Reborn with Nothing but My Farm and Vengeance in the Apocalypse novel Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Chapter 2

A fine drizzle was falling when she left the Lancaster Villa.

Melody Summers’ legs felt weak. Scenes from the apocalypse in her past life flashed through her mind like a relentless nightmare. Shaking her head, she fumbled for her phone to call her adoptive mother.

In her past life, her adoptive mother and uncle had been preparing to leave town to buy tree saplings around this time. They didn’t return until the following evening, right when the massive mudslide hit...

The call connected. Her mother, Winnie Summers’, voice came through the receiver. "Hello, Melody?"

"Mom!" Melody choked out.

Hearing her mother’s voice again after three long years, Melody was overwhelmed by a tidal wave of emotions—joy, grievance, and excitement all crashed over her at once.

"Melody, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?" Winnie Summers asked anxiously from the other end of the line.

"Mom, you and Uncle just left, right? Don’t go. I need you to come home. Have Uncle call Auntie and tell her to come back too. I have something important to tell you all. It’s very, very important," Melody said, forcing back a sob.

Winnie immediately replied, "Okay, okay, don’t cry. Your uncle and I are heading back right now. We’ll be home soon."

After hanging up, Melody quickly went over the timeline in her head. ’It’s March 1st. In the early morning hours of the 3rd, a mudslide will hit Mount Anworth. I have to get my family off this mountain by the 2nd.’

Her mind made up, Melody hailed a taxi and headed straight for Anworth Village.

On the way, the female driver made small talk with Melody. "This rain’s been coming down for over a week straight," she said. "No idea when it’s going to stop."

Melody watched the rain outside the window, her heart heavy. This was the very rain that would trigger the mudslide on Mount Anworth. After the mudslide would come a once-in-a-century tornado, followed by a year-long global heatwave. Then, multiple volcanoes would erupt, shrouding the sky in ash. The world would be plunged into darkness, and the endless, frozen night would officially begin. During those two long years, the one thing people missed most was a rainy day.

After a moment’s thought, Melody decided to say to the driver, "The weather’s been strange lately. It might be a good idea to stock up on some food and medicine at home. You know, better safe than sorry."

The driver nodded enthusiastically in agreement, but whether she actually took the advice to heart was out of Melody’s hands.

After getting out of the taxi, Melody didn’t go straight home. Instead, she headed directly for the mountainside of Mount Anworth.

Following her memory, Melody found a massive white granite boulder in the woods on the hillside. She and her cousin used to play around here all the time, but she’d never imagined that a hidden space was concealed within it.

The boulder was about eight meters long and three to four meters in width and height. In her past life, it had been washed down the mountain by the mudslide.

When the floods hit during the apocalypse, Sylvia Lancaster had stumbled upon this boulder and activated the space within it by chance.

At the time, floods were devastating the region and an epidemic was rampant. Using the space, Sylvia developed a water that could cure the disease. This allowed the bankrupt Lancaster Family to make a comeback. The Lancasters, who already doted on Sylvia, began to hang on her every word.

When Sylvia proposed selling Melody to a criminal syndicate, her birth mother, Elaine Hughes, personally fed Melody drugged water.

A moment after drinking the water, Melody’s vision went black and she collapsed to the floor.

In the darkness, she heard the voices of her birth mother, Elaine Hughes, and her birth father, Robert Lancaster:

"Sylvia, you can rest easy now. Daddy promises that from now on, you’ll be my only daughter."

"Sylvia, no one will make you unhappy again."

Then came the voices of her older brother, Simon Lancaster, and her younger brother, Silas Lancaster:

"This should’ve been done a long time ago. That woman has always been jealous of Sylvia. She’s made Sylvia’s life miserable for years."

"She wasn’t raised a Lancaster, after all. Her character takes after her adoptive parents. This is for the best. Let her go learn a hard lesson."

In the darkness, Melody’s heart filled with boundless panic and helplessness. She wanted to scream at these people, her own flesh and blood, and ask them why.

Melody had cherished her family ties, diligently caring for them throughout the apocalypse. After Mr. Lancaster went bankrupt and dismissed the housekeepers, she took on all the chores. When her older brother and mother came down with a relentless high fever during the deep freeze, she had braved a blizzard to find them medicine...

Just before she passed out, Melody felt Sylvia Lancaster walk up to her. Sylvia tapped her face with the toe of her shoe and whispered, "Come to think of it, I really should thank you for that rundown mountain of yours... If I hadn’t cut my hand on that white boulder... I never would have obtained this magical space."

...

Snapping out of her apocalyptic memories, Melody bit her finger, drawing blood. She gently pressed her bleeding palm against the boulder. ’One... two... three...’ A flash of white light, and both the boulder and Melody vanished into thin air.

[Hello, and welcome to the Arcadian Space.]

Melody Summers opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was a clear stream. To one side of the stream lay a large expanse of farmland, while the rest of the area was shrouded in a thick, white mist.

[Welcome, Host. Upon first activation of the Arcadian Space, you have unlocked "The Arcadian Stream" and "The Arcadian Fields."]

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