Chapter 55

Suzy truly hadn’t expected that the moment she returned to A City, she would run into Wendy.

A City was enormous, and yet—there she was.

Suzy’s hand, which had already reached for the door handle, paused midair.

But... what was Wendy doing here?

The villa district where Wendy lived was two whole districts away from this shopping complex. It wasn’t exactly convenient.

Had she really come all this way just to shop?

"Uncle, let’s wait a bit before getting out," Suzy said quietly.

The last thing she wanted right now was to deal with Wendy.

She had been "missing" for quite some time. If Wendy discovered she had returned to A City, she would undoubtedly inform George.

And that family—most likely—was still coveting her belongings.

The mere thought of being harassed by them again made Suzy’s scalp prickle.

Better to avoid them altogether.

"Alright," Leonard agreed readily.

He had half been preparing to get out and confront Wendy on Suzy’s behalf. But since Suzy preferred to keep her distance, he wouldn’t interfere.

They remained seated inside the car, observing from afar.

Wendy looked... well.

She was speaking with a man in a work uniform, smiling from time to time. Her expression was bright, confident, unmistakably pleased.

Her mood seemed exceptionally good.

A faint unease stirred in Suzy’s chest.

Was this normal?

Wendy hadn’t activated her space—at least, not as far as Suzy knew.

The apocalypse was imminent. So why was she this calm?

From what Suzy understood about Wendy, she was not the type to let things go quietly. If Wendy had truly believed her spatial ability was lost, she would have been desperate. Furious. Persistent.

Yet in recent weeks, Wendy hadn’t tried to contact Suzy at all. And now here she was, calmly stockpiling supplies...

Suzy had previously assumed that the Kale family was too preoccupied—perhaps even facing financial collapse—to bother with her.

But now...

That explanation didn’t seem sufficient.

Something must have happened to Wendy.

Something significant.

As Suzy was lost in thought, Wendy finished speaking with the staff member and walked toward her car, humming lightly under her breath.

She looked delighted.

Radiant.

As it turned out, something

had

happened.

Wendy had activated a space.

The gold pendant Suzy had given her indeed couldn’t trigger anything.

But not long ago, Wendy had rummaged through Suzy’s former room—and discovered another pendant of a similar design.

Without hesitation, she pricked her finger and let a drop of blood fall onto it.

To her astonishment... It worked. The space was activated.

So this one was the real spatial artifact.

For a long time, Wendy had suspected that Suzy might have secretly activated the space already.

Now, with her own space successfully bound, that suspicion vanished instantly.

Clearly, that idiot Suzy had simply taken the wrong pendant. Wendy felt smug satisfaction bloom inside her.

Of course, she was the true heroine. How could the heroine not possess a space?

That was also why she had stopped bothering Suzy recently. The space was already hers.

Why waste time on that sickly girl?

Her earlier attentiveness toward Suzy had never been sincere anyway—it had all been for the space. As for Suzy’s life or death? Wendy couldn’t care less.

She turned inward, focusing on her newly bound space. The initial thrill faded quickly.

What she found inside was not what she had imagined.

There was no fertile land. No spiritual spring. No quaint wooden cabin.

Only a blank, misty extradimensional space.

Roughly twenty square meters in size, it could store basic supplies—but nothing more.

No farming.

No expansion—at least not for now.

It didn’t resemble the description from the novel she vaguely remembered.

Then again... she couldn’t recall the details clearly anymore.

In the end, she consoled herself. At least she had a space. That alone made her superior.

Perhaps the space would upgrade in the future.

As for the faint sense that her space felt... different from what she remembered, Wendy attributed it to the butterfly effect caused by her transmigration.

Ever since she had crossed over into this world, the original storyline had already begun to deviate. If the space had changed as well, that was perfectly normal.

That belief solidified after she saw videos online of the meteor descending.

So it really was her presence that had altered the world. Even the apocalypse had arrived early.

Now, her space was completely full.

But it was small—barely twenty square meters. Even packed to the brim, the total supplies weren’t that much.

The Kale family had four members. The food inside her space wouldn’t last long.

So Wendy rented several warehouses and continued stockpiling.

As for the money... She had maxed out loans across multiple online platforms, squeezing out several million.

Previously, she could still ask George for funds—but his company had recently run into trouble, and that source had dried up.

So she had coaxed and pressured Fiona for more cash.

Every cent she obtained went into supplies. This trip to the supermarket was just another procurement run.

She believed that with the amount she had stored, she would thrive in the apocalypse.

After all... She was the heroine.

The more she thought about it, the more delighted she felt. Humming lightly, she drove off toward her next destination.

***

Only after Wendy’s car disappeared did Suzy and Leonard step out of theirs.

Noticing Leonard’s puzzled look, Suzy spoke first. "Uncle, if you see her again, avoid her."

Leonard frowned. "Why?"

"She’s trouble," Suzy replied simply. "I don’t want anything to do with that family anymore."

Something seemed to click for Leonard. He nodded. "Alright. I understand."

They entered the supermarket and purchased daily necessities—cleaning supplies, toiletries, snacks.

Three large bags later, they loaded everything into the trunk.

Afterward, they made a stop at the wholesale market.

Once they finished buying basic household goods, they returned to the apartment complex.

The bulk orders they had placed earlier would be delivered directly later.

Back upstairs, they organized the purchases neatly before settling onto the sofa under the air conditioner.

Leonard checked his phone.

"The water delivery says they’ll arrive in ten minutes."

"Okay."

Suzy pulled out the small surveillance cameras she had purchased and began examining them.

She planned to install discreet pinhole cameras near the apartment entrance and along the hallway—just in case.

Outside, the sunlight was harsh and glaring, radiating visible waves of heat.

Leonard glanced through the window and sighed. "Suzy... tomorrow is the beginning of the apocalypse."

Her hands paused briefly. "Yep. It starts tomorrow," she nodded.

The extreme heat wouldn’t spike in a single day.

It would rise gradually.

In the early phase, people would still function normally. They would complain about the heat, but life would continue.

Only... The sun’s intensity had clearly changed. Prolonged exposure could cause burns, dehydration, and even heatstroke.

Full protective clothing would be necessary outdoors. Better yet—avoid going out at all.

Leonard exhaled slowly. "Time really flies."

His phone suddenly vibrated. He assumed it was the water delivery and glanced down.

Instead, it was a text from an unremarkable number.

He recognized it. He began typing a reply.

Across from him, Suzy had already figured out how to install the cameras.

Just as she stood up, Leonard spoke again.

"A friend of mine is planning to return to the country. I asked him—he said the temperatures overseas are abnormal too."

Suzy wasn’t surprised. The disaster was global.

"Which friend?" she asked casually.

Leonard smiled faintly. "You know him, too. Your bodyguard from M Country. Remember him?"