Su Ling returned to her room, cleaned the dirt off her Tang blade, wiped it dry, and sheathed it.
She took ingredients from her space and began preparing lunch with a popsicle in her mouth.
Despite being very tired, Su Ling made sure not to compromise on her meals.
Although the electricity was out, the gas was still usable.
Soon, the dishes Su Ling prepared were served.
There was braised pork belly with eggs, pickled chili chicken gizzards, boiled fish, a plate of pickles, stir-fried hollow heart vegetables, and a special fruit tea.
As she cooked, the aroma of the food drifted out through the window and spread throughout the villa district.
Those who had left to cause trouble and were now returning home were drawn by the scent of food, and they all looked towards Su Ling's villa.
In their eyes, Su Ling's trip out had yielded substantial gains.
At the same time, some became restless and harbored greedy intentions.
After her body had undergone marrow cleansing and forging, Su Ling had a greater need for food. These few dishes were just right for her alone.
All the dishes she made were very appetizing, so she cooked a pot of rice.
After eating her fill, the dishes were all cleared.
Having satisfied her hunger, Su Ling washed the bowls and chopsticks, then went upstairs. After showering and changing her clothes, she went directly to her personal space.
She needed to check her morning's gains.
With her hair still wet, Su Ling sat cross-legged in the courtyard. She had spread a yoga mat on the dirt floor of the courtyard, and on it lay a pile of crystal cores, some transparent, some white.
Su Ling had killed at least a thousand zombies, but she had less than a hundred crystal cores in hand.
She carefully counted the number of crystal cores, stored them in the warehouse, and then began to cultivate.
The spiritual energy in the air was dense, so she didn't need crystal cores to cultivate. Coupled with her Phoenix Fire, which was a product of her space, her cultivation was like adding wings to a tiger.
As for what level she had reached, Su Ling was unclear.
What she was most eager for now was to cultivate her Constructor ability and her Crystal Core ability.
After an unknown period of cultivation, Su Ling stopped and returned to her small house to rest.
The moment her head hit the pillow, she fell into a deep sleep.
Outside the space.
Not long after Su Ling fell asleep, her villa received a few uninvited guests.
Outside Su Ling's villa, in the twilight, a man leaned a ladder against the wall. He motioned to his companion to hold the ladder steady as he climbed up and quickly stood on the wall. After confirming there were no anomalies, he signaled for his companions to follow.
Soon, several men were standing on the wall. They carefully took down the ladder and placed it against the wall in the courtyard.
They descended the ladder in the same manner, and the group stood in the courtyard, their target locked on Su Ling's villa.
If Su Ling were present, she would recognize the leader of the group as Wang Qiang, the man who had threatened to dig out her eyes and feed them to zombies.
His reason for sneaking into Su Ling's villa was simple: his wife craved the dishes Su Ling had cooked at noon and also coveted the supplies in Su Ling's bag.
Thus, after discussing it, the couple communicated with their neighbors and decided to sneak into Su Ling's villa, subdue her, and force her to hand over all her hidden supplies.
Before the apocalypse, Wang Qiang's profession was already shady. He had gotten rich through illicit dealings and bought a house in the villa district. Although he had become wealthy, his inherent bad nature remained unchanged; he still preferred to use his old tactics when facing problems.
Wang Qiang and his group carried the ladder to the villa, gently leaned it against the wall, and climbed up. They reached the second-floor window, propped themselves on the windowsill, and entered the villa.
Upon entering the villa, Wang Qiang and the others split up to search for Su Ling.
They searched the entire villa, inside and out, from top to bottom, but did not find Su Ling. Not only that, but her home was also pitifully bare. The refrigerator was empty, the bag she had brought back was shriveled and empty, and the kitchen contained nothing but seasonings and oil.
This desolate state made Wang Qiang and the others suspicious. Could the aroma of food they smelled at noon not have come from Su Ling's villa?