Chapter 5 Spatial Ability

Chapter 5 Spatial Ability

Shenchi looked at the pool of clear water and slowly closed his eyes, beginning to sort out in his mind the impending apocalypse he was about to face.

When the end times began, Earth would be hit by a new type of influenza. Patients in the early stages would experience high fever, chills, sore throats, loss of appetite, nausea, and then all their organs would rapidly fail until death. Finally, the dead would "revive."

These revived corpses had stiff limbs, rolled white eyes, elongated canine teeth, and sharp nails like blades, driven by an instinct to devour human flesh and blood.

The authorities called them "infected" because they not only craved blood and flesh but were also mobile virus carriers. Anyone bitten or scratched by them would become the next "infected" within a short period.

People privately gave them a more fitting name—zombies.

Moreover, after their genes were rewritten by the virus, zombies gained the ability to evolve rapidly. Their speed, strength, agility, resilience, and even their alarming learning abilities progressed at an astonishing rate.

When they evolved to a certain level, they could emit a frequency to attract others of their kind, forming terrifying zombie hordes that swept through areas as if no one was there!

Most chillingly, they were like true perpetual motion machines, endlessly chasing and consuming humans without ever tiring or running out of energy.

Researchers categorized these zombies based on their varying levels of evolution. They found that the first batch of infected evolved the fastest, followed by the second batch.

At the same time, some humans experienced inexplicable genetic mutations, leading to a small number developing special abilities, which could be enhanced through specific training methods, granting them greater power.

Experts referred to these individuals with special abilities as "gene mutation superpower mutants," or simply: ability users.

Before his death, Shenchi knew of three main directions of mutation, with seventeen different types of abilities. The most powerful among them were the elemental ability users, such as metal, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, ice, and lightning. There were also gene-evolved abilities like strength, speed, vision, smell, hearing, ultrasonic waves, infrasound waves, and X-ray vision, with the number of users decreasing in a pyramid structure. Lastly, there were spatial ability users, a higher-dimensional ability that only they themselves could see and touch.

Among these, the most lethal was the fire ability, followed by lightning. Even abilities like enhanced hearing, though non-lethal, could be useful for support before battles. Spatial abilities, however, were purely for storage, serving as warehouses for large, medium, and small mechanical or daily items.

And he, Shenchi, was a spatial ability user.

The least useful and most dangerous ability.

However, he also had a fire ability.

The world knew of only one dual-ability user, but it wasn't him.

Shenchi held his breath and slowly submerged his head into the water. The water blocked his eardrums, distorting and making the sounds outside seem strange and eerie...

He still couldn't believe it. Someone who should have been blown up not only survived but was reborn before the apocalypse, four days after being violated...

The ripples of light reflecting from the water shone on half of Shenchi's face. He curled up, trying to avoid the light on his eyelids.

The sides of the tub suddenly felt icy cold, and the space beneath his feet began to shrink. His skin felt as if it were filled with lead, the pain intensifying. The scar on his abdomen, which had disappeared, seemed to reopen, with murky liquid and fresh blood flowing out...

Shenchi forced himself not to think about it, but the memories still played out vividly in front of him.

"Whoosh!" Shenchi stood up abruptly, splashing water everywhere.

He clutched his chest, coughing out the water that had entered his throat. The steam from the hot water swirled around him, and his heart throbbed painfully.

A pale hand slid from his chest down to his stomach, Shenchi's fingers trembling slightly. His expression was complex and incredulous; he was carrying a life inside him.

—His child.

"Child..." Shenchi frowned, awkwardly and gently stroking his belly. This was a life he once despised and feared. Even during the torturous time in the lab, when he felt guilty for involving this life in his plight, he never imagined accepting the fact that she was growing inside him, a man.

But now, when everything was reset, he realized he harbored a deep hope that she could be born safely.

Shenchi looked down to examine his belly but found that the water, which should have rippled, had turned into a vast expanse of land, surrounded by a white mist.

Frowning, he stood up and began to explore this empty place step by step.

The ground beneath his feet felt soft, and a gentle breeze brushed against his naked body. The white mist around his feet dispersed as he walked, evoking a familiar feeling.

Standing before the white mist, Shenchi cautiously raised his hand and, as expected, touched an invisible barrier.

Looking at his hand half-hidden in the mist, a long-standing puzzle suddenly unraveled.

If he hadn't mistaken, this was his "space" after the apocalypse.

Staring at the strands of hair floating in front of him, he realized this must be the secret of the fourth-level space.

