Apocalypse: Resources consumed by women will be returned ten thousandfold.

--Translated by likesnovel--

The deeper Jiang Fan went into the building, the darker everything became.

The red mist outside had already blocked out most of the sunlight.

Barely any natural light could penetrate the structure anymore.

By the time he reached the 10th floor, the brightness outside was no different from an overcast day.

On top of that, massive ivy vines had completely covered most of the windows, making the interior even darker.

Below the 5th floor, the outside light was almost equivalent to a moonlit night.

Inside the rooms, it was even worse.

Every window was completely sealed by creeping vegetation.

Without artificial light, the entire space would fall into absolute darkness.

Combined with the red mist that distorted visibility,

anything beyond 5 meters became extremely hard to see.

However, for Jiang Fan’s perception ability,

none of this mattered at all.

At this moment,

he stood inside an empty room on the 2nd floor,

looking down toward the 1st floor with a serious expression.

Within his perception range,

the entire lobby on the 1st floor had essentially turned into a sea of vegetation.

A faint glowing aura spread everywhere.

Most of it was a soft yellow light,

representing neutral behavior.

But there were also some plants emitting a red glow,

clearly indicating hostile tendencies toward humans.

Among the dense vegetation,

various animals and insects moved around chaotically.

Giant rats.

Cockroaches.

Oversized ants.

They were everywhere.

In the air above,

mosquitoes and dragonflies the size of drones hovered continuously.

However,

most of these creatures still emitted yellow light,

meaning they were not actively attacking humans without reason.

It was likely instinctual survival behavior inherited from the pre-apocalyptic world.

But as time passed

and competition for survival intensified,

no one could guarantee that

they would not eventually start treating humans as prey.

Jiang Fan also discovered another fact.

His perception ability...

could even see underground.

Fugui Center Residential Complex was an old development built many years ago.

There was no underground parking structure beneath it.

So below the surface was only the building foundation and soil layers.

Jiang Fan carefully scanned the underground area.

Most of what he detected were rats and earthworms.

Nothing that posed any real threat.

After several minutes of observation,

he confirmed there was no immediate danger nearby.

To avoid excessive exposure of his skin to the harsh environment,

Jiang Fan took out a thick down jacket from his personal space.

He also changed into a pair of sturdy hiking boots that covered his ankles.

Once everything was ready,

a thought flashed through his mind.

Whoosh!

His body phased directly through the floor

and descended to the 1st floor.

This room was empty.

One of the windows was not fully closed,

allowing ivy vines to creep inside through the gap,

covering both the walls and ceiling almost entirely.

At that moment,

Jiang Fan noticed a man and a woman cautiously walking in.

They stopped in front of the door.

The woman held a flashlight, illuminating the surroundings.

The man took out some tools

and began skillfully picking the lock.

Click!

The sound of the lock disengaging echoed softly.

Jiang Fan raised an eyebrow.

Oh?

A technical expert.

For ordinary people,

a security door was extremely difficult to open.

Even Zhou Tianhao,

if given a hammer,

would probably need a long time to break it open by force.

But this man had opened it in just a few minutes.

The man looked over with a proud smile.

“See?”

“I told you it was easy.”

Before the apocalypse,

he had been just an ordinary locksmith.

A nobody that no one paid attention to.

But now,

this was the moment his skills truly shined.

The woman spoke in a sweet, flattering tone.

“Brother Liu is amazing!”

Liu Dongqiang laughed confidently.

“Xiao Jiang.”

“Come with me.”

“I guarantee you won’t go hungry.”

“That so-called food-for-shelter deal can’t compare to us.”

“Even if that guy has a lot of supplies, they’ll eventually run out.”

“But with me,”

“we’ll go from room to room.”

“Clear one, move to the next.”

“We’ll gather enough supplies to last at least 3 years!”

Jiang Fan sneered inwardly.

What a pity.

They were too late.

All the supplies...

were already mine.

The woman lowered her head slightly,

acting shy.

“Brother Liu...”

“I’m not that easy of a woman...”

But despite her words,

the two of them closed the door

and immediately began getting close to each other.

Completely unaware

that someone was standing not far away in the red mist, silently watching.

Jiang Fan glanced at the woman once.

System data immediately appeared.

---

Jiang Yiyan

Age: 36

Appearance: 7/10 (gentle beauty on the outside, but the opposite in personality)

Female Virtue: 0/10

Total Score: 0

---

**[Ding! Does not meet minimum system requirement!]**

---

Jiang Fan paused for a moment.

Zero points?

This was the first time he had ever seen a score that low.

Locksmith, huh...

Good luck.

He silently offered Liu Dongqiang a moment of pity in his heart.

Then slowly sank into the ground.

