ATDIWR Chapter 18
by VolareJi An left, unable to hear what those people were discussing behind his back, but he could guess. Ji An couldn’t be bothered to care. Facts speak louder than words. When he actually researched something, these people would realize how painful it is to slap themselves in the face.
On the way, Kong Zhongcheng kept looking at Ji An, looking like he wanted to ask but didn’t dare. Ji An felt tangled for him, “If you have something to ask, just ask?”
“Uh, Ji An, is the spatial storage item you mentioned real? Can you research that?” Kong Zhongcheng asked.
Tang Ning also looked at Ji An. She genuinely admired Ji An’s combat power from the bottom of her heart. Even if Ji An told her he could beat Gu Jinsheng, Tang Ning would choose to believe him blindly. But scientific research? Tang Ning hesitated on this.
“You ask me, of course I say I can,” Ji An didn’t think this was impossible. Wasn’t his spatial necklace essentially a spatial storage item?
Since it can exist, it proves its existence is reasonable. As long as its energy conservation and mass conversion can be found, the secret of the spatial storage item can be cracked.
Even if the spatial necklace is a product of the ancient cultivation world, there might be another scientific system. Ji An believed he could still crack it. Thinking carefully, current Power Users and cultivators in cultivation novels actually have something in common.
Broadly speaking, cultivators’ true energy is stored in their dantian, and in the later stages, they can condense a nascent soul in the dantian. Power Users’ abilities come from the brain, forming an ability crystal core in the brain.
In this way, the nascent soul corresponds to the crystal core, only the storage location is different. The reason for this difference in storage location may be different power systems. As long as this power system is thoroughly explored and utilized, it is very feasible to create spatial storage items.
Thousands of years ago, weren’t cars and airplanes just human imagination?
Ji An always believed one sentence: Nothing is impossible, only unimaginable!
“A spatial storage item like in cultivation novels?” Kong Zhongcheng rubbed his hands, looking a little eager to try.
“Essentially similar, there might be slight differences,” Ji An replied.
While answering Kong Zhongcheng’s questions, Ji An observed the situation in Jing Shi Base.
The public order here was very good. Power Users and ordinary people coexisted peacefully. Although some Power Users might be arrogant and superior, they didn’t casually bully ordinary people.
For some small stalls set up by ordinary people, Power Users would also stop to buy, not relying on their Power User status to force purchases or sales. Ordinary people facing Power Users didn’t have the anxiety and humility they did in the third base; it was more about equality.
Such an attitude requires relatively fair treatment and is not formed overnight; it must have been a long process.
Jing Shi Base must have been rebuilt later. Many one-story houses reappeared in the base. Some houses were even primitive adobe houses, and there were also some blue brick and large tiled houses.
It was hard to believe this was the capital city of high-rises and nightlife before The Apocalypse.
The adobe houses amidst the bustling traffic had a strong sense of detachment. It was this sense of detachment, one impossibility after another, that formed The Apocalypse. It could also be considered a unique landscape of The Apocalypse.
Kong Zhongcheng led Ji An up a tall building about seventeen or eighteen floors high. The building was located in the city center of Jing Shi Base, very close to the Jing Shi Base Command Center, only a twenty-minute walk away.
Of course, this referred to the pace of Power Users. After awakening abilities, physical fitness would be enhanced compared to ordinary people, and the speed would also be much faster. Non-speed Power Users’ pace is 2-3 times that of ordinary people.
The elevator in this building still had electricity. Kong Zhongcheng led Ji An in, pressed the fifth floor, and said with a smile, “Fifth floor, how about it? This floor is fine, right? Even if the elevator loses power, climbing won’t be too tiring.
But don’t worry, the power won’t run out easily. There’s a Thunder-type Power User living in this building who recharges the elevator every day.”
As he spoke, they reached the fifth floor. The elevator door on the left side opened, and Kong Zhongcheng led him out, “This building has one apartment per floor. Except for the cleaning auntie, no one else without your floor’s card can come up. Of course, it doesn’t exclude climbing the stairs, but I estimate no one would be stupid enough to do that. This building is full of high-level Power Users.”
