime," taking a huge haul of meat from the national cold-storage warehouse.
Long Tianyu was certain of success. "With last time's experience, this will go even more smoothly. In and out, fast. Our goal is to empty the warehouse."
Zhang Kun nodded emphatically.
Ke Jiaxue could barely contain her excitement. "Brother Long, Brother Zhang, aren't we like heroes on TV? Scaling walls, leaping over rooftops, capable of anything-we can easily take government supplies and leave them helpless!"
Zhang Kun said, "The authorities aren't just helpless. They don't even know about us."
He rubbed his hands and smiled shyly. "I never would've dreamed I'd have superpowers one day, let alone powers this strong."
Long Tianyu said nothing, but his eyes clearly showed his agreement.
Who could have imagined they would become so powerful?
Those outlandish scenes from TV and novels were playing out in reality.
And they were the main characters!
Long Tianyu smiled, lifted his chin, and cleared his throat, putting on a composed expression-
"Let's go. We'll buy something at a breakfast stall first, eat in the car, and head straight to our destination."
Ke Jiaxue paused.
Then she smiled sheepishly. "Brother Long, Brother Zhang, do you... still have any money? I spent all mine on renting the car and buying gas."
That single sentence instantly deflated their soaring spirits.
Long Tianyu's proudly raised head dipped a little.
His voice grew quieter. "I spent the last of mine renting the warehouse yesterday."
Zhang Kun smiled bitterly. "I'm out too. I spent it all on tickets yesterday."
Why did he only use his space to fleece the government, without stocking up on anything else?
Because he was poor, of course!
He couldn't afford a thing.
Long Tianyu: "..."
After a moment of silence, he asked Ke Jiaxue, "Nothing at all? What about Huabei or Baitiao?"
Ke Jiaxue lowered her head. "I-I-I used all of that to pay off my credit card at the beginning of the month."
Zhang Kun rummaged through his pockets for ages and produced... five yuan.
Long Tianyu said, "That's enough. We'll buy a few steamed buns first."
Ke Jiaxue hesitated. "Brother Long, grain prices have gone up. Steamed buns are three yuan each now, or five for two. That's not enough."
Long Tianyu: "??"
He took a deep breath and finally said, "Then buy two. We'll make do for now."
At that, the three exchanged looks.
For some reason, they suddenly felt a little pathetic.
Ke Jiaxue shook her head, shaking that strange thought out of her mind, and said firmly, "We have a whole warehouse of grain, and soon we'll have a whole space full of meat."
"Exactly," Zhang Kun said, comforting himself. "Once the Apocalypse comes, we'll be richer than a nation!"
Long Tianyu regained his confidence and lifted his chin-
"Compared to abundant supplies and powerful abilities, what does anything else matter? Money is just paper. Once the Apocalypse comes, it'll be worthless. Let's head out right now and seize the Apocalypse's most precious resources!"
Brimming with confidence, the three eagerly charged toward the breakfast stall and bought... two steamed buns.
Once they got into the car.
Zhang Kun handed both buns to Long Tianyu.
Long Tianyu was about to give him half.
Zhang Kun grinned and took out another bun.
"I swiped an extra one just now."
"!"
Long Tianyu stared at the bun, his feelings complicated.
Using his space to steal a single steamed bun?
Something about this just felt wrong.
Long Tianyu said, "Zhang Kun, once the Apocalypse comes, you'd better not use your space to steal food from other Superpower People."
"Huh? Why?" Zhang Kun looked up blankly, thoroughly enjoying his bun.
Long Tianyu said, "When a Space Esper is beaten to the brink of death, some of the supplies in his space spill out. And when a Space Esper dies, everything inside spills out..."
That meant Space Espers were targets for Superpower People short on food!
Zhang Kun was so startled he couldn't keep eating.
"It's fine. I'll protect you. Besides, the Apocalypse hasn't started yet," Long Tianyu added.
Zhang Kun immediately felt a little reassured.
He was timid and knew his place, so he decided to stick close to Brother Long, lest someone kill him for his food drops.
"What's a little food? Think about all the supplies we've stockpiled!" Ke Jiaxue bit into her bun and spoke fiercely.
Long Tianyu and Zhang Kun smiled at the same time.
Thinking of their stockpile and today's plan, even the bland buns began to taste delicious.
Not far away.
A burly man slapped his son, who had been watching intently-
"What are you staring at? Never seen people eating steamed buns before?"
His son looked away and rubbed his head.
"They're so weird. They look all smug with their chins in the air, but they're each eating a plain steamed bun and really enjoying it."
The man roared, "Get to school! I'm telling you, if you don't study hard, you'll end up like those three delinquents, eating steamed buns without even a side dish..."
His son curled his lip and took a fierce bite of his sandwich.
Meanwhile, before the trio had left.
The Special Affairs Office had already sprung into action.
At the Doomsday Special Affairs Office camp.
Early that morning, Sheng An put on her combat uniform and headed out with Hao Jingye and Song Linwei.
Jiang Yu and Li Xin clung to Sheng An's legs, one on either side, pleading-
"Sis! Take us with you!"
"Please, take us with you! Boohoo!"
Sheng An tried moving her legs, but both held on for dear life.
Her face was expressionless. "Don't you have class today?"
Li Xin said, "I'm not going!"
Jiang Yu said, "We can make it up tonight if we have to. I want to watch!"
How could they miss today?
This was a showdown with three Aberrants.
And unlike before, these Aberrants were difficult to handle. There would probably even be a fight.
According to the background checks, Long Tianyu had been raised by Grandpa and Grandma, but both had already passed away of old age.
Ke Jiaxue's parents favored sons over daughters, and her family relationships were terrible.
As for Zhang Kun, he was an orphan who had grown up in an orphanage.
In other words, all three had no ties.
The only way to bring people like them into line was to subdue them by force.
Neither the curious Jiang Yu nor Li Xin, who thought he was hot stuff, wanted to miss the spectacle. They insisted on tagging along, come hell or high water.
Song Linwei frowned. "Don't make trouble for Team Leader Sheng."
Li Xin bared his teeth but didn't dare talk back to his uncle.
Jiang Yu retorted outright, "You usually stay behind at camp, but aren't you coming along today too? You want to watch the fun yourself, so why are you criticizing us?"
Song Linwei: "..."
Sheng An glanced at them and sighed. "Let's go."
"Oh yeah!" Both were ecstatic.
She smiled faintly. "If either of you dares cause trouble, your classes will be doubled, and you can forget about leaving camp again."
A chill ran down their spines, and they stood straight at attention. "Yes!"
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