Another week passed peacefully, marking the start of the third month of the famine era.
By this point, the school had essentially run out of supplies. Each person's food ration was only a couple of mouthfuls, and the water was barely enough to sustain life—just enough to wet one's lips.
The school fell silent. No one was willing to waste their breath talking anymore. Everyone lay in their dorms, emaciated, conserving what little energy they had.
'Three more months until we can get out,' Tang Mo calculated silently.
By now, she had opened her cabinet. Inside were five cases of water and seven or eight boxes of food—enough to sustain herself, Song Qing, and Li Lanlan.
"Momo, you actually stored this much!" The first time Li Lanlan saw Tang Mo open the cabinet, her mouth dropped open in an "O."
Just like Song Qing, the two of them hesitated for a long while but ultimately couldn't refuse Tang Mo's goodwill.
As long as there's life, there's hope. They committed Tang Mo's kindness to memory, knowing that as long as they survived, they would one day repay the debt.
Yet even with the supplies right before them, Song Qing and Lanlan were incredibly restrained. No matter how much Tang Mo urged them, they would only drink a quarter of a bottle of water and eat a small amount of dry rations each day.
They refused to take a single bite or sip more.
This tranquil routine was shattered during one of the school's food distributions.
Just as everyone was gathering on the athletic field as usual, collecting their food rations, and preparing to leave, a high-pitched female voice suddenly shouted.
"Students, don't leave just yet! I have something to say!"
Wenqing pushed her way out of the crowd and walked onto the flag-raising platform, her chin held high and her steps light and quick.
The students who were about to leave stopped in their tracks, curious to hear what she had to say. The days had been so monotonous that they were eager for any kind of disturbance.
"Let me borrow the microphone," she said to An Yang, who was standing nearby.
Seeing the girl's rosy complexion, a stark contrast to everyone else's sallow, emaciated faces, An Yang's thoughts churned for a moment before he handed her the microphone.
"So, here's the deal. I'm guessing almost all of your Space attribute values are 0, right?"
This was something Wenqing had confirmed the very moment attribute values first appeared.
"But I'm different from the rest of you. I have a Space Ability! My Space is a farm with a fresh spring. It has lots of food growing in it that I can bring out for everyone to eat, to help us all get through this crisis!"
After speaking, Wenqing tossed the microphone aside and tilted her head back, waiting for the adoration and praise from the crowd below.
"If you had a Space with food in it, why didn't you bring it out sooner? Did you really have to wait until we were all starving to death?"
"Exactly! My roommate was so hungry he started suffering from stomach bleeding! If you'd spoken up sooner, we wouldn't have had to suffer for so long."
"Just how much stuff do you have in that Space of yours? Is it even enough to feed all of us?"
The students below immediately erupted into a massive uproar. They were certainly thrilled, but their joy was mixed with an even greater amount of resentment.
The attribute values weren't a new thing. Even if she didn't know at first, the watches had been bound for a month. To claim she only just now learned about her Space was an insult to everyone's intelligence.
Seeing Wenqing's glowing, healthy face on the stage, a stark contrast to their own gaunt expressions, made the students in the crowd feel even more resentful.
"You..."
She had completely failed to anticipate the students' reaction. Her face flushed red with anger, leaving her speechless.
She had intended to reveal herself as a savior during everyone's darkest hour to achieve the maximum effect. She never imagined it would turn out like this.
PFFT...
Tang Mo couldn't help but let out a snort of laughter.
In her past life, she had been like a walking corpse, so she had no memory of such a good show.
'Does this Wenqing think everyone is an idiot?'
'Everyone here is a top student, a genius in their own right. Their minds are far from simple.'
'Her little scheme might have worked on elementary or middle schoolers, but that's about it.'
Tang Mo grew increasingly curious. She wanted to see exactly what this self-proclaimed savior, Wenqing, planned to do—and for how long.
"Everyone, please head back for now. We will get a better understanding of the situation from Wen first. Once we have all the details, we will issue a formal announcement."
Seeing that the situation was about to spiral out of control, An Yang picked up the microphone Wenqing had tossed aside and spoke.
If what Wenqing said was true, then he absolutely could not afford to escalate the conflict between her and the other students.
Today's revelation was a bombshell for everyone.
The school administration immediately convened an emergency meeting, inviting Wenqing to a conference room to ascertain the details.
After a full two hours of Wenqing's testimony and questioning from the administration, they finally had a relatively clear understanding of her Space.
Wenqing's Space contained a farm roughly the size of a small running track. Half of it was planted with simple vegetables like cabbage, radishes, and potatoes, while the other half was planted with wheat.
Everything in the Space moved according to her will. Therefore, whether it was sowing seeds, watering crops, harvesting, or even grinding wheat into flour, Wenqing didn't have to lift a finger—it could all be done in an instant.
The plants in her Space matured quickly. Wheat could be harvested once a month, and vegetables every half month.
At present, Wenqing's Space was already overflowing with mature crops.
As for the seeds, Wenqing claimed her family lived in the countryside. She had ordered seeds online for them but hadn't had a chance to mail them out before the apocalypse started.
This explanation made the administrators exchange glances. It was clear these shrewd individuals didn't believe her, but none of them would call her out on it now.
The "fresh spring" Wenqing mentioned was a small pond next to the farm. The water inside was stagnant.
She had tried to raise fish in it, but she had failed.
However, she had tested it and found the water was drinkable. Not only did she drink it, but she also took some out every day to bathe.
Wenqing's Space could be used to store items, but not living creatures.
So...
It was a mobile granary and reservoir!
Everyone immediately realized the immense value that Wenqing's Space held.
If not for the fact that her Space Ability could not be stripped away or transferred, most of the people in the room would have wanted to seize it for themselves.
Sensing the greed in everyone's eyes, Wenqing shivered and subconsciously touched her wrist.
"Wen, at such a difficult time for the school, your willingness to contribute your Space is truly a monumental contribution. All the students will be grateful for your kindness. You are the savior of us all!"
The vice principal stood up excitedly and shook Wenqing's hand.
As expected of a man who had been in his position for over a decade. With a single sentence, he had effectively turned Wenqing's Space into public property.
'What a clever use of the word "contribute."'
Wenqing, however, clearly didn't notice. She was already basking in the crowd's admiring gazes and the immense sense of glory.
'This is how it should be,' she thought. 'I want everyone to be grateful to me. I want to be their savior.'
"Alright then, let's discuss how to best utilize these provisions. An Yang, you and the others should formulate a plan immediately. We'll review it with Wen together."
The administrator turned his gaze to An Yang.
"Understood." An Yang nodded immediately, turning to the student leaders beside him to begin discussing the most optimal way to distribute the food from Wenqing's Space.
...............