A New Stop

After purchasing the space expansion, the store was empty. She tapped the expanded space excitedly.

What had been a mere one cubic meter was now sixteen cubic meters—the size of a full bedroom.

It was still upgrading, though, and wouldn't be ready for another twelve hours.

Who knew how much more it could hold? All the things she'd reluctantly left behind could be squeezed in now.

And those spare bedding sets from the hotel, the blankets, the mattresses, and all sorts of cleaning supplies—they'd come in handy eventually.

Song Weishi was thrilled. She planned to sweep through the mall tomorrow and stuff in everything she'd left behind.

With all her points spent, she now had a clear understanding of how the system judged energy. Apparently, if responsibility was clearly shared, it deducted from the total. Even with her blackmailing, the system had grudgingly given her only a hundred points for two people.

So, what if she flipped the logic? If she intercepted and killed monsters herself, would the energy count toward her?

She asked the system. Perhaps still smarting from her earlier demands, it stayed silent. Song Weishi took that as a tacit yes.

Tossing and turning in bed, she couldn't sleep. Wang Jie, noticing how restless she was, shuffled over. "Xiao Song, are you itchy?"

Song Weishi froze. Wang Jie had mistaken her excitement for itchiness. She curled her toes, mortified, then realized—it had been a while since she'd bathed. No wonder Wang Jie thought that.

Even though she'd wiped herself down and washed her clothes with ice water since arriving, she'd only managed a half-decent cleanup under the circumstances.

Now that Wang Jie mentioned it, her whole body felt itchy.

Wang Jie gave her a knowing smile and pointed at a small room partitioned off nearby. "Let's go wash up together. We boiled plenty of water today."

The room was warm. Manager Zhao had kept busy during the day, hauling in snow from outside and letting it melt indoors. It was also how they'd covered for the fact that the three of them were gone.

Song Weishi sat up, an involuntary smile spreading across her face. Who could resist the lure of a bath?

Manager Zhao had cleverly rigged up several showerheads and pipes into a simple valve system. There was a large water tank overhead—originally a tea container from the kitchen—now repurposed as a reservoir. Flip a switch, and water poured down.

The washroom had a brazier burning inside, so the wood fire kept the chill at bay. Steam curled through the air, and Song Weishi half-expected to walk into a public bathhouse.

Curtains separated the stalls, offering plenty of privacy. Aside from the lack of electricity and dim lighting, everything else was fine. At a time like this, who'd complain about inconvenience? A chance to bathe was already a luxury.

Song Weishi and Wang Jie helped boil and refill water, and soon it was their turn. A young woman took over the water-filling duty, and Song Weishi hurried in, pulled the curtain shut, stripped off, and started washing.

The water was a bit hot, making her flinch at first, but she quickly adjusted. The warmth washed away all the exhaustion from the past few days.

For the first time, she felt like this world wasn't as terrible as she'd imagined. The scent of body wash filled her nostrils, bringing a sense of relaxation she hadn't felt since the days of peace.

Still, she didn't linger. After a vigorous scrub and two rounds of shampoo, she got out quickly.

She decided she'd take this shower rig with her. It would definitely boost morale, and with the space this big now, it was worth packing.

Song Weishi sat by the fire to dry her hair, then stepped out to use the restroom.

The first floor was off-limits to everyone now. She stashed things into her space on the way and grabbed a few extra supplies from below.

She didn't take everything—she left most of it for Manager Zhao and the others. When they went out to scavenge, they'd have a baseline to fall back on and wouldn't starve.

With that done, she went back upstairs and slept.

It was the best night she'd had since arriving in this world. She woke up feeling refreshed, and after throwing back the curtains, she checked the weather outside.

Last night's snow hadn't been heavy—just a thin layer, nothing piled up.

It wouldn't hamper her travel. She packed her things and said goodbye to Wang Jie and Xiao Li.

The two stood there, looking at her with reluctant expressions, but neither tried to convince her to stay.

Everyone had their own path, and they respected her choice.

She stepped outside, pulling her cart. The sky was gray, not yet fully bright. She set the cart down, and Manager Zhao tucked some vegetables into her pack, telling her to be careful on the road—a token of gratitude for Song Weishi's earlier scouting and for marking the supply locations.

Song Weishi stepped onto the snow. Some patches had crusted into ice, and even on flat ground, a single push could send her gliding far.

She looked back. The hotel was already far behind, yet everyone still stood at the windows watching her. The moment she turned, Wang Jie couldn't help but wave.

Her yellow gloves stood out starkly against the vast white expanse.

Song Weishi waved back. Her eyes stung, and her breath didn't fog up her visor—Manager Zhao had treated it with dish soap yesterday to keep it from steaming over.

She murmured a silent thank-you and didn't look back again, pushing forward.

She was faster today, retracing her route to the mall. It was still empty. She stayed cautious, sweeping her flashlight around before stepping inside.

She grabbed everything she'd left behind yesterday, even gathering the firewood she'd discarded.

After stripping the place clean, she walked out, strapped on her skis, and pushed off with her poles, speeding toward the next rest stop on the map.

By the end of the morning, she'd gotten a solid grip on skiing.

She avoided the highway—for one, the bridges might collapse under the snow, and with no guardrails, a fast fall could easily send her off a cliff to her death. For another, the highway stretched too long, making it hard to find shelter for the night. Not a smart choice.

On flat ground, she occasionally spotted building signs to confirm her direction, but mostly she relied on her compass, pressing on aimlessly.

She lost count of how far she'd come, trudging along until afternoon.

Then she started looking for a place to stop.

She'd traveled nearly ten kilometers, most of it skiing. Her arms ached fiercely, but she gritted her teeth and pushed through.

Clear days were the easiest for navigation, and she wouldn't waste precious travel time.

With her direction confirmed, she soon spotted the city-center landmark Manager Zhao had mentioned: a massive ship. But the snow had buried half its towering hull, leaving it blanketed in white.

A few large commercial districts surrounded it. Song Weishi mulled it over—she'd set up camp here today. Her eyes locked onto a fairly tall building.

The sign above it was covered in snow, but she could tell it wasn't like the other office towers. It had to be a mall with food.

She glided a few steps, using her poles to pick up speed, and closed in on the building.