Chapter 41: This Is a Storage Space! I Don’t Believe It!

Chapter 41: This is a Storage Space! I Don't Believe It!

Lu Feng stared at the inventory slot exchange card in his hand, his face etched with surprise. Anyone who has played games knows that characters have an inventory, often called a backpack. In the game "After the Apocalypse," it was also called a backpack, but the difference was that players didn't start with one. They had to craft it themselves using materials dropped by monsters, or find these inventory slot exchange cards.

When he first entered the game world, he had his character attribute panel, but it lacked a backpack tab. Now, this mutated hound had dropped an exchange card. This card could be used to unlock a single inventory slot. Crucially, as a product of the game system, it was a specialized function for him alone—people within the game world, like Lin Jiao, couldn't even see it. It was his exclusive feature. He wondered, however, in what form this slot would manifest.

[Do you wish to use the inventory slot exchange card? Upon successful activation, you will receive 0.5 cubic meters of system-functional space!]

Space? The description caught Lu Feng off guard, but he immediately chose "Yes."

The next moment, a notification chimed: [Congratulations, you have used the inventory slot exchange card and successfully obtained 0.5 cubic meters of system-functional space!]

The card in his hand dissolved into specks of light, and a new "Backpack" option appeared on his character attribute panel. Simultaneously, Lu Feng felt he could connect to a special dimension—roughly one meter long, one meter wide, and 0.5 meters high. It was the 0.5-cubic-meter system space.

It was a surreal sensation. Having played plenty of games, he wasn't flustered. He held the mutated hound's crystal core, focused his intent, and watched as it vanished from his palm, reappearing inside that space. He checked his attribute panel and saw a new directory entry confirming the crystal core was stored there. With another thought, the core reappeared in his hand.

This backpack slot was as convenient as a legendary storage space. More importantly, 0.5 cubic meters could hold quite a lot.

After testing it, Lu Feng tucked the crystal core away and headed toward the jewelry store. It wasn't large, even smaller than the second one they had visited, but he didn't mind. With a thought, he vanished from his spot and reappeared moments later holding a duffel bag. These bags were cheap, and he kept a stash in his apartment for easy access. Xu Bin and the Chen brothers seemed accustomed to his mysterious disappearing acts by now; after all, he was a rumored "ability user."

"Help me pack the gold," Lu Feng said, handing the bag to Xu Bin.

The store sat on the edge of the department store floor, and its location was excellent; the center window offered a clear view outside. Lu Feng stood before the floor-to-ceiling glass, gazing at the mottled, decaying, and abandoned city. The streets were filled with strange, sci-fi-looking cars, now rusted and derelict. For someone accustomed to the prosperity of the modern world, the sight was jarring. Beyond the department store, zombies wandered everywhere, likely drawn to the building. It finally dawned on him why Lin Jiao and the others couldn't leave—the area was swarming with both mutated beasts and dense hordes of zombies.

"There's still one more mutated beast in this building, right?" Lu Feng asked with interest. Now that he knew they could drop items, he was eager for more.

Chen Tao nodded. "There should be one left. There were four when we first arrived, but we don't know if any others have wandered in since."

Soon, Xu Bin handed the bag of gold back to Lu Feng. "Boss, all the gold is packed!"

Lu Feng took the bag and, right in front of Lin Jiao and the others, made it vanish into his storage space. The group stared in disbelief. The bag of gold had simply ceased to exist. What kind of ability was this?

Lu Feng then looked at the 1.2-meter steel blade in his hand. The storage space was 1x1 meters, but the diagonal length of the base was over 1.4 meters—the blade would fit. With a thought, the steel sword vanished into his inventory. Lin Jiao’s group was speechless; their mysterious boss clearly possessed more than one ability.

"Let's go," Lu Feng said, heading back toward the Qingfeng Tea Shop.

Back at the shop, Lu Feng retreated to the office and moved several bags of "+2" and "+3" tea into his storage space. Watching this, the group felt their boss was becoming increasingly unfathomable.

"Boss," Lin Jiao couldn't help but ask, "what's next? Should we keep looking for jewelry stores?"

Lu Feng nodded. "Yes, continue searching for jewelry stores. And if possible, we need to find that last mutated beast."

Aside from the gold, he had a new goal. After all, mutated beasts dropped loot. However, he would need to prepare more propane tanks before returning to the game. Once they found the beast, he’d use the tanks to eliminate it. And if they were to leave the department store, the zombies on the ground floor would have to be cleared. If he played it right, he could lure the horde toward the tanks and trigger a massive explosion—what a sight that would be.

With his orders given, Lu Feng exited the game and returned to his real-world apartment. His cousin and Chen Bo were still out dealing with the previous batch of gold, so he would have to wait for them to return to discuss the propane tanks. Such dangerous, registered items were hard to acquire without drawing attention, and his cousin had ways to handle it discreetly. He couldn't do it alone.

Afterward, he went to the hospital to visit his mother. Upon arrival, the attending physician greeted him. "Mr. Lu, your mother's condition is stable. After three more days of observation, she can be discharged."

This was wonderful news. "Mom, did you hear? You can go home soon!" Lu Feng beamed. Since his father's death, they had only had each other; nothing made him happier than her recovery.

However, Lin Shuang didn't look happy; instead, her expression turned heavy. Even though her son and the caregivers had tried to hide the severity of her condition, she wasn't a fool. She knew the cost of an ICU bed and had heard that surgery for her vascular condition cost hundreds of thousands. She could only imagine how much debt her son had taken on and the pressure he must be under. He had been putting on a brave face to keep her from worrying, but he must be exhausted.

She sighed, her eyes reddening. "Xiaofeng, how much more debt are we in because of my illness?" She blamed her own frail body for falling ill just as they had finished paying off their previous debts. Her son had already been forced to drop out of school, wasting five years of his youth. Now, she feared she was dragging him down even further.

Seeing her distress, Lu Feng quickly reassured her. "Mom, don't worry. We don't owe a single penny for this treatment. I wanted to surprise you once you were discharged. I’ve bought a house, a car, and opened a tea shop. In a little while, a tea factory will start operations, too."

"???" Lin Shuang was stunned, clearly not believing him. "Stop trying to comfort me, Xiaofeng. Don't I know the state of our family?"