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Li Yan felt as if his head had been weighed down by a ton of iron, and he was in a daze. When he finally managed to open his eyes, he saw Li Ming sprawled on top of him, the child seemingly asleep.
Li Yan raised his hand to look at his smooth, unblemished wrist and suddenly remembered the incident with Jade. Ignoring his dizziness, he hurriedly nudged Li Ming, "Mingming, Mingming?!!"
After a while, Li Ming turned over, rubbed his eyes, and mumbled, "I want to sleep... Brother, don't make noise."
Li Yan sighed in relief; it seemed like they had just overslept. "Alright, let's sleep a little later." He pulled Li Ming up from the ground and shook his head until the dizziness faded before starting to look around. Where were they?
In the distance, he spotted a valley mostly shrouded in mist. To the left was a small plot of land with a pond beside it, where an apple tree was growing. And then there was... if he wasn't mistaken, that should be a small wooden house.
Li Yan was one hundred percent sure he had never been to this place. With such fresh air and environment, it must be deep in the mountains. Could that jade have transported him and Mingming to some rural homestead?
"Brother, is this our space?" Li Ming curiously looked around. The earlier dizziness had vanished, and now he was back to his lively self.
"Space?" Li Yan was taken aback. He wasn't unfamiliar with the concept of space; as a man, he had a bit of a hero complex. He had read plenty of novels back in school, but... space? Could this place really be what it seemed?
"Brother, come look! The wooden house!" Li Ming had already run over to the wooden house and opened the door while shouting excitedly. This was just like in cartoons—there were mountains, water, and a small wooden house; everything matched perfectly.
Could there be something here? Li Yan quickly walked over and upon seeing inside asked, "Mingming, what's wrong with the wooden house?"
"Nothing; it's empty. This is Mingming's house." The child's thoughts were always different from others; an empty house meant no one was there, which meant it belonged to Mingming. He was very happy about it. He took out a ballpoint pen from his pocket and awkwardly wrote "Li Ming and Li Yan" in big blue letters on the door of the wooden house.
Li Yan didn't stop the child’s possessiveness; this place was too strange. How would they get back? There were no means of transportation here. Oh right, his phone was left on the sofa! "Mingming, let's stay here for today. Tomorrow morning we'll think of a way to leave, okay?" Li Yan thought it best to let Li Ming rest for now; he remembered they had entered around three in the afternoon, but it was broad daylight here—something felt off about the time as well.
"Know how to get out." Li Ming put the Ballpoint Pen into his pocket and nodded seriously. "Just close your eyes and think about going out."
Li Yan looked at Li Ming, who really closed his eyes, feeling both amused and helpless. This was just something from those novels meant to deceive people; he was such a child... Things often happen unexpectedly, and Li Ming truly disappeared.
Li Yan panicked and quickly closed his eyes, silently repeating in his mind: Go out, go out, go out! Damn it, wasn't he supposed to return?
When Li Yan opened his eyes, he and Li Ming were still in the house, with the clock on the wall showing five o'clock. This meant that he and Mingming had been in that... well, let's temporarily call it a space for over an hour?
Not willing to give up, Li Yan glanced at the jade stone that had returned to its original color and closed his eyes again, chanting: Go in, go in, go in. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself back in the space. After several attempts like this, he realized he had indeed acquired a magical stone—no, a space. Watching Li Yan come in and out was amusing for Li Ming, who followed along until he got tired of playing and pulled Li Yan along: "Brother, I'm hungry."
Li Yan then realized they had missed dinner time; it was already eight o'clock at night. He leaned down and kissed Li Ming's little mouth apologetically: "How about we have Twice-Cooked Pork Rice Bowl for dinner?"
"Okay." Li Ming was an easy child to please; he was omnivorous as long as the food was delicious.
That night, Li Yan definitely couldn't sleep. He spent the entire night researching information related to space. The wealth of content and variety made him marvel at human creativity; there truly was nothing impossible if one could imagine it.
By the time he had read enough, dawn began to break. Li Yan remembered what Zhou Miao had said last night. He got up early to help Li Ming brush his teeth and then took the little guy to the supermarket.
Regardless of whether Zhou Miao's words were true or not, after facing both the sinkhole and the space situation, Li Yan felt that even if someone told him tomorrow was the end of the world, he might believe it.
Li Ming seemed very happy to hear they were going to the supermarket; he still hadn't completed his Whirlwind Card collection and wanted to buy Transformers, race cars, and more. In the car, Li Ming counted on his fingers, feeling overwhelmed by how many things he wanted to buy. Why was living so difficult?
The supermarket was surprisingly crowded in the morning, mainly because it was too hot outside; most people preferred not to go out during noon or afternoon. Fortunately, summer mornings brighten quickly, and most of the shoppers were middle-aged women in their forties or fifties.
Li Yan didn't plan to buy rice or flour at the supermarket, so he directly grabbed oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, tea, as well as plenty of dried goods and vacuum-packed sausages and chicken legs. Naturally, there were also Li Ming's chips, Teddy Bear Cookies, and various snacks. Their cart was filled to the brim, drawing curious stares from those around them. It seemed like these two had just come from Africa; buying food was one thing, but they even bought several sets of bed sheets and comforters.
A little girl next to them smacked her lips and said softly, "With so many things, wouldn't it be better to shop online?"
Upon hearing this, Li Yan immediately had an idea. Buying things like this was indeed too conspicuous. If what Zhou Miao said was true, then the items being procured must be numerous. In that case, online shopping would indeed be a good choice.
