Leaving the stronghold of the Long Hu gang, Noah, accompanied by Liu Xiaoyu, made their way towards the shopping district.
"Do you want to go to the mall, Xiaoyu?" Noah asked Liu Xiaoyu.
"Yes, yes!" The food supply at the stronghold was sufficient, but other resources were scarce, especially items specifically for girls, which were almost nonexistent.
Then, the two arrived at a Wandamall. These kinds of malls typically housed clothing, bags, cosmetics, and such; food was scarce, and whatever was available had already been scavenged clean, making it rare for survivors to visit.
Liu Xiaoyu, hopping excitedly, started her spree of zero-cost shopping. She took her time looking at this and choosing that, which was quite time-consuming.
Noah, with a grand gesture, swept the entire shop's contents into his expansive spatial ability.
Liu Xiaoyu, startled, screamed, "A ghost!"
"Shh," Noah, covering his ears, said, "Don't make such a fuss. I've stored the items in my special space. You can take your time choosing when we get back."
"Special space? What's that?" Liu Xiaoyu was very curious.
"It's exactly what it sounds like. I have a very large special space. I can store anything in it except for living animals and people," Noah explained patiently.
"Really? Then, then, I have so many things I want. Can we take them all?" Liu Xiaoyu's eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Of course, but going from store to store is too troublesome."
Then Noah transferred the entire mall's contents into his expansive space.
And then, onto the next mall.
Cleared out.
And the next, and the next, and the next—everything cleared out.
Passing by a car dealership, he took everything.
Hardware store, no exceptions, cleared out.
Hospital, excellent, all equipment and medicine taken.
Steel yard, took several hundred tons of steel, cement, lime, leaving nothing behind.
The paper mill, this one definitely couldn't be missed.
The seasoning factory, needless to say, Noah wished he could strip even the ground bare.
The library, the spiritual and cultural heritage of humanity now depended on me, taken away.
The brewery, not a drop left behind.
The cigarette factory, the same as above.
After roaming around the city of Su until the moon was high in the sky, Noah finally stopped, still not completely satisfied.
By the end of the day, Noah's expansive space had stored an immense amount of items, equivalent to the volume of hundreds of football fields.
It contained all sorts of things, but to the vast expanse of the spatial ability, it still seemed quite spacious.
Liu Xiaoyu was completely numb to the experience.
This wasn't shopping.
It was clearly stripping the land bare. Anything Noah set his eyes on didn't stand a chance of being left behind. Compared to Noah, what were bandits and robbers? They were just child's play, their hands couldn't be cleaner.
When the two returned to the stronghold at midnight,
Xue Qingyu hurriedly came up to them.
"Noah, you have to see this. A lot of stuff suddenly appeared in the courtyard at noon today, I didn't dare to touch it."
Noah looked at the pile of items in the yard, which included aphrodisiac herbs, silicone gadgets, whips, candles, and fitness equipment, previously plundered from the Iron Brothers.
Noah's mouth twitched, and with a wave of his hand, he stored all of it into his expansive space, along with the double-bridge truck that had been filled with medicines earlier.
Seeing this, Xue Qingyu's mouth dropped open in surprise. Liu Xiaoyu quickly relayed what Noah had said earlier to Xue Qingyu, clearing up any confusion.
Xue Qingyu was already accustomed to Noah's miraculous abilities.
He was a man shrouded in mystery.
The Noah she remembered was completely different; he seemed to know everything and could do anything.
Though he was a stranger, he exuded a sense of security.
"You must all be hungry, I've already prepared the meal, let's go back and eat."
"Yay!"
Liu Xiaoyu bounced back to the villa.
Noah was also very hungry, but he didn't rush to eat.
Instead, he turned his gaze towards the sky.
Under the dim night, one could faintly see hundreds of bloodthirsty bats flying and circling in the air, their numbers having increased more than tenfold compared to yesterday, and they were expected to double again by tomorrow.
Faced with these bloodthirsty bats, the villa's defenses were beginning to look inadequate.
Noah then took out steel plates from his expansive space and, controlling them with electromagnetic force, covered the entire surface of the villa with steel plates, leaving only steel nets over a few doors and windows for ventilation, turning the entire villa into a steel fortress.
Only by doing so could they feel secure to lie low during the upcoming, most challenging half month.
After completing all this, Noah returned to the villa, satisfied, to eat.
The meal was still two dishes and one soup, one meat and two vegetables.
It must be said that Xue Qingyu's cooking skills were quite good, producing dishes that were at least as tasty as those in most restaurants and also presented well.
But still, it was too little, with too few varieties of dishes, and not enough substantial food.
With the resources now at their disposal, the three of them had enough to lie low and eat for a lifetime without running out.
There was no need to eat so modestly and thriftily.
They could afford to be extravagant.
However, it's likely that Xue Qingyu only knew how to cook simple, rural dishes, and was not up to the task of preparing a lavish meal.
Moreover, Xue Qingyu spent a lot of time each day practicing her special abilities, leaving little time for cooking.
Liu Xiaoyu was even less reliable; she was good at eating, consuming enough for two, but cooking was another story, even worse than Xue Qingyu.
At that moment, Noah entertained the idea of hiring a chef.
After dinner, Noah took a bath, changed into new clothes, and went to the living room, where he took out a large pile of women's clothes, shoes, and a series of female products from his expansive space.
"Take your pick, and also, no need to stand guard tonight."
After finishing, Noah stretched and went straight back to his room to lie down.
The two girls joyfully picked out their favorite clothes and cosmetics.
"Qingyu, do you think Noah is a bit too serious? Doesn't he feel anything for us at all?" Liu Xiaoyu picked up a pair of white stockings, set them aside, and continued browsing other items, her expression somewhat helpless.
Xue Qingyu, picking up a pair of black stockings and liking them a lot, replied casually, "I think it's okay. He's not very familiar with us, so it's normal to be a bit distant."
Liu Xiaoyu shook her finger, "Oh no no no, Qingyu, that's not normal at all. It's the apocalypse now; who doesn't indulge their desires? You don't know what I saw today. Let me tell you..."
Liu Xiaoyu then recounted everything she had seen and heard over the past two days, continuing, "You see, those men are living in debauchery, but Noah seems to have no interest in such things at all. Why is that? Noah is so much better than them; he should be more indulgent. He should have devoured us by now."
"I'm starting to doubt my own charm, and yours too, Qingyu."
Xue Qingyu's face turned red, and she spat out, "You have no shame. Doesn't this just show how special he is? He's not like those beasts, a gentleman worthy of trust."
Liu Xiaoyu, holding her forehead in frustration, said, "Oh, come on, you're thinking too one-sidedly. I wish Noah was a bit more beastly."
"Do you think there's a possibility that Noah doesn't touch us because of Su Xiaoyan, that he's been looking for her all this time?"
Upon hearing this, Xue Qingyu froze.