Chapter 4 — The 100x System

Amidst the apocalyptic rainstorm, supplies were vanishingly scarce, and everyone regarded food as precious as their own lives. Once word leaked, the demand would not simply plateau; it would escalate violently. This triggered a cascade of perilous consequences. First, public attention skyrocketed. Not only the neighbors in the immediate vicinity, but people from far and wide caught wind of the rumors and converged upon the location. Every day brought a swelling crowd of desperate people pounding on the door, eventually forming angry mobs demanding provisions by any means necessary.

Second, the threat to safety burst wide open. What began as polite transactions offering payment for assistance quickly spiraled out of control. When the sheer volume of people became unmanageable, unscrupulous elements emerged who had no intention of paying, preferring to take what they wanted by force. Violence and bloody conflicts became inevitable. Third, the systemic resources were rapidly depleted. Operating the amplification device continuously drained energy at an alarming rate, risking total failure precisely when it was needed most. Naturally, the people who had grown accustomed to dependency would erupt into furious outrage.

Fourth, the danger of betrayal and manipulation loomed large. Lu Sheng and his family initially profited through the younger sister, but as tensions tightened, they were fully prepared to sell her out or abandon her entirely to secure their own survival. In short, the ever-growing influx of clients was a glaring sign that the net around the sister was drawing tight—and sooner or later, the situation would erupt into full-scale crisis. Everyone firmly believed that as long as the younger sister possessed her magnification ability, starvation would never touch them. Yet they overlooked a fundamental truth: amplification required a pre-existing base. The system could only be applied once to any given item; there was no eating half a meal and amplifying the remainder for infinite reproduction.

Three years passed, and thanks to the magnification ability, not a single person in the entire residential complex starved. Consequently, everyone grew complacent, indulging in profligate waste. By the end of the third year, the long-festering crisis finally struck. Household stores were utterly exhausted; even when amplified, the rations fell short of basic survival needs. Resources were cripplingly limited, rendering the magnification ability completely obsolete. The residential complex plunged into chaos—quarrels and bloody brawls over meager supplies erupted everywhere. By this time, the younger sister had moved in with Lu Sheng, practically treated as a member of the household.

Through the security cameras, I observed that Lu Sheng’s family realized fewer people were seeking out the magnification service, making it difficult to turn a profit. Since she remained a freeloader, resentment festered, and they plotted to find an excuse to cast her out. Lu Sheng turned on her without a trace of hesitation, declaring coldly, "I don't love you anymore." Despite her tearful pleas and desperate attempts to hold on, she was ultimately thrown out into the storm by the entire family. In this apocalyptic wasteland, romance meant nothing; people cared only for their own interests.

After a day and a night of weeping outside the door, the younger sister trudged back to my apartment, only to find it stripped bare by Lu Sheng’s family. Even her personal food reserves had been looted and hauled away, leaving the apartment an empty shell. Screaming and pounding on their door yielded nothing but verbal abuse; they had no intention of returning a single morsel. It was then that true terror finally gripped her.

What was I doing all this while? I was living in leisurely comfort inside my miniature farm. When hungry, I harvested fresh vegetables to stir-fry with meat; when too lazy to cook, I simply pulled ready-made meals from the freezer and whipped up a quick feast. In my free time, I mixed myself a refreshing drink. Every morning began with feeding the chickens, preparing breakfast, and tending to the thriving rows of cabbage, potatoes, eggplants, tomatoes, and corn I had cultivated. Afternoons were reserved for naps, followed by movies and anime paired with endless snacks. The only slightly tedious task was hand-pollinating every single plant due to the complete absence of insects, but that was a minor inconvenience.

After three years of radio silence, the younger sister attempted a phone call. Perhaps she assumed I had perished in the storm; she certainly never expected me to answer. "You're still alive? Thank goodness! I thought the storm had washed you away..." I crunched on a crisp cucumber while watching a movie on my tablet. "Why are you calling?" Her voice choked with tears. "You have no idea how Lu Sheng's family treated me! They used my ability to make money, and when people stopped coming, they threw me out! Lu Sheng promised to marry me, but now he's dumped me! They're all greedy monsters! I'm suffering so much, and there's nothing left to eat at home!"

"Uh-huh, oh." I chewed the cucumber, the crisp sound echoing through the line. She instantly pivoted to self-pity. "Sis, won't you come pick me up? If I don't get food, I'll starve to death! You don't want to watch your only sister starve, do you?" "Not happening." My tone remained utterly detached. Sensing my indifference, her voice shrieked like a startled cat. "Why don't you care about me? You weren't like this before... You... did you get reborn too?!"

A soft chuckle escaped my lips. "So what if I did?" "If you were reborn, why didn't you warn me?! You must have known what kind of people Lu Sheng's family were! Why didn't you tell me? You're so selfish!" Without a word of debate, I simply sent her a video file. The footage displayed lush green vegetables, chickens roaming freely, a cozy and warm interior, and a refrigerator bursting with snacks and gourmet food. Everything looked entirely untouched by the apocalyptic disaster—as if existing in an alternate world.

Upon viewing the video, the younger sister exploded with rage. "How can you be so selfish?! Do you know how much I'm suffering right now? Come get me immediately!" "Selfish? When you pushed me down the stairs in our past life, wasn't that selfish? You were reborn too, you knew the storm was coming, yet you never breathed a word to me—wasn't that selfish?" She had always taken my kindness for granted, never once considering reciprocity. I was no unconditional saint; since she refused to treat me like family, I had no obligation to save her a second time.

