The girl had a delicate, fair face, with youthful and innocent features. Even though she had just been openly kissing a boy at school, it did nothing to diminish her natural aura of purity.
This innocence gave her an almost childlike charm, and when she gazed at others, it triggered an instinctive urge to protect and cherish her. It also made her appear much younger than her actual age. Consequently, her lingering posture in the boy’s arms created an especially jarring visual contrast.
When the girl noticed Yu Xi staring at her in stunned silence, she assumed she had truly managed to rile her up this time. A sense of smug satisfaction emerged, though it was tinged with an inexplicable unease. She bit her lip, instinctively resisting that discomfort, then lifted her chin higher in an attempt to appear more confident.
For Yu Xi, the shock she felt in this moment wasn’t much less than when she had first discovered the Star House replacing her small apartment storeroom.
Taking a steadying breath, she addressed the boy and girl still staring at her. “You two, go participate in the sports meet. We’ll talk about this later.” With that, she turned and decided the restroom would be a more private place to process the world’s information.
Her heels clicked sharply on the tiled floor as she hurried away, quickly rounding a corner and heading up the stairs.
…
Yu Zhenzhen watched Yu Xi’s slightly hurried retreat, biting her lip once more.
“Zhenzhen, don’t be scared,” said Qu Yichen, still holding the girl in his arms. “If Teacher Yu scolds you, just say it was my idea. I like you.” His tone was tender, unwilling to see her upset.
“Scold me? She’s my mom. What can she do to me?” Yu Zhenzhen patted his hand around her waist. “Now let go. If you liked me, would you have dared to kiss me first?”
Her words made Qu Yichen’s face turn an even deeper shade of red. Having just been kissed by the girl he liked, then caught by their homeroom teacher, he was already overwhelmed. The series of events had left his blush spreading from his cheeks to his neck.
“For the last time, I don’t like you. That kiss was just an act—pretend it didn’t happen, got it?” she said.
“I got it,” he replied weakly, though his eyes remained fixed on her with a lovestruck expression.
“Good.” Yu Zhenzhen couldn’t stand his infatuated look any longer. Waving dismissively, she turned and walked away.
…
Inside the restroom on the second floor, Yu Xi leaned against the wall of a stall, finally finishing her assimilation of the world’s settings.
The girl, Yu Zhenzhen, was indeed her biological daughter—or more accurately, the biological daughter of this world’s persona.
The persona was a single mother who, after experiencing a teenage romance at eighteen, became pregnant after a single encounter. Upon learning of the pregnancy, the boy transferred schools and disappeared, never to be seen again.
In a moment of youthful impulsiveness, she decided to keep the child. After taking a year off school to give birth, she left the baby with her parents and returned to repeat her studies. She eventually passed her exams, attended university, and moved away from her hometown. After graduating, she became a teacher.
For the first ten years of her daughter’s life, the grandparents raised Yu Zhenzhen in their hometown. Two years ago, the persona’s parents died in a plane crash during a trip, forcing her to bring her daughter into her own care.
However, years of neglect had strained the mother-daughter relationship. While the persona hoped to mend their bond—going as far as requesting a teaching position at her daughter’s school to spend more time together—her careful attempts at reconciliation yielded no results.
Instead, Yu Zhenzhen grew increasingly defiant. She opposed her mother at every turn, from trivial preferences like food choices to significant issues like academic performance. This latest act of teenage rebellion—dating and publicly kissing a boy—was yet another attempt to provoke her mother.
The persona, feeling guilty for years of absence, always backed down. But her constant tolerance and concessions had done little to bridge the gap between them.
Leaning her head against her hand, Yu Xi sighed deeply. Internally, she grumbled to the system: No wonder you didn’t reveal this identity in advance. Is this some kind of shard world “surprise”?
Wasn’t this world persona supposed to be a logical, mechanical construct? How did she end up as an 18-year-old single mom who made such impulsive decisions?
And now, her daughter is 18 too, deliberately using teenage romance to provoke her. If I hadn’t arrived, this incident would’ve escalated into a major problem.
It was obvious. For the world persona, the decision to keep her child had been a life-altering one. Seeing her daughter in the same situation, the fragile mother-daughter relationship would likely have broken down entirely.
