Arc 1The Heat and the Blackout

Jiang Ci prepared for disaster by filling her portable space with supplies and weapons, then brought Si Jianhua, Wen Qianyue, and Si Beichen into her fortified apartment as extreme heat, shortages, and violence spread. The family stayed secure while the neighbors’ desperation intensified, culminating in Zhou Junming’s scandal with Zhao Yunqiu.

  • Jiang Ci sold the Jiang Group, explored her expanded portable space, and began ordering food, medicine, vehicles, and other supplies.
  • Jiang Ci reunited with Wen Qianyue and Si Jianhua, grew closer to Si Beichen, and used their financial support to expand her preparations.
  • Jiang Ci traveled to the Middle East, bought fuel and weapons, and escaped after she uncovered a staged betrayal and imminent fighting.
  • Jiang Ci spent billions stocking her space with essentials and equipment as temperatures soared and the city’s power system began failing.
  • Jiang Ci offered to safeguard Si Beichen’s food, then warned him, Si Jianhua, and Wen Qianyue that Fragrant Orchid Cottage was being watched and moved them into her secure apartment.
  • Jiang Ci’s family endured worsening heat, rationed utilities, and water cuts as residents turned to burglary and began targeting one another for supplies.
  • Jiang Ci and Si Beichen collected water with four IDs while keeping her portable space secret, and she saw Zhou Junming fight to help Zhao Yunqiu.
  • Mrs. Zhou and Zhou Dafu tried to bring Zhou Junming home, but Zhao Yunqiu claimed she and Zhou Junming had slept together and she might be pregnant, leaving Mrs. Zhou fainted.
Chapters 1–25 Vol. 1 Read

Ch. 1Rebirth

After being reborn six months before the disasters, Jiang Ci sold the Jiang Group and prepared to use the proceeds to stockpile supplies. She returned home to investigate her newly changed portable space, but a call from her mother brought an unexpected reunion the next day.

  • Jiang Ci woke from a nightmare and remembered that she had returned to life before the disasters.
  • She signed the contracts selling the Jiang Group for four billion, and Lin Jiahao promised to support her decision.
  • Jiang Ci ate rice noodles downstairs, then hurried home to study her portable space, which now contained a house and an apparently endless stretch of land.
  • Jiang Ci received a call from Wen Qianyue, who invited her over for Sunday lunch, and she gently agreed.
  • Wen Qianyue wondered why Jiang Ci had been unusually gentle and decided to ask her about it the next day.

Ch. 2The space

Jiang Ci discovered that her space had working utilities and preserved anything placed inside it, then began preparing a huge stockpile of food for the coming disasters. She secured furniture and long-term restaurant orders, determined to protect her mother and stepfather as well as herself.

  • Jiang Ci explored the furnished space and found that it had running water, electricity, and gas, though she could only stay inside for six hours a day.
  • Jiang Ci ordered natural-wood furniture and shelving, measured the space, and discovered that hot water, ice, and frozen pork remained unchanged inside it.
  • Jiang Ci contracted with two banquet restaurants to prepare two hundred portions of food each day for six months from each restaurant.
  • Jiang Ci ordered a large meal of fish and bullfrog, enjoyed it, and arranged for a third restaurant to prepare ten portions daily for six months.

Ch. 3Stepfather

Jiang Ci continued stockpiling food, placing large orders with local shops and a self-heating hot pot factory. She then visited her stepfather Si Jianhua and her mother Wen Qianyue for the first time in her previous life, arriving to find them waiting at the villa entrance.

  • Jiang Ci recorded and checked the food orders she had made the night before, then ordered hundreds of buns and cups of soy milk each day from the breakfast shop downstairs.
  • Jiang Ci ordered six varieties of rice noodles from the residential complex’s rice noodle shop and paid a deposit.
  • Jiang Ci contracted a food processing factory to produce 400,000 self-heating hot pots, paying half the cost upfront and reserving the rest until inspection.
  • Jiang Ci drove to Fragrant Orchid Cottage to keep her promise to Wen Qianyue, reflecting on her strained relationship with her mother and her past hostility toward Si Jianhua.
  • The security guards called Si Jianhua to confirm Jiang Ci’s visit, and Wen Qianyue and Si Jianhua waited for her at the villa entrance.

