After freshening up, Clara Wong sat on her bed, paper and pen in hand, contemplating how to renovate the area outside her courtyard. Given the extreme cold period, it was certain that the animals in the mountains would be considerably fewer. They would have to leave the mountains in search of food, which would make everything more dangerous.

After thinking for a while, Clara decided to check her storage space for supplies. Pulling out a box of animal traps, springs, fishing nets, and spikes, she wondered, “What else do I need?” 

Suddenly, she stepped back to take another look at the shelf where she'd just taken the supplies. “What’s this?” She was surprised to see additional boxes. She distinctly remembered placing just one box of traps, but now there were two.

Curious, Clara checked the other shelves and found that everything had doubled! Since she was the one who organized everything herself, she knew for certain what she had on each shelf. 

Then she rounded to the storage area behind the shelves— 

“Wow!!!” Every supply had also increased in quantity!

“What is going on?” Clara was bewildered. Could it be that this space could duplicate everything?

To test her theory, she took a box of instant hot pot from the bedroom and placed it in the most visible spot in the room. Glancing at the time, she noted it was 5:36 PM.

She planned to check again tomorrow if the space was indeed capable of replication. If this was true, then her resources would be unlimited.

Reflecting on her life, Clara considered forming a collaboration with her home country, Hua Country. After all, it was her country where she had lived for many years, and her grandfather had once been a general. Though he had retired for long, the education in patriotism he instilled in her had never wavered. Clara was still deeply patriotic at heart.

After settling her thoughts, Clara decided to prepare dinner for the day. Remembering that Jinxin had been frightened earlier, she grabbed her pet’s favorite carrot and mixed a bowl of goat milk powder for him. As for herself, she thought, “Time for barbecue tonight!”

No hesitation—since she had exercised earlier, Clara was easily satisfied by small joys. Every time she completed a little task, she rewarded herself.

From her storage space, she took out an abundance of vegetables including eggplant, potatoes, green beans, chili peppers, and enoki mushrooms. For the meat, she prepared beef, lamb, chicken feet, and beef tendon. That should be more than enough. Adding some beer seemed right because what's better than drinks with barbecue?

She also brought out a packet of barbecue sauce—no need to mix it herself—and set up a small grill directly on the fireplace. She found a cushion to sit on beside it, readying a plate and skewers as she washed her hands.

Starting with slicing eggplants and potatoes, she cut the green beans in half, skewered the chili peppers and enoki mushrooms directly, and diced the beef and lamb to marinate before skewering. The chicken feet and beef tendons were also skewered directly.

As she began grilling, the meat sizzled pleasantly. Jinxin caught the aroma and rushed over. Clara spotted a piece of unmarinated meat and decided to grill it for her pet as well.

After a few minutes of grilling, she flipped the meat and brushed on the sauce, the oil dripping down as the smell of barbecue wafted through the room. Clara took a deep breath, and Jinxin mirrored her action beside her, eagerly anticipating his treat.

Chuckling, Clara set aside a few skewers for Jinxin to cool before transferring them to his food bowl. Jinxin immediately dug in, making happy munching sounds.

Clara liked her food a little charred; biting into it, the juices burst forth, releasing a crispy aroma that ignited her palate. It was utterly delicious!

After savoring beef and lamb, her chicken feet were nearly ready, and Clara took a bite, enjoying the elasticity of the chicken, which wasn’t mushy at all. One more bite of the beef tendon gave that unique texture again.

Finishing with the vegetables to round out her meal, Clara felt immensely satisfied with her dinner. She cleaned up afterward, sprayed some air freshener, and gave Jinxin a quick rinse, using a no-rinse sanitizer since he had bathed earlier.

Having done a simple wash for herself, Clara checked her storage space again and found no remarkable changes. She lay down directly to sleep.

Meanwhile, at the S City Military District…

Ethan Zhou and his group returned to their stationed base, and he went straight to find his commander, General Wei, who was sent from A City as the head of the S City station. Due to family connections, Ethan was already acquainted with General Wei.

Remembering General Wei’s previous words, Ethan furrowed his brow.

*Knock knock—*

“Come in.”

A voice came from within. Pushing the door open, Ethan reported, “Reporting in!”

General Wei looked surprised to see Ethan at the door. “Ah, Ethan, you’re here. Sit down.”

Ethan stepped inside and sat across from General Wei, hesitating before asking, “General, what exactly happened in A City?”

General Wei flipped through some documents without looking up. “Ethan, I’ve applied for your transfer orders to B City. The orders are ready; you should pack your things.”

Instead of feeling happy, Ethan's brows furrowed deeper. “General! I don’t want to go to B City. Why don’t you tell me what’s going on in A City?”

General Wei halted his reading, finally lifting his gaze to meet Ethan’s. “So what? What can you do? Even if you know, what then? This matter is beyond your control or mine. I’ve already sent your parents to B City. Off you go.”

His voice grew weary at the end.

Hua Country was no longer the Hua Country of the past…

Ethan fell silent, turning to walk towards the training ground.

General Wei watched him leave and sighed. He too felt angry; he had joined the military to protect the people, yet now the plans were driving the population into danger, turning protective weapons into deadly harbingers.

This was like undermining his very beliefs. He wanted to resist, but the outcome was invariably destruction. Remembering there were people outside watching him, a chill glimmered in General Wei's eyes.

---

*Central Planet*

Wei Feng rushed into the palace, bowing before the figure sitting on the throne. “Your Highness, the bloodline of Mang has been activated!”

The figure straightened, raising an eyebrow. “Hmm? Has a location been pinpointed?”

Wei Feng lowered his head. “The power of the bloodline is still unstable. It will take approximately half a month to pinpoint accurately.”

The runes on the forehead of the figure flickered…

Half a month...

---

*Starbuilding*

The place where the man with long black hair once stood was now empty, leaving only a crystal ball emitting a ghostly glow.

The guards outside felt a wave of relief wash over them as they sensed the departure.

---

*Suburban S City, Blue Star*

He Jie looked around in disdain. “Is this really where the bloodline of Mang resides?”