Chapter 1 Selling a House

On Wednesday, March 6, 2250, Jiang Rong was reborn.

She was reborn three months before the great crisis, on her 25th birthday.

At this moment, Jiang Rong was sitting on the steps in front of the real estate agency, with his back to the glass door. He had his legs bent, was holding a brown paper bag, and was doodling on a notebook on his knee with a pen in his right hand.

Although it wasn't rush hour yet, the streets were already bustling with people and vehicles, and the noise was incessant. However, no matter how noisy it was around her, it couldn't affect Jiang Rong's work.

His hair was disheveled, and his eyes were bloodshot. A gust of cold wind made him involuntarily shrink his neck. He knew he looked disheveled, but he couldn't care less at that moment.

He hasn't been able to fall back asleep since waking up at midnight last night. This isn't his fault; anyone who knows the world will end in three months would be unable to remain calm.

Three months later, on June 6th, the world faced a major crisis. After one night, more than half of the world's population did not wake up, and the remaining people, still unable to recover from their grief, naturally bared their fangs at the last remaining humans.

Animals and plants worldwide have undergone mutations, resulting in incredibly ferocious creatures. While humans have also gained superpowers through mutation, they are neither as fast nor as powerful as the animals and plants. Moreover, mutated humans constitute only a small fraction; the vast majority are unarmed, ordinary people.

In his previous life, Jiang Rong was just an ordinary person with no weapons. After the great crisis, the government collapsed and order collapsed. He and his son barely survived, relying on the protection of the survivor base and the walls of their old family home deep in the mountains. They only lasted for three years.

Three years later, Lele was bitten to death by a mutated animal, and he and his son died tragically in the mouths of mutated rats.

When Jiang Rong woke up last night, the excruciating pain from being gnawed at her body subsided like a receding tide, but the pain and fear of being gnawed at her body had been deeply etched into her very bones.

By a stroke of luck, he woke up three months early. To prevent the tragedy from repeating itself, he decided to use these three months to plan for his son and himself.

This is why he was at the real estate agency so early in the morning. As an ordinary person, his biggest asset right now is his two houses. After the financial crisis, apartments in big cities became worthless. But now, his properties can still be exchanged for some money. This money will be his and his son's only means of survival after the crisis.

Just then, hurried footsteps sounded beside him. "Mr. Jiang, is this Xiao Zhou who made an appointment with you? I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

Jiang Rong stood up, closed her notebook, and turned to look. She saw a real estate agent in a black suit running towards her. He put away his notebook and pen and then stood up.

Xiao Zhou extended his hand to Jiang Rong with a warm smile, but Jiang Rong subconsciously took a step back. "Hello."

As a real estate agent, I've seen all sorts of bizarre clients. Xiao Zhou quickly withdrew his hand and opened the door to the Aijia Real Estate Agency behind the office. "Come in, Mr. Jiang, please come in."

Aijia Real Estate Agency has been operating in a prime location in the city for decades. As a long-time employee, Xiao Zhou has a good eye for people. Clients who call him late at night usually have urgent needs. Just an hour ago, he was woken up by Jiang Rong's call. Based on his judgment, he felt that Jiang Rong must have a family emergency and needed to sell her house.

The weather in March was chilly. Xiao Zhou placed a cup of hot water in front of Jiang Rong and said, "Mr. Jiang, please have some water."

The hot water in the glass swayed gently. Jiang Rong stared intently at the tiny bubbles on the glass's surface, looking as if it contained nectar to the unsuspecting. In the end, he couldn't resist, reached out, hugged the glass, and drank it all in one gulp.

After finishing a glass of water, Jiang Rong finally spoke: "I have an apartment to sell, a 165-square-meter apartment in the Xintiandi complex next door."

Xiao Zhou's hand trembled, and his voice carried an urgency he himself didn't realize: "New World?"

The neighboring Xintiandi residential complex has an average price of over 100,000 yuan per square meter, making it one of the top-tier upscale housing developments in City C, boasting excellent unit layouts and a prime location. Selling such a property would undoubtedly earn him a substantial commission.