Ch. 4A meal

Jiang Ci shared a warm meal with Wen Qianyue and Si Jianhua, reflecting on how she had failed to cherish them in her previous life. After leaving their home, she stocked up on food at the university snack street and photographed ordinary scenes of peaceful life.

  • Jiang Ci brought gifts to Wen Qianyue and Si Jianhua’s home, and Si Jianhua told her she did not need to bring things when she came home.
  • Over dinner, Jiang Ci told Wen Qianyue about her studies and activities, and Wen Qianyue urged her to take care of herself and offered to have her move in.
  • Si Jianhua said Wen Qianyue’s birthday was in half a month and that he would invite Beichen home so Jiang Ci could meet her stepbrother.
  • Jiang Ci left after the meal and ordered twenty portions of many different snacks from the university district’s snack street.
  • Jiang Ci retrieved her camera and photographed the street, its vendors, buildings, and people enjoying everyday life.

Ch. 5Taking a leave of absence

Jiang Ci prepared for the natural-disaster apocalypse by arranging bulk food orders and commissioning modified vehicles, then went to school to take a six-month leave of absence. Her paperwork was approved, leaving her free to continue preparing for the disaster.

  • Jiang Ci ran into Wu Ya and Jiang Chengrong while shopping and told Wu Ya she planned to take six months off because of a family matter.
  • Jiang Ci arranged daily snack orders and contracted Boss Wang to obtain a modified RV, Hummer, helicopter, and small yacht, paying one hundred million.
  • Jiang Ci collected large orders of prepared food from several restaurants and secretly stored them in her space.
  • Jiang Ci called a renovation company, browsed online, and went to sleep after reviewing the still-calm forums and watching videos.
  • Jiang Ci went to the administration building the next morning and received approval for her six-month leave of absence.

Ch. 6Seeds

Jiang Ci continued preparing for the coming disasters by buying seeds and livestock, fortifying her home, and arranging a bulk medicine purchase. She planned to obtain fuel and weapons abroad after attending Ms. Wen Qianyue’s birthday.

  • Jiang Ci bought bulk varieties of seeds from a seed market and villagers, then ordered a month’s worth of slaughtered meat from a slaughterhouse.
  • Jiang Ci had her home fitted with bulletproof glass and a security door, then reviewed the supplies she still needed to acquire.
  • Jiang Ci contacted someone listed as “Pharmaceutical Representative” and arranged to meet at Linjiang Car Rental Agency the next morning to buy 50 units of each requested medicine and medical supply.
  • Jiang Ci decided to obtain weapons and fuel in the Middle East from a wealthy man she had met in Qatar, after celebrating Ms. Wen Qianyue’s birthday.

Ch. 7Medicine and water

Jiang Ci stocked up on medicine, food, and water, then heard from her stepfamily in a group chat. She accepted an invitation to visit for dinner and received a generous monthly allowance from Si Jianhua.

  • Jiang Ci bought medicine from a pharmaceutical representative and stored it in her space.
  • Jiang Ci stocked up on bread, cakes, frozen food, milk tea, snacks, and restaurant meals, then ordered thousands of bottles of water.
  • Jiang Ci collected the bottled water over ten truck trips and discovered a hot pepper soup shop, where she ordered a hundred bowls and fried dough sticks daily.
  • Wen Qianyue invited Jiang Ci into the Happy Family group chat, where Jiang Ci learned her stepbrother was called Beichen.
  • Si Jianhua invited Jiang Ci home for dinner and transferred her RMB 1,000,000 in spending money.
  • Jiang Ci thanked Si Jianhua as Dad Si, making him so happy he could not speak.

Ch. 8Filthy Rich

Jiang Ci asked her new brother Si Beichen for spending money, and he transferred her a hundred million yuan. After training, she bought solid wood flooring and began renovating the villa inside her space, finishing the bedrooms and living areas before her time ran out.

