"Xiao Ning, how much can your little Space hold? What should we get?"
"It can't hold much. The Space is tiny. Bottled water, crackers, and instant noodles are fine. Things that are easy to store are best."
"This way, they have them over here." Song You'ai had worked at Ai Jia Supermarket for over twenty years and knew the layout better than anyone.
Seeing her daughter looked ready to go on a shopping spree, she quickly pulled her to the bottom of a nearby shelf, opened a cabinet door, and took out cases of their bottled water and instant noodle stock.
Xie Ning reached out and placed her hand on the cases.
Song You'ai's eyes widened as she watched in awe as a dozen or so cases vanished into thin air.
Meanwhile, Xie Ning was frozen in place, a strange expression on her face.
Since her rebirth, she hadn't taken a close look at her Space.
She had assumed it was the same as the useless little Space from her past life—just two square meters, barely enough to fit a small 1.2-meter-wide bed.
At most, it could hold a few dozen cases of instant noodles and the like.
But now, she was completely and utterly dumbfounded.
As far as she could see, there was the curved sofa area from her own villa's living room.
She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to regulate her breathing. When she looked into her little Space again, she almost jumped in shock.
It was no wonder that someone who had survived twenty years in the apocalypse would lose her composure like this.
The little Space had truly changed. It had transformed from a two-square-meter pocket into their family's hundred-square-meter living room.
The familiar floor-to-ceiling windows and sweeping floor-length curtains.
The familiar suspended ceiling with its plaster and acoustic panels, complete with the wide media wall in front.
Within her line of sight was a small reading area.
The bookshelf was stacked neatly with many unread books, and on the freestanding smart water dispenser next to it sat her little teddy bear teacup.
'It looks like there's still half a cup of stale water in it...'
With a thought from Xie Ning, the teddy bear teacup appeared in her hand.
Song You'ai's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets!
Xie Ning took a sip of water, then handed the cup to her mother. "Mom, I'll explain everything in detail later."
Song You'ai had been terrified for the better part of the day and hadn't had a single drop to drink. She was indeed parched. After she gulped down the half-cup of water, her stomach began to rumble with hunger.
Xie Ning placed the teacup back on the dispenser and scanned the living room, delighted to see two large cardboard boxes in the entryway, in addition to the dozen or so cases she had just stored.
"Mom, did you receive the case of ugly oranges and the case of cherries I ordered online?"
"Yes, they arrived," Song You'ai said, looking frustrated. "I left them in the living room for you. I was going to wait for you to get home to open them, but who knew..."
Who knew the world would suddenly turn upside down!
"I wonder if we can go back just once to pack some things?" Song You'ai asked, her face etched with worry.
Xie Ning shook her head. "It's too dangerous to go back into the city. We can't."
"Sigh. All that food in the fridge... What a waste!"
'Everything was fine when I came to work, but now I can't go home.'
Xie Ning didn't fully understand the situation with her Space yet either. Deciding to figure it out later, she simply grabbed one of the ugly oranges and pressed it into her mother's hand. "Have a few bites to tide you over. Then we'll check the front of the store for more supplies."
Song You'ai stared blankly at the orange in her hand, but she didn't ask any more questions.
The mother-daughter pair moved forward, doing their best to remain silent.
Fortunately, there weren't many zombies in this area, so their advance was unimpeded.
As they passed the checkout counters, Xie Ning grabbed a handful of large plastic bags. She gave some to her mother, and they started grabbing things as they went. Whatever food they saw, they took it—no questions asked.
"We'll hit the household goods section for more things later."
Daily necessities like toilet paper, tissues, soap, and shampoo seemed so mundane in normal times, but they were truly...
...you wouldn't know how precious they were until you ran out!