"Ring ring—"
Emily Carr groggily answered the phone, still half-asleep. A man's voice came through the line.
"Emily, are you up? I miss you so much. Can we meet?"
His sweet-talking didn’t touch her at all.
She was frozen for a few seconds, then it hit her—hadn’t her phone been dead for years? And wasn’t she supposed to already be, well, food for the undead?
She listened more carefully. That voice… wasn’t it Lucas Turner’s? The same guy who nearly got her killed over and over again?
Just picturing his face made her stomach turn.
They’d already torn each other to shreds emotionally—mutual hate would be an understatement. So why the hell was he calling her now?
Then she realized something else—she was in her bathroom. Her own. At home.
Panic surged through her. The apocalypse had started a decade ago. She hadn't stepped foot in G City in years. It was impossible to be back here.
What the hell was going on?
Lucas eventually hung up when she didn’t say anything. Emily stared at her phone in disbelief.
The date on the screen?
March 30, 6033.
Exactly three months before the end of the world.Was she… reborn?
The girl staring at her from the mirror had long, silky black hair falling past her shoulders, round almond eyes, and a cute, delicate little face. Not a single scar in sight.
Back in the apocalypse, everything had gone to hell. The worst parts of people came out in full force.
Everyone was just struggling to survive, and cruelty had become the norm. To protect herself, Emily Carr had shaved her head clean.
In a world without rules, those men had become completely unhinged, like rabid dogs.
Later, she went even further—ruined her face with her own hands. A deep scar, so ugly it almost split her face in two. The pain was excruciating.
A sudden thought struck her, and she rushed to the dresser, rummaging around until she found an old-fashioned ring.
It featured a sizeable jade stone, about the size of a pigeon egg. A so-called engagement gift from that jerk, Lucas Turner.
But the truth? That ring had originally belonged to her grandfather, who gave it to the Turners as a symbol of friendship.
Without hesitation, she bit her finger and let a drop of blood fall on the ring. As the blood soaked in, the green jade began to glow red, blending with the gemstone like they were meant to be one.Emily Carr shut her eyes, and that familiar space popped into her mind. It was huge—easily the size of a few football fields—and the edges were shrouded in thick, dark fog.
She hadn’t known about the secret of the ring until way after the apocalypse.
Too bad by then, the scumbag Lucas Turner had already snatched the ring for himself. When she tried to get it back, he’d shoved her straight into a swarm of zombies!
With a thought, she moved the jewelry box on the table into the space. And just like that, it vanished from sight, now resting inside that mysterious storage in her head.
Now that she had this secret stash, she could stock up on supplies before the end of the world even started.
She was just about to start writing a shopping list when Lucas Turner decided to call again.
Emily didn’t even want to talk to him, but the Turner family still owed her millions in funds and stocks. For now, it didn’t seem wise to fall out with him completely.
So she shot him a breakup text and blocked him right after—clean and quick.
If she wanted to hoard supplies, she needed serious cash. And the little she had on hand wasn’t even close. She had to get those investments back, no matter what.
Emily knew exactly what Lucas Turner was like. They were only a few steps away from getting engaged, so mentioning a breakup now would definitely freak him out.
And once he lost his cool, there’d be a chance to catch him slipping—and that’s when she’d grab those fund and stock assets worth millions back from that lying jerk.
That scumbag wanted to leech off her? Dream on.She quickly changed into a fresh outfit, tidied herself up, then grabbed her phone and shot a message to a food wholesaler she used to know.
They quickly locked in an order—rice, flour, peanut oil, that kind of stuff.
She’d met the guy ages ago while trying to land a collab deal. He was a straight-up, honest seller. Even though she wasn’t buying a ton, he still gave her prices about 30% cheaper than what she’d find in the usual markets. Totally worth it.
Back then, Emily had introduced him to a business deal, and the guy even sent her a bunch of spices as a thank-you—stuff like Sichuan peppercorn, black pepper powder, five-spice, and cumin.
Right now, her bank account was hanging by a thread. She couldn’t afford to go crazy with the spending. Some of her savings were still locked up and needed to be withdrawn in person at the bank.
After she paid the deposit, the wholesaler didn’t waste time and got the goods shipped out. Then she jumped onto the “Shuimitao” app and went on a serious shopping spree for daily essentials.
Sanitary pads, soap, shampoo, toothpaste, body wash, hair serum—you name it. She bought in bulk, haggled hard with a few sellers via customer service, and even caught a cross-shop promo where you save 50 bucks if you hit 300. When the math was done, the final price almost matched wholesale rates.
Looking at the mountain of stuff she just bought, Emily felt this strange but real sense of satisfaction bubble up inside.
One thing was clear—she had to hustle for more money, fast. There was still a lot more to stock up on.Right now, the most important thing was that space ring—no way she could afford to lose it. Emily Carr drove straight to a jewelry shop near the antique market that specialized in custom modifications.
She'd been here before to make a bracelet, and knew the owner had great skills and fair prices.
As soon as she stepped inside, she told the clerk at the door, “Hey, I need to modify a piece of jewelry. Kind of urgent, so I can pay extra.”
She couldn't risk losing the space ring in the chaos of the apocalypse. If it got stolen or went missing, all those supplies she'd stocked would be gone in a flash. That’s why she came looking for the best craftsman to turn the ring into a necklace she could wear at all times.
Mr. Walker took a close look at the ring and said, “This one’s pretty old. That red jade is worth a good chunk of money. If you repurpose it into a necklace, it may lose half its value down the line.”
But Emily wasn’t planning on ever selling it. She intended to wear this necklace for life.
Once the world went to hell, with all those natural disasters rolling in one after another, this necklace needed to stay secure—snug enough that it wouldn’t fly off if she was running or climbing, and sturdy enough not to snap if someone gave it a tug.
After she agreed to pay more, Mr. Walker promised it’d be ready in six hours.
His reputation was solid—people in the neighborhood only had good things to say. Plus, she’d once shot a short video in the store and shared it online to help promote the place.Waiting around in the store was getting boring, so she left early and headed to the bank to withdraw all her savings.
With cash in hand, she drove straight to the wholesale market. There, she picked up piles of padded jackets and pajamas—anything that felt comfy and tough. She didn’t hold back and grabbed dozens of them.
She left her address with the shop owner and asked for delivery, which the seller happily agreed to.
When Emily Carr got back to Mr. Walker’s shop, the necklace was already done. She put it on right away, her face lighting up like she had just won the lottery. It felt like owning a piece of the world.
She figured she’d walk around the market a bit more, but just as she passed one of the stalls, the gem at her chest started heating up like crazy.
That instantly put her on alert. She glanced around and noticed the stall in front of her was packed with what looked like a bunch of cheap fakes—stuff meant to scam clueless buyers.
But the closer she got, the hotter that gem burned. Her brows furrowed. "Weird… Could something valuable be hiding in all that junk?"