  • Jiang Ci asked Si Beichen for a hundred million-ish in spending money, then went to bed.
  • After returning to the China-Myanmar border base and checking the family chat, Si Beichen transferred a hundred million yuan to Jiang Ci.
  • Jiang Ci woke to the transfer, realized Si Beichen had added a hundred million to her fortune, and sent him a friend request.
  • After training, Jiang Ci ordered two thousand square meters of solid wood flooring and had it delivered to the suburban villa.
  • Jiang Ci stored the flooring in her space and installed it in the villa's three bedrooms and two living areas before leaving the space.

Ch. 9Emptying the Villa

Jiang Ci emptied her family’s villa into her spatial home and continued stockpiling restaurant food and supplies. The next morning, after training and taking photographs around the neighborhood, she returned to the car rental agency ahead of her meeting with the pharmaceutical representative.

  • Jiang Ci moved the villa’s furniture, books, appliances, kitchenware, and other belongings into her space, leaving the villa empty.
  • Jiang Ci ordered food from two more restaurants and placed a daily order for fifty charcoal-grilled longsnout catfish.
  • Jiang Ci arranged to meet the pharmaceutical representative at the car rental agency at ten the next morning and confirmed she would collect four hundred thousand boxes of Zihaiguo at two.
  • Jiang Ci trained in her space for two hours, then drove to the car rental agency early and ordered a hundred cups of milk tea for noon.
  • Jiang Ci visited a nearby square, listened to a singer, photographed the crowd and a sugar figurine craftsman, and bought a Doraemon sugar figurine before returning to the agency.

Ch. 10Medicine and Self-Heating Hot Pots

Jiang Ci bought medicine and arranged delivery of four hundred thousand self-heating hot pots, then gathered food supplies and furnished rooms inside her space. After receiving a message from Si Jianhua, she prepared to visit her Dad Si’s house.

  • Jiang Ci bought medicine from the pharmaceutical sales representative and stored it in her space.
  • After realizing she could not transport four hundred thousand hot pots herself, Jiang Ci arranged for the factory to deliver them to a suburban warehouse rented by Lin Jiahao.
  • Jiang Ci visited an amusement park, then collected the food she had ordered from several restaurants and shops.
  • Ten trucks delivered the hot pots to the warehouse, and Jiang Ci secretly stored all the goods in her space that night.
  • Jiang Ci received Si Jianhua’s invitation to come home for dinner, then stored and arranged newly delivered furniture in her space.
  • After admiring the furnished rooms, Jiang Ci checked the time and prepared to visit her Dad Si’s house.

Ch. 11Vegetables

Jiang Ci traveled to W City to buy and store vegetables, prepared foods, and dried produce in bulk. She planned to return for Ms. Wen’s birthday, while Si Jianhua tried to make Si Beichen come home for the celebration.

  • Jiang Ci reserved crayfish, collected meat and prepared dishes, and settled her bills before leaving on her trip.
  • Jiang Ci met Boss Xu in W City, ordered 500 tons of vegetables, and arranged for deliveries to two rented warehouses.
  • Jiang Ci secretly moved each warehouse’s vegetable deliveries into her space and bought local foods, restaurant meals, and dried produce.
  • Jiang Ci told Si Jianhua she would return for Ms. Wen’s birthday, and Si Jianhua said Si Beichen was also expected home that day.
  • Si Jianhua messaged Si Beichen repeatedly about coming home, but Si Beichen did not reply.

Ch. 12Birthday

Jiang Ci celebrated Wen Qianyue’s birthday with her family, and Si Beichen left after learning that a flight he had nearly boarded had crashed. The near miss convinced Jiang Ci that Si Beichen might survive the coming natural disasters, while she prepared to fly to the Middle East the next day.

  • Jiang Ci arrived at Fragrant Orchid Cottage with a birthday present for Wen Qianyue and greeted Si Jianhua, Wen Qianyue, and Si Beichen.
  • Wen Qianyue told Jiang Ci to treat Si Beichen well, and the family discussed Si Jianhua and Wen Qianyue’s relationship and Si Beichen’s plans for a birthday banquet.
  • The family celebrated Wen Qianyue’s birthday at Dingzhen Restaurant, where Jiang Ci took photographs and they shared a family portrait.
  • Si Beichen received news that a flight carrying two of his comrades had crashed; he revealed that he had been meant to take it and hurried away.
  • Jiang Ci took Si Jianhua and Wen Qianyue shopping and to dinner, then returned home to pack and book a flight to the Middle East.

