Chapter 32


    With a sudden eleration and a swift drift around the bend, Ste barreled forward. A violent jolt


    nearly sent her flying out of the car. Thankfully, she managed to maintain her bnce and, after a


    long detour, finally arrived at the convention center.


    Although the convention center only had 12 floors, the expansive halls gave it an imposing


    presence. Ste circled around the center but couldn''t detect any signs of life or any broken


    windows.


    ording to the industrialyout of the city, Rockdale was a hub for furniture manufacturing, with


    factories scattered around. The residential andmercial districtsy on the other side of the river


    and were hardly visible under the downpour.


    All around, floodwaters prevailed, with only the convention center standing tall amid the chaos. The


    ss was thick and sturdy, resistant to a hammer''s blow.


    Ste used a window breaker and managed to shatter it after several attempts.


    The convention center was a popr tourist destination and it was vast. Unfortunately, the grand


    lobby was submerged under the floodwater. Still, the magnificent structure was visible when Ste


    looked upwards.


    The darkness swallowed the glitz and mour of the center. Now, the only light came from Ste''s


    shlight, illuminating the rows of stylish furniture.


    The intricate waterways around the center had protected it well. Perhaps the center didn''t contain


    any survival supplies, as it remained untouched before Ste''s arrival.


    The center was filled with furniture of unimaginable designs and styles. Ste didn''t rush to gather


    the furniture. Instead, she headed straight to the furniture museum on the top floor.


    Without electricity, the center was pitch ck, echoing only her footsteps. Exhausted from the long


    climb to the top floor, Ste rested her aching feet as she looked around.


    The whole floor was filled with historical exhibits, including photographs, various types of wood, and


    ancient furniture - some intact, some dpidated.


    After about half an hour of exploring with her shlight, Ste reached her target - a four-meter-long


    piece of irregrly shaped, dark brown wood.


    This was ebony.


    Aged and weathered underground for thousands or even tens of thousands of years, it had be


    something akin to a nt mummy - resembling wood but not quite, stone but not exactly.


    It was considered a fossil amongst woods. There was even a saying that a bit of ebony was worth


    its weight in gold.


    Ste couldn''t estimate its value. After all, no matter how precious, it couldn''t fill a starving belly. To


    a survivor, it was worthless.


    The ebony was encased in transparent, explosion-proof ss, making it difficult to retrieve. Ste


    put on a mask and took out an electric saw from her backpack. After some effort, she managed to


    cut open the ss, releasing a sweet, aromatic scent. The scent of the ebony was truly pleasant.


    Without wasting any time, she quickly stowed the precious wood into her Arcadia.


    With the electric saw, she continued to collect various types of wood, all encased in ss or


    cordoned off with caution tape to prevent tourists from touching.


    N?velD(ram)a.?rg owns this content.


    Ste couldn''t tell which types of wood were infused with spiritual energy. She decided to throw


    them all into Arcadia.


    After a while, she came across a bed made of rosewood, intricately carved, stunningly beautiful,


    and wless. In the darkness, it looked somewhat eerie.


    The bed was toorge to fit in the living room of Arcadia, so she rolled up her sleeves and started to


    disassemble it. After disassembling and storing the bed, she also took the matching table, chairs,


    benches, and dressing table.


    Even though she was wearing severalyers of a face cover, Ste was sweating bullets while


    breaking the disy cases. In a normal world, she would have been arrested for such actions.


    After a long day of hard work, Ste was drenched in sweat and felt dizzy. She found a spot to rest,


    munching on a Snickers bar for energy, and washing it down with a can of Red Bull.


    Once she felt a bit better, she switched off her shlight and entered Arcadia.


    Arcadia was cluttered with old furniture, but most of it had disappeared. Ste was taken aback by


    the sight. The living room had expanded by about 30 square meters, and there was now a spiral


    staircase leading to a second floor.


    The bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom had all grown in size. There was now an additional bedroom


    and a study.


    After counting everything, Ste now had four bedrooms, two living rooms, three bathrooms, and a


    study. The spiral staircase stopped at the ceiling, indicating that there was potential for further


    expansion.


    What surprised her even more was the garden. It had grown from 20 square meters to... 300 square


    meters.


    Ste had made the right bet. The ancient, spiritual wood had worked! She thanked the ebony, the


    rosewood, and all the other woods that had contributed to her expansion.


    As for the ones that didn’t make any changes to Arcadia, she nned to use as firewood during the


    harsh winter.


    Her trip had been more than worthwhile. She estimated that she had gained an extra 400 square


    meters in Arcadia.


    After exiting Arcadia, Ste moved on to the next floor.


    Two floors were filled with furniture. There was too much to take, so she picked the most valuable-


    looking pieces to throw into Arcadia.


    All the furniture was stacked in the garden. If Arcadia could ept them, great. If not, she could


    exchange themter.


    With the sudden addition of 1,200 cubic feet, Ste felt much more confident. She would hoard as


    much as she could without overloading Arcadia.


    The eighth floor housed service halls and viewing rooms, as well as a dozen restaurants, cafes,


    bakeries, and convenience stores. It seemed to be a rest area for visitors and attendees of


    exhibitions.


    The meat and vegetables had all spoiled, but the restaurants had stocked up for the convention.


    There were thousands of pounds of rice, flour, and other grains, over 300 barrels of oil, a variety of


    spices, coffee, wine, and other beverages.


    She even found 20 unopened bottles of top-grade caviar and 30 bottles of Lafite wine in a high-end


    restaurant. All were still within their shelf life.


    The refrigerators storing the valuable food items had their own energy storage boxes. Threerge


    refrigerators were filled with steaks,mb chops, foie gras, blue lobsters, Parmesan cheese, and


    more.


    The unexpected bounty was overwhelming. Ste took everything, including the refrigerators. She


    took all the goods from the convenience store and bakery, except for those that were moldy and


    expired. She also took all the coffee beans, sugar, milk, and even the coffee machine from the


    coffee shop.


    After sweeping through everything, she had gathered over 100 cubic meters of supplies.


    Ste had been all around the eighth floor, and she stumbled upon a massive maintenance supply


    room. Inside were two hefty power generators thaty idle. In such arge convention center, there


    was always a risk of a power outage. And that was where these generators woulde in handy –


    to keep things running in case of an emergency.


    But to get these generators up and running, you''d need diesel fuel. Ste scoured the room, but


    there was no sign of any diesel.