Apocalypse: The Primordial Pearl Recognizes Its Master, Starting with Infinite Space

Southeast Asia, the capital of Malaysia.

At noon, the scorching sun baked the ruins, and the temperature was so high that even the air seemed to distort.

Li Ya and the others had just finished clearing out a wave of zombies and returned to their temporary camp.

The tents of the temporary camp were scattered near the former Independence Square, and the soldiers sat in twos and threes on the ground eating dry rations and drinking water.

Inside a large tent in the center, Li Ya and Su Yun sat facing each other, with a map of Southeast Asia between them.

Su Yun put down the account book in her hand and rubbed her temples.

The ledger was filled with numbers, each line a reminder to her: supplies were running low.

"Xiaoya, you should prioritize collecting supplies right now." Her voice was a little hoarse. "Our current expenditure on supplies is even more than our income."

Li Ya raised her head, her gaze passing through the half-open curtain of the tent to look at the surrounding underground containment area.

Every basement is now packed with rescued Chinese people.

As for these high-level ability users who are not afraid of the scorching sun, they can only set up tents under the blazing sun.

A few days ago, when she and Commander Peng's team arrived here, those people saw them as if they had seen saviors, and the light in their eyes was something she would never forget.

Some people knelt on the ground and kowtowed, some hugged the soldiers' legs and cried, and some even held up signs that read "Welcome to our compatriots in China".

When she saw this scene, she had only one thought in her mind: save them. She had to save them no matter what.

She made the decision without hesitation, and she had already anticipated the consequences.

There are hundreds of thousands of mouths that need to eat and drink every day.

The team's supplies were visibly dwindling; the food Lin Chen had stockpiled before leaving would only last for a month at most.

With Lin Chen gone, no one could continuously produce food from the space. They could only rely on themselves to scavenge in the ruins, fish from the sea with the fleet, and tighten their belts by saving every penny.

"Yes, I've already given the orders." Li Ya nodded, looked away, folded the map on the table to reveal the direction of the Java Sea, and asked, "How are Fei Fei, Sister Lu, and Sister Yi doing?"

Su Yun frowned and turned to the next page of the ledger, which contained the numbers she had recorded during her communications with Liu Feifei, Qin Yi, Qin Lu, and others.

She glanced at it, her tone growing even more somber: "Their situation is similar to ours; Java is also facing a shortage of supplies."

"What about the military?"

Su Yun's gaze fell on the bottom column of the ledger, which contained the data reported by Commander Peng.

She paused for a moment before saying, "They're the same. According to Commander Peng, even if they tighten their belts, they can manage for a month."

"Collecting supplies is so difficult now." Su Yun's voice was tinged with exhaustion. "Many storage points have been searched, and what's left is either moldy or rotten. Luckily, we can still make a living by hunting mutated beast meat."

Li Ya remained silent. She knew that Su Yun, the head housekeeper, had been very worried lately.

She recalled the days when Lin Chen was still around, when they never had to worry about food.

The space is filled with grains, vegetables, fruits, and meats.

Shortage of supplies? Not at all.

Now that Lin Chen is gone, they have witnessed once again that the apocalypse is always the apocalypse.

Not having enough to eat is the norm.

"Fresh water is alright; the Little Fish has desalination facilities." Su Yun's voice lowered, tinged with weariness. "But food... Xiaoya, we've already cut our daily expenses, but with little effect. If this continues, we'll have to start rationing in less than half a month."

Li Ya didn't speak. Of course, she knew what rationing meant.

With tens of thousands of superhumans in the team, plus hundreds of thousands of rescued Chinese, morale will quickly deflate like a punctured balloon once quotas are implemented.

She felt so tired. Not physically tired, but emotionally tired. She missed Lin Chen so much.

"Xiaoya, we..."

Just as the two were frowning in worry, a familiar voice entered their ears.

"Xiaoya, Sister Yun, don't worry, I'm back!"

The two were immediately startled and looked up abruptly.

The tent flap was lifted slightly, letting in sunlight that illuminated the figure that had appeared at the table at some unknown time.

Li Ya and Su Yun's eyes reddened at the same time.

All the words stuck in her throat, unable to be spoken, she rushed towards Lin Chen and hugged him from both sides.

Lin Chen put his arm around their waists, without saying a word or struggling.

The two spoke of their longing and worry through tearful voices, their words broken and intermittent, mixed with sobs and sniffling.

Lin Chen felt a warmth in his heart and hugged them even tighter.

After a while, Li Ya finally pulled away from his embrace, wiped her eyes, looked him up and down, and said in a more composed voice, "You're back just in time. Our supplies are almost gone. If you hadn't come back, we would have all gone hungry."

Lin Chen said guiltily, "It's my fault. I was careless and fell into the enemy's trap."

Hearing this, the two men's hearts tightened: "By the way, where have you been for the past month or so?"

She was so busy expressing her longing that she didn't even have time to ask Lin Chen what had happened.

Lin Chen didn't hide anything from his two capable wives, Li Ya and Su Yun, and recounted his encounter with the two divine messengers and his being ambushed by a divine clone.

When they heard that Lin Chen had been corroded to the point that only a finger remained, but was now standing perfectly intact in front of them, tears welled up in their eyes.

No wonder they all felt a pang of pain in their hearts at that time.

They threw themselves into his arms again, saying with lingering fear, "We can't take such risks again."

Lin Chen nodded vigorously and hugged the two of them tightly: "It will never happen again."

Li Ya sniffed and asked again, "And then?"

"Later, with Zi Ling's protection, it took me more than a month to recover... I encountered the Deep Ones in the Sea Serpent Clan's lair..." Lin Chen then told the two about his recent experiences.

Li Ya couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "Aliens? And an underground world?"

Su Yun, however, was focused on something else, her voice brimming with joy: "A spaceship? Does that mean we'll never have to worry about gods descending again?"

Lin Chen looked at them and said, "I can't say we don't have to worry anymore, but at least we have another way out. Once the spaceship is repaired, we can indeed leave Earth."

Then he said firmly, "But before that, I want to fight these so-called gods again and find out what they're really made of."

Li Ya and Su Yun felt a pang of anxiety and clenched their fists, but they knew Lin Chen had made a decision, and they could only offer their silent support.

Lin Chen patted the two of them on the shoulders, his tone more relaxed: "Alright, don't think about these things for now, we still have time to prepare."

The two nodded, temporarily setting aside their worries. Then, Li Ya asked curiously, "What about the aliens you were talking about?"