Chapter 2

At six o'clock in the afternoon, Xia Ke ignored the manager's disapproving look and quickly packed her bag to go home.

She's a manager at a small, run-down company, but she still has a lot of authority. Before, she had no choice but to be subservient in order to make a living. Now that she has a new way out, she's no longer afraid of him!

She rode a shared bike, then transferred to the subway and then to a bus, and finally arrived at her cramped rented room an hour and a half later.

The first thing I did when I got home was to take out the three space rings from my bag. Although the space rings were small, they felt quite heavy in my hand.

The basic spatial ring is a cold, icy silver, its silvery luster both elegant and noble, like the purest star in the night sky, radiating a chilling aura under the light. The intermediate spatial ring, on the other hand, is an extreme black, making it mysterious and unpredictable, like a phantom in the darkness, extremely alluring, inviting exploration yet inspiring awe.

As expected of a product of the system, it looks extraordinary.

Xia Ke originally planned to use the primary space ring for the experiment, but now that there is a better option, the experimental subjects have naturally changed as well.

Xia Ke pressed the red button on the black space ring.

"Should a location be established?"

Blue lettering was projected from the spatial ring into view.

"confirm."

"Location scanning in progress... Location confirmation in progress..."

"This location is not a public area but belongs to the private domain of the space tunnel owner, and can be used to construct a site."

"Location established."

"Once the other location is established, the spatial ring will be activated. Please establish it promptly."

Is that all? It's pretty simple.

After setting up the location, Xia Ke didn't move. She lay sprawled on the bed, having experienced too much today. She needed to process it all.

Xia Ke was lying there, feeling drowsy, when she heard a knock at the door. Only then did she lazily get up and open it.

"Hello, this is [Courier Name], are you here to send a package? What is it? What is the tracking number?"

Xia can put the space ring into the prepared box.

"This is tracking number 754236. When will the package arrive?"

"You ordered express delivery, it can be delivered before 6 pm tomorrow. If delivery is delayed, it can be delivered by the morning after tomorrow at the latest. We suggest you insure valuable items." The courier saw that the customer had sent a round, black thing that looked like a stone. It didn't look valuable, but he still said it just in case.

Xia Ke, who only had two hundred yuan on her, waved her hand dismissively, "It's nothing valuable, just send it directly. But could you please wrap it a few more times for me? It's a gift, so please don't let it get lost in the mail."

"Okay, don't worry, under normal circumstances, the package won't be lost."

The delivery guy quickly packed the package, left a few words, and then went downstairs.

What's the use of worrying or not? Poor Xia Ke's current net worth is only enough to afford to send the space ring out by express delivery to confirm the other end's location.

Even if you're worried, you have to keep it to yourself!

She was glad that her home was within 1,500 kilometers of Beijing, otherwise she would have had to go out and find a suitable location to create the site.

The tiny spatial ring traveled a long way with other express deliveries and finally arrived at its destination the night after Xia Ke sent it.

"Hey! Uncle Xia, there's a package for you at the courier station, remember to come and pick it up!"

When the deliveryman called, Xia Zhongguo and his wife were preparing to have dinner. As they got older, their hearing weakened, and what sounded deafening to others was just right for them.

"Okay, okay, I'll be right there."

After hanging up the phone, I didn't even eat; I went to the courier station to pick up my package.

This must be the package Coco kept asking for. That kid, even when she's thousands of miles away, she still makes things difficult for those two old folks by assigning them tasks.

The package arrived, and inside was a dark, round ring. The couple didn't know what it was, but they remembered their daughter's instructions and made a video call to her in Beijing as soon as they received the package.

Sending such an expensive item via courier was a last resort. Although she comforted herself that it didn't matter, Xia Ke was constantly worried that the package would get lost, which would be a huge loss.

This is a one-of-a-kind intermediate space ring in the entire world!

Xia Ke was waiting for a call from her family, sending eight hundred messages a day to ask her parents if they had received the package.

Seeing my dad's video call request on the screen, knowing that the things had arrived home safely, I finally felt a huge weight lifted off my shoulders.

Xia Ke directed her parents upstairs to her room, and then directed her bewildered parents to press a button to establish the other end of the space tunnel in their own room at home.

After pressing the button, the three of them held their breath. Xia Ke was nervous, while her parents were completely confused, but seeing their daughter's nervousness, they also became nervous.

About half a minute after pressing the blue button, a blue-white vortex appeared simultaneously at Xia Kejing's rented house in the city and the location where his hometown was built. A faint suction force emanated from the vortex, but it was not strong, as if it was guiding people into it.

After sending the package, Xia Ke had already learned all the usage details of the space ring from the system. Holding her breath, ignoring her parents' exclamations and attempts to stop her on the phone, she resolutely walked into the tunnel.

For a fleeting moment, the world before her eyes sank into deep darkness. Then, vibrant colors rushed into her vision like a dream, as if she were on a high-speed train that transcended the boundaries of reality. Those colorful lights were like fleeting landscapes, each scene dazzling yet ephemeral. Yet, in this flowing feast of light and shadow, she remained motionless, her legs firmly planted in place from beginning to end.