The system remained silent, prompting another resigned sigh from Yu Xi.
So this is what I’m dealing with. Great.
Perhaps due to the forcibly implanted memories from the world’s settings, Yu Xi now had vivid recollections of becoming pregnant and giving birth 18 years ago. The feeling of holding a fragile, newborn baby in her arms was incredibly clear.
The girl might have a bad temper, but she was undeniably beautiful. Especially as a child, she had looked like a delicate porcelain doll—soft, white, and utterly adorable, like a little dumpling.
Since the 18-year-old girl was her biological daughter in this world, it was certain she would have to take her along for this mission. The girl wasn’t beyond saving; she was just rebellious, immature, and seeking attention due to a lack of maternal love. That wasn’t an unforgivable crime.
As for her likely resistance and pushback, Yu Xi found such things as trivial as a mild itch.
If she insisted on rebelling, acting out, or stirring conflict?
Simple—just discipline her thoroughly.
If one round didn’t work, then two would.
The original persona had spent two years showering her with care and heartfelt attempts to mend their relationship, yet it hadn’t touched the girl in the slightest. That alone proved this wasn’t the right approach.
If softness didn’t work, then it was time to try the hard way.
With her mind made up, Yu Xi turned her attention to analyzing the current environment.
This world was just entering the age of widespread smartphone adoption, roughly equivalent to her original world 12–13 years ago. Mobile payment had only just been introduced on a popular e-commerce platform, and another major mobile payment app had yet to emerge.
The city she was in was called Lancheng, located on a peninsula in C Country. While it wasn’t a coastal harbor, it wasn’t far from the sea. If a storm hit, the city’s geographical location made it certain to be among the first to be swallowed by floods.
Fortunately, the original persona hadn’t bought a house in Lancheng and was currently renting. For the past two years, Yu Zhenzhen had been in high school and living on campus most of the time.
The persona had saved a considerable amount of money after years of work, intending to buy her daughter a house when she turned 20. The plan was to have a pre-marriage property in her daughter’s name, allowing her more independence regardless of her marital status.
This plan now conveniently aligned with Yu Xi’s objectives.
She opened her phone and checked the C Country map. The geography was similar to her original world—southeastern regions near the sea, with elevations increasing as you moved northwest.
Yu Xi planned to head to Sa City in the west. There were direct flights from Lancheng to Sa City, but she couldn’t leave just yet. The first batch of supplies had to be stockpiled in Lancheng.
This was because Lancheng had better resources across the board, and the original persona was very familiar with the city after living there for years. Moreover, she had a car, making it much easier to purchase and transport supplies.
A rough plan began to take shape in her mind. She glanced at the time—it was now 10:30 a.m. She had entered this world around 10 a.m., which meant the apocalyptic disaster would fully manifest by 10 a.m. three days later.
According to the persona’s memories, this scorching summer heat had gripped Lancheng for over 20 days. Everyone had been longing for a heavy rain to dispel the oppressive heat and dryness in the air.
Yu Xi knew the rain would come—and that this much-anticipated downpour would mark the beginning of the apocalypse.
…
Stepping out of the restroom stall, Yu Xi caught sight of herself in the mirror.
The 37-year-old Yu Xi, with her refined and delicate features and excellent upkeep, looked like she was in her early thirties at most. Her shoulder-length hair had softly curled ends, and her makeup was light and natural. There was a gentle, scholarly air about her, perfectly in line with her role as a high school teacher.
In her implanted memories, she was known for being a diligent teacher with a kind but firm approach, making her well-liked by the students.
Leaving the restroom, Yu Xi headed to her office to gather her belongings. She packed her important documents, house keys, car keys, wallet, and phone into her bag. Then, she opened the bottom drawer of her desk and pretended to take out a pair of travel shoes (from her warehouse), swapping them for her high heels.
Afterward, she called the principal to request leave. As she had always been a conscientious employee who never took time off, her claim of feeling unwell and needing to visit the hospital was met with immediate approval.
At school, only the principal knew about her relationship with Yu Zhenzhen. The boy who had been holding Yu Zhenzhen earlier seemed to know as well, judging by his expression when Yu Zhenzhen called her “Mom.”
