Reborn a day later, I emptied my enemy's possessions beforehand.

The night was as dark as ink, and moonlight seeped in through the cracks in the window, casting a thin, silvery band of light on the edge of the bed.

The air inside the mosquito net still carried the warmth and scent of the two people's bodies mingling together, warm and humid, like a cloud of mist warmed by their breath.

Li Su'e nestled in his arms, her breathing becoming even and long, like a small animal that had finally found a safe haven, burying her face in his chest.

One hand rested loosely on his waist, her eyelashes casting two rows of fine shadows in the moonlight, and a faint smile lingered at the corner of her mouth, probably from dreaming of something that reassured her.

Zhou Haibing didn't move. His arm was around her shoulder, and he could feel her breath falling gently and steadily on his chest.

Like a small river flowing slowly over his skin, becoming quieter and calmer with each passing moment.

He was still not sleepy.

The physical exhaustion had been replaced by something deeper, something else that replaced the feeling of having just accomplished something significant.

It's a state of being both relaxed and clear-headed, like a string that has been stretched for a long time finally being released and then trembling slightly.

He glanced at the window; the moonlight was bright, and all was quiet, even the chirping of insects had ceased.

He gently closed his eyes and let his consciousness sink.

He entered his own vast and silent space.

It's always daytime in Shennong's space. There's a soft light source overhead that he can't quite place; there's no sun, and no clouds.

But the entire space was evenly illuminated, the light soft and not glaring, as if it were always in that comfortable state between dusk and dawn.

A thousand acres of black soil spread out beneath his feet, which he divided into clearly defined functional areas according to his will:

The outlines of every piece of land—the time-freezing zone, the planting zone, the breeding zone, and the ordinary storage zone—were clearly visible in his mind, like a map that had been drawn countless times.

He first went to the area where time stood still.

That area was the first one he demarcated. There was an invisible barrier around it, and he could feel the boundary of that barrier, like a transparent, slightly cool film enveloping everything inside.

As he crossed the barrier, he felt a slight resistance, as if he had stepped into air of a different density.

Inside were piles of all the supplies that needed to be kept fresh, including food, medicine, paper, and electronic products—things that couldn't withstand the passage of time—brought in since 2016.

They were stacked neatly, as if meticulously arranged by an invisible hand, each stack perfectly square, each row marked with an unseen symbol.

His gaze swept over the supplies, and he quickly checked in his mind:

Flour, rice, cooking oil, medicine, batteries, mobile phones, computers, hard drives, cameras, clothing...

Everything was there, arranged exactly as it was when he put it in, not even the dust on the surface had been disturbed.

Time was completely frozen in the preservation zone; the items taken out were exactly the same as when they were put in, and even the temperature remained unchanged.

These were the assets that enabled him to establish himself in 1976, the fundamental reason why he lived a more comfortable life than anyone else in that era of scarcity.

It is also enough for him to use when necessary to support a larger plan, a more thorough and long-term layout that can be gradually unfolded in this new world after his rebirth.

He stepped back and walked towards the planting area.

He walked along, pondering his next move.

Although there were quite a few supplies, they were all inanimate objects, and each one used was one less available.

Food can last for one or two years, three or five years, but it will eventually run out; medicine also has an expiration date. Even if it is kept in a time freeze zone and will not spoil, it will be gone once it is taken out and used.

What truly allows him to establish himself in this era is the land itself.

He had to bring this space to life, to make it produce things on its own, to generate a continuous stream of output, instead of relying solely on the stock he brought in from outside.

He thought of the Chinese medicinal herb seeds in the pharmaceutical factory, and the precious medicinal herbs his father had given him, and a clear picture gradually formed in his mind.

The planting area is located in the west-central part of the space, near the winding river.

He had noticed that river before. The water flowed from some direction deep within space; the source was unclear, but the water was clear and the current was gentle.

The riverbed rippled softly in the gentle natural light, the pebbles were smooth and round, and the fine sand at the bottom was etched with patterns by the current.

It was like something seeping from the ground, purer than any well water.

Every time he walked to this river, he felt a sense of clarity in his heart, as if even his breathing had become deeper and longer.

He paused as he passed a pond, the place where he kept his prized ornamental fish.

Before his rebirth, he put all the blood-red dragon, the golden dragon with its back, the crowned black and white stingray, the seven-colored fairy, and those Egyptian gods that he had plundered from his father-in-law Sun Deming's house into this pond.

He walked to the edge of the pond and squatted down. When his gaze fell on the slowly swimming blood-red dragon, he froze.

The blood-red dragon was noticeably larger than when it was first put in.

The scales had deepened in color, changing from their original bright red to a metallic dark red, with the edges of each scale gleaming with a golden-red light, as if they had been polished from the inside by some unseen force.

Its swimming posture in the water is more graceful and relaxed than before, its tail fin is broad and powerful, and its body presents a full and healthy appearance.

Like a wild animal that has been free-range for a while and has rediscovered its rhythm.

The golden scales of the golden dragon were brighter and denser than before, reflecting the sunlight, and the spots on the crowned black and white stingray were more clearly arranged.

The fish in the entire pond exhibited a state that could never be achieved in an ordinary fish tank, as if their life trajectories had been gently adjusted here by something, gliding in a better direction.

He straightened up, a slight smile playing on his lips.

Although these fish couldn't be sold in the 70s, after the reform and opening up, the ornamental fish market took off, and each of them was of top quality, worth tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions, or even tens of millions of yuan.

He's not in a hurry; he has plenty of time to wait for the market to wake up.

Besides, even if I don't sell them, just keeping them as pets and watching them grow more beautiful every day makes me feel good.

The blood-red dragon turned around in the water, its tail sweeping up a string of tiny bubbles. As if it knew he was watching it, it deliberately moved closer to him.

He gestured vaguely above the water without actually touching it, but the fish seemed to sense something and swam up half a foot, its mouth opening and closing as if to greet him.

He smiled, turned and left the pond, heading towards the planting area.