Although there were sounds of water in the dimension, Jiang Yan had yet to discover where the water was flowing from.
On the other hand, the dimension could automatically identify and purify waste, which indicated that managing daily necessities within this space was indeed feasible.
She tossed the chaise lounge from the living room directly into the dimension.
After rummaging through her backpack for the deposit slip and doing some calculations, she realized that she had lost one and a half small goals throughout the day.
However, food and traditional Chinese medicinal herbs were her main focus for stockpiling.
Although the purchasing price of the medicinal herbs exceeded her plan, fortunately, her overall budget remained manageable.
Putting away the slip, she took out her phone and casually reclined in a relaxed position.
While recharging her energy in the dimension, she scrolled through the news. At the top of the national trending topics was a report about a small island in a country that was discharging nuclear-contaminated water, which had recently experienced an earthquake, causing seawater to flood back.
The comments section was filled with praise.
There were also discussions about extreme weather abroad, with most reports indicating temperatures higher than historical averages, leading tourists to flock to street fountains to cool off.
However, none of this seemed to relate to the apocalypse.
Checking her social media account, she found a flurry of comments urging her to update and expressing concern.
Yet, there were also a few aggressive keyboard warriors accusing her of being a calamity, bringing misfortune to her parents and so on.
Some even claimed she was a hot commodity in the marriage market, having a car and a house while being orphaned.
At this point, she couldn't be bothered to respond.
Whether she replied or deactivated her account, it would only draw more attention to her.
The apocalypse was just three months away, so let the keyboard warriors keep shouting for now.
After a cursory glance, she logged out.
Although she had exhausted her spending limit for the day, it didn't prevent her from adding items to her shopping cart.
With that thought, Jiang Yan quickly opened various shopping apps and continued to frantically select some miscellaneous items.
Among these supplies were various styles of wigs and different fashion outfits.
After all, surveillance cameras were everywhere on the streets. If she went out every day wearing similar outfits, this bulk purchasing pattern would definitely attract attention.
After spending two hours in the dimension, Jiang Yan finally emerged.
The space she had acquired was indeed impressive, but she had no intention of living in it forever.
Jiang Yan had a natural sense of crisis.
Or rather, she was an extremely insecure person.
Now, with both her father and mother having passed away, her sense of crisis and insecurity had intensified.
To her, no matter how good a person was or how valuable an item was, she instinctively made sure she had the courage to turn away or give up at a moment's notice.
Moreover, the dimension could appear without warning, and perhaps in the future, it could just as easily disappear.
She could make good use of it, but that didn't mean she had to rely on it for a lifetime.
Setting aside those thoughts, adapting to life outside was one of the essential considerations for her survival in the apocalypse.
-
The next day.
Following the location sent by Du Ziteng, Jiang Yan drove her small truck to the agreed-upon spot.
As she stepped out of the second-hand truck, fully decked out in her national trend sportswear, Du Ziteng was taken aback, his jaw nearly dropping to the ground.
Just yesterday, she had been driving a flashy Pagani Huayra, dressed in outfits worth several thousand; today, she had downgraded to a second-hand domestic truck worth only a few hundred.
"Yan Jie, you—" The consumption downgrade was quite severe!
He didn't dare to finish the latter half of his sentence.
A skinny camel is still bigger than a horse.
No matter how much she had downgraded, it was still a level he could hardly reach after years of hard work.
Jiang Yan glanced at him calmly and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, nothing at all." Du Ziteng forced a smile and then pointed to a nearby residential complex, saying:
"Yan Jie, this community fits your requirements quite well. There are only five residential buildings, labeled A through E, all fully renovated, and it's been nearly five years since they were delivered, with a decent occupancy rate. Four buildings are 24 stories high, and one is 32 stories in Building A. The outermost building has commercial spaces below, along with a fresh produce supermarket of over a thousand square meters, making life quite convenient.
Just across the street, there's a small shopping center and a pedestrian street where you can stroll, grab coffee, or get your nails done. Further down, there's a top-tier hospital and a kindergarten, so the overall amenities are quite good."
Listening to Du Ziteng's introduction, Jiang Yan glanced up at the name of the community: Qianshui Bay.
The name was intriguing.
It also had a nice connotation.
This reminded her of a conversation she had with Song Deming and his mistress, Zhang Qiqi, during which they mentioned that a heavy rain had flooded most of Anming City, and there was a place called Qianshui that had fared relatively better. They had wanted to evacuate, but it was too late.
The mountain floods and mudslides that followed had blocked all their escape routes.
Thinking back, it was highly likely that this was the place.
"Beep—" Du Ziteng swiped the access card and led Jiang Yan into the community.
She quickly scanned the environment; the community was fairly standard, with the five buildings neatly surrounding a garden in the center.
Inside the garden, there was an oval pond planted with water lilies.
Some dead aquatic plants floated in the pond, left uncleaned.
Additionally, outside two of the building entrances, residents had tied ropes to trees to dry their quilts and undergarments.
This, to some extent, indicated that the property management of the community was not very good.
However, shortly after the apocalypse began, property management staff had all returned to their homes.
Whether the management was good or bad made little difference to the residents.
It was probably working hours, as there were hardly any people around, except for a few elderly individuals with children.
As Du Ziteng led her toward the innermost Building A, he continued to provide detailed information:
"Yan Jie, we're going to see the 32nd floor. Each elevator serves four households. The owner is a young man who originally bought it as a wedding home, but when he was about to get the marriage certificate, he found out his girlfriend had run off with someone else. Not wanting to be reminded of his past, he decided to sell it quickly to invest in a business back home. It's quite a pity, really."
After hearing his gossip, Jiang Yan couldn't help but laugh, "What's so regrettable about it? Love can't compare to building a career."
"..." Du Ziteng was momentarily stunned, but then recalled the online discussions about Jiang Yan's mother being the real-life version of "The Disappeared Her," which should have a significant impact on Jiang Yan. He quickly changed the subject:
"Right, right. By the way, Yan Jie, there were a few inquiries about your two properties yesterday, and the offers were quite reasonable. If all goes well, they could be sold this week. However, if you're not in a hurry, I think it might be better to wait for a higher price, considering the location and the quality reputation of both buildings."
Without a moment's hesitation, Jiang Yan replied, "No need, let's sell them as soon as possible. After all, the down payment for a second-hand house with three properties is significantly different from that of a first property.