Hogan left, and Celine looked down at the jade pendant in her hand.
The jade pendant had a dragon pattern, vivid and lifelike, very delicate.
She gently rubbed it. The cool feeling spread from her fingertips throughout her body, easing some of the summer heat.
She didn't understand antiques well, but she knew this thing was valuable.
Still, she had no idea how much it was worth.
She decided to show it to her older brother Shenan, who liked copying old paintings and might know something about these old items.
Before Celine could step out of the space, the once clear sky suddenly darkened. Darkness quickly filled every corner of the space.
Celine hurriedly looked up.
The west gate opened, and a familiar figure stumbled inside.
It was Red.
His face looked worried, breathing fast. As soon as he entered, he slammed a black crystal core on the counter with a loud "bang."
"Miss Celine, can these crystal cores... be traded for tents and... warm clothes?"
Celine was stunned for a moment. "What happened?"
Red wiped his face, his voice trembling slightly:
"The weather changed suddenly, like an apocalypse. We just finished dinner, and the temperature dropped sharply. It's as cold as winter now."
"It looks like it's going to snow, but we only have summer clothes…"
"I… I can't let my team freeze to death…"
The hopelessness and desperation in Red's eyes made Celine's heart shrink sharply, reminding her of the tragic past from her previous life when her family was destroyed.
She took a deep breath, pushed down the emotions rising in her chest, and said firmly, "Yes, of course. Wait a moment."
In the room, Vanissa sat uneasily on the old sofa.
More than half an hour passed, and Celine still hadn't come out of the space.
Shenan sat on a wooden chair opposite, trying to stay calm for his mother's sake, but his furrowed brows showed his worry.
Finally, at the limit of their waiting, Celine appeared.
Seeing this, Vanissa and Shenan both stood up.
"Mom, big brother," Celine said, breathing a little fast, "do we have extra thick quilts and clothes at home? Red's group really needs them."
Hearing her words, Vanissa quickly reacted and hurriedly took out all the thick quilts and winter clothes from the storage cabinet.
"These were newly made last year, ten quilts in total."
"And your big brother's winter clothes are all here too."
It was clearly not enough.
Red and his twelve people needed clothes to wear, quilts to cover, and something to lay on.
"I have to go buy some more," Vanissa said.
Seeing this, Shenan quickly stopped her, "Don't go out yet. Call Eleanor and ask him to send some."
Celine stopped in her tracks, "How did I forget about our third brother!"
Eleanor, Celine's third brother, wasn't the type for studying but was very clever.
After high school, he started a courier company with classmates in town.
Besides daily deliveries, he also bought a big truck for long-distance freight, making many connections.
Celine took out her phone and dialed Eleanor's number.
As soon as the call connected, Celine hurriedly gave instructions without greetings:
"Third brother, please send forty thick quilts, forty sets of men's winter clothes and shoes, twenty tents, ten stoves, and some coal, as fast as possible. Deliver them home!"
On the other end, Eleanor was stunned.
"Celine, what are you... setting up, a campsite?"
Before Celine could explain, Shenan snatched the phone:
"Eleanor, don't ask now. Do what she said! We'll explain later."
Hearing Shenan's serious tone, Eleanor didn't dare delay and quickly agreed.
He knew Shenan well—if he used that tone, it must be an emergency.
**
An hour later, a small truck drove into their yard.
Eleanor jumped out, wiped sweat from his forehead, and called to Celine and Shenan:
"Big brother, Celine, the stuff has all arrived!"
Looking at the truck full of supplies, Eleanor quickly closed the door. Then, surprising Shenan, she climbed onto the truck bed and disappeared with both herself and the goods.
Eleanor was dumbfounded watching her little sister disappear with the things right in front of her.
"Big... big brother, Mom! Mom!"
"Celine... Celine..."
Eleanor's eyes almost popped out, pointing at the empty truck bed, her lips trembling, about to shout.
Shenan quickly covered Eleanor's mouth and whispered sharply, "Don't shout! Come inside!"
Shenan pulled Eleanor into the house and closed the door behind them, his face serious.
Eleanor was still shocked by how Celine vanished out of nowhere.
"Celine... Celine she…"
Eleanor stammered, disbelief written all over her face.
"Listen to me."
Shenan took a deep breath and quickly but briefly explained the origin of the space and Celine's terrible nightmare, telling Eleanor everything in detail.
After listening, Eleanor found her voice after a long moment:
"You mean... our whole family... will die?"
"Die by that woman named Vanissa? Just because Celine wanted to get back that fifty thousand yuan?"
Shenan nodded heavily.
Mother Zhou, standing nearby with red eyes, sighed and added:
"Actually, it's not all just that… When Celine wanted the money, someone dug up that woman's mother being a mistress who forced the original wife... to jump into the river with her newborn son... It caused a huge public backlash online, and her account got banned…"
Just because of this?
They would put our whole family to death?
Eleanor felt a chill run through her body, hatred and ruthless determination growing inside.
Inside the space, Red almost cried with joy when he saw Celine and the truck appear out of thin air.
His eyes fixed tightly on the full supplies, his voice trembling: "Miss Celine, you're back! If you had been later, the brothers outside might not have made it!"
Celine knew the situation was urgent, no time for small talk, and said directly: "Quickly distribute the supplies. We'll talk later if there's time!"
The wind and snow howled like an invisible giant beast tearing at the end-of-the-world sky.
Around the only fire, eleven big men huddled together, shivering. Their breaths turned into brief clouds before being swallowed by the cold wind.
Zhennan tightened his thin clothes, looking at the team members with purple lips next to him, growing more anxious inside.
He thought Red would come back quickly after going out, but an hour passed and still no sign.
The snow fell heavier and heavier, as if trying to bury the whole world in white.
He was truly afraid these men wouldn't hold on.
"Captain, do you think Red can bring back supplies?"
A young team member's voice trembled, his eyes filled with both hope and despair.
Zhennan didn't really know either, but he forced calm and patted the young man's shoulder.
"He will. He must! Red has the space."
At that moment, sudden noises came from behind.
Everyone turned and saw Red returning with a pile of supplies.
"Captain! Red!"
Hope that had been held back exploded instantly, voices overlapping, some even choked up.
Red was covered with a thin layer of snow but his eyes shone bright.
He patted Zhennan's shoulder and didn't say anything else, just handed over several bulging bags.
"Down jackets, cotton boots, change quickly."
Red's voice was low and firm, like a shot of adrenaline to each man's heart.
Without waiting for orders, everyone rushed forward, eagerly taking out clothes and shoes from the bags.
Frozen fingers clumsily unbuttoned and unzipped, pulling warm down jackets over their bodies.
In that moment, it felt like warm currents flooded from their feet to their whole body, chasing away all the cold and despair.
After watching the men put on winter clothes, Red took a down jacket and shoes that fit him from the leftover pile and put them on.
Once everything was arranged, he disappeared again in front of everyone.