Li Ming came out of the supermarket holding his Whirlwind Card. For him, food was only remembered when needed. There were too many items to fit in the trunk, and Li Yan thought of that space. Seeing that there was no one around in the underground parking lot, he silently chanted to move these items into the space. Watching the items in the trunk decrease one by one, Li Yan felt an indescribable sensation in his heart.
Li Yan repeatedly instructed Li Ming not to mention the space to anyone else; it must not be brought up in front of anyone besides themselves. Li Ming swore on his Whirlwind Card that he would absolutely not say anything. If he did, he would never be able to collect all the Whirlwind Cards in his lifetime. Although Li Ming felt that a lifetime was very long, he still painfully swore for his brother.
On the way back, Li Yan went to the Farmers' Market again and bought five hundred pounds of rice and various seeds. Because the quantity was quite large, the shopkeeper even offered to help deliver them. Li Yan felt speechless; sometimes having a space but being unable to use it was truly frustrating.
In the following week, Li Yan spent most of his time at work shopping online. Anything he thought of or saw online that he felt he needed was ordered. In just a week, he spent over three hundred thousand, turning his credit card into a platinum member.
Even Li Yan's assistant Eva looked at her boss with disbelief, "Boss, isn't it a bit early for an apocalypse? You don't need to be this alarming!"
Li Yan ordered numerous books on planting online. Although the materials stated that plants in the space were good plants that didn't require the owner's care and could grow on their own, no one had ever experimented with it.
While Li Yan was exploring how to plant rice, Li Ming discovered a new interest—unpacking packages. Every day there were many packages arriving, and Li Ming unwrapped them happily and diligently. The first thing he did every morning was run to the front door and sit patiently, wondering why the delivery hadn't arrived yet. He made the delivery workers from Shunfeng and Yuantong feel like delivering packages was truly a sacred task whenever they saw his eager eyes.
Aunt Wang held back for three whole days but finally couldn't resist on the fourth day. When she caught Li Yan around, she asked, "Li Yan, what have you been up to these past few days? Why have you bought so many things? Military tents, down jackets, heating pads—five big bags of charcoal—and so many medicines and even binoculars? What are you planning?"
Hearing Aunt Wang's question reminded Li Yan of something important. If what Zhou Miao said was true about needing to procure large quantities of food, then a crisis must be approaching. Aunt Wang had been helping him for three years now, and Li Yan didn't want her to be unprepared for anything. "Aunt Wang, I was just about to tell you this. You've seen how the weather has changed recently; you should prepare as well. It's always good to stock up on some food. Although we don't know what will happen in the future, it's better for everyone to be prepared."
Aunt Wang was originally a smart and quick-witted old lady who had been working for Li Yan for three years now. She understood him well enough not to say anything nonsensical. Reflecting on what Li Yan had done over these years and carefully savoring his words, she felt a wave of panic in her heart—could it really be that a change was coming?
As a boss of a publicly listed company with extensive connections, Li Yan must have heard some rumors. "Well then, Li Yan," Aunt Wang said, "I have some matters at home during this time so I won't come by for now. I'll come back when I have time later; is that alright?"
Li Yan nodded with a smile. He had agreed to let Aunt Wang stay because he valued her discretion and cleverness; she would never say what she shouldn't. He had no intention of hiding his matters with Li Ming from her, and Aunt Wang was one of the few who knew the truth.
"Of course, Aunt Wang, you go back to your work. I'll give you your salary for this month. Whenever you're done, you're always welcome here," Li Yan said as he took out money from his wallet. In addition to Aunt Wang's salary, he gave her an extra two thousand.
Aunt Wang only left after finishing her tasks. She felt grateful for Li Yan's words, regardless of their truth. In life, one must always be prepared for anything.
Once Aunt Wang left, Li Yan moved the generator, searchlight, and other items into the space, including a radio that could still be used during a power outage. Although such radios had become outdated, they were still available online.
As he opened the window, a wave of heat rushed in. It was already past six in the evening, yet the weather felt like a steamer. Li Yan took out a cigarette and took a deep puff; three more people had called in sick at work today, all citing heatstroke as their reason.
Li Yan remembered checking the weather forecast in the morning, which predicted rain for today. However, not a single drop had fallen. He measured the temperature with his newly bought thermometer and found it had reached an astonishing 46 degrees Celsius. They were on the top floor; it was likely even hotter downstairs. In such weather, the survival rate for crops would probably be low. After studying agricultural books for a few days, Li Yan considered himself half a farmer now.
Could Zhou Miao mean they were heading into famine? Once he finished his cigarette, Li Yan felt as if he had been soaked in water; stepping inside felt like a sudden shock to his system. He adjusted the air conditioning to 26 degrees Celsius to minimize the temperature difference between indoors and outdoors as a way to protect his body.
After dinner, just as Li Yan finished washing the dishes, all the lights suddenly went out. A power outage? A jolt of alarm shot through him—what had happened? Was there an issue with the electricity supply? In this heat without power, it could be deadly.
"Brother, it's hot," Li Ming said, abandoning even his Whirlwind Card game.
"Don't worry, Mingming; we'll sleep in the space tonight," Li Yan replied as he looked out the window. There were quite a few people gathered in the square below, each holding their phones up and forming an irregular pattern.
Li Yan's expression darkened as he looked up at the sky and saw the blood-red moon; it seemed tonight was a lunar eclipse!
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