Day 923 of the Apocalypse.
In City C, after nearly three years of governance, the government pulled several hundred thousand citizens back from the brink of death in the crisis of the Apocalypse.
People began to work together, rebuilding their future life upon these ruins.
Following the devastating ordeal of the Apocalypse, the population of City C had a reduction of nearly three-fifths. Those who survived were filled with immeasurable awe for life.
Despite life still being incredibly hard, people's spirits were high.
The hardest days had already passed, and as life gradually improved, Su Shu was devastated to realize—
She had been reborn!
She was... at a loss for words.
Struggling to survive in the chaotic world and, by the way, amassing some assets—was it easy for her? She had it all planned out: as long as she could endure until the city was reconstructed, the things she'd saved would at least allow her to become a new-rich beauty, wouldn't they? And from then on, she would be at the pinnacle of life.
But now, after three years of painstakingly saving, it was all lost, back to square one... Su Shu felt discouraged.
Three days had already passed since she reborn, and there was less than two months before the catastrophe of the Apocalypse would strike. She fell into deep thought.
In two months, sudden mutations that drastically lowered temperatures and brought three days and nights of darkness spread fear across the globe, and no government or researcher in any country knew what was happening.
The government of City C was no different, stunned by the abrupt changes. By the time they responded, small-scale chaos had already broken out in the surrounding areas of City C. When law enforcement arrived, some of it was already beyond control. After all, no one had experienced three consecutive days of darkness, and people were unsure whether the sun would ever rise again. Even the newscasters on TV didn't seem as composed and calm as before.
In her previous life, at this time, she remembered she was rushing to finish her last article, intending to end her serial novel and use the fee to travel to the watertown in the south for a visit and to gather inspiration for her next story.
But plans never keep up with changes. After the anomaly, City C, a northern city known for its mountains and waters, was hit by torrential rains that led to a once-in-decades flood. The already panic-stricken citizens had hardly recovered from the darkness before facing the disaster of the floods.
The government of City C urgently requested disaster relief manpower and supplies from higher authorities. However, City C was not the only one. From top to bottom, the nation started facing unprecedented challenges on a national scale.
Distant aid couldn't quench immediate thirst, and City C could only rely on itself.
As Su Shu recalled carefully, fortunately, City C had a significantly sized border defense force that was able to help the government control local chaos, preventing it from descending into unimaginable humanmade disasters like some other provinces did following the natural disasters.
However, as someone reborn, especially for Su Shu, who had survived three years in those apocalyptic conditions, the hardest part was not the sudden weather drops, floods, or earthquakes caused by tectonic collisions. The hardest part was the ensuing food crisis after the string of disasters had wreaked havoc.
The crops that had been sown in the fields were destroyed before the harvest. Later, people discovered that plants could no longer be cultivated on the existing land.
That was when the severe crisis truly began.
For Su Shu, who had struggled to escape from that crisis, just the mere thought of having to relive her past nightmare in two months robbed her of many nights' sleep.
As it stood, no amount of thinking would change the situation. Since fate had given her a second chance, she had no choice but to face the challenges head-on.
Thinking positively, if the Apocalypse was indeed on schedule, at least she had the experience of surviving the previous apocalypse. With this thought, her mood improved significantly.
Su Shu was by nature an upbeat and optimistic person. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to survive so staunchly in the tough environment of her previous life.
It's settled, then. If reborn, she might as well start over, and moreover, this time, she not only had the memories of the last Apocalypse but had also unexpectedly gained a mysterious space.
Speaking of this space, Su Shu was still struggling to come to terms with the shock.
She had always considered tales of "this space" and "that space" to be nothing more than fiction. Yet, she never imagined that upon rebirth, she would be so enlightened.
Her space was in the form of a black jade ring she had picked up from the ruins in her previous life. She had liked the color of the jade, and to her surprise, the ring was still with her after rebirth.
Especially when she discovered that the ring contained a space, the depression of having been knocked down from being a high-levelled veteran by fate finally subsided substantially.
With two months to go until the Apocalypse and a space in her possession, Su Shu felt much more confident. If the disaster was inevitable, then she needed to prepare early and avoid the desperate situation of her last life.
Life in the Apocalypse was simply not worth living.
Having figured everything out while in that small house, Su Shu finally shook off the listlessness that had plagued her for days, looking bright and alert.
In the quiet room, a phone ring suddenly broke the silence.
Su Shu paused for a few seconds before realizing it was her cellphone ringing. Thinking back to her previous life when she hadn't used a phone for so long, the sound was quite... nostalgic.
Perhaps, rebirth wasn't such a bad thing after all.
At least for now, she could enjoy some things that would be gone after the Apocalypse, and yes, most importantly, this time she had to stock up on supplies and food. She would reduce the hardships she had suffered in her former life as much as possible.
Once a person changes their mindset, the transformation can be swift.
Having accepted the reality of starting over, Su Shu answered the phone, her tone back to normal.
"Hello, may I ask who's calling?"
"Hello, is this Ms. Su Shu?"
Su Shu was taken aback, "Yes, it is."
Hearing her affirmative response, the person on the other end seemed relieved and quickly explained, "Ms. Su, hi, I am calling from the Songshan Welfare Institute in City B."
The Welfare Institute?
Before Su Shu could question further, the caller proceeded to state their purpose.
"Here's the situation: a few days ago, we received a five-year-old girl who had your contact information on her and claimed that you're her aunt. So, we are calling to ask if you would be able to make a trip to City B?"
Clutching the phone, Su Shu was baffled... When did she gain a niece?!
No, that didn't make any sense!
She had been completely alone in her last life from beginning to end; why was this apocalypse a bit... different?