Su Ling broke out in a cold sweat, her clothes soaked.
She squeezed her eyes shut, biting her lip until the metallic tang of blood filled her nostrils.
She seemed oblivious, every part of her body burning as if consumed by flames. Her bones, her veins, her limbs, every inch of her skin and flesh were being ravaged by the inferno.
The searing pain was unbearable. Her body trembled as she collapsed to the ground, curling into a ball.
If she had been a plump, juicy fruit at the start, she was now a heap of ashes, unrecognizable after being thoroughly cremated.
The pain was too much.
Su Ling's lips were torn and bleeding from her teeth, her features contorted in agony.
Her body shook uncontrollably. She hugged herself tightly, trying to alleviate the torment.
But it was all in vain. She was like a piece of meat being roasted over an open fire, flipped and turned.
Her head felt as if it were being hammered and nailed, as if someone were trying to pry open her skull and split it in two.
The burnt areas felt as if thousands of ants were gnawing at her flesh, a combination of pain and itchiness.
Tormented by this force, Su Ling's consciousness began to blur.
Time passed, and when Su Ling slowly opened her eyes and took in her surroundings, she sat up abruptly.
She expected to be sore all over, but instead, she felt light and nimble.
The spot where she had lain was covered in a thick layer of black sediment.
Su Ling stared at the substance, stunned. As she reached out to touch it, she noticed her entire arm was as black as charcoal.
This movement startled her.
Could it be…
In her previous life, as the apocalypse descended, Su Ling had devoured countless apocalypse novels. Combining this knowledge with her current condition, she understood.
Thinking of the painting, Su Ling quickly shifted from sitting to kneeling, bowing in the direction where the portrait had hung. "Thank you, senior."
With a mere thought, Su Ling exited the space and headed straight for the bathroom.
After a thorough shower and a change of clothes, Su Ling felt an immense sense of relief and comfort.
She could feel a surge of energy flowing within her, gathering in her lower abdomen and continuously circulating throughout her body, making her feel exceptionally warm and comfortable.
She picked up her phone to check the time. It was then that Su Ling froze.
She had no idea how long she had been in the space, but it couldn't have been just an hour.
Could it be that time in the space flowed much slower than outside, or perhaps it was even frozen?
She recalled her portable space in her previous life, where time flowed at the same rate as the outside world. Moreover, she couldn't physically enter it, only view its appearance through her consciousness.
With this thought, Su Ling noted the time and accessed the space with her laptop.
Since she had been reborn, she needed to make good use of her time and stockpile enough resources within the limited period.
Su Ling sat at the wooden table in the courtyard of the small house, glancing at the time on her laptop. She began typing, planning her pre-apocalypse schedule.
Lost in her work, she didn't know how long she had been typing before she looked up from her laptop, rubbing her stiff neck.
Her gaze fixed on the top right corner of the laptop screen. She checked the time, and her first thought was that the laptop was broken.
The thought had barely crossed her mind before she was out of the space. She quickly checked her phone, realizing only five minutes had passed.
She knew with certainty that she had spent at least an hour inside!
She looked again at the laptop she was holding. The time had refreshed and synchronized with her phone.
Therefore, time in the space flowed extremely slowly compared to the outside world!
Unable to confirm the exact ratio immediately, Su Ling didn't dwell on it. She printed out her schedule from the computer.
Grabbing a hat, mask, and car keys, she packed a bag and headed out, intending to visit a wholesale market.