Volume One, Chapter Eight: A Family Must Be Neat and Tidy

After an unknown length of time, Qiao Yuan slowly regained consciousness. The pain at the back of her head instantly brought her to full alert. Yes, she had been knocked out by that wicked woman.

Qiao Yuan looked around; this was the storage room, once her bedroom. The dim room was lit only by a faint yellow lightbulb. Hiss! That old woman hit hard. Rubbing the back of her head gently, Qiao Yuan cursed inwardly. Fortunately, she hadn’t been tied up; otherwise, she would have been utterly helpless.

That morning, when she had drawn the blind box, she thought those gloves were useless. But this afternoon, reality slapped her in the face. She pulled the gloves from her space and put them on. Today, anyone who dared to lay a hand on her would be taken away.

After a while, voices came from outside the door—Qiao Zhenyun and Li Hua talking. Qiao Yuan pressed herself against the door, listening intently.

“What should we do now? Just tie her up and send her to the Wang family?” one voice asked.

“No, she still has so much money on her. I won’t be satisfied unless I get it,” the other replied.

“Honey, a couple of years ago, your friend tricked us into buying insurance; didn’t he also get accident insurance for Qiao Yuan? Let’s just go all the way.”

“That way, we can inherit her estate and get a big compensation.”

“Mom, what about the body?”

“I have a meat grinder at the shop…”

Qiao Yuan froze suddenly. They wanted to kill her!

Fine. Fine. Suddenly, a cold calmness swept over her. She had never been this clear-headed before. If you show no mercy, don’t blame me for being ruthless.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Qiao Yuan pounded wildly on the storage room door. “Mom, Dad! I was wrong! Please let me out, I’ll give you the money.”

Hearing her voice, the storage room door opened. The bright light startled Qiao Yuan momentarily. When her eyes adjusted, she saw Qiao Zhenyun and Qiao Qiu standing before her like a wall.

Without hesitation, she threw her arms around their legs, clutching them tightly.

“Dad, I’ll give you all the money. I’ll marry Wang Tianqi, I’ll be obedient.”

Seeing her trembling like that, Qiao Zhenyun chuckled lightly. “You should’ve been this obedient earlier; you wouldn’t have gotten hit.”

“Dad, I’m hungry. Let me eat a little, then we can all go to the bank together, okay?”

Qiao Zhenyun glanced back at Li Hua.

If they could get the money without killing her, then of course that was better.

Li Hua nodded.

“Don’t try any tricks, or you’ll regret it.”

Qiao Yuan nodded repeatedly.

“Wife, get her a steamed bun.”

Qiao Zhenyun lifted Qiao Yuan and tossed her onto the sofa.

Li Hua came out of the kitchen with a steamed bun. “Eat it. Once you’re done, we’ll leave.”

---

Qiao Yuan reached out and brushed Li Hua’s hand as she took the bun. Li Hua frowned but didn’t say anything.

“Hahaha!” Qiao Yuan started laughing, and then her laughter grew louder and louder, tears streaming down her face.

“What the hell are you laughing at?!” Qiao Zhenyun shuddered hearing that laugh, then raised his hand and slapped her.

“Get lost!”

Qiao Yuan looked at him calmly and spat two words with a faint tone. The next moment, Qiao Zhenyun vanished in an instant.

“Ah!” Li Hua covered her mouth and screamed. Qiao Qiu stood frozen. “What did you do to Dad? Where is he?”

“Want to know? Go keep him company,” Qiao Yuan smirked maliciously. “Get lost!”

Qiao Qiu vanished too.

“No, no, no! Husband! Little Qiu!” Li Hua panicked completely, frantic and helpless as her husband and son disappeared before her eyes. She knew Qiao Yuan was behind it, but this was beyond any scientific explanation, and the unknown terrified her.

“Xiao Yuan, please don’t hurt me… Mom doesn’t want to die.”

“Don’t you want a happy family of three?” Qiao Yuan stared at Li Hua, a cunning smile curling her lips. “Get lost.”

Within seconds, all three were gone.

Qiao Yuan clapped her hands and took off the gloves, storing them back in her space.

Whether you live or die from now on, it’s up to you three to fend for yourselves.

“Grandpa?” Qiao Yuan pushed open the small bedroom door and found her grandfather unconscious and unresponsive. She hurriedly called 911 and took him to the hospital.

The doctor said her grandfather had been given sleeping pills but thankfully in a small dose.

She stayed by his side all night.

At dawn, exhausted, Qiao Yuan dragged herself back to the grocery store.

What a harrowing day it had been.

She approached the shelves, intending to find some iodine to disinfect the wound on her head.

She heard the door open and turned to see Ning Jue stepping out of the storage room.

“You’re injured?” Ning Jue’s nose twitched as he hurried over.

Qiao Yuan’s wound was hidden beneath her hair; even the doctors in the hospital hadn’t noticed.

“I’ll help you.”

He took the iodine and cotton swabs, gently parting her hair at the back.

“Ouch, were you hit by something?”

“Yes, my foster mother hit me,” Qiao Yuan’s voice was a bit muffled.

Ning Jue fell silent and didn’t ask further.

After cleaning the wound, Ning Jue pushed the shopping cart and continued to clear out the grocery store.

[Ding! Task 3 issued: Sell any 10 household items within 3 days.]

Hearing the system alert, Qiao Yuan frowned. Recently, Ning Jue had only bought food and medicine; he hadn’t even glanced at the household items aisle.

How was she supposed to sell those?

“Ning Jue, do you need toothbrushes, toothpaste, towels, or anything like that?”

Ning Jue paused, thought for two seconds, and shook his head decisively. “We have plenty of those at home. Although my sister likes to stay clean, we have enough towels and such.”

“Is your sister safe?”

“She’s fine. She listens and hasn’t gone out. Otherwise, I’d be worried to death.”

“Oh! I forgot to tell you something.” Ning Jue’s eyes lit up with excitement. “I can control zombies! They won’t attack me and even obey my commands. It’s amazing.”

Qiao Yuan feigned surprise and gave a perfunctory response.

Big brother, you’ve lost your mind.

They chatted a while longer. Ning Jue shared one good piece of news and one bad.

The good news was that his two companions had been lucky; during their escape, they encountered soldiers and survived.

The bad news was that the zombie outbreak was massive, the government on the brink of collapse, and with more awakeners appearing, the military could no longer suppress the chaos. Consequently, many evil gangs had sprung up.

When the apocalypse arrives, people become terrifying without the constraints of law.

Ning Jue then gave Qiao Yuan a few gemstone necklaces, obviously valuable.

“My sister’s waiting at home. I have to go now.”

“Wait, you have a sister! Hold on!” Qiao Yuan called after him.

“She must need this!” She grabbed a pack of sanitary pads from the household goods shelf.

Ning Jue instantly blushed.

But then he began to regret his carelessness—how could he have forgotten to buy such essentials for his sister?

“Thank you…”

A bit embarrassed, Ning Jue approached the aisle, looking at the colorful packages, unsure where to start.

“I’ll get it for you!”

Qiao Yuan grabbed a plastic bag.

Twenty packs of 24mm daily use, ten packs of 350mm overnight, and ten packs of panty liners.

Just in case, she also took four boxes of tampons.

“Don’t worry, these are medical-grade sanitary pads—proper length, safe cotton, no fluorescent agents. You can use them with complete confidence.”

Ning Jue cleared his throat softly. “Really, thank you.”

With that, he hugged the sanitary pads and dashed out quickly.

[Ding! Task 3 completed.]

[Reward: 100 square meters of space, one aisle of outdoor goods shelves.]