Chapter 3: Renovating the White House

Lu Yuan immediately understood the meaning behind Jiang Shiyi's gaze in the darkness.

“Don't be surprised that I helped you. Something as special as the White House—I may have heard of it, but becoming its owner naturally requires a special method. And I– I don't know how…”

A trace of regret appeared on his face before quickly turning into acceptance.

“Rather than fight over it and end up letting someone else reap the benefits, I'd rather do you a favor.”

Jiang Shiyi suddenly understood.

So it was that simple.

What he said should be the truth.

In the early stages after the Gray Mist appeared, almost no one knew how to claim a White House. She had simply been too cautious and overthought things.

But now that she had obtained the White House, she wasn't the type to cross the river and tear down the bridge or act selfishly. She could still offer some form of repayment as long as it didn't involve her own safety.

“Thank you. As repayment, I can tell you a highly confidential piece of information.”

Jiang Shiyi was in a good mood.

She knew plenty of information about mutated beasts, survival, and special abilities. If she sold any of it, it would definitely be worth a fortune.

It was more than enough to repay him.

However, Lu Yuan immediately refused. He looked at her meaningfully.

“The gratitude of a White House owner is extremely valuable. It shouldn't be wasted. If I get the opportunity, I'll make a request. I hope you won't refuse.”

Jiang Shiyi frowned.

“Then I'll do my best.”

She obviously couldn't guarantee something she knew nothing about.

The man was somewhat surprised by her answer. He hadn't expected her to be so straightforward, not even bothering with a perfunctory response.

He was speechless for a moment.

The sky had completely darkened.

There wasn't a single star visible above them, and even the moon had disappeared, completely obscured by the clouds.

Jiang Shiyi had lost too much blood, leaving her entire body cold.

She gestured goodbye to Lu Yuan and reminded him, “It's dark now. The Gray Mist could appear at any moment, and it will be even denser than during the day. You'd better find somewhere to hide.”

She closed the White House's door without waiting for Lu Yuan to respond.

The inside and outside were completely isolated.

Within the White House, everything was peaceful and tranquil, warm like spring.

It was only then did the two of them finally relaxed.

Li Yue took Jiang Shiyi's hand and looked at the horrifying wound on her palm, her heart aching.

“Jiang-Jiang, it must hurt, right? You lost so much blood just now.”

Jiang Shiyi smiled.

“It's fine. No matter how painful it was, it was worth it. This White House belongs to us now.”

Only then did it fully sink in for Li Yue.

She let out a loud cry of excitement and looked around.

“That's right! I'm not dreaming, am I? We really have a White House! From now on, we don't have to keep hiding everywhere!”

Although it was completely empty, they could slowly furnish it.

“I want a soft, comfortable bed, and I need a vanity... Oh my god, I never even dared to imagine this before! It's such a huge and special house. Not only is it big enough for the two of us, we can even raise a dog!”

She wished she could immediately go to the secondhand furniture market in the nearest C City.

She chattered away like a little sparrow.

Jiang Shiyi said, “There's no need to go through all that trouble. Watch this.”

Although she was exhausted, creating the most basic rooms wouldn't take much energy.

She placed her uninjured hand against the wall and closed her eyes, imagining various home renovation designs in her mind.

In an instant, the entire White House began to move.

The white walls softened and transformed like water. The floor rose from the ground, forming individual rooms, corridors, and staircases.

It was like the most astonishing magic trick, a work of supernatural craftsmanship.

In just a few minutes, the White House had automatically transformed into a duplex with six bedrooms, one living room, two bathrooms, and one kitchen.

Li Yue was completely stunned.

“Oh my god, it can even do this?”

Her eyes widened, and all her exhaustion vanished in an instant.

“How amazing is the White House now!”

Jiang Shiyi laughed and blinked.

“A-Yue, there are six bedrooms upstairs. Pick whichever one you want.”

She hadn't renovated the living room on the first floor.

She had another use for it.