After the apocalypse, as energy accumulated, the abilities of ability users also improved. Each advancement brought stronger powers, except for spatial abilities, which only expanded in size and remained stuck at level three.

In the lab, someone had spent six months trying to advance him to level four, using enough crystals to cultivate a level-four ability user, yet his ability showed no signs of breakthrough.

Unexpectedly, upon rebirth, he had successfully advanced to level four.

And as predicted, this higher-dimensional space was not just a moving warehouse. Once people could enter it, it would become the safest haven!

Shenchi closed his eyes, waiting for his heart to calm down before sorting through and analyzing every anomaly since he awakened his spatial ability. He discovered that everything had a pattern.

He boldly hypothesized and understood: Level one space is static, meaning there is no passage of time. This can be seen from how food never spoils inside. The holder can only observe the inside from the outside and retrieve or store items through willpower.

Level two expands the space area, introducing soil or gravity. This hypothesis is based on the observation that objects placed inside at level one feel like they're suspended, while at level two, they feel grounded, albeit subtly. Shenchi had once been puzzled by this, but dismissed it due to its faintness.

Level three further expands the space, which is why people categorize it as a mere storage space.

Now, standing inside this space, Shenchi clearly felt that the function added at level three was 'air.'

This sensation had been present even before entering the lab, but it was too subtle and hard to describe, so he overlooked it, especially after awakening his fire ability.

Thus, after satisfying the three basic elements necessary for human survival, the space advanced to level four, allowing humans to enter.

Following this trend, the next step might be to evolve the 'time' function, enabling cultivation and breeding?

The next day, Shenchi woke up early, jogged for an hour, and then ate an entire bag of frozen dumplings from the fridge, reluctantly putting down his bowl. He sat in front of the TV to watch the news and rest a bit.

Then he started doing sit-ups, push-ups, and various kicking and jumping exercises to strengthen his arms and legs.

His spatial ability had come with him, but his fire attribute ability hadn't appeared yet. Shenchi didn't know the reason, so he could only focus on strengthening his body.

In the post-apocalyptic world, a weak physique could cost you your life in any situation.

As for the child, he wasn't too worried, since in his previous life, even when he was fleeing from zombies and fighting for survival, the child remained healthy.

By mid-morning, after taking a hot shower and changing into fresh clothes, Shenchi got into a car and headed towards the North Gate.

The bus station and long-distance coaches were located there, surrounded by many wholesale shops. Further out were hardware stores lining the street, and beyond that were various manufacturing plants where some of the city's most famous specialties were produced.

After getting off the car, Shenchi bought a ticket to ShuShang City and booked a flight online. He then purchased a national map and a city map, wandering around and observing this familiar yet alien city.

The North Gate wasn't very crowded; most people came by car or bus to shop, while others were travelers passing through. Everyone was pursuing their ideal lives, unaware that in half a year, the place would be nothing but cold ruins.

Back home, Shenchi took out all his savings.

Three days later, on June 26th, 2208, the thirteenth day of the fifth lunar month, with one month and seventeen days left until the end of the world, Shenchi stood at the China-Myanmar border dressed in formal attire.

On June 28th, there was going to be a jade auction at a Myanmar emerald company, making the area much livelier than usual.

Shenchi avoided those trying to strike up conversations, hired an interpreter through an agency, and wandered around with a few thousand dollars in his pocket.

Even though the auction was still a few days away, makeshift stalls had already been set up, attracting countless people interested in gambling on stones and buying jade.

Shenchi picked through the stones at several stalls and bought a few, cutting them open right away. They turned out to be worthless. The interpreter watched Shenchi's amateur moves and shook his head.

But Shenchi wasn't discouraged. As he continued browsing, he heard sudden cheers from ahead. The stall owner's eyes lit up, and he quickly packed up his stall to join the crowd in front of Shenchi.

Shenchi: "…"

Approaching closer, Shenchi saw a shop named "Fengyuan Jade Store" packed with people. Following the stall owner, he squeezed through the crowd to the front.

A watermelon-sized black stone had been cut open, revealing a deep green jade surface. It looked like it could be a high-quality dark green jadeite, likely not small in size, which excited the surrounding crowd.

Someone in the crowd called out a number, and another raised the bid.

The store owner seized the opportunity, setting off firecrackers outside to attract more people. He then told the crowd that the black-skinned stone containing the dark green jadeite was part of this year's early batch and led the interested group inside.