Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Extreme Heat

Once she made up her mind, she moved fast. Her passport was already valid, so Ling Mo bought a plane ticket on the spot and flew overseas.

The moment she stepped outside, she realized something was off.

It was hot—too hot.

She checked the date. March.

Was March really supposed to feel like this?

Curious, she searched the usual temperatures for this time of year.

This year’s was far higher than normal.

Her stomach sank.

She’d assumed the apocalypse would be a zombie outbreak. She’d already been preparing to turn her forest villa into a safe base. It was remote, almost no one around—perfect. If zombies appeared, fewer people meant fewer problems.

Sure, she might turn into a zombie too…but she was a transmigrator. She had to have some kind of advantage, right?

Now, though, a different possibility took root in her mind.

Who said the apocalypse had to be zombies?

Natural disasters. A ruined wasteland. Alien invasion. Even the planet blowing apart—any of that could be the end of the world.

And judging by the weather, she was starting to lean toward disaster.

If that was the case, her plan for the forest villa wouldn’t work. Too many trees. One wildfire and she’d be trapped.

She felt both relieved and unsettled—relieved that it might not be zombies, unsettled because nature was no kinder. In front of disasters, humans were fragile and small.

As she spiraled into thoughts, the announcement came: the plane was about to depart.

She let it go.

Whatever was coming, she needed supplies first.

Even if she guessed wrong, it wasn’t a loss. At worst, she’d keep the food and eat it slowly. Things stored in the pocket space wouldn’t spoil anyway.

—

Two months later, Ling Mo stepped back onto her own country’s soil, dazed from exhaustion. She took a deep breath and almost wanted to laugh.

Home air really did smell better.

And the sense of safety was real. No fear of getting her phone snatched while walking. No sudden stray bullets. Even the police presence felt reassuring.

In just two months abroad, she’d lived through more adrenaline than her last life and the original owner’s life combined.

But it was worth it.

She’d bought everything she needed. She’d even gotten the weapons she’d wanted—nothing excessive, but enough to protect herself.

After two months of relentless shopping, she’d only spent about a third of the money.

From the remaining amount, she used a chunk to buy gold. In peaceful times, antiques were valuable. In chaos, gold was. Across five thousand years of history, it had always been hard currency.

Back at the mountain villa, she slipped into the pocket space again.

It had transformed.

The once-bare land now held thick fields of crops. Orchards stretched in neat rows, branches heavy with fruit. The lake and small ocean teemed with life. Chickens, ducks, cattle, sheep—livestock were penned and thriving.

All of it was the result of her two months of work.

For the first time since waking up in this world, Ling Mo felt truly steady. No matter what disaster hit later, she wouldn’t starve.

“Good thing this pocket space is smart,” she muttered. “Otherwise I’d be doomed.”

She wasn’t joking. Outside of keeping herself alive, she was famous for killing plants by accident. Even a cactus never lasted a month with her.

To make sure her harvest could actually become food, she’d bought multiple production lines and all kinds of agricultural machines.

She rested for one day—just one—before diving back into stockpiling. She still had money left, and if the apocalypse really came, cash would become worthless overnight.

By now, she was almost certain what was coming first: extreme heat.

So she changed plans again.

The mountain villa was hidden, which was good for keeping the pocket space secret. But the surrounding forest made it a death trap if a wildfire broke out.

She sold the villa—mountain and all.

Then she bought a new home.

Money made everything easy. In less than half a day, she had a place.

A two-story villa, about a third smaller than the old one. More than enough for one person.

The neighborhood was filled with people who were either wealthy or well-connected, and security was strict. Outsiders couldn’t just wander in.

Ling Mo moved in the same day and found herself genuinely satisfied.

And then she noticed something else.

The neighbors were stockpiling, too. Every day, a line of vehicles came and went through the gates.

It made sense. The highest temperatures were already pushing nearly fifty degrees Celsius. That kind of abnormal heat would make anyone nervous.

With everyone else doing it, Ling Mo didn’t need to hide. She could buy openly and blend in.

She’d already bought plenty overseas, but there were still things she preferred to buy at home.

Clothes, for one. Extreme heat might be only the beginning. After that could come extreme cold, earthquakes, volcanoes, acid rain—any number of disasters. Style didn’t matter. Quality did.

And then there were the daily essentials: underwear, shoes, socks, toiletries, sanitary pads—things she couldn’t afford to run out of.

She ran a hand over her waist-length hair. The original owner had cared for it well—dark, glossy, like black silk.

Ling Mo used to love long hair, too, but her old life had been too exhausting to maintain it. She’d kept her hair short right up until she died.

Now that she finally had it again, she didn’t want to cut it.

Maybe it was stubbornness, maybe it was indulgence, but with a pocket space and money, she didn’t see the point of suffering unnecessarily.

She made another checklist, tied her hair back, pulled on a sun hat, and layered on sunscreen. With a small bag over her shoulder, she headed out.

Instead of large supermarkets, she went straight to wholesale markets.

Her pocket space had fields planted, but the crops weren’t ready yet. She needed grain to tide her over, along with seasonings. Overseas spices couldn’t compare to what she could get at home.

Anything she could grow, she had already planted in the pocket space. She just needed time.

This time, her main focus was daily necessities.