Danielle's space was very big—probably several hundred square meters.
But it was a strange space. There was a patch of land right in the center.
She didn't know what it was for, so she decided to figure it out later.
With a wave of her small hand, everything in the room—useful or not—was quickly stored in the space.
When Zachary came out of the bathroom after calming down, he was shocked.
The people were gone!
The things were gone too!
"Rain!"
Zachary rushed to open the door. "Danielle, you woman!"
"Hee hee."
Danielle smiled and waved at him.
"Hee hee."
Little Rain copied her, his small face blooming like a flower.
Zachary's legs almost gave out. His heart was still beating wildly in his ears.
After a long while, he finally found his voice. "You two…
Why?"
Why were you messing with me?
Danielle rolled her eyes at him. "Who told you to think I was going to leave you? I said I'd take you both to live in the middle zone. You just didn't believe me."
Rain also rolled his eyes. "Yeah! Mommy said she wouldn't leave us. Daddy is silly."
This kid, huh.
Zachary awkwardly rubbed the top of Rain's head.
After hesitating for a while, he asked, "Why don't you go back to the Dora family? With your awakened ability, they would definitely forgive you."
Danielle shook her head and said meaningfully, "My real mom is gone. Now I have a stepmom."
She didn't say anything else, but Zachary understood.
If there's a stepmother, there's probably a stepfather too.
He figured the reason Danielle ended up in the lower zone must be complicated.
The upper class isn't always as perfect as it looks.
Seeing that he got it, Danielle waved her hand. "Alright, let's go to the middle zone now."
Watching the cheerful figures of the woman and child, Zachary's expression softened.
The wild look in his eyes seemed to fade.
At first, Danielle walked with enthusiasm, but after half an hour, she regretted it.
She squatted by the road and refused to move. "So tired… this is too far. Zachary, how much longer?"
Zachary was carrying the tired Rain and looked up.
"About two more hours!"
"Ah!"
Danielle sat straight down and refused to get up.
"Can't we take a car or a spaceship or something?"
Zachary shook his head. "Those only exist in the middle or central zones. The lower zone doesn't have them."
Danielle felt hopeless.
Her feet were already hurting.
Just as she was rubbing her sore feet with a miserable face, suddenly a pair of arms picked her up.
She looked up in surprise and saw Zachary's sharp jawline.
Rain was tied to Zachary's back with a cloth bag, making funny faces at her.
"Hee hee. Mommy, Daddy is carrying you! So silly—"
Boom.
Danielle's face turned red. Ever since she could remember, no one had ever carried her.
Now that she was grown up, it felt super embarrassing.
She tried to struggle. "Put me down. I can walk on my own."
Zachary adjusted her higher in his arms. "Be good. If you keep walking like this, we won't get there until midnight. You may not care, but Rain needs to sleep.
Kids won't grow tall if they don't sleep early."
Uh…
That's true.
Even with him carrying one and holding another, he still walked faster than she could.
Forget it, it's for the child anyway.
Thinking about that, Danielle suddenly felt at peace.
She even started to enjoy the view—though there wasn't much to see. Everything was cold and lifeless.
The people around them were so numb they didn't even react to their strange appearance.
"Why do they all look expressionless?"
Danielle asked without thinking.
A trace of gloom flashed in Zachary's eyes. "When life has no hope and only instinct remains, people eventually become like this."
Danielle looked at the numb faces of those walking past her. Suddenly, her head throbbed with pain.
A voice she'd only heard in her dreams echoed in her mind.
"Please, save us. We've been waiting for you for so long."
"Who are you? Who exactly are you?"
"We are us, the ones waiting for the Savior Lady. We've always been waiting for you."
Savior Lady? Wasn't that Dora?
Why would the voice in her head call her the Savior Lady?
Danielle clutched her head in pain. "Stop it! I'm not her!"
"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
When Danielle came back to her senses, she saw Zachary holding her hand, his face full of concern.
She moved her lips, then said, "It's nothing. I just had a headache. Maybe I haven't adapted to the awakening yet."
Zachary had never awakened himself, so he didn't know what it was supposed to feel like. He believed her.
"Should we go back and rest before heading to the middle circle?"
"No. We've come this far—we can't stop now. Let's go."
Seeing the color return to her face, Zachary finally relaxed.
"Alright, let's go."
He suddenly picked her up and started running. The teleportation gate guards were stunned, drawing their weapons instantly.
"What are you doing here?"
People from the lower circle weren't allowed into the other circles without permission. But people from the middle and central circles could go anywhere, though they rarely did.
Danielle held out her wristband. "I want to move up a circle."
The guards were surprised.
They didn't expect someone from the lower circle to awaken with such a high-level talent.
"Alright, give me your wristband. I'll upgrade it."
Danielle extended her arm, then pointed to Zachary and Rain.
"They're coming with me."
The guard looked them over. "Only direct relatives can go with you. What are they to you?"
A flicker of discomfort passed across Zachary's face.
What was he to her? A lover? A toy?
He had no right to move up.
"He's my husband. This is my son."
Danielle answered without hesitation, and Zachary's head snapped up in shock.
Staring at her fragile figure, his mind went blank with confusion.
Husband?
The guard checked using his own wristband and frowned.
"No, you're listed as single. You only have one child—no husband."
Danielle suddenly remembered—they hadn't registered their marriage.
She turned and tapped Zachary.
"Wanna go register real quick?"
The flicker of light returned to Zachary's eyes, and his voice trembled slightly.
"You really want to register with me?"
Danielle thought—what else could it be?
She turned back to the guard. "Sorry, give us a moment."
The light in Zachary's eyes dimmed again.
So… she changed her mind after all?