Since Yu Zhenzhen was living on campus and couldn’t leave without permission, Yu Xi asked the principal to keep an eye on her daughter and notify her immediately if anything happened.
…
Driving her car, Yu Xi returned to her rented home based on her memories. The apartment wasn’t large—just two bedrooms and a living room—but it was cozy and immaculately clean.
In a storm disaster, water is always in short supply. While Yu Xi had plenty of metal ice for emergencies, she planned to store as much regular water as possible over the next three days, taking advantage of the 512 cubic meters of space in the Star House warehouse.
She set up several 500-liter water tanks in the bathroom shower, sink, and kitchen sink, connecting hoses and letting them fill.
While the tanks filled, she spent an hour packing up all pots, pans, valuables, bankbooks, food, and clothing into the warehouse. Then she prepared two moderately sized suitcases as decoys for appearances.
By the time she finished, the water tanks had filled six barrels of purified water in total, which she also stored in the warehouse.
Changing into a practical outfit of a black T-shirt and athletic pants, Yu Xi carried the two suitcases downstairs, locked the apartment, and placed the luggage in her car’s trunk. She then drove to a nearby car rental service.
Due to the limitations of the world persona’s driver’s license, her options were restricted. She eventually chose a Jeep with a spacious trunk and one-way window film for privacy.
Upon noticing that the rental service offered car-selling assistance, she transferred her personal belongings and the suitcases into the Jeep and arranged to sell her current car. She priced it significantly below market value, stating she needed a quick sale by noon the next day.
The rental service, confident after inspecting her car, assured her it would be sold. Yu Xi knew that if no buyers appeared by her deadline, the rental service would likely purchase it themselves to resell or lease out, ensuring no loss.
Her plan was to take Yu Zhenzhen on a flight out of the city by the following afternoon or evening, leaving little time to spare. Using the navigation system, she first drove to several jewelry stores, where she sold gold bars in batches after leaving copies of her ID as required documentation. She sold two 300-gram bars, one 500-gram bar, and two 200-gram bars.
At this point in the world, gold was priced around 267 per gram, earning her approximately 400,000 in local currency.
Since not all locations in this world supported mobile payments, she kept 200,000 in cash split between her car and the Star House warehouse, depositing the remaining amount into her account. Combined with the 600,000 already in the persona’s bank account, she now had over 800,000 available—more than enough for her needs.
She then drove straight to a shopping supermarket. Parking in a corner of the underground garage, she moved the suitcases into the Star House warehouse and folded down the back seats of the Jeep to create more storage space.
Finally, she entered the supermarket and began her shopping spree.
This time, with the basic group size set at two people, all supplies needed to be doubled, and she also had to consider the girl’s living needs after she left. Items that couldn’t be replenished after a disaster had to be stockpiled in larger quantities.
She started with daily necessities.
The first carload included all kinds of personal care products, from head to toe: skincare creams, body wash, shampoo, towels, toothbrushes, tissues, sanitary pads, hand soap, laundry detergent, disinfectant, and more. After filling one cart, she realized it wasn’t enough since paper products took up a lot of space. She asked a supermarket employee to prepare ten boxes of tissue packs and 20 packages of toilet paper rolls for her.
While the quantities were somewhat large, they weren’t outrageous, and since it was a workday with few customers, it didn’t draw much attention. She had the store staff help transport everything to the parking garage, where she loaded it all into the Jeep, filling the trunk to capacity.
Afterward, she drove to the next supermarket.
Renting a cargo truck or finding a warehouse for deliveries wasn’t feasible, and driving her car from one supermarket to another to make smaller purchases and transfer them to the Star House was the most convenient method. This was also why she chose a vehicle with one-way tinted windows.
At the second supermarket, she focused on snacks, beverages, milk, and water, with a small addition of more paper products. She personally picked out a full cartload of various snacks, both sweet and savory. For beverages, milk, and water, she had the staff bring her boxes, stopping when the Jeep was full.
