Leonard thought Suzy’s voice had suddenly become very strange.

One moment she sounded perfectly normal, and the next she seemed to be speaking in an oddly exaggerated, cutesy tone.

Chuckling, he looked over at her.

Suzy was looking right back at him.

The faint smile on her face was both amused and mysterious, as though she had absolutely nothing to do with the words he had just heard.

Still pretending, Leonard thought.

Just then, the voice rang out again.

"I planted them! Me! I did it all!"

This time, Leonard saw it clearly. Suzy’s lips never moved. Her mouth remained completely closed. She hadn’t spoken a single word.

The realization hit him like a bolt of lightning.

If it wasn’t Suzy... Then who was talking?

Leonard immediately lowered his head toward the source of the voice.

At his feet stood a small white cat. Its tail was held proudly aloft, practically radiating smug satisfaction.

The cat was staring directly at him.

"Th... the cat!"

Leonard stumbled backward so quickly that he nearly lost his footing and fell.

"The cat is talking!"

His eyes widened in horror. For a brief moment, he genuinely wondered whether he’d finally lost his mind.

A talking cat? What kind of absurdity was this?

"Suzy! Th... this cat just spoke!"

With a trembling finger, he pointed at the kitty before turning toward Suzy with an expression that bordered on panic.

No matter how many unbelievable things he had experienced since the apocalypse began, nothing had prepared him for a cat casually speaking human language.

To him, it was far more unsettling than zombies.

"Uncle Leonard, calm down. It’s okay."

Suzy hurriedly explained.

"That’s Kitty. The space’s... caretaker."

Leonard narrowed his eyes and stared at the little white cat. The explanation did absolutely nothing to make it less bizarre.

If anything, it sounded even stranger.

A talking cat who managed an interdimensional space? Everything about this situation was ridiculous.

"Tsk. What a coward."

Kitty snorted dismissively.

Leonard froze. Then his expression darkened. He had just been insulted by a cat.

A cat.

After several more seconds of staring, he reluctantly accepted the reality before him.

Apparently, this cat really could talk.

"Is it... actually a cat?" he finally asked.

Suzy bent down, scooped Kitty into her arms, and held it toward him.

"Probably."

Leonard’s mouth twitched.

"What do you mean, probably?"

"You could always touch it and find out."

Under Suzy’s iron grip, Kitty failed to escape.

Leonard cautiously reached out and rubbed the cat’s head. Its fur was unbelievably soft.

Just as he prepared to continue petting it, Kitty suddenly twisted free with remarkable agility and landed several feet away.

"That’s enough."

The cat’s tone carried a clear warning.

Watching a feline mouth produce human speech remained deeply unsettling.

The disconnect between appearance and behavior was almost impossible to process.

Leonard glanced from the tiny cat to the sprawling orchard around them.

"Can it really grow all of this by itself?"

He found the idea difficult to believe.

Kitty was barely larger than a household pet.

The orchard, on the other hand, stretched endlessly with countless fruit trees laden with harvests.

The two simply didn’t match.

"Who exactly are you underestimating?" Kitty huffed. "Have you never heard of automated space management?"

Leonard’s expression froze.

Automated space management? Apparently, he had been living under a rock.

Kitty couldn’t be bothered explaining further. It simply licked one paw with great dignity before turning around and walking away.

Soon, only Suzy and Leonard remained in the orchard.

Strangely enough, Leonard felt relieved after the kitten left. A talking cat was still far beyond his comfort zone.

"Suzy, your space is seriously incredible."

The admiration in his voice was impossible to hide.

Suzy smiled. "Want to check out the cabin?"

She pointed toward the wooden cottage in the distance.

"Absolutely. I haven’t seen it yet." Leonard agreed immediately.

Before leaving, however, he couldn’t resist helping himself to several more pieces of fruit.

He plucked apples, peaches, and pears from nearby trees and stuffed them into his pockets.

"Can these be taken outside the space?" he asked while picking another peach.

"Of course."

With that reassurance, Leonard continued munching on fruit as they headed toward the cabin together.

The cabin itself wasn’t particularly large.

Inside, it resembled an ordinary home. There was a bedroom, a kitchen, and a bathroom.

Although the space had undergone a major upgrade, the cabin itself appeared unchanged.

After a quick tour, the two stepped back outside.

Compared to the interior, Leonard found the world beyond the cabin far more fascinating.

The scenery was breathtaking. The air was fresh and invigorating. The entire place felt like a hidden paradise untouched by the chaos of the outside world.

Since the apocalypse began, he had not seen a landscape this beautiful.

