CHAPTER 652: CAN’T JUST SIT AND WAIT FOR DEATH

Before he left, Da Ji seemed to have something to say, but he eventually went away. Jing Shu silently took note of this man.

Gold Dominator looked at Jing Shu with disdain, unable to comprehend why his uncle esteemed her so much. His uncle had clearly looked down on her before: "Just a little girl, not worth paying attention to."

That was Jun Jia’s previous assessment of Jing Shu.

The truck came to a safe stop in Li Yuetian’s territory. The driver, with heightened vigilance, stood guard. Eventually, Jun Jia spoke, "The situation is very serious. We have to save ourselves. This can’t continue."

"Tell me what to do, and I’ll do it."

Jing Shu nodded; the situation was obviously grave. The building had been adrift in the mudslide for so many days without GPS or any positioning system—even she didn’t know where they were now. For a search and rescue team to find them would be like looking for a needle in the ocean.

She also wondered how her family was doing. Hearing that I’m missing, they must be frantic!

Jun Jia sighed deeply, his face etched with worry. The previously pampered man seemed to have aged significantly in just a few days. His hair had more gray, and his once plump, fair complexion was now thin and dark.

"We’ve decided to use your Insect Cakes," Jun Jia continued. "Today, we searched every possible place in the building for food, hidden or otherwise. You’ve seen it – even with the addition of green algae, it won’t sustain over 2,000 people for long. And now, our only option is to passively wait for rescue, not knowing how long that might be... It’s very possible we’ll starve to death before rescue arrives."

Touching her chin, Jing Shu pointed to the soil on the ground and said, "If it really comes to it, we could mix the Insect Cakes with soil to extend our time. Even if we run out of Insect Cakes in the end, we can eat soil."

It was a point of pride that Jing Shu’s Insect Cakes were genuine: made from minced insects, cooked, salted, and formed into pure meat pancakes. In the apocalypse, this qualified as a high-grade ’pure meat pancake’.

Add an Insect Cake to soup, and it created a deliciously fragrant meat broth.

Jun Jia shook his head. "The soil here, from the mudslide, is problematic. We initially didn’t want to use your Insect Cakes. We even consulted chefs to try and emulate Wu City’s method of making and baking soil pancakes. We had ten volunteers test them, but the soil here is too viscous. Even after filtering it multiple times and using the finest particles, the resulting soil pancakes were indigestible. Some died after three meals of them, and others felt like their stomachs were about to burst after just one. So, soil pancakes are probably not an option."

In fact, by this time, the soil in most areas of Wu City should have been frozen due to the weather, making soil pancakes much more challenging to prepare than usual. However, at least it wouldn’t cause someone’s stomach to feel like bursting after just one meal.

Indeed, excessive consumption of soil pancakes often caused distended bellies due to undigested elements. In the apocalypse, one could see many emaciated people with protruding stomachs—a result of eating too much soil.

But the time might come when even soil would not be an option, for the harsh winter was approaching.

"I understand. The Insect Cakes are our last resort for rations. Once we start using them, we must have a backup plan. We can’t just sit around and wait for death. Once the Insect Cakes are gone, it’s truly over," Jing Shu said calmly, grasping the purpose of Jun Jia’s summons today.

Jun Jia looked at Jing Shu with admiration and sighed deeply. "I didn’t expect that the survival of over two thousand people would come to depend on your Insect Cakes. Although they could last us a month or two, we certainly can’t just sit idly by and wait to die. Especially since our Fuel is also nearly gone. In this cold weather, it’s easy to freeze to death."

"Does Boss Lu have any backup plans?" Jing Shu finally asked, her curiosity piqued.

The surroundings fell quiet, and Gold Dominator snorted even more disdainfully.

"We can’t push him too hard. I’ve heard he has an arsenal with banned weapons, food supplies, and armed followers. If we become enemies, it won’t end well. Right now, our goals are aligned. As long as we’re not on the brink of starvation, we should be able to coexist peacefully. Today, by confiscating everyone’s food, I was also reassuring him," Jun Jia explained to Jing Shu.

An arsenal? Jing Shu found herself a little curious—just a tad.

"So, what do we do next?" Jing Shu asked the most critical question.

"Gather manpower. Call in experts from various fields—ship repairers, whether they have practical experience or theoretical knowledge. We must either find a way to make this building stop or get it moving in a direction we choose. At the very least, we need to determine our current location, or where we’re heading!"

The last trace of red light vanished from the gloomy sky, and it turned completely pitch-black. A cold breeze swept past. Jing Shu wrapped her cotton-padded coat tighter and nodded in agreement. Jun Jia is right; it’s time to act.

"It’s dark," Jing Shu said.

She could still see the surroundings clearly, however. It was the same unchanging landscape, as if they had entered an endless mode in the Black Sea, drifting eternally with no end in sight, no knowing where they were drifting. This place couldn’t even be considered a lone island.

"No need to state the obvious," Gold Dominator huffed, clearly displeased. This woman is gaining more and more of Uncle’s favor, but she doesn’t seem all that impressive to me.

Jun Jia glared at Gold Dominator. "Daddy, how can you speak like that? I’m planning to entrust you to Miss Jing’s care. Apologize at once."

"Sorry, sorry," Gold Dominator mumbled reluctantly.

Only then did Jun Jia turn to Jing Shu and ask kindly, "It has gotten dark. But the sky... it’s always been dark, hasn’t it? Since the apocalypse began, the sun has never appeared. This is quite normal, right?"

Jing Shu shook her head. "No, it’s different."

Perhaps it was because she could see the outside scenery clearly—her night vision ability made her more perceptive of the weather.

"How is it different?" Jun Jia seemed to realize Jing Shu was about to offer some insight.

"Even though the apocalypse came and the sun vanished, the Earth still rotates. There are still dark nights when the temperature plummets, and dim days with faint light."

Jun Jia nodded; he understood that one could still distinguish between day and night.

Jing Shu took out a small notebook and handed it to Jun Jia. "These are my recordings of the time of daybreak, daytime temperature, the time it gets dark, and nighttime temperature, every day since we’ve been trapped."

The notebook contained detailed entries: dates, temperatures from morning to evening, and the times of daybreak and nightfall.

Jun Jia furrowed his brow.

Gold Dominator furrowed his brow.

After scanning it, Jun Jia said awkwardly, "Miss Jing, please just tell me directly. I... I don’t really understand these things."

Jing Shu smiled. "Every region has a time difference. For example, there’s a two-and-a-half-hour difference between the Imperial Capital and our Wu City due to their geographical locations. If we’ve truly been traveling at 30 kilometers per hour for over a dozen days, how far would we have traveled by now?"