CHAPTER 60: TRUE IRON STAFF

Zhang Bingbing No.4: "I was robbed too; four or five people wielding sticks demanded what I had. I just dropped my things and ran. Next time someone goes out, please call me. The express bus is too late in the morning; I usually ride my bike there at night."

Wang Xue Mei No.2: "Next time I’ll call you; we also cycle there. I don’t know when this will all end. Ever since we finished the frozen goods in the fridge, the dried Shiitake Mushrooms we bought earlier are gone too, and so are the snacks. Every day we can only eat white rice or the corn paste that was distributed before. I pray the Dark Day ends soon."

Fat Girl No.25: "Waiting for the Artificial Sun with our belts tightened; everything will be okay! But does anyone still have the scalper’s number? I really want to buy something; I can’t take it anymore!"

Jing Shu’s memory was stirred. At this time in her previous life, Mrs. Jing was still working hard and doing overtime because Yu Caini had been promoted to ’Deputy Director.’ Her previous position remained vacant; Mrs. Jing and Tian Qing competed for it and ultimately failed. Soon after, overwhelmed by depression and heatstroke, she completely gave up and didn’t even make it into the system.

She was still clueless then. Every day, she and Mr. Jing would go to the supermarket, carrying a steel pipe, to queue for food. They worried that their own supplies would run out or get stolen. Like the others, she hoped the Dark Day would end soon, wishing someone would come to their rescue, placing all their hope elsewhere.

In the end, Jing Shu realized that one must rely on oneself.

It was as if on cue, just when everyone had finished the food in their fridges, the power supply duration was further shortened, changed to the period from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Everyone had to accomplish all their appliance usage within these two hours. They needed to charge their power banks, mobile phones, and flashlights. They had to steam enough rice for the day in the rice cooker and boil water. The lights also needed to be on for at least an hour, as news reports reminded people that daily light supplementation was necessary, not to mention candles had all been used up. Finally, they had to watch the news broadcast to keep up with the latest information.

Of course, this excluded a portion of the wealthy—the owners of UBC solar power generators. These units were now said to cost over a million each, and only the truly rich could get their hands on one. The percentage of owners was less than 0.03%.

Then there were the powerful people, whose electricity was generally uninterrupted. Rules are always a tool of the upper class, applicable everywhere. But then again, those who have truly made substantial contributions have the right to special treatment.

For instance, there were those who led the last few hundred million people to survive through the toughest times. Although their decisions also resulted in the death of one-third of the population, Jing Shu, as a survivor, felt that managing to keep two-thirds alive in such circumstances was truly incredible. This was especially true when several countries abroad had already collapsed.

A popular saying after the apocalypse went: "The rich have UBC, the powerful have uninterrupted power; those with nothing rely on public resources. The rich eat dry goods, the powerful eat vegetables; those with nothing eat insects. The rich drink purified water, the powerful drink mineral water; those with nothing drink rainwater."

So what about someone like Jing Shu, who had everything? Thinking about it, she felt quite content...

As for turning on air conditioning, that was no longer needed, as the temperature began to drop sharply at 5:30 p.m. Four months into the apocalypse, one of the guarantees that allowed people to survive the high temperatures was having a sufficient supply of water.

But now, the water supply regulations had also changed. There was only one delivery per day, allocated per person, with each receiving only 1.5 liters. In conditions where high temperatures caused easy sweating, 1.5 liters was somewhat insufficient, as adults should ideally consume at least 2 liters per day.

The ’boiling the frog’ style of gradual change was the hardest to notice. When the water supply first stopped in the first month of the apocalypse, it was one bucket per person. This was reduced to two buckets per household, then to one. Now, after three months, it had become 1.5 liters per person per day. Although the public found it hard to accept, upon seeing the Armed Police with their weapons and armed shields, they dared not make a sound.

"Just to deliver water, do you really need to dispatch the Armed Police?"

That was all they dared to complain about from a distance. The military escort for water was enough to show how scarce water had become in the entire nation. Freshwater lakes had turned green and smelly from rotting biological matter, and the high temperatures caused rivers to dry up. Remedial actions were too late, and still, there was no rain.

Scientists on the Science Channel, this time speaking with one voice, predicted that high temperatures would surely cause sea levels to rise, leading to flooding and torrential rains. One-third of the world was expected to be submerged, with Japan even facing the threat of national extinction!

"’It will rain sooner or later; floods are even predicted in many places. We must prepare in advance! Otherwise, the consequences will be unimaginable,’ the scientists had said. When they first mentioned it a month ago, everyone was very nervous."

But after four months of the same message, people had become numb. "Hurry up and rain! Even a flood would be better than this deadly heat and dryness!"

Yet, there was still no rain, no flooding. Japan had been preparing for three months to be submerged, but still, not a single drop of water had fallen.

Perhaps only Jing Shu knew that these predictions would all come true in the second year of the apocalypse, once everyone had let their guard down. The disaster hadn’t failed to strike; it was merely gathering strength. When it finally unleashed, it did so all at once, submerging several countries and one-third of Huaxia. It was a year of countless deaths.

Jing Shu shook her head. With each passing day, those distant memories were triggered again. After finishing ten scallion egg pancakes, two bowls of double-skin milk, and a large pot of tomato and egg drop soup, Jing Shu put on her helmet, picked up her pure iron rod, and set off to take Mrs. Jing to work.

It was indeed a real iron rod. Some may not understand the weight of iron, Jing Shu thought, offering a bit of enlightenment to herself: a cubic meter of iron weighs 7.8 tons, hence this one-meter-long solid iron rod weighed 39 kilograms. She could now easily lift it and swing it back and forth dozens of times without any problem. If any reckless fool dared to come close, she could break their bones, ensuring a fatal blow with one strike.

Also carried along were two boxes of soil from the villa. Mrs. Jing’s competition was drawing near, and Jing Shu decided to give her a slight unfair advantage. At the very least, she had to push Yu Caini down the rankings.

"Why must you go out, child? Isn’t it better to stay safe at home?" Mrs. Jing smeared some dirt on her face, and Jing Shu did the same, imitating her. Their skin had become increasingly fair due to drinking from the Spiritual Spring, while those who lacked sunlight exposure and suffered from long-term nutritional deficiencies had skin that was mostly sallow and dark. They were becoming too conspicuous.

In the post-apocalypse, people lacking exposure to sunlight would suffer from an increasing deficiency of various nutrients, becoming gaunter and more aged. In her previous life, Mrs. Jing, at less than fifty years old, had looked like she was in her seventies. But in this life, she was still as beautiful as a thirty-year-old woman, her face radiant.

And Jing Shu herself was looking increasingly like a young girl, so much so that she found no use for the many cosmetics and face oils she had bought.

With a clang, Jing Shu placed the iron rod on the ground, exclaiming, "Look at my strength now! If someone dares to be foolish, I’ll beat them up! Dad was called away by Uncle, and there’s no one to take you. I can’t rest easy with you going alone. Plus, I want to see what kind of devilish things your mysterious workplace is up to."