Xia Ke counted in her mind, and when she counted to 90, she saw the familiar blue and white vortex.

Stepping out of the blue and white vortex, what came into view was the familiar room of his hometown and his parents staring in disbelief.

Waiting for the vortex to open for 30 seconds, then traversing space for 90 seconds, and completing the nearly 1,500-kilometer space journey from Beijing to a small mountain village in the southwest takes about two minutes.

"Coco! What is this? Weren't you in Beijing? How did you get back? What is this?"

Xia Ke was jolted out of her thoughts by her parents' voices.

She grinned at her parents and said, "Mom and Dad, I'm back! I'm never leaving again!"

Next, she explained the space ring to her parents, but omitted the system part, only saying that the space ring was developed by a classmate who was doing scientific research in Beijing, and asked her to try it out.

As soon as she finished speaking, Xia's mother slapped Xia Ke on the shoulder and scolded, "You're too daring! You'll use anything, good or bad! If there's a problem with this thing, you'll step into that whirlpool and never get out. How are your father and I supposed to live then!"

Xia Ke quickly admitted her mistake. Since she dared to use herself as an experiment, she must have made thorough preparations, but her parents didn't know that, and it was wrong of her to make them worry.

"Mom and Dad, don't worry. The space ring has a precise and strict self-testing program. Once the product detects any minor fault, this self-testing program will be activated to lock the entire space ring and ensure that it cannot be opened. Therefore, there will be no situation where you can't get out during space travel."

Whether as a seller or a user, Xia Ke is very concerned about the consequences of a malfunction in the space ring.

Not being able to open the spatial ring is a minor problem; the real issue is getting trapped in a spatial tunnel during spatial travel, which would be troublesome.

The system understood Xia Ke's concerns and guaranteed the quality of its products. Even in the event of a malfunction, the internal program of the space ring would prevent its activation, ensuring no one would be trapped in the space tunnel. Furthermore, in the unlikely event of someone being trapped, the system promised that as long as the trapped person was using a system-made space ring, it would take necessary measures to ensure their 100% safe escape and would assume responsibility for any subsequent compensation.

With the system's promise, Xia Ke finally felt comfortable using the space ring.

After explaining, Xia Ke told her parents about her plans to go home this time.

"Mom and Dad, I'm planning to quit my job and go home to start a business selling space rings."

Xia Ke's words stirred up a huge wave of discussion. Xia's parents, who were initially confused by Xia Ke's explanation, were now completely focused on Xia Ke's talk about starting a business.

"Quit your job and start your own business? Coco, you need to think this through!"

“Yes, you know your dad and I aren’t capable and can’t help you. I’ve heard that the situation outside is not good. Your Aunt Ge’s brother, Ah Shui, has lost more than a million yuan doing business outside.”

"Yes, starting a business these days is extremely risky!"

Xia Ke interrupted their attempt to persuade her further, saying, "Mom and Dad, don't worry, I've thought it all through, I won't do anything reckless."

This child has been opinionated since she was a child. Xia's parents are old farmers who work in the fields. They know that their understanding is limited and they don't understand their daughters' studies and work. So, since high school, they have rarely interfered with the decisions of Xia Ke and her sister. Moreover, this spatial ring is really magical. In the blink of an eye, they have arrived home from Beijing.

If they were to sell one, the elderly couple would like to buy one so they could easily visit their child who works away from home.

Ultimately, having been cautious their whole lives, the couple, though not entirely in agreement, respected their daughter's decision.

“Sigh! You’re all grown up now. We don’t really understand your business or anything like that. Your mom and I have a few tens of thousands of yuan here. You can use it for now.”

With only 227 yuan left in her account, Xia Ke hurriedly waved her hand and replied righteously, "I don't want your money. Don't worry, I have money, and I will earn a lot more money for you to spend in the future!"

Xia Ke had a good night's sleep in her room. Compared to the rented room in Beijing, her own house, although self-built, was much more comfortable than the two thousand yuan rented room in Beijing.

The room is sunny, quiet, and spacious. When you open the window, you can see the colorful flowers that my mother planted in the yard.

After finishing breakfast, I picked up my bag and said, "Mom, I'm leaving now. I want to eat your stir-fried chicken when I get home tonight."

"Okay, I'll kill a chicken for you at noon."

Being able to come home to my mom's cooking every day after get off work is such a blessing!

After spending two minutes getting from home to her rented apartment and then enduring a painful one-and-a-half-hour commute, Xia Ke finally arrived at the company just in time. The first thing she did upon arriving at work was to resign.

She was busy starting her company and didn't have time to work like a slave anymore.

The leave application went smoothly. The company was planning to lay off employees recently, and Xia Ke's departure was exactly what the company wanted. Both parties agreed to hand over the work within a week, and Xia Ke could leave the company completely.