The third stop was the farmers’ market, where she rented a handcart and pretended to be stocking up for a small restaurant. She bought a full cartload of vegetables, fish, chicken, eggs, sausages, salted meats, preserved meats, spices like salt, pepper, chicken essence, soy sauce, and yellow wine, along with staples such as rice, noodles, dumplings, and frozen flatbreads. She also purchased ten large containers of cooking oil.
She visited a second farmers’ market that specialized in seafood and water products, buying another cartload of seafood and vegetables.
The next stop was a pharmacy. She bought out the store’s supply of water purification tablets—each tablet could purify about one liter of water, and the store had two full cases, totaling 200 bottles. She took them all.
She also stocked up on iodine, anti-inflammatory medications, bandages, adhesive plasters, Yunnan Baiyao, and treatments for headaches, fevers, diarrhea, and flood-related water contamination illnesses. Her excuse was that her company was planning a team-building trip to the mountains.
Since she couldn’t buy too much at one pharmacy, she visited three in total, purchasing similar items at each.
After that, she stopped by a street lined with prepared food vendors. Roasted duck, fried chicken, salted duck, braised beef, spicy chicken slices, duck feet, duck wings, cold chicken, Sichuan pepper chicken, roasted chicken, soy sauce duck, cold mixed vegetables, pig ears, char siu—she bought ten to twenty portions of each.
Next was the clothing market.
She stocked up on seasonal clothes, shoes, hats, coats, underwear, and outerwear, particularly focusing on women’s underwear. The more, the better. She filled another carload, omitting shoe boxes to save space. Even so, the front passenger seat ended up piled high with items.
Of course, the most important convenience foods couldn’t be overlooked. She contacted a local online store specializing in convenience foods, confirmed the warehouse address, and drove directly there to pick up the goods.
Instant noodles, rice noodles, rice packets, luosifen, luncheon meat, canned goods, pickled vegetables, compressed biscuits, and military rations were all available. Convenience foods were relatively lightweight, so she not only filled every corner of the Jeep except the driver’s seat but also strapped several boxes onto the roof.
In the same warehouse district, she picked up five industrial-grade water filtration systems she had pre-ordered. These filters could purify any water source to drinking quality, with a maximum output of 25,000 liters per hour. Despite their high capacity, the filters were compact, about one meter long and 20 centimeters wide, and easily fit into the trunk.
After leaving the warehouse district, she retrieved a sandwich and a cup of coffee from the Star House warehouse, having a simple dinner as she drove to her most crucial stop: the outdoor survival and diving equipment store.
Yu Xi had already confirmed with the system that the Moisture-Breathing Mask could filter out all toxic air but did not provide oxygen. If submerged in water, the mask would become ineffective.
Though she had trained in swimming during her first tsunami world and could dive as well, considering this apocalyptic world’s connection to water, she planned to stock up on several sets of diving equipment, especially oxygen tanks.
As for outdoor survival gear and various tools, the more, the better. With the ample space in the Star House warehouse, she aimed to buy as much as possible.
By 9 PM, Yu Xi finished her day of shopping and decided to find a hotel to rest for the night.
She still had a lot to do, like downloading maps, researching Sa City—the next destination—and identifying places to rent a house. Additionally, since the Star House warehouse still had plenty of space, she intended to fill several 500-liter water tanks with purified water.
On the way to the hotel, she passed a commercial street bustling with activity due to a food festival. The lively atmosphere and crowds were hard to miss. She parked her car and resumed her shopping spree.
She ordered 30 cups of milk tea from each shop, visiting six or seven stores in total. Ice cream and slushies? Bought. Coffee from a café? Bought. Seafood noodles? Bought. Cream puffs and desserts? Bought in bulk. Grilled skewers and fried snacks? Bought by the dozen.
Before she realized it, her Jeep was once again packed full of snacks, desserts, milk tea, and other treats.
By the time she reached the hotel, her car contained only the two suitcases she and Yu Zhenzhen had brought as a front. Even the boxes of convenience food strapped to the roof had been moved into the Star House warehouse.
She booked a suite for one night at the front desk.
While waiting for her room key, she noticed the wall-mounted television broadcasting news about several small islands in a tropical ocean region being hit by a typhoon. The detailed the number of missing, dead, and displaced people—an all-too-common tragedy during typhoon season.
