At the Medical Supply store, Fan Yumei scared the staff members there she was pretty sure.
"Please bring me 2 crates each of Nano-Seal Patches, Spiritweave Mesh, Qi-Purify Swabs, Regen-Gel, FlareCalm Salve, Neuro-Ease Tabs, Sterile Skinsuits, Cleanse Vials, Veinbind Clips, Pulseforce Cuff, Echo-Trace Coil, Nano-Injectors, Heatread Sticks, Qi-Jolt Ampules, Flexframe Casts"she smiled with her phone out ready to pay.
"Uh… are you planning to open a trauma ward?" the clerk raised an eyebrow as Fan Yumei finished rattling off her list.
She thought for a moment before replying.
"Their isn't even enough for material to start one," she replied evenly not amused at the clerk talking but not working attitude.
I'm ready to pay my Bill Total: 12,750 credits
——
Remaining Balance: 262,965 credits
⸻
The next place was Outland Survival Outfitters.
"What sort of expedition?" the sales rep asked without looking up.
"Unknown dimensional terrain," Fan Yumei replied.
"Ah. One of those," he said, sliding her a tablet. "Go wild."
And wild she did go. Fan Yumei ordered everything she deemed practical and of invaluable use. She didn't limit herself just because she didn't know what this secret realm was like.
She ordered two Aqua-Cleanse Modules, an Ignis Spark Rod, 2 Omni-Fold Blades, 4 Thermo-Veil Wraps, 10 Starbound Locators, 3 Navispike Grids, a 20-pack of Resonance Callers, 10 Signalflare Disks, 2 Nightpiercer Beams, 6 rolls of Gripline Cord, 1 Foldspade Tool, 2 Sealstrips, and 5 Stormskin Layers.
🧾 Bill Total – 11,300 credits and Remaining Balance: 251,665 credits
⸻
While at the Environmental Gear & Uniform Exchange store Fan Yumei quickly found the owner after she entered the shop—feeling lucky she didn't have to search the large store, since walking around in a child's body was exhausting. The struggle was real.
She made her way over to the owner, waiting for him to finish helping a customer.
Once he finished, she walked over and politely asked him, while handing over her list, if he had any of the items in stock for same-day pick-up.
"You sure you're not moving into a frozen forest or a lava desert for good?" the owner joked, laughter thick in his tone.
"Not sure yet but it doesn't hurt to make sure," Fan Yumei replied honestly in a deadpan tone. "I mean, I'm too cute and young to die."
The owner was amused but still joked, "That's true—little girls are too cute to die young. I wish you the best of survival."
He then took Fan Yumei around the store, noting her large order.
Fan Yumei ended up purchasing 3 gaiters, 6 Arctic winter boots, 7 fleece/wool shirts, 5 thermal underwear, 5 waterproof shell jackets, 6 hats, 4 eyeglasses, 10 briefs, 2 high-leg hunting boots, 4 parka-style jackets, 6 wool socks, 4 leather belts, 5 sweaters, 4 T-shirts, 6 gloves, 2 pairs of bushcraft pants (zip-off), 3 shemaghs, 2 buffs, 2 personal auto-photographing cameras, 10 multi-tooled toothbrushes.
🧾 Bill Total – 9,400 credits and Remaining Balance: 242,265 credits
⸻
🛠️ Wildsteel Tools & Outpost Goods
"Finally, someone who packs like they mean it," the grizzled store clerk with the scar said, leading Fan Yumei to the items she had in mind.
After much thought, she decided on 5 bushcraft backpacks, a precision saw, a carbon-edged axe, 3 knives, 4 soul-fabric sleeping bags, 4 two-quart pots, 2 ferro rods, 7 water canteens, 300 yds single-filament line & hooks, 3 gill nets, 9 rolls of paracord.
🧾 Bill Total – 11,800 credits and Remaining Balance: 230,465 credits
Then went to Foldspace Living Solutions and SolSkin Outfitters
She commissioned: 7 Hexa-Core Shelter Units (1 bed, 1 bath), 6 Nomad Pods (3 bed, 2 bath, 1 kitchen), 3 Coresteel Crates (3 bed, 1 bath), 2 Foldspace Havens (4 bed, 2 bath, 1 kitchen), and 10 QuickBastion Frames compressed into emergency capsules.
Fan Yumei added 5 reflection-threaded LumenGuard Cloaks, 5 Sunveil Safety Vests, 8 Cloudlight UPF Shirts, 4 wide-brim ArcShade Hats, 8 light-tone Soulweave Pants, 2 Hydracore Hydration Packs, 4 packs of cooling towels, and qi-woven cool wrist wraps.
