48: Space Upgrade

Ai Yue sat alone on the roof of the car, looking up to admire the moonlight.

Today was a full moon. The moonlight gently spilled across the earth, illuminating the city ruins that loomed in the darkness like terrifying monsters baring their fangs, ready to attack at any moment.

Standing alone deep within the ruins, the cool moonlight draped over her. The boundless loneliness of the darkness slowly enveloped Ai Yue, giving her an inexplicable sense of solitude.

Just as she was immersed in this atmosphere and unable to extricate herself, a sudden, intense burst of gunfire rang through the night sky, pulling Ai Yue back from her boundless loneliness.

Startled, she immediately stood up and looked toward the direction the gunfire came from.

She could hear a gunfight taking place in the northwest corner of the city. Unfortunately, the sound of gunfire was rapidly approaching Ai Yue.

Ai Yue didn't want to be caught in the crossfire. She quickly jumped down from the roof, opened the car door, got in, started the engine, and drove away.

The sound of the marauder was too loud. Those being chased heard the noise and accelerated toward Ai Yue's direction.

Ai Yue had only driven a few hundred meters when she was overtaken by the people behind her. A motorcycle sped toward her with two people on it; the one sitting in the back was constantly firing backward.

What made Ai Yue even more furious was that no matter where she drove, the motorcycle behind her followed. They wanted her to share the firepower.

Did he think she was an easy target?

"Since you want to follow me so badly, you'd better keep up," Ai Yue muttered to herself.

Ai Yue was no saint. Since they had provoked her, they couldn't blame her for being ruthless.

Ai Yue calculated the angle and suddenly jerked the steering wheel, crashing into a shop on the side of the commercial street. She drove through the large floor-to-ceiling glass window, with the motorcycle following closely behind.

Seeing this in the rearview mirror, Ai Yue gave a grim smile and floored the accelerator, crashing into a load-bearing wall inside the shop. Under the impact of the marauder, the load-bearing wall collapsed with a loud crash.

The entire building shook violently. Having achieved her goal, Ai Yue crashed straight out through the back door of the shop, giving the building one last heavy blow.

The wobbling shop collapsed with a roar under the impact of the marauder.

At the critical moment, seeing that they were about to be trapped inside, the two people on the motorcycle behind her somehow found the strength to leap from the stalled motorcycle toward both sides, narrowly avoiding the falling debris of the building.

One of them had their leg crushed by falling debris, while the other stood up shakily and ran, completely ignoring whether the other lived or died.

Ai Yue didn't look back at the pair's miserable state. She remembered there was another group of people behind them. Unsure of the situation, she didn't linger, driving away quickly as an "anonymous do-gooder."

Among those who caught up, the leader was an old acquaintance of Ai Yue's—Gu Xiheng, the Young General of the Yingjin City Safety Tower, who appeared there with a group of people.

"Young General, we've captured one alive. The other escaped, but he shouldn't be able to get far. I'll take men to pursue him now," someone behind Gu Xiheng said.

Gu Xiheng nodded in agreement.

Then he spoke indifferently, "Take him back for interrogation. If he's stubborn and won't talk, kill him directly."

Two people from behind him moved with well-trained efficiency to drag away the person pinned under the building debris.

"Is it you? Ai Yue!"

Gu Xiheng whispered softly while staring into the darkness ahead, unheard by anyone.

After leaving quickly, Ai Yue hid in a remote place and stayed there until dawn.

Fearing that the sound of the marauder would attract attention, she put it away and pulled out an electric scooter she had obtained during her "zero-dollar shopping" spree from her space, quietly setting off.

Electric scooters were indeed useful; they could easily navigate narrow nooks and crannies that cars couldn't enter.

Ai Yue rode it, taking Da Wang through the streets and alleys to continue her search, not even sparing small shops that refurbished gold and silver jewelry.

Ai Yue scoured the entire city and luckily found quite a few supplies. For instance, she found ten satellite phones, which she had been longing for, though unfortunately only three were functional. She also found five sets of walkie-talkies, flashlights, and other items.

After putting everything into her space, Ai Yue eagerly anticipated what changes would occur in the house within. Having held back until now, she couldn't resist the urge to enter the space and see the results. She left Da Wang outside to stand guard and flashed into the space to check the outcome.

Entering the space, Ai Yue went straight into the house. As soon as she entered, the room had indeed changed; it was no longer a shell of a house.

The walls were covered in wallpaper, floor tiles were laid, and there was simple furniture: a sofa, a table, chairs, and a bed.

It was actually a basic renovation. Would it turn into a luxury renovation as it upgraded? Would the house get bigger again? Would there be other surprises? It was simply something to look forward to.

After some thought, Ai Yue exited the space and saw Da Wang standing there, head perked up, warily watching the surroundings.

Ai Yue grabbed Da Wang's front paw, and with a thought, she instantly vanished, along with Da Wang who had been standing there.

Suddenly finding himself in a different place, Da Wang was a bit dazed, but seeing the mountain of supplies, he was immediately overjoyed and bolted toward the meat.

Ai Yue, who was originally excited that living things could finally enter, suddenly grew anxious, thinking she couldn't let Da Wang ruin all that meat.

Something miraculous happened. Just as Da Wang was about to pounce into the pile of meat, a thin film appeared in front of him, blocking his way. No matter how he bumped, bit, or scratched, he couldn't break that thin layer of film.

Seeing the pork right in front of him, Da Wang whined anxiously, jumping up and down in frustration.

Seeing that her supplies were finally safe, Ai Yue patted her chest and felt relieved. Only then did she have time to carefully examine the suddenly appearing film. After studying it for a while, she realized that this film could appear and disappear according to her will.

Now she was completely at ease. She wouldn't have to worry about Da Wang stealing food when she put him in the space; this space was truly considerate.

Ai Yue wasn't in a hurry to leave. Instead, she lay down on the bed in the room, planning to have a good sleep to recover her strength. Last night she had been half-awake and hadn't rested well at all. This time, Da Wang could also enter the space, and it was absolutely safe here, so she could enjoy a wonderful sleep.

While Ai Yue fell asleep peacefully, Da Wang's mood outside the house wasn't so great. He looked mournfully at the stacks of meat, drooling with craving.

Suddenly, while sleeping soundly, Ai Yue was kicked hard from behind. Stumbling and before she could steady her steps, she instantly drew her military knife from her waist. Her head was dazed and not quite clear as she stood on guard. Seeing no one in front of her, she jumped in another direction, then jumped back and forth in four directions successively. It wasn't until a full minute had passed that Ai Yue recovered from her completely dazed state.

After seeing her surroundings clearly, Ai Yue was stunned. What was going on? How did she end up outside? Wasn't she in the space? Who had just kicked her?

Unsure of the situation, Ai Yue prepared to flash into the space, only to find that she couldn't enter. Moreover, her mental perception was blocked, and she couldn't take anything out.