With only four days left until the apocalypse, every second felt like a Damocles' sword hanging over her head, urging Su Yao to gamble everything for her family's survival. From ancient and obscure documents, Su Yao glimpsed a glimmer of hope—jade artifacts might be the key to upgrading her space. This discovery, like a ray of light in the darkness, led her resolutely onto this path of hoarding, fraught with unknowns and dangers.

Su Yao first arrived at the bustling antique market, where the air seemed thick with the dust of history and a mysterious aura. The dim, yellowish lights in the shops illuminated the captivating luster of the jade artifacts displayed in the windows. Some jade pendants were like the warm glow of the moon, their carvings exquisite and delicate, depicting mythical beasts poised to leap from the walls, and flowers exuding a subtle fragrance; jade bracelets resembled crystal-clear springs, their pure texture and soft glow telling ancient stories; jade ruyi scepters, jade ornaments, and other items were in various shapes and forms, like divine artifacts from ancient legends.

She entered a seemingly inconspicuous shop that held a hidden secret. The shopkeeper was an elderly man with piercing eyes, his gaze seemingly able to see through Su Yao's thoughts. As soon as Su Yao explained her purpose, the old man narrowed his eyes, asking with a half-smile, "Young lady, with the end of the world approaching, why do you need so many jade pieces? Do you perhaps have some unspeakable secret?" Su Yao was startled, but maintained a composed facade, saying, "My elders are obsessed with jade. This might be my last chance; I hope you will grant my request." The old man stared at her for a long time before slowly nodding and beginning to introduce the jade pieces in the shop. Su Yao's hands trembled slightly as she selected, each jade pendant feeling like a roll of the dice. Just as she was about to pay, she suddenly heard a commotion outside, followed by a group of people wielding weapons rushing in. The leader said menacingly, "Hand over all the jade!" Su Yao's heart leaped into her throat. She quickly grabbed a jade pendant and hid it in her clothes, then, taking advantage of the chaos, escaped through the back door of the shop.

But she knew she couldn't give up, so she went to several jade shops. In one of them, a set of jade zodiac animal figurines caught her eye. These figurines seemed to have been given a soul; the dragon, with its claws outstretched and its majesty evident, looked as if it were about to soar into the clouds at any moment; the tiger, majestic and awe-inspiring, seemed to tremble with every hair; the rabbit, cute and adorable, was lifelike. Just as she was about to take the figurines, the shop's alarm suddenly went off. It turned out the shop had a security system. In an instant, the lights flashed, the door slammed shut, and Su Yao was trapped inside. At the same time, a group of well-trained security guards appeared out of nowhere, wielding electric batons and approaching her. Su Yao was frantic. Her eyes quickly searched the shop and spotted a ventilation shaft. Using her agility, she climbed onto a shelf and squeezed into the ventilation shaft before the guards could surround her. In the narrow, dark ventilation duct, she crawled with difficulty, with the guards hot on her heels.

Besides finished jade pieces, Su Yao learned of a jade processing factory on the outskirts of the city with a large quantity of raw jade. When she arrived, she found it had already been occupied by a gang of ruthless bandits. These bandits patrolled the factory, their eyes fierce, like wolves. Su Yao carefully avoided their gaze, searching for suitable targets among the mountains of jade. She had just picked up a promising piece of raw jade when she accidentally bumped into a nearby rock, making a sound. The bandits immediately became alert and began searching her direction. Su Yao held her breath, hiding behind a large rock, her heart pounding like thunder in her ears. Just as the bandits were about to find her, a stray dog ​​suddenly rushed out from the other side, attracting their attention. Su Yao seized the opportunity and escaped with the raw jade.

After countless hardships, Su Yao finally returned to the safe house with the jade artifacts she had collected. Her clothes were tattered, and she had several abrasions, but the light in her eyes was unwavering. She placed the jade artifacts in a specially made room, surrounded by various protective arrays, just in case. When she began to try to make contact between the jade artifacts and the surrounding space, the air in the entire room seemed to freeze, and a mysterious and powerful force surged within the space. The jade artifacts began to glow faintly, and the surrounding space showed signs of distortion, like a giant vortex threatening to devour everything. Su Yao felt an immense suction force, as if her body was about to be torn apart, but she gritted her teeth and concentrated her mind to guide the space to absorb the energy of the jade artifacts. Every second felt like eternity; her forehead was covered in sweat, and her body trembled from the immense pressure, but she knew that this was her family's only hope for survival in the apocalypse, and she could not give up.