Li Yue was overjoyed, tears welling up in her eyes.

She grabbed Jiang Shiyi's hand and said seriously, “No, Jiang-Jiang, you choose first. I can sleep in any room. You sacrificed too much for us to have this today, and you still haven't awakened your ability. From now on, I'll protect you.”

This silly girl!

Jiang Shiyi had never told her that she had actually awakened her ability long ago.

“Do you remember all the things I reminded you to collect over the past month?”

Jiang Shiyi walked over to the wall.

With a thought, the wall in front of her immediately formed a small, circular transparent window. It allowed them to see outside, but people outside couldn't see in.

The people outside were gone.

It seemed everyone knew that they couldn't stay in the wilderness for long at night.

Li Yue nodded.

“Of course I remember. Jiang-Jiang, all our things are in the bags we left on that tree earlier. There's also some gauze and medicine inside. You rest here. I'll go get everything back.”

After confirming that it was safe, Jiang Shiyi opened the White House again.

Li Yue flew outside and made two trips, bringing back two enormous woven bags.

These were all the supplies they possessed.

One bag contained various roots, stems, fruits, and seeds from the mutated plants they had collected along the way. These items took up half the bag, and most of them were uncommon.

The other half contained the bread and compressed biscuits they normally ate, more than twenty bottles of mineral water, a small amount of medicine, as well as pots, bowls, and utensils.

The other bag was filled entirely with daily necessities.

There were sanitary pads, towels, toothpaste, toothbrushes, and other essentials that girls needed, with enough supplies to last nearly half a year.

There were also ten N95 masks that were better than nothing, two changes of clothes, and two thin blankets.

Just carrying these supplies along the way had exhausted them.

“Come on, Jiang-Jiang. I'll bandage your hand.”

Li Yue opened the first woven bag and dumped everything inside onto the floor. She searched for gauze and iodine while muttering,

“It's a shame we don't have much food left. At most, it'll last another three to five days... Sigh, unlike those rich people, we can't stockpile huge amounts of supplies. After we get some rest tonight, we'll have to go look for food tomorrow.”

She had always been worried about this problem.

Robberies had already begun occurring in the city, with medicine and food being the most commonly stolen items. The purchasing power of money was rapidly declining.

Only Jiang Shiyi knew that aside from weapons and daily necessities, stockpiling large amounts of food and medicine was basically useless.

Sooner or later, they would be contaminated by the Gray Mist.

Those wealthy people might have stockpiled more than a dozen warehouses filled with dried meat, fruits, instant noodles, mineral water, rice, flour, and all kinds of supplies.

But in two more days, the Gray Mist would completely erupt...

Nearly ninety percent of the world's food and medicine would be contaminated and turned into useless waste.

The wealthy people who had once believed their stockpiles would last them for a long time would stare dumbfounded as the pervasive Gray Mist filled their warehouses.

Only vacuum packaging could extend the shelf life by three to five months.

Drinking water also had to be specially filtered and boiled before it could be consumed.

Only items stored inside a White House beforehand were truly safe.

That was what made the Gray Mist so terrifying.

But Jiang Shiyi wasn't worried.

Because her ability was called 「 Gourmet. 」

She could use various ordinary or mutated plants and animals, remove their toxins, and turn them into all kinds of delicious food.

Her ability was currently at the basic level.

Ordinary food she prepared could satisfy hunger, while mutated food had different effects. It could slightly alter one's physique, heal injuries, strengthen abilities, and more.

Different mutated ingredients produced different effects.

The White House was located in the wilderness, where plants and animals could be found everywhere.

Once the Gray Mist completely erupts in two days, even more of them would mutate…

Jiang Shiyi would have an endless supply of ingredients.

She could even grow them herself.

She would never have to worry about running out of food!

With food, she could recruit ability users and trade for any supplies she needed.

While strengthening herself, she would continuously upgrade the White House.

With this safest possible shelter, her future would absolutely never be as hopeless as it had been in her previous life.

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