Melody Summers said in shock, "The space? You—how did you get out!?"

Albus licked its paws as a voice echoed in Melody’s mind:

’The crops and animals in the Arcadian Space have been multiplying. The more they multiply, the more energy I have, so I was able to come out.’

"Then what are you doing out here?" Melody was still in shock.

Albus blinked. Once the Arcadian Space was running smoothly, Melody had fallen into a daily routine. She would pop in as if clocking in for work, harvest the crops, feed the animals, and then leave. Facing the same animals every day had become quite boring for Albus, so it wanted to come out and look around.

But it told Melody: ’I know this planet is about to face a disaster. You are my host, so I must stay by your side to protect you.’

Melody stared silently at Albus, taking in its tiny form that looked like it could be sent flying with a single swat. She was speechless.

Albus continued, ’Besides, I need to supervise your money-making efforts. Don’t forget, you need a hundred million in total to unlock the next area.’

Ever since Melody heard that she needed a hundred million to unlock the rest of the space, she’d started to slack off. The cat felt she had completely lost her motivation to earn money, and it wanted to help her get that hundred million as soon as possible.

Melody was still hesitant. "If you know how chaotic the world is getting, what will you do if you run into danger out here?"

Melody had seen plenty of news about people stealing or abusing cats. She was afraid that a moment of carelessness on her part could put Albus in danger.

Albus replied, ’I *am* the space, a form of energy. Nothing can harm me.’

Melody scooped Albus into her arms and stroked its head. The little cat let out a rumbling purr.

"Alright, you can stay with me," Melody said, resigned. A headache was already forming; after all, she’d never owned a cat before. "Do you need anything? A cat bed? Canned food? Cat treats? Litter? A scratching post?"

Albus tilted its head. ’I just want a cat bed.’

Melody nodded. Thankfully, the shops downtown were still open. She decided to head out right away.

*

Just as she was leaving her house, Melody ran into someone she knew.

A man and a woman were standing in front of the two villas to the right of Melody’s house, where movers were busy. Judging by their clothes, they were clearly wealthy and influential.

The man was handsome and stylish, and the woman had waist-length hair, every strand perfectly cared for. She was fair-skinned and beautiful.

Melody recognized the woman.

"Sophie Thorne?"

Sophie Thorne was one of Melody’s university classmates, well-known on campus as a wealthy heiress. Everyone knew she was the young lady of the rich Thorne Family—the epitome of beauty, wealth, and class.

Sophie and Melody had met at a freshman welcome gala. The event required four hosts—two men and two women—and the student body had voted for Sophie and Melody to be the female emcees.

Most people found Sophie arrogant and difficult to approach, a typical snobbish heiress who looked down on everyone. But after getting to know her, Melody realized she was actually a very kind person, just a bit reserved, not at all hard to get along with.

"Melody?" Sophie was also a bit surprised, but then it clicked. "Is this your house?" she asked.

Melody nodded.

Sophie beamed. "Looks like we’re going to be neighbors, then!"

Sophie then gestured to the man beside her, introducing him to Melody. "This is my boyfriend, Ronan Rhodes." Turning to Ronan, she said, "This is my university classmate and good friend, Melody Summers."

Ronan and Melody exchanged greetings.

Then Sophie affectionately pulled Melody aside to catch up.

Sophie and Ronan were a perfect match, hailing from families of similar standing, and had been childhood sweethearts. They got engaged right after graduation and moved in together in a sprawling, river-view apartment in the city center to start planning their wedding.

When the tornado hit Anworth, the two had been traveling abroad. They returned to find the tornado had shattered their apartment’s floor-to-ceiling windows. The inside was a complete wreck; the exquisite decor had been destroyed by debris and broken branches.

They had booked cleaning crews and a renovation team, but the repairs were estimated to take two months. Then they remembered their families had previously bought two adjacent villas in this neighborhood, so they decided to just move in here for the time being. A villa was certainly more comfortable than a hotel suite.

Sophie finished with a sigh. "Besides, my parents divorced a long time ago, and I didn’t feel like going anywhere else, so I just asked Ronan to move in here with me."

Seeing the hint of sadness on her face, Melody told her, "If you ever get bored, feel free to come over and hang out anytime."

Melody thought for a moment before adding, "Sophie, the weather has been erratic lately, and the temperature is abnormal. It’s never been this hot in April before. You two should probably get a head start on preparations. For example, check the villa’s power supply and water purification systems. Our community lost power for a while, and that sort of thing might happen again. It might be a good idea to buy a generator and some solar panels. Better to be safe than sorry."

Melody knew the two weren’t short on cash, but she offered the well-intentioned advice anyway.

Sophie smiled and nodded after listening. "Okay, Melody, thank you." ’She and Ronan had planned on moving in today,’ she thought, ’but given the circumstances, it would be better to stay in a hotel until the villa is fully set up!’

*

After saying goodbye to Sophie, Melody took Albus and drove her SUV into the city.

The government crews had been remarkably efficient. After just a few days of work, the roads were mostly cleared, allowing traffic to flow normally.

The buildings on either side of the road showed varying degrees of damage, and construction crews were hard at work everywhere.

On the way, Albus’s voice popped into her head. ’That friend you just ran into seems really rich.’

Melody nodded. "She’s the only daughter of the Thorne Family. They once donated five dormitory buildings to our university. I heard it cost them several hundred million."

’So, are you going to ask her to lend you a hundred million?’

The suggestion nearly made Melody jump. She thought for a moment before lecturing the cat, "White, we have to earn the money ourselves. If we go around asking for something like that, we’ll get arrested as fraudsters."

Melody was the kind of person who wouldn’t even touch an online loan.

Besides, if she wanted to get money through illegal means, she could have already used the space to sneak into the Lancaster Villa and clean it out for cash.

The heatwave had only just begun, and society was still functioning normally. Why stir up unnecessary trouble?

Melody didn’t lack supplies, and her family was safe. Her desire to unlock the next part of the space wasn’t that urgent, so she planned to take her time with the hundred-million goal.

*

Arriving at a large mall, Melody parked the car and brought the cat inside to wander around. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

To her surprise, the mall was absolutely packed with people.

In Melody’s memory, brick-and-mortar malls had been mostly empty since the rise of e-commerce. But now, it was so crowded you could barely move. She’d never seen it this busy, not even during major holidays.

She made her way to a pet supply store and let Albus pick out its own bed.

Melody struck up a conversation with the young woman working at the store. "It’s pretty crowded in the mall today."

The clerk nodded. "The recent tornado destroyed a lot of homes, and everyone’s waiting in line for repairs. Now that the storm’s over, the adults have gone back to work, but the elderly and the kids have nowhere to go, so they’ve all ended up at the mall."

’No wonder it was so crowded today,’ Melody thought. ’People whose homes were damaged are using it as a shelter.’

’It looks like it’ll take a while for all the houses to be repaired. I wonder if they can finish before the nationwide heatwave hits.’

Just then, Albus finished picking out a small cat bed. It was shaped like a little green mushroom, much like the ones in the forests of the Arcadian Space.

Melody had the clerk pack up the cat bed, and she also bought a few grooming tools. After the clerk bagged everything together, Melody paid and left the pet supply store with her purchases.