What Jiang Rong said next filled Xiao Zhou with immense joy: "I'm in a hurry to sell, and I can be flexible with the price."

Xiao Zhou plopped down behind the table and took out a stack of documents from the cabinet. "You just mentioned your house in Xintiandi..."

Jiang Rong nodded. "165 square meters. You know the average price in this neighborhood better than I do. I only have one requirement: I need to sell it as soon as possible. I only accept cash; I don't accept loans."

Xiao Zhou hesitated for a moment: "Mr. Jiang, as you know, houses in Xintiandi are not cheap. To come up with 20 million in cash all at once..."

Jiang Rong looked at Xiao Zhou seriously: "15 million."

Xiao Zhou was momentarily stunned: "What?"

Jiang Rong said, "I only ask for 15 million." That's almost 3 million cheaper than the market price. If it were the old Jiang Rong, he would have thought he was crazy. But now he didn't care at all, he just wanted to get the prescription into money as soon as possible.

Xiao Zhou's heart raced with excitement. There weren't many apartments in Xintiandi, and although real estate tycoons were saying prices would fall, good properties were still in high demand. Even if this apartment was listed for 18 million, someone would buy it quickly. Now, the seller was actually offering to lower the price by 3 million… it felt like a windfall.

After his initial excitement, Xiao Zhou hesitated. He looked Jiang Rong up and down, wondering if he had encountered a swindler.

Jiang Rong seemed to see through Xiao Zhou's thoughts. He opened the leather bag and pulled out a bright red booklet. "This is the property certificate."

Then she opened her phone and scrolled to the photos section. "These are photos of the house's interior. You can view the house anytime. May I ask, based on your experience, when is the earliest I can expect to receive the money for this house?"

Xiao Zhou unfolded the property certificate, examined it carefully, and then stared at the photo. "The house has a good layout, location, renovation, and price. I believe someone will buy it soon." If he weren't poor, he would also want to buy such a house. This house is a high-quality listing; it's snapped up quickly once it's listed. Usually, their company will acquire these kinds of houses and then resell them to other sellers. This resale earns them a commission as well as a substantial profit from the price difference.

However, out of professional habit, Xiao Zhou wanted to negotiate the price down further, "Mr. Jiang, what do you think..."

Just then, Jiang Rong's phone rang in his pocket. He picked it up casually and said, "Hello... Are you looking at houses? Okay."

Other people looking at the property?

Xiao Zhou panicked and quickly reached out to grasp Jiang Rong's hand, which was resting on the table: "Mr. Jiang, we've decided on this apartment. Please don't sell it to anyone else yet. We'll give you an answer this afternoon!"

As a veteran salesman, he still held some sway in the company. He had a premonition that he would regret letting Jiang Rong leave today. Good properties don't wait; you have to act fast!

Jiang Rong turned off her phone and replied with a nonchalant "okay."

Although Jiang Rong had already proactively lowered the price by three million, based on his understanding of the real estate agency industry, agents would always find ways to lower the price. He wasn't good at haggling, so he set an alarm to create the illusion that someone was coming to view the property.

It seems this tactic worked quite well.

The real estate agency was right next to the Xintiandi residential complex, only a fifteen-minute walk away. She left early today, and as she departed the agency, sunlight was just beginning to stream through the treetops. The air was filled with the sound of car exhaust. Jiang Rong sighed softly, looking around wistfully: this bustling yet ordinary morning wouldn't last much longer.

After the great crisis began, major cities were the first to fall. The unburied dead and the suddenly mutated plants and animals filled the land with panic. When the regime collapsed, violence and crime followed...

Jiang Rong shook his head, trying to banish the horrific images from his mind. Fortunately, he still had time to make preparations.

As an upscale residential community, Xintiandi has only six buildings. The landscaping is excellent; entering the main gate feels like stepping into a forest. Jiang Rong owns two apartments in this community, one registered under her parents' names and the other under her own. Both apartments are on the eighth floor, just in different buildings.

He's selling his own unfinished apartment; he can't bear to sell his parents' house. Besides, he and his son are currently living in his parents' house. If he sells this apartment, where can he move with his son?

