71: With a larger area, the rules also need to change.

The glass test tube was tossed casually onto the floor, making a crisp rolling sound, much like the final signal of an end.

Joey, lying on the ground, moved.

She pushed up her upper body, which should have had several broken ribs, but her movements were unexpectedly fluid.

The black blood she had spat out emitted a foul stench on the alloy floor, but she took a deep breath; the stinging pain that felt like her lungs were filled with crushed glass had vanished, replaced by a warm current protecting her heart vessels.

This was no punishment; it was clearly a 'baptism' filled with overbearing vitality.

Joey's wild eyes flickered with complexity.

She was someone who had scraped by in the wasteland; she knew how to read the room.

If the man before her had wanted her life just now, she would be stone-cold by now.

Su Chen still maintained that pale, weak appearance as if he might faint at any moment, even exaggeratedly clutching his chest and coughing twice.

But Joey didn't dare show the slightest contempt. She gritted her teeth, and instead of reaching for the dagger at her waist, she suddenly reached into the lining of her mud-covered tactical leather boots.

"Boss, this thing is a hot potato; it's not appropriate for me to keep it for you."

Joey knelt on the ground, holding a crystal swirling with faint blue electric arcs in both hands, respectfully raising it above her head.

This was a Thunder Crystal of even higher purity than the previous one, a prized possession she had swiped during a double-cross at the market, originally intended to trade for her life.

Su Chen's lowered eyelids lifted slightly, a playful curve tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Sensible.

That's right; smart people don't need many words.

With a slight movement of his fingers, the Thunder Crystal was swept into his palm by an invisible force.

A cold sensation spread from his palm, and the energy bar on the system panel instantly jumped up a notch.

"Go wait in the back. Don't make me say it twice."

With Su Chen's command, the continuously outputted Sacred Yang True Qi finally reached its critical point.

A tooth-aching 'crack' sounded, as if some giant beast were stretching its limbs.

The oppressive and dull alloy ceiling overhead completely finished its crystalline reorganization, turning into a massive, translucent dome.

The stalactites hanging from the cave ceiling were clearly visible through the crystal layer. Dim light filtered in, adding a hint of eerie tranquility to the carriage.

Then came a violent vibration.

The once narrow aisle stretched wildly to both sides like living muscle fibers. The left and right walls of the vehicle expanded outward with a boom. The space that could only fit two people side-by-side instantly became more spacious than a five-star hotel lobby.

Most astonishingly, five sci-fi-looking silver-white metal doors appeared out of thin air on both sides of the carriage, each flashing with a red fingerprint-lock light effect.

"Is this... space folding?"

Lin Mengyao almost lost her grip on the long blade in her hand. She looked at the newly generated warm wood-grain floor beneath her feet, her eyes full of disbelief.

This had completely exceeded her understanding of a 'modified vehicle'; this was practically creation!

However, the shock wasn't over before an argument broke the miraculous silence.

"Be careful! Can you afford to pay if you damage it? This is Huanghuali wood!"

Ye Hongyu's sharp commanding voice sounded particularly piercing.

Two burly men, originally Thunder Owl's subordinates, were huffing and puffing as they carried a dead-heavy grandmaster chair, forcing their way into Cabin No. 1, which was closest to Su Chen.

"Stop."

A cold light flashed.

Lin Mengyao's Tang sword barred the cabin door, its tip less than three centimeters from Ye Hongyu's well-maintained face.

"This is Cabin No. 1; only Su Chen can enter." The campus belle's voice was as cold as ice. "Take your piece of junk wood and stay in the corner of the hall."

"Who do you think you are?" Ye Hongyu's eyebrows shot up. She had endured it when there were only twenty square meters, but now that the space was so large, why should she take crap from this brat?

She puffed out her proud chest and pointed toward Su Chen. "I'm doing this for Mr. Su's own good! This chair has a calming effect, perfect for Mr. Su's recuperation. Besides, in terms of background and seniority, if I don't sleep in this first-class cabin, should a schoolgirl who only knows how to swing a sword sleep here?"

"Are you really trying to help Su Chen recuperate? I'm embarrassed to even call you out on it." Lin Mengyao didn't back down an inch, her blade steady. "If you want to enter this door, you'll have to step over my corpse."

The two burly men stood awkwardly with the chair stuck in the middle, unable to advance or retreat.

The atmosphere was tense, as if blood would be spilled at any moment.

"Ahem..."

A weak yet commanding cough sounded.

Su Chen slowly uncrossed his legs. The weakness that made it seem like he would stop breathing at any moment vanished instantly, replaced by a playful look of someone watching a show.

"Alright, stop the act."

He stood up, casually brushing non-existent dust from his hem. His gaze swept over the five closed cabin doors and finally landed on Ye Hongyu's face, which was flushed with anger.

"Since everyone is here, let's establish a new rule."

Su Chen pointed at the shimmering dome above, his tone as flat as if he were discussing the weather. "This vehicle is mine, this territory is mine, even the air you breathe is filtered by my purification system. Therefore, there are no so-called 'personal belongings' here."

He flicked his wrist, and a suction force was generated out of thin air.

A loud crash sounded.

The Huanghuali grandmaster chair that Ye Hongyu treasured was wrenched from the hands of the two burly men and slammed heavily beside the driver's seat behind Su Chen.

"Nice chair. It's public property now." Su Chen sat on it as a matter of course, even comfortably crossing his legs. "As for the usage rights of these five rooms..."

His gaze swept shamelessly over all the women present. The undisguised aggression in his eyes made everyone's heart tighten.

"Regardless of seniority or background, it only depends on 'contribution'." Su Chen pointed to his chest. "Whoever can upgrade my Sacred Yang Constitution gets to sleep in a soft bed. As for how to contribute, I think you're all smart people; I don't need to teach you step-by-step, do I?"

"By the way, from now on, any personal supplies in public areas, unless I permit otherwise, will be considered confiscated."

As soon as Su Chen finished, Ye Hongyu's face turned pale.

To claim her territory, she had piled her prized boxes of high-grade bird's nests and jewelry onto the chair. Now, wasn't this like throwing a meat bun at a dog?

This 'extortion' move was played so smoothly that even the usually calm Qin Ya was stunned for a few seconds.

"Su... Su Chen, come take a look."

Qin Ya's voice trembled slightly. She hadn't participated in the scramble; instead, she was pressed against the newly expanded translucent vehicle wall, her finger frozen in mid-air as she inventoried the supplies.

Su Chen frowned and looked in the direction Qin Ya was pointing.

By the soft interior light, he could clearly see that a thick layer of purple dust had somehow adhered to the newly generated crystalline shell.

No, it wasn't dust.

It was some kind of living spore.

Due to the violent expansion of the vehicle's space, the roof was now almost pressed against the rock walls of the cave.

Those purple spores, originally growing in dark corners, were like sharks smelling blood upon contacting the crystalline shell containing Sacred Yang True Qi.

They were writhing and sprouting frantically.

Under everyone's gaze, translucent purple hyphae, like disgusting blood vessels, rapidly spread across the crystal surface and were desperately trying to worm their way through the infinitesimal gaps in the vehicle's armor joints.

A few thicker hyphae had already quietly wound around the bus's axle along the expanded structure.