Lin's father was momentarily taken aback by the crowd in the room. Although his father had mentioned returning in the next few days, he hadn't expected it to be today. With the presence of both the second and fourth uncles, as well as several cousins, Lin's father glanced at the jade Buddha in his hands and made a decision. It wasn't the right time to discuss the Buddha with so many people around; he would wait until the relatives had left to talk to his father privately about it.
"Ru Zheng, this jade Buddha is quite good. You know I've always liked these things. How about letting me have it?" This was Lin's fourth uncle speaking. In his fifties but well-preserved, he was over a decade younger than Lin's grandfather and had always spoken casually. "Ru Zheng" referred to Lin's father, Lin Ruzheng.
"Fourth Uncle, if Xiang is pregnant, this jade Buddha is something she specifically asked me to find to ensure the baby's safety," Lin's father said with a smile, avoiding a direct refusal but knowing that this would discourage his fourth uncle from pursuing the jade Buddha further.
As soon as Lin's father finished speaking, Lin's grandfather stood up in joy and asked, "Second son, is it true that your wife is pregnant?" Lin's grandfather had a lingering concern since his second son's wife hadn't yet borne a son, which even made Lin's usually kind-hearted grandmother somewhat cool toward the second daughter-in-law.
"Yes, she's been to the hospital; she's almost two months along," Lin's father replied with a smile.
Lin's grandfather was overjoyed and immediately focused on the jade Buddha with a new perspective, convinced it had the power to protect the baby. He urged Lin's father to take the jade Buddha to Lin's mother.
After greeting everyone, Lin's father left for the second floor, where his bedroom was located. The old house was large, with multiple floors and dozens of rooms, including more than ten bedrooms alone.
Lin's father clutched the jade Buddha tightly, refusing even Aunt Zhou's offer to carry it. If there was indeed an apocalypse, this item would be crucial. He had tested it and confirmed it could hold items inside. He wasn't sure how large the space was, as no living thing could fit inside, not even a person.
The jade Buddha's usage was straightforward: any part of the body that touched the Buddha could be used to store things by focusing on them. Within a second, the item would disappear from the external world and appear inside the Buddha. The same process applied to retrieve it, with the condition that the Buddha must be touched.
However, the jade Buddha could only accommodate items three times a day.
Lin's father had discovered this through experimentation.
The jade Buddha had changed hands several times before, but no one had discovered the space inside. This was because activating the space required specific conditions, something Lin's father was unaware of. He had accidentally triggered it when he first obtained the Buddha.
Upon returning to his room, Lin's mother was preparing to go downstairs, having just changed her clothes. She seemed to have heard their daughter crying. The two met face-to-face, and Lin's father signaled for her to stay quiet, calmly closing and locking the door.
"Dad is back. Didn't you go downstairs earlier?" Lin's father asked while carefully placing the jade Buddha in the safe and changing the combination. He knew his wife had some issues with the family, and if she didn't behave better, it would be even harder to manage relationships in the future. Regardless of his personal feelings, he had to maintain appearances.
"We just ate together; I just came upstairs," Lin's mother explained quietly.
"Since the second and fourth uncles are here, I need to go down and chat with them. Do you want to come downstairs?" Lin's father was a sociable person who was always good with people and naturally needed to accompany the elders.
With his wife pregnant, the family should be more lenient this time, not as critical as before.
"I'm not keen on talking to them, but I thought I heard Bing Bing crying. I want to go downstairs and see what happened, who upset her?" Lin's mother said worriedly.
She had always been very protective of their only daughter.
As they were talking, there was a knock on the door.
Lin's mother opened it to find Lin Bing standing outside. Seeing her daughter was fine, she decided not to go downstairs. After Lin Bing greeted her father, he nodded and went downstairs, leaving Lin Bing and her mother alone.
After her father left, Lin's mother closed the door and led Lin Bing to the living room.
The room was decorated in dark tones, understated yet luxurious. The designer had clearly put much effort into creating a warm, homey feeling despite the dark colors.
"Bing Bing, did you just cry?" Lin's mother asked as soon as she sat down, looking at her daughter's red, puffy face with concern.
"It's nothing. I just missed Grandpa and Grandma so much that I couldn't help but cry," Lin Bing said with a smile. "I just told Grandma that you're pregnant, and she didn't know. Mom, didn't you tell her when they arrived?"
"I must have forgotten," Lin's mother said with a slightly awkward smile. When Lin's grandmother arrived, Lin's father hadn't brought the jade Buddha yet. Whether it would work or not was uncertain. If the jade Buddha wasn't reliable, they might have to abort the child, so it was better not to say anything and avoid disappointing the elders.
"By the way, Mom, I forgot to tell you how to use your abilities this afternoon. I came over to explain it in detail."
"Did you mention it in your dreams?"
"A little, but not much," Lin Bing said somewhat nervously. While water and ice abilities were related, they had differences. In the apocalypse, she had a vague feeling that Shu Xue might have had water abilities. But for now, she needed to explain the characteristics of water abilities to her mother.
"Water abilities can gather water, just like you demonstrated in the car. The power is strongest near water sources like streams, lakes, or seas. You can control the water to form arrows or jets to attack zombies, with their weakness being the head. You can also control water temperature, turning it into mist for cover. Lastly, you can use water to suffocate enemies by covering their heads, although this doesn't affect zombies since they don't need to breathe. Only mental control and ability level determine the strength of the attack. I've heard that there might be battles between different people's abilities in the apocalypse."
Lin Bing emphasized the last point, knowing her mother had a simplistic view of the world and often believed people were generally good.
"... If there's water, there should also be fire," Lin's mother said, holding her now-cold tea, looking up after a while.
Lin Bing nodded and reminded her, "Mom, improving your abilities depends on yourself; others can't help you. You need to work hard!"
Lin's mother sat in a daze on the sofa.
Seeing that she had said everything she needed to, Lin Bing decided not to disturb her mother. She stood up and walked slowly to the door. Just as she was about to open it, she remembered one more important upgrade detail and turned back to her mother, saying, "Mom, there are crystal cores in the zombies' heads. They're useful for enhancing abilities."
After speaking, Lin Bing opened the door and went upstairs. She returned to her room to check on her space.
Lin's mother, staring at the closed door, had a strange thought: If Bing Bing remembered her dreams so clearly and was so concerned, as if she had experienced it firsthand, had she encountered zombies or seen abilities?
She found her own thoughts amusing, patting her head and speculating that Bing Bing must have watched too many apocalypse shows, like "Resident Evil" or "The Walking Dead."
---
At 9:30 PM, Lin's father knocked on Lin's grandfather's bedroom door, and the two went to the study together.
Voices could be heard faintly from the study.
— "Is there really an apocalypse? Does your wife have abilities, and is the space real?"
— "I don't know about the apocalypse, but Ru Xin does have water abilities. She said she discovered them last night. Today, I confirmed that the jade Buddha can indeed hold things. I managed to store an entire shipment of jade from North Street, about two carts, inside it. The Buddha is in my safe. Would you like to test it now?"
— "Let's go to your room."