In the year 2035, in a small coastal town, a young man suddenly opened his eyes and sprang up from his bed.
"I'm not dead?" James stared at the calendar on the table in shock. Just a second ago, he was fighting for his life in an apocalyptic world, but now he had been reborn nine years earlier.
"This isn't a dream!" James was very sure, because if the nine years of his previous life were a nightmare, any one of the terrifying scenes would have been enough to wake him up instantly.
James looked around his familiar bedroom. When he saw the date "August 16" on the desk calendar, his heart sank a little as he thought to himself, "The apocalypse will come on August 20. There are only five days left. I need to act quickly and prepare thoroughly."
Suddenly, a roar came from the living room outside his bedroom: "You lazy boy, what time is it? Get up and eat!"
Hearing this familiar yet somewhat distant voice, James's eyes instantly became moist.
His mother, who had been gone for eight years in his memories—the mother who had fallen into his arms, covered in blood, urging him to flee—was now standing before him, perfectly fine.
"Mom…" James murmured softly, feeling a warm glow in his heart.
Sometimes, being scolded by parents, or even getting a few hits, can be a kind of happiness.
"In this life, I must protect my parents!" James vowed silently. He then sat up in bed, about to get up, when suddenly, a flash of light from a delicate landscape model of a small manor on his desk turned into a stream of light and entered his body.
"What is this?" James clearly felt that something had entered his mind. At the same time, his vision went black, and he found himself in an open space about fifty meters square, divided into twenty-five ten-meter-square plots. At the very edge of the open space, there was a well.
"This is…? Not only did the heavens bring me back to life, but they also gave me a cheat? I didn't even spend any money on it." James was stunned for a moment, then became incredibly excited. "Heavens, I knew you were looking out for me."
James saw that the ground beneath his feet was divided into twenty-five plots, each bordered by small water channels. These channels crisscrossed and ultimately converged next to an ancient well.
"Is this space meant for farming?" James, who had a deep obsession with food after eating worms every day in his past life, immediately thought of growing food, his eyes lighting up.
What's the most scarce thing in the apocalypse? Food!
In the apocalypse, a human life was worth less than a bun. James's parents had been betrayed and lost their lives over a case of instant noodles, sold out by his second uncle, Ming Qianjin.
"If this space can really be used for farming, it would be incredibly valuable," James thought. He quickly walked over to the well. The water in the well shimmered. He dropped a bucket and cranked the handle, trying to draw up some water.
However, this well seemed to have its quirks. Although the bucket was intact, it could only draw up a small amount of water each time. James tried several times with the same result, laughing to himself, "This well has quite the temper, only giving half a bucket at a time."
James examined the well water closely. Since he wasn't in the habit of drinking straight from the well, he washed his hands with it and poured the water onto one of the plots, thinking, "Let's see if this land can actually grow something."
After leaving the mysterious space, James searched his house for seeds but found nothing. Frustrated, he took an apple from the living room, removed the seeds, and returned to the mysterious space to plant the apple seeds in the plot he had just watered.
James had just filled the soil back in and was about to stand up when he caught a glimpse of something and froze. A green sprout had broken through the soil.
"This... this isn't scientifically possible," James was stunned, standing there for a full five seconds. In that short time, the apple seedling grew noticeably and was already an inch tall.
"I've struck gold! I've really struck gold!" James's heart trembled with excitement.
The growth cycle of an apple tree is much longer than that of rice or wheat. If an apple tree can grow this fast, what about crops?
Could they mature in a day?
"If this mysterious space can grow food, I must prepare well and stock up on enough seeds!" James suppressed his excitement, willed himself to leave the mysterious space, and returned to his bedroom.
As soon as he was back in his room, he heard his mother's loud voice: "James, are you still not up? Your dad will be home from work soon!"
Immediately, his bedroom door swung open, and the aroma of food wafted in. James was momentarily stunned by the delicious smell.
"It smells so... so good!" James instantly darted out of his bedroom and headed straight for the dining table.
After nine years of eating worms in the apocalypse, how could he resist the sight of braised fish, potato beef stew, and spicy cabbage on the table?
"You have no manners! Wait for your dad to come home before eating. Go wash your face and brush your teeth first." His mother, Ms. Carol, roared, scaring James into quickly going to wash up.
His mother, Ms. Carol, was strict about manners and household rules.
In just thirty seconds, James had completed washing his face and brushing his teeth. He then sat down at the dining table, his eyes fixed on the potato beef stew, unable to look away.
Taking advantage of his mother not paying attention, James nervously picked up a piece of beef with his chopsticks and carefully put it in his mouth.
In an instant, the familiar yet long-forgotten taste...
"This… this is so freaking delicious." James's tears streamed down his face as he roared inwardly, "In this life, I'm never eating worms again!"
At that moment, the sound of keys jingling and a door opening came from the living room. A middle-aged man entered, and as he lowered his head to change his shoes at the door, he laughed, "It smells so good, and you even made beef today."
James quickly grabbed another piece of beef and put it in his mouth before standing up. Seeing his father's familiar face, he couldn't help but shed tears of emotion.
He wasn't sure if it was the beef's incredible taste or how much he had missed his father over the past eight years.
During the meal, James ate heartily. Under the astonished gazes of Ms. Carol and Mr. Ming, he finished a large bowl of potato beef stew, a plate of braised fish, and a helping of spicy cabbage. He even managed to eat three bowls of rice.
As he ate, James made a silent vow: No matter what, he wouldn't neglect his own stomach in this life. He swore, "Damn it, all those mutant beasts that hunted me down in my past life, I'm going to cook you all this time!"
After finishing his meal, James, with a full belly, went straight to his bedroom. He rested briefly before getting up again. With only five days until the apocalypse, there was still so much to do. Time was of the essence.
James grabbed a piece of paper and began listing everything he needed, organizing the order of purchases. In the apocalypse, with society's collapse, he had to be thoroughly prepared, with careful planning to avoid any mistakes.
In the apocalypse, even a small mistake could cost lives.
As James meticulously listed his shopping list, he suddenly realized that his savings of over a hundred thousand yuan might not be enough.
"Money, money, where is it all going to come from?" James thought anxiously. Having worked for three years and saved up over a hundred thousand yuan was sufficient for buying food, but not for everything else.
"I'll borrow some from my parents and say it's for buying a house and getting married. They'll definitely support me. And there's also Mr.Joun—he owes my family a hundred thousand." Thinking about money reminded James of his second uncle, Mr.Joun, and he couldn't help but smirk.
In his past life, Mr.Joun not only owed James's parents money but also had no gratitude. During the apocalypse, he betrayed James's parents over a box of instant noodles, proving to be utterly rotten.
James's mind raced with thoughts. Suddenly, an idea struck him as he remembered his family's small commercial property, which had some connection to Mr.Joun. He quickly came up with a series of plans, his eyes growing brighter.
"Mom, remember that flower Community we visited together? The salespeople called me yesterday and said there are great discounts recently. I'm thinking of buying a place there for us to use as a wedding house," James said with a smile, approaching his mother, who was still tidying up the kitchen.
James's reason for wanting to buy a house was twofold. Firstly, he genuinely needed to borrow some money from his parents. Secondly, buying a house was a significant matter that would require him to collect debts and possibly borrow more money from relatives. His main objective was to use this situation to help his parents see the true character of people like Mr.joun, who he knew from his past life to be unreliable. However, since his parents were not reborn, they still considered Mr.joun to be like a brother to them.