"Captain, you awakened the space ability?!"
Zhennan's eyes widened, his rough face full of disbelief, then filled with great joy.
"Captain, that means we're saved!"
Other team members gathered around, their eyes shining with hope after the disaster.
In this post-apocalyptic world, food and water are survival essentials. Having a space ability means having a chance to survive.
Red looked at his excited teammates, feeling a warm feeling inside. He took a deep breath and slowly said,
"My space is not what you think. It's a conscious space. You need to trade something to get things."
He paused, then raised the food in his hand: "These, I exchanged with a few level-one crystal cores."
The teammates were stunned for a moment, but quickly accepted his explanation.
After the apocalypse, many unbelievable things appeared: abilities, evolution, zombies... What's impossible anymore?
Trading with a space like this doesn't seem impossible.
"Captain, you telling us this shows you trust us! We understand!"
Zhennan patted Red on the shoulder, speaking firmly.
"Just tell us what we can trade with, and we'll find a way to get it!"
Other teammates nodded and agreed.
Red felt a little relieved: "Anything valuable can be traded. Gold, silver, jade, crystal cores..."
His words dropped like a big stone into still water, stirring up huge waves.
"Gold and silver?! Captain, you mean those things that no one cares about now can be exchanged for food and drinks?!"
The person asking was so excited his voice trembled.
After the apocalypse, gold, silver, and jade were like worthless paper. Who would want them?
But now, they can be exchanged for survival necessities!
"That's right." Red answered firmly, making the team even more excited.
"Captain, what are we waiting for? There are so many jewelry stores downtown. Let's go get all those things now!"
Someone suggested eagerly.
The others were also eager, wanting to rush into the city center and take all the once-valuable jewels.
But Red raised his hand to stop everyone: "Eat first. Fill your stomachs, then plan carefully."
He knew that to survive steadily in this world, he couldn't just think short-term.
He needed more supplies, to recruit soldiers, build a base, become stronger, get his son back, and... take revenge!
He wanted those who destroyed his family to pay!
The sunset light shone on the edge of the ruined city, reflecting on Red's determined face.
He quietly ate the food in his hand, thinking about his future plans.
...
After Red left, Celine immediately slipped out of the space.
The spacious courtyard disappeared, replaced by the small rented room with peeling walls and simple furniture.
She quickly changed into clean clothes and grabbed her phone to call her company supervisor: "Supervisor Wang, I have an emergency at home. I need to take a few days off."
Wang's tone was a bit impatient: "Celine, young people taking so many days off is bad! If you have difficulties, just overcome them. The company supports you, it's not for..."
"Then just fire me!"
Celine didn't listen to his manipulation and hung up decisively.
Anyway, nothing else matters more than the family!
After packing up, Celine went downstairs and took a taxi straight to the bus station.
Four hours later, the bus slowly arrived at the old town station.
As soon as she got off, Celine couldn't wait to call her mother, Zhou Fengxia.
"Mom, I'll be home soon."
Her mother's familiar voice came through the phone: "Xiaobai, why did you suddenly come back?"
Hearing her mother's voice, Celine's nose went sour. She held back tears and said, "Nothing, Mom, I just missed you all."
"Miss us? Why do you sound like you're about to cry? Did someone hurt you? Tell Mom the truth!"
Zhou Fengxia's voice sharpened, filled with worry and anger.
Celine took a deep breath, trying to sound normal:
"It's really nothing. Mom, I just… just wanted to eat your braised pork."
"You kid, why don't you just say that if you want braised pork? Why go around in circles?"
"Wait for me, Mom will buy the meat now and make it for you tonight!"
Zhou Fengxia's tone relaxed, chatting away about daily life.
"Your older brother's leg is getting better, your second brother is teaching a senior class, and they got a top student this year…"
Listening to her mother's rambling, Celine's cold heart finally felt a little warmth.
"Mom, I dreamed about Dad yesterday."
Zhou Fengxia laughed: "Your dad came to you in a dream? What did he say?"
Celine mumbled: "He gave me something and told me to take good care of you all, oh! And he told me about your love story."
"That man, why does he tell everything to the kids…"
Zhou Fengxia blushed, remembering her younger days.
Her husband, Yu Bin, was handsome, tall at 1.8 meters, with thick eyebrows and big eyes. All the girls in the neighborhood liked him, but he only liked her.
To chase her, he came to her house every day, buying candy, hairbands, and helping with chores—she couldn't get rid of him.
Later, she and Yu Bin built a family and had five kids. Though life was poor, it was full of laughter.
"To raise five kids, Mom and Dad must have suffered a lot, right?" Celine's voice was hoarse.
"Foolish child, which parent doesn't suffer for their kids?" Zhou Fengxia said softly, "Your dad worked in the fields all day and was a security guard at the factory at night, just to earn more money."
Both fell silent.
When Celine was eight, the factory where Yu Bin worked was hit by a serious theft.
To protect the factory's property, Yu Bin was stabbed to death by those criminals.
That day, the sky fell.
Five kids lost their dad, and Zhou Fengxia lost her husband.
To support five kids, she did every dirty and hard job, carrying the whole family alone.
The weight of life made her tougher and tougher.
She learned to fight for what she needed, to act tough, and sometimes to humble herself.
She was like a mother lion protecting her cubs, using all her strength to guard her children.
But this strong mother, in her past life, was forced by Vanissa to drink poison and painfully died.
How could Celine not hate that?