Chapter 12: with translation of chapter title

The next day, with the sun already high, Lin Meng was finally woken by the hotel front desk's phone.

She answered the phone, had the hotel staff send breakfast to the door, and only then did she become somewhat awake.

Suddenly, she jerked upright, her brows knotted.

Last night, grandfather came to her again, just like before; she still couldn't speak, only able to listen as he talked by himself.

"Little Meng, grandfather misses your parents; find time to bring their ashes back to the old house, get the Village Head's approval, open a grave beside me, and bury them together."

"By the way, Xiao Sanzi probably mentioned your childhood engagement to you, right? Take some time to go to Jing Shi; if you like him, follow our elders' idea and get married—then the initiative will be ours."

"Oh, and also, burn some more paper money for me; I'll go around to help your marriage go smoothly. The money you burn down there is valuable—others would envy me, your grandfather."

""……""

Grandfather is just a chatterbox, talking nonstop in Lin Meng's dream.

After waking up, Lin Meng recalled grandfather's words, and she felt terrible.

How could she not know she still had a childhood engagement? Her father never mentioned it either?

What era is this? How can such a thing as a childhood engagement still exist?

Anyway, grandfather said if she likes him they can marry; if not, she doesn't have to go. Since she didn't even know who the other party was, it's not really disobeying elders.

The paper money also needs to be burned.

"But grandfather, since you can spend money to move about, why not help your granddaughter seek some luck in wealth? What's the use of a smooth marriage? Nothing beats having money in hand…"

It's a pity she can't speak in the dream; she doesn't know whether kowtowing at grandfather's grave to pour out her grievances would help.

As for moving her parents' graves, she will take care of it when she returns.

According to her father's idea, they should originally be buried in the ancestral graveyard; now that grandfather has spoken, it's even more appropriate to handle it properly.

After taking a deep breath, Lin Meng got out of bed and brought the breakfast inside.

Suddenly, a twitch crossed her brow; she clenched her empty fist, recalling the crystal.

She had persisted for two hours yesterday before falling asleep; since she couldn't absorb it, she might as well return it to Ye Heng.

Perhaps as she judged, the space was produced by the bracelet grandfather gave her; the upgrade item from Ye Heng's world has no effect on her.

But after turning over in bed for half a day she still couldn't find the crystal; Lin Meng's heart leapt, and she hurried into the space.

The food she had packed for Ye Heng last night was still in place, the buns untouched; had something happened?

But now Lin Meng couldn't worry about Ye Heng either; she scanned the space, and its overall layout and size remained unchanged.

But strangely, at the other end of the space, a door had appeared.

Lin Meng quickly realized her space had upgraded; this door was the spatial change produced after she absorbed the crystal.

After thinking, Lin Meng placed the hotel's cup of hot milk into the space.

If the time flow speed hasn't changed, then this space upgrade change is too minor.

Lin Meng tried to open the door, but even with all her strength it didn't budge, and using mental power also failed to open it.

Where this door leads is unknown; she can only explore it slowly later.

"Ye Heng, are you there? Ye Heng?"

After calling several times with no reply, Lin Meng exited the space.

Today she plans to wander around Yun Cheng more, purchasing some supplies while also contacting a few jewelry studios to see; turning her jewelry into cash as soon as possible is always good.

With another million or so, grandfather's external debts could be paid off.

As for Ye Heng's side, just as Lin Meng guessed, some situations have indeed arisen.

Last night they all rested as a team in a relatively hidden ruin beside the street.

Because the harvest was plentiful, Ye Heng also released the news that the goddess would provide a batch of food and medicine; the team members got overexcited, failed to control their volume, and inadvertently attracted a small pack of mutant beasts.

After a desperate struggle, they managed to escape unharmed.

Yet they hadn't expected that the fighting noise would still draw the attention of nearby other squads.

Thus, everyone was detained.

They were terribly unlucky; they ran into an elite squad sent by the Evolution Special Zone to hunt beasts, which they could not possibly defeat.

In the Prison of Zone 13, Ye Heng and the other squad members were now slumped in disarray, each injured to varying degrees.

Ye Heng fared the worst; the enemy knew he was the team leader and an awakened one with some combat ability, so they not only punched and kicked him but also used special chains to seal his abilities.

That's why Lin Meng couldn't contact him.

The space wouldn't open, so the medicine Lin Meng had given couldn't be retrieved; Ye Heng watched his teammates' conditions worsen, powerless to help.

"Captain, these people from the Evolution Special Zone treat us lowly civilians like trash; this time it's likely more misfortune than fortune."

"You say they might enslave us? I'd rather die now than face that."

"Slaves? You're overthinking; people like us with some combat ability will definitely be used as cannon fodder, sent to clear mines for them."

The Evolution Special Zone isn't just the lofty elites; there are also many slaves shackled with cuffs.

Slaves are driven and entertained by the elites; beating or killing them draws no concern, and this world has no law protecting civilians.

Once they have the thought of escaping, the unopenable chains become soul‑strangling bonds that will hang them.

If any slave flees too far from their master, the explosive in the cuffs will take their life.

The suicide squads, meanwhile, are slaves sent repeatedly to scout and test routes for those units; they constantly face death threats and may also end up as amusement in the beast‑fighting arena, battling mutant beasts for the elites' entertainment.

Upon hearing they might become slaves or suicide squads, everyone's faces turned ashen, despair reaching its peak.

Ye Heng himself felt utter despair, yet he could not resign himself to fate.

Having finally gotten to know Lin Meng in the space, and she had just brought hope, how could he bear to die just like that?

Soon, Ye Heng made a daring decision in his heart; he would take a gamble.

In the warden's office, Ye Heng stood neither humble nor arrogant, allowing the other to stare at him with contempt.

At that moment, the warden spoke.

"You say you have medicine that can cure our Special Zone Chief's daughter's illness?"

"Ye Heng certainly can't produce it now, but he knows this might be the last straw that could save his teammates."

"The daughter of the 13 Special Zone Chief has contracted a strange illness; with current medical resources, it simply cannot be cured."

"For this, the 13 Special Zone Chief spares no precious resources, spending heavily to seek medicine, but none of the major special zones have any medicine that can treat it."

"Although Ye Heng cannot be certain, he always feels that Miss Lin has this ability."

"The medicines she gave are still in his space; although he hasn't had time to study them carefully, Ye Heng can be certain that the medicines Miss Lin gave him are all considered holy medicines in the special zone."

"As his teammates said, Miss Lin might truly be a goddess, a deity capable of making everyone in the Fe Tu Shi Jie willingly submit."