"Sis, I was just possessed by a demon, I was blinded by Lu Sheng. You can't just abandon me, I'm your only sister! If I starve to death, you won't have any family left!" I replied casually, "Oh, then go die. What does that have to do with me?" With that, I hung up the phone. I could vividly imagine the fury boiling on the other end of the line.

Through the security feed, I watched the younger sister go on a wild rampage, tearing up my old bedroom and destroying everything in sight. Yet venting anger with property destruction could never fill an empty stomach. A few days later, I spotted her sneaking back with a few loaves of bread. Reviewing the hallway camera, it turned out she had stolen them from Lu Sheng's apartment. Taking advantage of the family's absence while only leaving Lu Sheng's six-year-old sister behind, she had coaxed the child into opening the door and looted their entire stash.

Watching the scene unfold on screen, I chuckled softly—dog biting dog, a spectacle dramatic enough to nearly kill me with laughter. Naturally, upon returning and discovering their food missing, Lu Sheng's family flew into a murderous rage. They swarmed my door, hurling rocks and screaming obscenities. My younger sister curled up like a frightened turtle inside, too terrified to show her face. My front door had been custom-built with the highest-grade reinforced materials during the renovation, enduring three days and nights of violent battering without yielding an inch.

Unexpectedly, Lu Sheng changed tactics, pasting on a honeyed expression outside the door. "Jia Jia, stop being angry. Give the food back and let's get back together? Everything I said before was just spoken in anger, I still truly love you. We promised to get married, have you forgotten?" He lingered outside for two whole days, pouring sweet poison into her ears and promising never to lose his temper again. My younger sister hesitated at first, but eventually, her hand rested on the doorknob as an uncontrollable smile tugged at her lips. I knew instantly—she was walking straight into a trap.

Sure enough, the moment the door swung open, Lu Sheng delivered a brutal elbow strike that sent her crashing flat to the ground. She clutched her throbbing forehead in agony as they carted away all the remaining food. Before leaving, Lu Sheng's father delivered a vicious kick to her head. "Bah! Cheap whore! You think you're good enough to marry my son? In your dreams! To think you're vicious enough to steal from us!"

Lying flat on the floor, the younger sister wheezed, "That was originally my food..." "Bah! Running into you is pure bad luck!" Lu Sheng kicked her sprawling body away from the threshold, securing the food inside his apartment. She lay motionless by the doorway for two full days before managing to drag herself up, clutching a pillow and weeping bitterly for hours. Even with the magnification ability, it was utterly useless now—she possessed not a single crumb left to amplify.

Driven to utter desperation, she called me once more. The connection opened with wailing sobs; after crying her fill, she began her tale of woe. "Sis... sob... someone beat me, it hurts so much... please save me... I'm starving... I think my bones are broken..." In the past, my heart would have ached, wishing I could bear her suffering. Now, listening to her lamentations, I remained entirely unmoved. "You brought this on yourself." I hung up the phone and returned to the fields to snap off an ear of corn.

Day after day, the younger sister languished by the doorway, wasting away to skin and bone. During this time, passing residents repeatedly forced her to use her ability to enlarge their meager supplies. Though resentful, a few slaps quickly brought compliance. Until her very final breath, she crawled toward Lu Sheng's door, collapsed, and never rose again. When Lu Sheng finally opened the door and discovered the decomposing corpse, he kicked it aside with utter disdain, not sparing it a single glance.

Over the next two years, floodwaters submerged the lower levels, but true to my past-life predictions, our floor remained completely unaffected. Several months before the rain finally ceased, disaster struck Lu Sheng's family. Their notorious reputation within the complex, combined with the wealth they had amassed through my sister's ability, had long bred deep resentment among the residents. With household supplies nearly depleted across the board, an anonymous rumor swept through the community group chat claiming Lu Sheng's household still hoarded massive quantities of food.

Armed mobs quickly formed, converging outside their door with weapons in hand, screaming and smashing against the wood to demand the surrender of their stores. Instead of complying, Lu Sheng's family screamed curses right back, inflaming the crowd's fury. Multiple groups coordinated in shifts, hammering the door day and night. Finally, on the fourth day, their defenses shattered. The food stores were plundered in an instant, leaving the family huddled on the floor, weeping in absolute despair.

With zero provisions remaining, Lu Sheng's family could not survive the final grueling months. The entire residential complex resembled a desolate wasteland where corpses lay uncollected and cries of misery echoed endlessly. Meanwhile, inside my miniature farm, I remained thoroughly well-fed, even gaining five pounds. I persevered steadfastly to the very final moment.

The phone chimed with a notification—the deluge had ended. Sunlight finally tore through layers of heavy storm clouds, casting a brilliant golden radiance across the earth and bearing the fresh breath of renewed hope. While loosening the soil around a row of corn, a miraculous transformation surged through my body—my miniaturized frame abruptly expanded back to its original proportions. I had returned to my normal size!

Beneath my feet, the farm and my dwelling had shrunk into miniature curiosities. Opening the hidden compartment control via my phone, I peered outside to find the apartment still in its chaotic, storm-battered state. Strangely enough, only my physical form had reverted; everything else retained its diminutive scale. Perhaps the enlargement and reduction systems operated under entirely different rules—after all, such anomalies defied ordinary logic. Standing beside the floor-to-ceiling window, I watched the surviving residents emerge from their homes, lifting their faces to the sky in triumphant roars. I tipped my head back and joined their cry, "This time, I have finally survived!"