🧾 Bill Total – 39,200 credits
💰 Remaining Balance: 191,265 credits
⸻
🛠️ IronGrasp Supply Depot
"Survival gear for secret realms," Fan Yumei stated, showing the staff her list.
"Do you know the environment and time zone of the realm?"
"No—it's inconclusive. We don't have any solid info on it. I just looked on the netsphere and listed possible items I might need," she shrugged.
The worker took her list, glanced over it, and grew serious. "Wait here—I'll get you what you need."
It took a moment before the vendor loaded her cart with 2 Grayl Purifiers, 2 stainless Qi Steel Bottles, Ration Bars, Survival Tabs, Ferro Rods, Fire Tinder, a Fixed Blade Knife, a Multi-Tool, Duct Tape, Gallon-water Compression Bags, 10 marking Bandanas, 2 Signal Mirrors, 3 rune-powered Headlamps, 4 Flashlights, 2 Emergency portable realm communication satellite Radios (75 m radius, code-locked), 10 boxes of Iodine Tablets, 6 Solar Chargers, Qi Rechargeable Batteries, 4 Portable USB solar generators.
The Bill Total to 4,850 credits with the Remaining Balance of 186,415 credits
At ByteThread Tech Co. She picked up 4 solar-encrypted connection USB drive, 3 Faraday Dry Bag, 1 Federation-grade Tactical Tablet, 3 waterproof notepad & pen, extra Portable Chargers.
Then walked across the way to the FoldRidge Camp Supply store. Where She secured 4 Rainwrap Jackets, 6 Long-Sleeve Shirts, 6 Long Pants, 4 large and medium Arcturus Survival Blankets, 4 Survival Dome Tents with Stakes, Comfort Food packs, and 2 Emergency Stove and heaters.
Her Bills from both stores total 5,900 credits leaving her with the Remaining Balance of 180,515 credits
⸻
At EmberCache Provisions the prices were expensive but necessary.
Fan Yumei didn't go crazy wanting to watch her budget. She ordered 2 boxes of Freeze-Dried Meals, 2 boxes of extra MREs, 10 boxes of dehydrated fruit packets, 2 more Ferro Rods, a Folding Saw, and 4 Kinetic-Lanterns.
Leaving after spending a total of 4,500 credits and having 176,015 credits left.
At the EchoPulse Tactical department store she didn't get to much there either only adding two Celestial Relay Nodes (satellite connectors), ten RiftWalk Communicators (walkie-talkies), a HAM-band radio, Ranger Beads, a pulse-mapped GPS Watch, plus signal mirrors, dual-mode whistles, and spare encrypted batter.
Spending a hefty amount of 7,100 credits.
Now her Balance: 168,915 credits
⸻
The last two stops were the ShroudVault Armory and the DeepWake Marina Depot a four story building.
She was in awe when she entered the store—in a daze at all the fun toys.
Fan Yumei spent the most time here, like a kid in a candy store, almost purchasing everything she saw if not for her self-constraint.
After chatting with the clerk and decided to just look through a tablet and order what she needed.
She bought 1 folding houseboat dinghy, two 4th-grade metal-forged kayaks, 1 arc-diving canoe, 3 collapsible inflatables (stormproofed, buoyant), and 8 diving air tanks with gear, Rift-rated.
"Hmm, why not? Who knows—maybe I'll go underwater adventuring," she shrugged, pulling out her phone to pay
This was also her heaviest stop as she ordered 5 licensed CCW-pulse sidearms, 4 triple-pulse clip backups, 2 underarm holsters with hidden concealment runes, 5 spirit-dampening ammo, 7 beast-mace sprays, 4 respirators, 6 100-packs of zip ties, 6 reinforced pack straps, and a 20-pack of red-tag duct coil—all soul-tagged and Federation compliant.
The Bill totals to 18,700 credits with the remaining balance of 150,215 credits. This was her second most expensive purchase today and she was exhausted.
She ordered a little over a year's worth of supplies from all these places, unsure how time or environment would run inside—but she'd rather be overprepared than under.
Everything about it felt nearly done now.
For her it wasn't just entering the Secret Realm.
She wasnt just surviving it she was going to dominate it.
⸻
That evening, Fan Yumei was playing with Lufei, Mystic, and her father's three-eyed owl named Frost.