Nearby, a couple waiting for their room key were chatting.
“Lancheng, being on a peninsula and almost a port city, hasn’t seen rain for ages, and it’s unbearably hot. I wish a typhoon would come—being stuck in a hotel for a few days would be worth it.”
“Don’t jinx it! If a typhoon hits, how are we supposed to continue our peninsula trip? Didn’t you want to challenge Luyuan Peak in the peninsula’s center?”
“I’m just complaining about the heat!”
The couple laughed as they took their room key and headed to the elevators.
In another corner, people in the lounge area were also discussing the news.
“Typhoon season is almost over, right? Lushan Peninsula must be blessed; not a drop of rain all season.”
Yu Xi took her room key and went to the elevator.
That evening, she didn’t receive any messages or calls from her estranged daughter.
It was always like this. After every argument, “she” would be furious, and Yu Zhenzhen would ignore her, giving her the cold shoulder. Eventually, when “she” calmed down, she would break the silence and speak to Yu Zhenzhen, who would reply curtly. This cycle repeated with every new disagreement.
After midnight, having completed her tasks, Yu Xi took a shower, changed into clean clothes, and went to bed.
She was half-asleep when a deafening noise, like an explosion, jolted her awake. She heard the rapid pounding of heavy rain against the glass.
She checked the time: 5 AM.
Getting out of bed, she pulled back the curtains to see sheets of rain pouring down, as if the sky itself were collapsing. The torrential downpour was accompanied by deep, rolling thunder and lightning that seemed to tear the heavens apart with each strike.
It was a thunderstorm—likely a precursor to the apocalypse. However, such signs rarely lasted long.
Sure enough, the rain stopped after half an hour.
A little later, sunlight pierced through the clouds in the east, heralding yet another bright and sunny day.
Most of the people who had slept soundly through the night remained unaware that Lancheng had experienced a brief rainstorm before dawn.
Yu Xi glanced at her phone. The weather forecast confirmed an unexpected thunderstorm earlier in the morning but predicted clear skies for the rest of the day and into tomorrow.
She thought for a moment and decided not to wait any longer. After freshening up and packing, she took out a bowl of seafood noodles she had bought the day before for breakfast. Then, she grabbed her suitcase, went downstairs, and checked out of the hotel.
Online, she booked two business-class tickets for a 1 PM direct flight to Sa City. Since the economy class was already sold out due to the last-minute booking, she had no choice but to splurge. She filled in her and Yu Zhenzhen’s ID numbers.
Next, she drove straight to the school.
It wasn’t yet 7 AM, and the early-rising boarding students were either jogging on the track or reciting English on the school grounds.
She headed straight for the girls’ dormitory. The dormitory teacher on duty looked surprised to see her.
Not wanting to disturb the other girls in the dorm, Yu Xi said, “Could you please call Yu Zhenzhen from Class 2, Grade 12? Ask her to bring her phone and ID. I need to take her away for something very important.”
The world persona had kept her relationship with Yu Zhenzhen a secret at school, not wanting to pressure the girl. Yu Xi, however, had no such concerns.
Though she didn’t explicitly reveal their relationship, she didn’t mind if others guessed. On the surface, Yu Xi was still just Yu Zhenzhen’s teacher.
When the dormitory teacher informed her, Yu Zhenzhen found it puzzling. Remembering what she had done the day before, she assumed Yu Xi was genuinely angry this time and wanted to have a serious talk with her.
Not wanting to engage in such a discussion, Yu Zhenzhen figured she would just humor her. Since it was nearly time to get up anyway, she packed up to head to breakfast.
She can’t stick with me all day, right?
But as soon as she stepped out of the dormitory, Yu Xi grabbed her and began leading her off campus.
“What are you doing?” Yu Zhenzhen instinctively struggled to resist, but suddenly felt a sharp twinge in her waist. It was followed by a strange, electric sensation that left her body trembling uncontrollably. Moments later, she lost consciousness.
…
Author’s Note:
This time, someone will show up in the apocalypse. Guess who it might be!
P.S. Yu Zhenzhen is 18, meeting the necessary requirements.
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