He controlled his depth to about 2 meters,

and began moving forward through the soil layer.

The sensation of moving underground in Formless State felt extremely unusual.

Everything around him was pitch black.

His eyes could see nothing at all.

But his perception ability completely replaced vision.

Jiang Fan discovered that

in this Formless State,

he could not only pass through rocks and soil,

but even living things like earthworms.

“Yida Mall is about 500 meters east.”

“There’s a large supermarket inside.”

After confirming the location,

Jiang Fan moved straight toward Yida Mall without hesitation.

---

After spending some time alone in the room,

Jiang Yiyan began to look slightly anxious.

Then she spoke in a soft, gentle voice…

“Brother Liu… please don’t do it here,” Jiang Yiyan said softly.

Liu Dongqiang was still burning with desire. He replied reluctantly,

“Alright, let’s go find something to eat first, then come back later.”

“Mhm~” Jiang Yiyan answered shyly.

The two of them began searching the room.

But the moment they actually looked inside, they were stunned.

The entire apartment was completely empty—cleaned out like it had been handled by a top-tier logistics company.

Not even a scrap of food remained.

Forget food.

There wasn’t even a single piece of furniture left.

Liu Dongqiang scratched his head awkwardly.

“Did this place get evacuated or something… let’s try another room.”

Jiang Yiyan felt a bit disappointed, but said nothing.

It was just bad luck.

In the apocalypse, she still needed a “high-quality stock” like Liu Dongqiang.

“Then… should we try another room?” she asked.

“Yeah, let’s check the next one.”

They moved to the next unit.

Same result.

Empty.

Another room.

Still empty.

Next one again…

Liu Dongqiang froze. His expression slowly went numb.

“What the hell… is going on?”

Jiang Yiyan’s expression also changed slightly.

“There’s nothing left at all!”

Liu Dongqiang rushed back to a room he had searched two days ago.

He opened the door—

Empty again.

His body trembled.

Where did everything go?!

Had he walked into the wrong place?

Fear slowly crept into his heart.

The red mist outside reflected against the walls, making the room look as if it were stained with blood.

It added an eerie, unsettling atmosphere.

Liu Dongqiang forced himself to stay calm.

Before, he had relied on his lock-picking skills to break into many places.

He took things but never stored or rationed them properly.

Now, almost nothing was left.

But who could have expected—

Even when he came back out to search, there was still nothing left to steal.

His voice trembled.

“This… this is bad.”

Jiang Yiyan frowned.

Useless man…

If there’s nothing left in the rooms, then what value does Liu Dongqiang still have?

She immediately began considering cutting ties.

But she still had no better option.

So she swallowed her frustration and looked at him calmly.

At least his lock-picking skills were still useful…

Liu Dongqiang remained confused.

Jiang Yiyan quickly adjusted her expression and spoke in a soft, gentle tone.

“Brother Liu… what should we do if there’s no food left?”

He became flustered and embarrassed.

His earlier boasting now felt like a slap to his face.

Stammering, he said,

“This… I…”

Jiang Yiyan leaned closer and whispered,

“Or… should we go to someone else’s place tonight?”

“Steal?” Liu Dongqiang immediately shook his head.

“No, no! If we get caught, we’ll be in serious trouble!”

Before the apocalypse, he had been extremely cautious and law-abiding.

He had never dared to break the law even slightly.

Jiang Yiyan sighed softly.

“Brother Liu… do you really think there are still police now?”

“Look how many people died today, and no one cares.”

“And that convenience store where people were killed in the street… no police showed up, right?”

Liu Dongqiang hesitated.

“This…”

Jiang Yiyan continued in a pitiful tone,

“I know Brother Liu is a good man…”

“Then just forget what I said. I just don’t want you to go hungry.”

She gently wrapped her arms around his arm, resting her head on his shoulder.

Her voice softened in a strangely tender way.

“No matter what you decide… Xiao Jiang will stay with you until the end.”

“It’s just a pity… we met too late. Otherwise, we could’ve even had a child together.”

“Sigh… what a regretful fate…”

Boom!

It was as if something exploded in Liu Dongqiang’s mind.

For over 30 years of his life,

no woman had ever treated him like this.

And especially not a beauty like her.

This wasn’t the apocalypse anymore…

This was his springtime.

A whisper echoed in his mind, tempting him.

That’s right…

There really is no police anymore.

If he went out at night and took just a little food… who would know?

Liu Dongqiang gritted his teeth.

“Fine!”

“Tonight, I’ll go get food!”

“I know exactly which houses still have supplies!”

Jiang Yiyan, still leaning against him, had a faint glint flash in her lowered eyes.

A barely noticeable smile curved at the corner of her lips.

This kind of stupid man…

Is the easiest to manipulate…