When Fan Yangwei found her kneeling beside the Arctic owl playing under the living room light, its third eye flickered open—glowing a soft, eerie blue.
"What are you guys up to?" Fan Yangwei asked, squatting beside her and all the beasts.
"Not much—just checking out Frost's wing and watching Maxius attempt to challenge it," she mused as she played with Lufei's white fur while she slept beside Mystic on her cloud cushion.
"You know," her father said casually, also lying down beside Fan Yumei, "that owl almost killed me."
Fan Yumei jumped and turned. "What?"
"It was a test," her mother said gently, exiting the kitchen while drying her hands.
"My test," her father added, pointing at Frost's beak. "Your grandfather gave me his egg. Said if I wanted to marry your mother, I had to hatch it alone in the coldest place I could survive."
"You're being serious?!" She sat up, looking at both her parents in disbelief.
Her mother, Ka Sanni, nodded with a smile tugging her lips.
"Northern Glacial Rift," he said. "No fire. Just me, some spirit wrap, and a desperate will to live—five days. My fingers went black, but I didn't let that egg freeze."
Her mother laughed, her eyes soft. "Haha, when I found him, he could barely stand."
"But the egg was glowing," her father countered. "Warm in my arms. Then it cracked—and out came this bitey little frost demon."
Fan Yumei stared at Frost with new respect.
"It chose me," her father said. "Elders said it couldn't happen—too cold, too proud. But it chose me anyway."
"Now it was injured saving me, also, when I promised to protect it with my life," her father's tone turned grave as he lightly touched Frost's wing, which pecked lightly at his hand to keep him from hurting it.
Fan Yumei felt their shared pain, and without realizing it, her beast healing power surgeries.
They reached out to both her father and Frost, immersing them in soul-healing qi as she tapped Lufei's healing skills—mending Frost's wing and giving it a light soul-groom.
His wing quickly healed as it stretched out his wings fully flapping them a few times and making "oot" sounds.
It shrank in size and took flight flying around the house before landing on her father's shoulder.
Then Frost's third eye shone as it opened again, brighter each time it blinked.
A rune unfurled, shining on Fan Yumei. Lines of pale blue formed a seal—ancient and unmistakable.
Ka Sanni gasped. "That's…" he paused in shock. "The family ancestral seal," her mother stammered the rest.
A hum vibrated through the air.
And then the seal burst forth, beginning to siphon Fan Yumei's mental and soul energy. It shimmered—splitting into cold light as a door materialized before her.
Her heart pounded.
"My grandfather's seal is unlocked," Ka Sanni whispered. "He said only the warrior with a healer's heart would awaken and inherit the family legacy."
Frost turned its three eyes toward Fan Yumei and bowed.
The door opened and pulled her inside, slamming shut behind her.
It accepted her.
⸻
Inside, it was more than she had expected.
This was a living dimension—a world of beauty and ruins. Bamboo-dome houses dotted the landscape, tiled paths leading to their doors. Floating platforms hovered above soul-beast training areas.
She tried to look around more, but most areas were locked.
At the heart sat a dormant clinic: a suspended beast clinic, untouched by time.
Fan Yumei stepped forward and placed her hand on the glass window, peering in to see anything.
She couldn't.
"It's not just a place," she murmured. "It's a place of purpose."
She hissed, flinching as she looked down at her wrist.
A tattoo burned into her flesh, blooming from wrist to forearm—a black, ancient runeform reading Fallen World Inner Dimensional Sanctuary.
Her body anchored.
Her soul quieted.
The sanctuary was finally unlocked and open for use.
While exploring, Fan Yumei found the training ring and sat on the floor, thinking of how to call her soul beasts inside—she couldn't leave yet.
Before she knew it, Maxius and Lufei appeared before her.
"Uh, I was trying to mostly exit, not get my beasts trapped inside with me," Fan Yumei smacked her thigh in exasperation.
"Trace them," she recalled her mother's teachings echoing in her ears.
"Look for their past. Their future." Fan Yumei closed her eyes, repeating the words.
The bond shimmered. Maxius pulsed with high-altitude wind ancestry—agile, wild, evasive.
Lufei radiated nature and soul-forged resilience—grounded, calm, heavy with untapped strength.
"They are meant to be more than weapons," Fan Yumei whispered.
She nodded to herself. "They're more than that. And here, they can remember who they are."
For the first time in days, Fan Yumei smiled genuinely, less stressed.
She didn't need destiny to rise.
She would build it—on her terms.
With beasts who chose her back.