Jiang Rong carried steamed buns with pork filling and soy milk to the elevator. The sensor at the elevator entrance detected him and opened the door automatically. Perhaps because he got up early, he didn't encounter a single neighbor even when the elevator reached the eighth floor.

As soon as the elevator doors opened, a plump Corgi pounced on Jiang Rong. Unlike the Corgis with their cute peach-shaped butts that Jiang Rong usually saw, her dog's tail wasn't docked. At that moment, the Corgi's tail was held high, wagging so hard it left a blurry afterimage.

Jiang Rong bent down and patted the corgi's head with gentle eyes: "Lele, be good."

Although the property certificate states 165 square meters, with the included bonus area, the actual area reaches over 200 square meters. After exiting the elevator, all the space on that floor is at the homeowner's disposal. Jiang Rong converted this bonus area into Lele's exclusive space.

Lele circled Jiang Rong a few times, then stared longingly at the meat bun in Jiang Rong's hand. In the past, Jiang Rong would not have let it eat buns, but after experiencing a lifetime and struggling in the cruel natural world, he had changed his personality.

So he took two small meat buns out of the plastic bag and put them in Lele's bowl: "Eat up."

Lele happily wagged its big tail and plunged headfirst into the rice bowl.

Jiang Rong patted Lele's forehead: "Eat up, eat up." The big dog's fur was smooth and felt exceptionally good, so Jiang Rong couldn't resist patting it a few more times.

After passing through the entryway, Jiang Rong's living room came into view. Jiang Rong is an interior designer, and he is very satisfied with the house he designed. He used to like the feeling of being able to see everything at a glance, so his home is very open and airy, with very few cabinets.

However, his aesthetic sense has changed now. If given another chance, he would want to increase storage space in his home, and the row of cabinets would have to be built.

Just then, he heard a childish voice calling out, "Daddy~"

Looking towards the sound, he saw a crack in the door of the east bedroom. A sleepy-eyed child stood barefoot by the door, clutching a stuffed animal in one hand and rubbing his eyes with the other. This was his son, Jiang Xiaoheng, who was three years old this year. Children grow so fast; he remembered when he first brought Xiaoheng home, Xiaoheng was only half an arm's length long, and now he had grown into a big boy.

After a great crisis in his previous life, he took Xiao Heng and went into hiding. Poor Xiao Heng had to endure hunger and thirst at such a young age, and when he was finally bitten to death by rats, only his bones remained.

He hadn't seen his chubby, fair-skinned son in a very long time. Looking into Xiao Heng's big, round eyes, Jiang Rong's eyes welled up with tears. He opened his mouth and said, "Sigh~"

He then strode over to his son: "Xiao Heng, come here, go wash up. Dad bought you your favorite steamed buns."

Before the great crisis, Jiang Rong was a very health-conscious person. He would avoid soy milk, but he never touched sugary and oily foods like steamed pork buns. Even though Jiang Xiaoheng liked them, he would only let him have one or two occasionally. But when he was starving in the wilderness, if someone could give him a meat bun, he would be willing to risk his life for that person.

While Jiang Xiaoheng was washing up in the bathroom, Jiang Rong sat down at the dining table and unfolded his notebook. After turning to the first page, he put a half-check mark next to the first item, "Selling the house to raise funds."

At this moment, Jiang Xiaoheng tiptoed to his side, his hands behind his back, looking at him expectantly. Jiang Rong's tense and hardened heart melted at his son's smiling face: "What's wrong?"

Jiang Xiaoheng suddenly held up a drawing from behind him. The drawing depicted a dog, one big and one small, drawn crookedly, with a crown on the adult's head. Jiang Xiaoheng laughed happily, "Happy birthday, Dad! Hehe, Dad, look how well I drew it!"

Lele responded to his little master's call, and the room was filled with laughter. Jiang Rong was moved and bent down to hug her son: "Good, well drawn!"

He vowed to protect his son and his dog for the rest of his life.

Author's Note:

My little darlings, long time no see! Old Cat is back!

I don't want to repeat the things to know about consumption, anyway, there are only a few points that everyone understands.

Let Rongrong and her babies keep you company for the next few months!

P.S.: The controversial plot points have been changed.