“Zhongcheng, you’re here. We’re all moved out,” The apartment door was pushed open, and a middle-aged man in his fifties walked out. The man was wearing casual clothes and looked very amiable, but his back was straight, and his eyes were sharp. He was clearly a person in a high position.
“Uncle Gu,” Kong Zhongcheng said, “This is Ji An, the new resident here.”
“Hello,” The man took the initiative to shake hands with Ji An, “Very happy to meet you. My name is Gu Lianyún.”
“Hello, my name is Gu Jǐnlán,” A head popped out from behind the man, looking at Ji An with a smiling face and particularly enthusiastic attitude.
This whole family’s surname was Gu, and Gu Jinsheng also had the surname Gu. He wondered if this family had any relationship with Gu Jinsheng.
But no matter if they had a relationship or not, this family was moving out anyway.
“Hello everyone, my name is Ji An, I’m a Mental-type and Space-type dual-ability Power User,” Ji An said.
“I know you. Your deeds have spread. To be able to single-handedly enter a Zombie lair and bring out an ordinary person who hadn’t awakened abilities, young man, you are very capable!” Gu Lianyún genuinely praised.
“Thank you,” If it were someone else being praised like this, they might blush and feel embarrassed, but Ji An wouldn’t. His performance was worthy of such praise, so he just politely thanked him.
The Gu Lianyún opposite him was clearly not a pedantic person. He didn’t think Ji An was arrogant just because of his direct expression. After a moment of surprise, he smiled and patted Ji An’s shoulder, “Young man, it’s good to be young and spirited!”
“Uncle Gu, is there anything else you haven’t finished moving? Can I help?” Kong Zhongcheng asked.
“Inside the house, your aunt still has some things. Can you help check?” Gu Lianyún replied.
Ji An followed Kong Zhongcheng in and found that the apartment was over a hundred square meters, with three bedrooms, a living room, a bathroom, and a kitchen. It could be seen that the original owners had a lot of taste for life. There were many interesting small decorations and green plants rarely seen in The Apocalypse. There was also a beautiful crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling, and some calligraphy and paintings on the walls.
There was a luxurious leather sofa, and a soft Persian rug on the floor. Walking on it barefoot felt like sinking into clouds. There was a 40-inch large color TV in the living room, and the TV cabinet should be made of solid wood. Ji An couldn’t tell what kind of wood it was, but it looked very textured.
“Are we living here from now on?” Tang Ning asked softly, her eyes full of surprise, “This place is too beautiful, it’s more refined than where Tang Tang lives. This is too fortunate.”
Ji An nodded, also very satisfied with the place to live. No matter what, living comfortably always makes one feel better.
Kong Zhongcheng helped carry many bags and parcels out of the room and greeted Ji An, “Ji An, the elevator card is on the coffee table. Remember to take it with you when you go out, otherwise, you won’t be able to use the elevator and will have to climb the stairs.
The things in the house were left for you by Uncle Gu and Auntie Gu. If you like them, keep them; if not, you can change them anytime. We’re leaving now.”
“Okay,” Ji An responded. Tang Ning was already unable to suppress her excitement and began checking out each room.
Kong Zhongcheng walked to the door, found no one following, and turned back to call out, “Tang Ning, let’s go!”
“Ah?” Tang Ning froze, “Where else am I going? Aren’t I living here?”
“Of course not,” Kong Zhongcheng replied, “The Boss said how can single men and women live together? There’s another resident in this apartment, and there’s no room for you. The whole building is inhabited by Power Users, and you’re an ordinary person, so it’s not suitable for you to live here.”
“Oh, I see,” Tang Ning looked at Ji An.
Ji An asked, “Where is she living?”
“Don’t worry, she’s living in a place where Power Users and ordinary people are mixed. Although the accommodation conditions aren’t as good as here, they’re still decent, and safety is absolutely guaranteed. That side is a studio apartment, one per person, which is perfect for Miss Tang,” Kong Zhongcheng explained.
Ji An nodded. After everyone left, Ji An began to examine the rooms. With three sides facing the sun, he had to say, this apartment was really good.
One of the bedrooms had been converted into a study, with bookshelves packed with books. Ji An flipped through them casually and found that there were all types, and some were even professional books.
