Tang Mo didn't say anything, nor did she rush him. Instead, she stood quietly to the side, waiting.
Only after the old master craftsman finished the task at hand did he look up at Tang Mo. "What can I do for you?"
"I'd like to get a chain for my Jade Pendant." As Tang Mo spoke, she took the necklace from around her neck and handed it over. The thin red cord was worn and frayed, its thickness uneven. The Jade Pendant hung from it, looking as if it might fall at any moment.
The old master carefully took the Jade Pendant and examined it closely.
"The bail on the pendant is quite sturdy. It won't break unless the jade itself shatters. But this cord is definitely shot. It's high time for a replacement."
"Miss, I'd suggest you go to the jewelry store next door for a chain. I don't have gold or silver here. My work has the advantage of being strong and durable, but it's not exactly pretty," the craftsman kindly advised.
Tang Mo's lips curved into a slight smile. Strong and durable was exactly what she wanted. Aesthetics weren't even a consideration for her; the more inconspicuous, the better.
"Make it as sturdy as possible. This is very important to me. I just want to make sure it stays on my neck at all times. Nothing else matters."
"Oh, and could you see if you can attach two chains? Just to be on the safe side."
Tang Mo thought about it and still felt uneasy. A single chain wasn't secure enough. This Jade Pendant was a lifesaver; she couldn't afford to be careless.
"Sure. Wait a bit, this'll be quick."
In less than an hour, the craftsman handed the newly fitted necklace back to Tang Mo.
The pendant was indeed attached to two chains. One was a very thin, metal snake chain, and the other was a black leather cord. The combination had a surprisingly stylish look.
The materials for both chains were incredibly sturdy. The craftsman had also modified the clasps, making them difficult to remove even on purpose, let alone fall off on their own.
The length was also made to Tang Mo's specifications. Too short and it would be too conspicuous hanging outside her clothes; too long and it would be inconvenient for movement. The current length was just right.
Clearly, the craftsman at this shop was highly skilled. Satisfied, Tang Mo put the necklace on and gave it a tug.
'Not bad. It's not only sturdy but also quite fashionable.'
Tang Mo felt her "heavy metal double-chain" design was on the cutting edge of fashion and silently praised herself.
After paying, a huge weight was finally lifted from her shoulders. Tang Mo felt less panicked about what was to come.
Thinking about the empty three-square-meter Space inside the Jade Pendant, Tang Mo suddenly had a flash of inspiration.
'Three square meters is just the floor area, but I can't waste the vertical height either.'
After carefully considering the ceiling height of her family's supermarket, Tang Mo ordered five modular shelving units from the owner, each 8 meters tall. Since she would be using her spiritual power to access items in the Space, she didn't need to worry about the shelves being too high. In fact, the higher, the better.
The shelves in the middle were made of removable aluminum alloy planks, allowing Tang Mo to freely arrange them to store items of various sizes and maximize the use of those three square meters.
Because she needed them urgently—delivered by tomorrow—Tang Mo paid extra. Including the cost of the necklace, she had spent a total of 2,300 yuan there today.
'Money well spent!'
After confirming all the details with the craftsman, Tang Mo walked out with a smile. After so many years of saving, spending money so freely for the first time felt, she had to admit, pretty damn good.
She checked the time, mentally calculated the money left in her pocket, and moved on to her next destination: the pharmacy.
For the first six months of the apocalypse, the fog had not yet dissipated, and the mutant beasts had not yet appeared.
Aside from enduring famine, humanity didn't actually lack medicine. But after six months, mutant beasts ran rampant. Large swaths of buildings collapsed, replaced overnight by ancient trees and plants that burst forth from the ground.
Medicine became an extremely scarce resource. For those who frequently went out on hunts, bleeding and injuries were practically an everyday occurrence. A single careless infection without medicine could cost you your life.
Five thousand yuan was Tang Mo's budget for medicine.
After the apocalypse began, humanity's physical fitness improved dramatically, making colds and fevers almost nonexistent. However, anti-inflammatories, hemostatic drugs, and bandages were absolute lifesavers. These three items made up the bulk of Tang Mo's budget.
Also, due to the lack of normal food, the water people drank became dirtier and the things they ate grew more horrifying. Stomach medicine and anti-diarrheals were also essential. As for the rest, Tang Mo bought a few miscellaneous items for situations she remembered being critical. After all, it was better to be safe than sorry.
After buying the medicine, she headed to a sporting goods store and bought a few practical tracksuits, a pair of athletic shoes, and two sports backpacks.
Tang Mo had always dressed in a ladylike style. Since it was currently summer, her wardrobe consisted almost entirely of dresses.
She still remembered how inconvenient dresses were in her past life when she was trapped at school. They got dirty easily, weren't durable, and slowed the group down during movements.
It was only after leaving the school that she managed to find an ill-fitting set of long-sleeved clothes and pants to change into. She would absolutely not make that same mistake in this life.
After buying the clothes, Tang Mo went straight into the hair salon next door. She asked the stylist—a "Tony," of course—to give her a clean, short haircut, thinned out. The simpler and more convenient, the better.
"Hey beautiful, how about we cut a little less? If it's that short, you won't even be able to wear dresses. It won't look as good as long hair." This stylist had a surprising amount of conscience, earnestly trying to persuade Tang Mo to be more aware of her own beauty.
"Just cut it. It's okay if it doesn't look good." Tang Mo simply sat down in the chair.
Watching the reflection in the mirror as locks of her long hair, which she had carefully maintained for years, fell to the floor, Tang Mo slowly lowered her gaze. 'What's the use of being pretty?'
In the apocalypse, without powerful strength to back you up, the ones who lived the most miserable lives—lives worse than death—were the pretty girls.
Tang Mo was beautiful but weak. Girls like her were at the biggest disadvantage in the apocalypse. Fortunately, she had a clever streak and had realized the problem not long after the apocalypse began. She had "fixed herself up" by staying dirty all over and always hunching her back, which helped her avoid a lot of trouble.
It wasn't that Tang Mo was overthinking things. It was that once the world lost the laws that maintained order, humanity gradually reverted to the original food chain, where the weak were prey for the strong.
Whoever was stronger possessed more resources. This was the default law.
Propriety, righteousness, integrity, and shame; respecting the old and caring for the young; ladies first—all of these ceased to exist. When morality began to collapse and people tore off their hypocritical masks, all that remained was raw human nature.
Everyone struggled just to get by in the apocalypse. No one knew if they would have a bite to eat the next day, or if they would be torn in half by a mutant beast. In a world where it was a struggle just to stay alive, who would have the spare energy to think about others?
'Only your own strength is king. Until I'm powerful enough, I absolutely have to keep a low profile.'
Tang Mo closed her eyes, planning out her future step by step in her mind.