Ch. 13Middle East

Jiang Ci traveled to Qatar, bought fuel and a small cache of weapons, then stumbled upon an arms shipment and secretly took it with her space. After returning to China, she opened the crates and discovered a vast collection of weapons and protective equipment.

  • Jiang Ci arranged to buy gasoline, diesel, and aviation fuel from Saad and rented a warehouse to store it.
  • Saad introduced Jiang Ci to arms dealer Tariq, and she bought a few guns and two crates of ammunition from his men.
  • Jiang Ci overheard the deliverymen discussing Tariq's rival, then saw one man kill his companion and stage an injury to deceive the rival's forces.
  • Jiang Ci entered the church, took the hidden crates of weapons into her space, and escaped to the airport before the fighting began.
  • After returning to China, Jiang Ci rested at home and opened the crates, finding an extensive assortment of weapons, ammunition, and protective gear.

Ch. 14Keep stocking up

Jiang Ci continued preparing for future disasters by organizing her supplies and spending Si Beichen’s money on extensive stockpiles. By late May, she had accumulated food, clothing, equipment, vehicles, and supplies for extreme heat and cold.

  • Jiang Ci practiced shooting, arranged for her modified vehicles to be delivered, and organized her supplies on newly made shelves.
  • Jiang Ci asked Si Beichen for a hundred million yuan, and he transferred the money after deciding to indulge his new younger sister.
  • Jiang Ci bought seafood in X Province, clothing in Z Province, and bulk grains, oils, seasonings, and other food in H Province.
  • Jiang Ci stocked up on drinks, snacks, books, toiletries, electronics, communications equipment, and transportation, and filled her space with potted plants.
  • Jiang Ci built a pond to raise fish and shrimp, then bought supplies for hot and cold weather, including generators, cooling equipment, heaters, and fuel.

Ch. 15Filling in the Gaps

Jiang Ci finished stockpiling supplies and watched an unprecedented heat wave make daily life increasingly difficult. After midnight, the lights came on and residents poured out to shop and socialize, leaving her to see what had changed outside.

  • Jiang Ci calculated her remaining funds, spent billions on supplies and a survival capsule, and converted her last savings into gold.
  • As temperatures rose to 45 degrees, Jiang Ci warned her family to stay indoors, and Si Beichen said he had applied to leave the military and expected to return in September.
  • Throughout August, Jiang Ci collected her orders after sunset, while the heat withered trees and emptied the residential complex.
  • Jiang Ci put up shade cloth, stayed cool with air conditioning, and made the most of the working utilities before going to bed.
  • Jiang Ci woke at midnight to find the lights on and the streets crowded with vendors, residents, and children, so she went downstairs to look around.

Ch. 16Day and night reversed

Jiang Ci enjoyed the last lively nights before the extreme heat worsened, while quietly preparing for the crisis ahead. After a citywide power outage left residents struggling in fifty-degree heat, she stayed safely in her apartment as hunger and theft began to spread.

  • Jiang Ci finished gathering supplies, then spent her evenings enjoying the night market and joining her residential complex’s balcony singalong.
  • In early September, Si Beichen returned home and began stockpiling supplies, while temperatures climbed and the government warned residents to prepare for more extreme heat.
  • A fire at the power bureau cut electricity across the city, and Jiang Ci used her generator and evaporative cooler while reassuring Dad Si that she was safe.
  • Jiang Ci watched residents complain about the heat and power outage, and she avoided returning to the villa district because she feared its wealthy residents would be targeted during future riots.
  • The next morning, Jiang Ci learned through the neighborhood group chat that thieves had broken into a ninth-floor home and stolen the family’s food and generator.

Ch. 17Water and power rationing

After water and electricity rationing worsened the food shortage, Jiang Ci visited Si Beichen’s family and offered to store their supplies in a safe place. Si Beichen agreed, and she transported their food away in several trips.