Both bedrooms were empty, with clean quilts and bedding, clearly unoccupied. Ji An chose one he liked and moved in.
Ji An sat by the bed and was about to inject his mental power into the spatial necklace to examine it properly again when he heard the doorbell ring. He thought it was the other tenant returning and went to open the door.
He found a gentle and intellectual woman in her fifties standing outside the door. It was the hostess of the family that had just moved out. She smiled gracefully, “Just now I was too busy to properly introduce myself. My name is Dai Xin. For our first meeting, I don’t have much of a gift to offer, but this is some small fish sauce I made myself. I hope you like it.”
Ji An felt a little inexplicable, but he could see that the other party had no ill intentions. On the contrary, she seemed to want to get closer to him, so he accepted it.
“Thank you, I’m Ji An. If you need anything in the future, feel free to ask,” Ji An said politely.
“Then if I need you in the future, I won’t be polite,” Dai Xin said half-jokingly in an intimate tone.
“Okay.”
After Dai Xin left, Ji An opened the small fish sauce and smelled it. It was very fragrant. He tasted a bite, and it was even more fragrant. It was the taste of a home from before The Apocalypse.
Ji An had been an orphan since he was a child and had no home, so he particularly liked this kind of homey taste. It could be said that this gift truly touched his heart and made him feel very warm.
Apart from this, the gift itself was not light. In The Apocalypse, water sources mutated, and seafood was almost impossible to eat. Large fish were also hard to find, let alone the small fish used to make the sauce.
Ji An really liked this gift. He put the small fish sauce into his spatial item and continued to explore the spatial necklace.
Earlier, on the run, although Ji An had cracked the secret of the spatial necklace, he was too rushed at the time to examine it carefully.
This time, Ji An meticulously checked and discovered the special nature of the spatial necklace.
The space inside the necklace was pitch black. Ji An didn’t know how to describe it; that kind of black wasn’t normal black, it was like the darkness of the sky after sunset without any stars.
Fortunately, he used mental power to retrieve and view items from the space. If he used his naked eyes, he would see nothing.
The space looked like it was about the size of a cubic football field, but Ji An found that it seemed capable of expanding in the up, down, left, and right directions. Its real area was not just this large.
It was just that it was blocked by an invisible barrier, preventing Ji An’s mental power from exploring deeper in the four directions.
In fact, the space could indeed be expanded and upgraded. Ji An had seen Tang Tang upgrade the space when he was a ghost.
But the crystal cores Tang Tang used to upgrade the space disgusted Ji An. Even if Ji An could never upgrade the space in his lifetime, he wouldn’t use that method—Power User crystal cores.
Yes, Tang Tang used human, Power User brain crystal cores to upgrade the space.
At first, Tang Tang also wanted to use Zombie Crystal Cores to upgrade the space, but unfortunately, the spatial necklace didn’t like Zombie Crystal Cores. Even if Tang Tang put Zombie Crystal Cores into the space, the space wouldn’t absorb them.
Later, Tang Tang accidentally got a Power User crystal core. She originally wanted to put it in the space for storage, but she accidentally discovered that the space could absorb Power User crystal cores. From then on, Tang Tang began to intentionally or unintentionally collect Power User crystal cores to upgrade the space.
However, Ji An would definitely not choose this method.
Ji An didn’t believe that the space only had this one method of advancement. Something that can only be advanced through human lives has the characteristics of an evil object.
The spatial necklace felt very comfortable to Ji An, a very sacred feeling. Ji An believed it was a sacred item, not an evil one.
There was also a spiritual spring in the space. The spring water was clear and clean. The water in this spring had healing effects, but at this time, it was only Level 1, capable of healing minor injuries of ordinary people and Level 1 Power Users.
If the spatial necklace were still in Tang Tang’s hands, Tang Tang would discover that the space could absorb Power User crystal cores to upgrade in the future. She would follow suit and also use the crystal cores of Healing-type and Water-type Power Users to upgrade the spring water.
Facts proved that such a method was indeed effective.
But Ji An always felt that a miracle like the space shouldn’t have such a bloody upgrade method; there must be other ways to upgrade it.
Anyway, Tang Tang had not discovered such an evil upgrade method yet, and the space and spring water had not been polluted. Everything was still in time.