CHAPTER 83: BLACKENED WANG XUE MEI

When Jing Shu first met Wang Dazhao, he still sported an oblique fringe, a quintessential sunny boy. Now, however, he wore a buzz cut. His face was marked with the ravages of time, yet his will was resolute. He was an individual molded by the apocalypse, with no ties left to bind him.

"I want you to be my informant," Jing Shu slowly said, "sneak into the Sky Covering Party and gather some information for me." There were issues from her past life she could never understand.

She was also afraid that upon hearing the news of the Biri group being wiped out, Zhetian might descend on their community, so she had to prepare in advance.

It should be noted that the Sky Covering Party was purely a group of lawless individuals bent on revenge against society, taking pleasure only in killing and torture.

Who knows which bastard leaked the post about Zhetian and Biri being troubled brothers—one failing to steal guns from the police station, the other annihilated in a remote community—ensuring that the main topic of discussion in Wu City recently was exactly this, thrusting their community into the epicenter of controversy.

Wang Dazhao agreed without hesitation. Jing Shu gave him several more crucial instructions, such as, "It’s best to use a fake name, absolutely do not get caught on camera, absolutely do not let your information be scanned, absolutely do not be recorded in any documents," and so on.

Because Jing Shu knew, regardless whether the police were truly overwhelmed or, as Wu You’ai’s mentor had predicted, were letting more people die off, in just a few months, once the government sorted itself out and divided up the "cake," a bloody era of change would begin.

Those caught for crimes like robbery or rape were simply killed! Anyone with a record of such crimes was also killed! It didn’t matter if you dodged capture for the moment. By then, it would be a time of communal feeding: verification by facial recognition to receive food. Anyone with a record would be on the blacklist. If you dared to retrieve food, you’d definitely be arrested; if you didn’t, you’d be left to fend for yourself.

In her past life, Jing Shu felt this world was beyond redemption, but Huaxia had managed to turn things around by controlling the distribution of food.

Wang Dazhao then signed up with the Sky Covering Party, presenting the bloody head of his enemy as his credentials, sparking an uproar within the small circle immediately.

「...」

The coconut trees Jing Shu had longed for had finally grown. Six trees, approaching 30 meters tall, stood in the Magic Cube Space, laden with dense clusters of large coconuts. Jing Shu harvested them all with her mind, preparing to wait for more batches. Subsequent harvests should be much faster.

After all, just growing coconut trees had taken over three months of Jing Shu’s time. She couldn’t just harvest once and then cut them down to plant something else.

By contrast, apple, apricot, and even lychee trees, which similarly required several years to bear fruit, had only taken a month.

This led Jing Shu to a bold hypothesis: the taller the fruit tree, the smaller the effect of the Magic Cube Space’s field on reducing its growth timeline, thus requiring more time.

This discovery thrilled Jing Shu immensely. So, what if things planted in the soil grew faster?

Does that mean that medicinal herbs, which typically take decades to mature, could be ready in just two or three months in the Magic Cube Space? Jing Shu wanted to try it out next time.

The mild taste of coconut water made for a decent drink, but Jing Shu still preferred coconut milk. Following the instructions in the recipe book, she blended coconut meat with coconut water, then boiled the mixture until it thickened. She squeezed out the resulting liquid, which was now coconut milk, and mixed it with milk and sugar in the specified proportions to make a delicious beverage.

The remaining pulp wasn’t wasted either, serving as excellent feed for fish and pigs.

Jing Shu compacted space to 2 cubic meters, filling it with coconut milk and drinking large mouthfuls. As she sipped the coconut milk, she felt both bliss and torment. It was a pity she could only enjoy it herself, for even the best of her acting couldn’t concoct a plausible origin for the coconut milk anymore.

She’d just drink fruit juice every day for the next six months to save water. A different flavor each day—that wouldn’t be too bad at all.

Since the natural gas had been shut off, Jingshu’s house had to cook with coal, which was not very convenient, and it was tough to control the heat.

A few days ago, Jing Shu got some corn. Grandma Jing had said there was too much to eat, but Jing Shu ended up eating dozens of cobs herself after boiling some of them. Considering the inconvenience of cooking, she made the rest into corn pancakes.

The golden corn pancakes, cooked until fluffy, were fragrant and sweet. Each bite was crispy and delicious, with a pleasant chewiness. They were extremely tasty even when cold and could be eaten like snacks.

Jing Shu’s favorite was the golden corn pancake, a dish she never tired of. Corn kernels were mixed with starch, spread thinly in a pan of hot oil, and fried until golden and crispy. Sprinkled with granulated sugar, they were crunchy, sweet, and glutinous right out of the pan—a complete delight that fully satisfied the taste buds.

High-quality ingredients often lead to delicious food with the simplest cooking techniques.

Jing Shu secretly made a lot and stored them in the Magic Cube Space. Now, she needed a few pieces with each snack, or she wouldn’t feel right.

As Jing Shu was spending a couple of days at home making gourmet food, a lot happened outside as well.

Wang Luobin on the 15th: "@everyone, who has some food to sell me?"

Luo Zhu No.9: "@Wang Qiqi, everyone’s running out of food. You have to think of something fast! We’re even running out of water now."

Wang Qiqi then said, "Inside information: the government’s first batch of vegetables is coming soon. Everyone just hold on a few more days for the update."

On May 19th, a robbery and murder took place in the neighborhood.

There was a couple in Building 1 who, having run out of food, went to Wang Xue Mei’s place in Building 2 to ’borrow’ some.

Because people in the group knew she had at least ten bags of rice, they thought Wang Xue Mei would be timid after the recent incident and could be easily frightened into handing over the food.

But to their surprise, Wang Xue Mei’s reaction was overly fierce. Without saying a word to the two visitors, she grabbed a kitchen knife and began hacking at them. By the time Wang Qiqi arrived, Wang Xue Mei had already struck them over a hundred times, and they were unrecognizable as male or female.

Having regained her phone, Wang Xue Mei then messaged the group, saying, "Apart from those who have helped me, this will be the fate of anyone else looking to borrow food." She also posted a photo from the scene, terrifying everyone in the group. From then on, the nickname Wang Fengzi stuck with Wang Xue Mei.

Yet, it still couldn’t prevent people who had completely run out of food. They had eaten everything edible at home, no one was selling food, and there was no place to procure any. Their only option left was to rob.

On May 20th, Mr. Jing was robbed three times while driving Mrs. Jing to work.

The first time was inside the neighborhood. Just as Mr. Jing drove up to the gate, he was stopped by a roadblock. Simultaneously, five knife-wielding men rushed out. Terrified, Mr. Jing slammed the car into reverse, running over two of them, then accelerated and hit another two. The last man tried to flee, but Mr. Jing chased him down, smashing both him and the car into the roadblock with a LOUD BANG. The car stopped, and the man was crushed in the middle.

When Jing Shu arrived after getting the call, she saw three people still breathing on the ground. The man crushed in the middle stared with bulging eyes, blood oozing from his mouth. He wasn’t dead yet. The car only needed to reverse to relieve the pressure, and he’d be dead instantly.

Jing Shu pulled out a knife and handed it to Mr. Jing. "Since they are from our own community," she said, "let’s end their suffering quickly."