Standing beneath the endless blue sky, surrounded by vibrant greenery and the scent of blooming life, Leonard suddenly felt as though the hardships of the past months had become distant memories.

For the first time in a very long while, he felt completely at peace.

Leonard was having the time of his life exploring.

The deeper they ventured, the more fascinated he became.

He kept pulling Suzy farther along, eager to see what other surprises her space contained.

Following the winding stream and crossing several gentle hills, Leonard suddenly spotted something unexpected.

A dirt road.

"Suzy, look. There’s a road here."

Curiosity immediately lit up his face. "Where do you think it leads?"

As he spoke, he turned toward her. Only then did he notice the stunned expression on her face.

"What kind of look is that?" Leonard raised an eyebrow.

Suzy hesitated. "I... honestly don’t know."

She wasn’t joking. She genuinely had no idea.

Her space had been expanding continuously through upgrades, growing larger each time. Yet she hadn’t thoroughly explored it in a long while.

Recently, she had spent less and less time inside. Even when she entered, she usually stayed near the cabin and farmland.

She had never ventured this far before... Which meant this was also the first time she had discovered the existence of this road.

"Even you don’t know?"

That only made Leonard more excited.

"Come on. Let’s find out."

Without waiting for an answer, he grabbed her arm and began walking along the dirt path.

The upgraded space was now several times larger than before, and the road stretched endlessly ahead.

Fortunately, both of them had benefited from long-term exposure to spirit spring water.

Their stamina far exceeded that of ordinary people.

As they continued forward, Suzy noticed the path gradually widening beneath their feet.

Eventually, patches of stone paving appeared ahead.

Both she and Leonard spotted the stone road at the same time.

Their footsteps instinctively slowed... Then stopped.

"Suzy, look over there."

Leonard narrowed his eyes and pointed into the distance. At this range, the scenery ahead seemed veiled behind a thin layer of mist. Everything appeared vague and indistinct.

Through the haze, however, he could make out the outline of something large.

It resembled an archway of some sort.

The structure stood tall and imposing, though any writing carved upon it remained impossible to read.

"Could there be a village up ahead?" Leonard asked in surprise. "The archway looks old."

Suzy stared into the distance.

Her heart was pounding.

Could her space be more than just a space? Could it somehow connect to another location? Or had there always been a hidden settlement inside it?

The possibilities flooded her mind.

"Let’s go take a look."

She could no longer contain her curiosity. Grabbing Leonard’s arm, she broke into a jog.

The two hurried toward the stone road. However, just as they approached the boundary of the paving stones, something stopped them.

An invisible force. It felt as though a massive unseen net stretched across the path ahead. The farther they pushed forward, the greater the resistance became.

Leonard frowned. "We can’t get through."

"You too?" Suzy asked.

Leonard nodded. "Let me try again."

He refused to give up so easily. Taking several steps backward, he prepared himself. Then he sprinted forward.

One step.

Two.

Three.

Just as his leading foot was about to cross into the stone-paved area, a powerful force suddenly seized him.

The next instant, he was standing right beside Suzy again. It was as though he had never moved at all.

Leonard stared blankly for a while, then sighed.

"Still doesn’t work."

Suzy withdrew her gaze from the distant archway.

"We shouldn’t force it." She quickly arrived at a conclusion. "We’ll have to wait for the next upgrade."

The current boundary of the space already extended almost to the stone road. Once the space evolved again, its limits would likely expand farther.

At that point, they might finally be able to step onto the paving stones. Perhaps even pass through the archway itself.

Leonard reluctantly looked away.

"What a shame." He sighed dramatically. "I really want to know what’s over there."

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "My guess is that it’s some kind of ancient town."

"An ancient town?"

"That’s what it feels like." Leonard tilted his head slightly.

"Actually..." His expression changed. "Now that I think about it, it sounds pretty lively over there."

Suzy blinked. "Lively?"

Her surprise was immediate.

Leonard looked back at her, equally confused.

"You didn’t hear it?"

"Hear what?" Suzy asked.

"The sounds." Leonard pointed toward the mist-covered distance.

"People talking." His voice lowered unconsciously. "And other noises too."

He frowned as he listened carefully.

"It sounds far away, but there are definitely voices."

Suzy’s expression gradually stiffened. She hadn’t heard anything. Not a single sound. The area beyond the stone road had been completely silent to her.

Yet Leonard seemed absolutely certain.

The wind drifted softly through the grass around them. The stream continued its gentle murmur nearby.

Beyond the invisible barrier, the archway stood quietly beneath the veil of mist.

For the first time since entering the space, Suzy felt a chill creep down her spine.

If Leonard was telling the truth, then something existed beyond that boundary.

Something alive. Something waiting on the other side.