  • The government limited water and electricity to eight hours a day, prompting people to buy up solar panels, batteries, and the remaining food in shops.
  • Jiang Ci escaped a chaotic supermarket without her bag of biscuits and noticed Zhang Qiang and Zhang Shuai watching cars in the parking garage before she drove to Fragrant Orchid Cottage.
  • Jiang Ci joined Si Beichen and his parents in a card game, then discussed the growing problem of rats and cockroaches threatening their food.
  • Jiang Ci offered to store Si Beichen’s food supplies somewhere safe and promised to bring back a set amount each week.
  • Si Beichen agreed and loaded the food into Jiang Ci’s car, and she made several nighttime trips to transport it away.

Ch. 18Extreme heat

As the extreme heat worsened and daily water and electricity became scarce, Jiang Ci uncovered the cause of a foul smell in her building and watched neighbors grow desperate for supplies. The chapter ended with burglaries and food-for-song deals becoming part of life in the building.

  • Jiang Ci suspected fuel thieves had drained residents’ cars and investigated the rotten smell in the stairwell, finding it strongest on the third floor.
  • Jiang Ci shouted that someone had died, prompting residents to discover an elderly woman who had died of heatstroke in her apartment; two neighbors carried out her body for the funeral home.
  • Jiang Ci later saw that the dead woman’s apartment had been ransacked, and over the following days two more burglaries occurred in the building.
  • A ninth-floor woman offered two jin of rice to anyone who listened to her son Zhou Junming sing and play guitar, while a fifteenth-floor resident called for a supply-search party that nobody joined.
  • Zhou Junming went to the thirteenth floor to sing for a woman and returned two hours later with two jin of rice, leaving his mother pleased that he had helped provide food.

Ch. 19Teaming up to gather supplies

Tian Jiakai teamed up with Zhang Qiang and Zhang Shuai to raid supplies from vulnerable residents, while Jiang Ci prepared to move Dad Si, Mom Wen, and Si Beichen into her fortified apartment. The family left Fragrant Orchid Cottage and headed for Jiang Ci’s home.

  • Tian Jiakai recruited Zhang Qiang and Zhang Shuai, and the four raided an old residential complex for supplies before dividing their haul.
  • Zhang Shuai gave Li Weiwei food after she agreed to keep quiet about his fuel theft and enter a relationship with him.
  • Jiang Ci learned that Zhou Junming and Zhao Yunqiu were secretly kissing, while the government reduced daily water and electricity to two hours.
  • Jiang Ci warned Dad Si, Mom Wen, and Si Beichen that Fragrant Orchid Cottage was being watched, and they agreed to move into her secure apartment.
  • Si Beichen drove Dad Si and Mom Wen to the complex entrance, while Jiang Ci packed the remaining useful belongings at Fragrant Orchid Cottage and followed.

Ch. 20Living together

Jiang Ci brought Si Jianhua, Wen Qianyue, and Si Beichen to her fortified apartment and prepared it for them to live together. After Si Beichen installed solar panels, the family settled into a routine indoors as the outside temperature reached fifty-eight degrees Celsius.

  • Jiang Ci led Si Jianhua, Wen Qianyue, and Si Beichen into her apartment, where Li Weiwei briefly emerged from apartment 1103 before hurrying downstairs.
  • Jiang Ci and Wen Qianyue prepared bedrooms, beds, cooling equipment, and storage, while Jiang Ci stocked the kitchen cabinets with supplies.
  • Si Beichen noticed the apartment’s bulletproof windows and heavy security door, then installed solar panels.
  • Wen Qianyue cooked breakfast and lunch while the family charged their devices and filled a water tank during the two-hour utility window.
  • Si Beichen arranged the living room as a sleeping space, and Jiang Ci gave Si Jianhua a tablet; the family stayed inside as the temperature outside reached fifty-eight degrees Celsius.

Ch. 21Power and internet cut off

After power and internet access went out, desperate residents began targeting their neighbors for food. A group reached Jiang Ci’s apartment, where Si Beichen turned them away, then searched the empty apartment next door.

