Chapter 3: The Awakening of the Spiritual Spring System
892 Words
After completing the transfers, Elana immediately called for a ride to Riverside City's largest warehouse-style wholesale market—CostSave Wholesale.
With Christmas approaching, the market was packed with shoppers, carts piled high like mountains, the cacophony of voices mixing with holiday music. She pressed her lips together and wove through the crowds, feeling somewhat reassured: in this kind of atmosphere, buying large quantities wouldn't attract too much attention.
She'd just stepped into the largest grocery store, Grain & Oil World, and hadn't even opened her mouth when sudden commotion erupted from the street.
People flocked toward the disturbance like a tide, some crying out in alarm while others nervously called the police.
Elana had initially intended to ignore the scene and continue shopping, but then she caught a few words that drifted into her ears:
"He's gone crazy... like he has rabies!"
"He bit someone! Quick, pull him off—"
Her heart skipped a beat as she quickly pushed through the crowd to the center.
A man with grayish skin was pinning down a crying elderly man, savagely tearing at him with his teeth. The old man's arm was bloody, his screams heart-wrenching. The attacker suddenly looked up, blood and flesh still hanging from his mouth—his eyes were completely black with no whites visible, and his teeth were sharp and inhuman.
Elana went cold all over, frozen in place.
Sirens wailed from far to near as Riverside City police quickly took control of the situation. The biting man was forcibly shoved into a police car, still roaring and slamming against the windows, leaving bloody handprints. The elderly man was rushed away by paramedics.
She watched it all, her fingertips ice-cold.
So the zombie crisis had already quietly begun—it was just that the government was intervening to suppress it, blocking information to prevent panic.
They probably thought they could control it.
But that rain... After the red rain on February 25th, everything would spiral completely out of control.
Why was that? Most people who got caught in the rain turned into zombies, yet she had awakened abilities instead.
What secret was hidden in that rain?
She took a deep breath, pushing down her churning thoughts. Now wasn't the time to delve into this. Stockpiling supplies, protecting herself, staying alive—those were the priorities.
As the crowd gradually dispersed, she re-entered Grain & Oil World and walked directly to the store owner.
"I need three hundred tons of rice, three hundred tons of flour, two hundred cases each of every flavor of instant noodles, one thousand bottles each of various canned goods, ten thousand cases of water, five hundred cases each of sugar and salt..."
The store owner Frank was stunned, his pen hovering over his notepad. "Miss, are you sure? This quantity would feed an entire community for several years—and it will expire."
Elana smiled slightly, smoothly writing down her contact information and warehouse address. "I'm purchasing year-end benefits for Norton Corporation employees. It's the holidays—got to make sure everyone has a good New Year."
Her tone was confident and brooked no argument. "Please arrange the inventory as soon as possible and deliver directly to this warehouse. I'll pay the deposit now."
She knew the food would expire, of course. But in the apocalypse, expired food could still be traded for weapons, medicine, even a lifeline.
Unfortunately, she didn't have spatial abilities—she could only rely on renting warehouses near Silver Bay Gardens for convenient storage and access.
She reached for her credit card, but just then a hurried employee carrying goods bumped into her. Her wrist slammed hard into the table edge—
The emerald pendant her mother had left her slipped out from her collar, the chain snapping, and the pendant hit the ground with a crack. The antique silver setting on the back of the gemstone shattered on impact.
She stumbled and fell, her palm instinctively reaching out to break her fall, landing right on a sharp metal fragment.
Blood beaded up, staining both the green gemstone and the silver fragments.
A faint light flashed.
[Spiritual Spring System binding successful. Enter space immediately?]
She froze, looking around—only the panicked store owner and employees, no one had heard that cold mechanical voice.
[Host has not responded. Defaulting to not entering. Accept newbie quest? Reward upon completion: Static Warehouse ×1 (unlimited capacity, time frozen).]
This wasn't a hallucination.
"I accept." She responded mentally.
[Quest: Collect all pendant fragments without missing any. Embed fragments into the space altar to awaken the Spiritual Spring.]
Elana suppressed her excitement and, ignoring the wound on her palm, carefully picked up the gemstone and silver fragments from the floor.
"I'm so sorry! I really didn't mean to!" The employee's face was pale as he apologized repeatedly. Store owner Frank also rushed over, his tone anxious.
"It's fine," she interrupted softly, her gaze still fixed on the ground. "But could you give me a small brush and a tray? These fragments—I can't lose a single piece."
She felt heartbroken about her mother's keepsake, but was even more grateful for this blessing in disguise.
Just when she was worried about where to store all these supplies, the system had delivered the perfect solution—
The Spiritual Spring space was about to change everything.
- Writer
