She was still outside the villa courtyard, her boots planted firmly on the glass walkway.
But before she could react, the entire place lit up in a blinding flash. Every single lamp turned on at once, flooding the area with a clinical, white light. She could even see the zombie sharks devouring prey in the underwater display below. Every gruesome detail of tearing flesh and murky blood was clear as day through the transparent floor.
Then came the sound of footsteps—tap, tap, tap—approaching from within the illuminated hall. Jing Shu froze, her muscles tense and ready to fight. She watched the doorway, only to see a short-legged robot toddling over on rounded, motorized feet. It was holding up a polished silver tray with a thick cigar and an unopened bottle of expensive red wine. In a sweet, childlike voice, it said,
"Welcome home, master."
"All traps have been closed for you."
"What can I do for you?"
"What the hell is going on?" Jing Shu's brow furrowed. Then something clicked. Could it be that the chip she found earlier was actually the key to this house? Did owning it automatically make her the master? That's not quite make sense though. What kind of rich guy hides his house key in a safe? What's his goal?
More importantly, where's the so-called rich man now?
Still on guard, she watched the robot closely, her eyes tracking its every mechanical twitch. If it made any sudden moves, she would kick its head off without hesitation. After confirming that it's no combat ability, she finally said, "I want, want..."
She scratched her head. Ugh, the pain of being bad at English. Forget it. She wasn't going to waste time talking to a robot. Better to test if the house really recognized her as its owner.
Since she's cautious as hell and's no plans of dying tonight, Jing Shu sent her five-step snakes ahead as scouts, their scales dry against the floor. Then she released the bees to patrol the perimeter in a low-droning cloud. She put on her helmet and bulletproof jacket, made sure it's safe, and finally dragged Hao Yunlai and two sacks of supplies into the villa's yard.
The robot followed right behind her like a loyal puppy, its sensors humming as it kept the cigar and wine aloft. The previous owner must've had this habit. To prevent any adult content scenes from playing out, Jing Shu covered the robot with a piece of cloth, just in case it's recording functions.
Every few steps, she stopped and sent her snakes ahead to check for traps, their forked tongues scanning every inch of the place.
It didn't take long for the five-step snakes and bees to complete their sweep. The villa only had two floors but covered a massive area of white stone and glass. Under her control, they found no hidden cameras or active traps. It was actually safe. Still, Jing Shu wasn't about to relax. She sent her Sulfuric Acid Ants to conduct a thorough carpet search, melting through sealed areas and suspicious devices with their corrosive secretions.
After tonight's chaos, her theft and looting skills had leveled up dramatically, and her teamwork was sharper than ever. She was starting to really appreciate the value of those little ants, if only thousands of them hadn't been blown up earlier. It would take days for the Queen, Yi Hou, to reproduce that many again.
From the moment she stepped inside, Jing Shu's jaw dropped. She was shocked. The happiness of rich people's truly beyond imagination.
There's an enormous open-air swimming pool. The walls and floor beneath are transparent, forming an underwater world where she could watch ferocious piranhas and mosaic-censored aquatic creatures up close. It's thrilling, right?
Above her hung a massive 100-inch screen. It was playing an old broadcast of an American bikini beach from back when the world still had sunlight.
And beside the pool sat a small glass room with a mini fountain. But the fountain didn't spray water; it sprayed thick, rich chocolate. It was positioned perfectly so swimmers could just dip a cup and scoop some mid-swim. It's perfection.
Jing Shu didn't even hesitate. She dug up the entire chocolate fountain along with the floor beneath it and stuffed it into her Rubik's Cube Space. It took up 10 cubic meters, but it's worth it. Chocolate's worth a fortune in the apocalypse. Her mouth watered as she swallowed a mouthful of drool. She would eat it later.
She entered the villa proper.
The high ceiling made the hall look absurdly luxurious, especially under the glow of the massive crystal chandelier. Jing Shu quickly climbed up a table and examined it. It was real crystal. How much did this cost?
She didn't even think twice. She took the whole damn chandelier apart, keeping a few small pieces in her sack and storing the rest in her space. Crystals weren't just pretty; they're great conductors for new energy tech. Whether she sold them or kept them, they would be worth a lot.
The dining room walls were lined with huge glass jars filled with rainbow candy. Each one was nearly three meters tall, glowing with vibrant colors.
After feeding one to her bees and confirming it wasn't poisonous, Jing Shu popped a few in her mouth. They're delicious. These had to be the famous pre-apocalypse rainbow candies sold by the gram. With no hesitation, she packed the entire wall's worth into her space, filling another 5 cubic meters. She won't be running out of sugar anytime soon.
Deeper inside, the collection room was overflowing with paintings—hundreds of them—but she didn't care. Art's worthless in the apocalypse.
What did catch her eye was the entire room full of wine. And it's not cheap stuff either. She took half the collection and stashed it in her space, another 20 cubic meters gone.
There're separate rooms just for clothes, watches, ties, shoes, and shirts. It's boring. Jing Shu's eyes, however, sparkled when she found a diamond-encrusted bathtub. She didn't care for the tub itself but pried off every diamond and packed them away into a small pouch.
Then she found the jewelry room and realized everything before was child's play.
The holographic projection case she'd seen earlier had been real. Inside this room, there're enormous crystal necklaces, diamond and jade rings, and all sorts of luxury pieces. Each was labeled with a description card. They're probably worth millions before the apocalypse.
Being a woman with a healthy appreciation for shiny things, Jing Shu ruthlessly swept everything into her space, especially the diamonds. There're too many to count, and they're all now hers.
Then her group chat lit up.
[Snake Spirit]: "Tried it. Within two kilometers, there's not just thermal sensors; anything that moves gets turned into a sieve. I sent in dozens of zombie creatures, and not one made it through. I'm pretty sure there's a sniper system on that tower."
[Ling Ling]: "So the underground route is the only option then. Is nobody inside?"
[Old Goat]:"It's empty. It feels like a trap though. I found a spot with supplies but couldn't get in. I guess we're moving to Plan B. The rest's up to @Priest."
[Monkey]:"Can Priest even handle that? He is useless."
Jing Shu wiped the sweat off her forehead and went right back to work. She still had a whole villa to strip bare. Whatever else was in here, tonight's already worth the trip.