  • Jiaxing Residential Complex announced that its backup power would end around the tenth, and residents panicked as supplies dwindled.
  • Yuan Jiaojiao stopped residents from confronting Tian Jiakai, and Tian later agreed with Zhang Qiang and Zhang Shuai to stay home so no one could follow them.
  • After a week of watching Tian Jiakai, seven or eight residents decided to knock on doors for food and planned to target him as well.
  • On the tenth, the power and internet went out, and the government announced that water would be cut off on the fifteenth.
  • The group knocked on Jiang Ci’s door, but Si Beichen refused to give them food, so they moved on to 1102.
  • The residents searched the skeletal middle-aged man’s bare apartment and found no food, only strange bottles and jars.

Ch. 22The water was cut off

After the water supply was cut off, the government announced weekly water rations and cash-only community supermarkets. Jiang Ci overheard a group plotting to attack Tian and others that night, then went home and teased Si Beichen about what she had heard.

  • Li Wei collapsed in front of the neighbors, and Li Weiwei later met Zhang Shuai in the underground parking garage, where he said her parents would be better off dead.
  • The water was cut off, and the government announced that residents could collect 20 L per person each week and buy supplies with cash at community supermarkets.
  • Jiang Ci overheard seven or eight people planning a masked attack on Tian and others in the second half of the night, using the eleventh floor as their meeting point.
  • Jiang Ci returned home, saw Si Beichen taking apart a radio, and asked him to guess what people had said about him.

Ch. 23The fifteenth floor was robbed

Jiang Ci’s family discussed the planned robbery of the Tian family and agreed to defend themselves if anyone threatened them. After the robbery took place, Jiang Ci and Si Beichen went downstairs to collect government water, while her family silently accepted her unexplained supplies as a secret.

  • Wen Qianyue predicted that extreme cold might follow the heat as she knitted a sweater.
  • Jiang Ci told Si Jianhua and Si Beichen that people planned to rob the Tian family on the fifteenth floor, and her family urged her to fight back if anyone harmed them.
  • That night, Si Beichen listened at the door as faint noises came from outside.
  • The next morning, Yuan Jiaojiao cried in the stairwell that robbers had stolen the Tian family’s food and injured her husband, while Si Beichen pulled Jiang Ci away from the door and played her music.
  • After the government announced a water delivery, Jiang Ci and Si Beichen took four IDs and buckets downstairs to collect water.
  • Si Beichen noticed the buckets had appeared unexpectedly but kept quiet, and Jiang Ci resolved to keep her space a secret from outsiders.

Ch. 24Collecting water

Jiang Ci and Si Beichen waited in a long queue to collect water, where Jiang Ci reunited with Wu Ya and learned that she and Jiang Chengrong were doing reasonably well. The wait turned chaotic when Zhou Junming fought a man who tried to help Zhao Yunqiu, while his mother loudly accused the widow of seducing him.

  • Jiang Ci and Si Beichen joined the water queue and waited in the oppressive heat.
  • Wu Ya spotted Jiang Ci, confirmed that she and Jiang Chengrong were doing all right, and said she would visit her in Building 8.
  • Wu Ya asked whether Si Beichen was Jiang Ci's boyfriend, and Jiang Ci told her he was her older brother, though they were not related.
  • Zhou Junming tried to help Zhao Yunqiu carry her water, but his mother held him back and publicly insulted the widow.
  • Zhou Junming broke free, shoved his mother off balance, and fought a man who approached Zhao Yunqiu, while the crowd watched without intervening.

Ch. 25A farce

Jiang Ci and Si Beichen collected water while Zhou Junming’s parents confronted him and Zhao Yunqiu over their relationship. Mrs. Zhou fainted after Zhao Yunqiu claimed she might be pregnant, and Zhou Junming helped his father take her home.

  • Jiang Ci and Si Beichen queued for water, returned home with four buckets, and used their collected water sparingly.
  • Jiang Ci encountered Li Weiwei with a man, and Li Weiwei greeted her despite the two women barely knowing each other.
  • Mrs. Zhou and Zhou Dafu went to Zhao Yunqiu’s apartment to bring Zhou Junming home while neighbors gathered to watch.
  • Zhou Junming refused to leave, and Zhao Yunqiu claimed she and Zhou Junming had slept together and that she might be carrying his child.
  • Mrs. Zhou fainted, so Zhou Junming helped Zhou Dafu carry her home while Jiang Ci shut her door.
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