Jing Shu knew she had to grow valuable medicinal herbs: things like fleeceflower root (He Shou Wu), tall gastrodia tuber (Tian Ma), ginseng (Ren Shen), caterpillar fungus (Dong Chong Xia Cao), and pseudoginseng (San Qi). Whether for her own use or for saving others in the future, these would be invaluable.
She also planted a range of common herbs based on online guides: astragalus (Huang Qi), purslane (Ma Chi Xian), isatis root (Ban Lan Gen), honeysuckle (Jin Yin Hua), Chinese angelica (Dang Gui), motherwort (Yi Mu Cao), and hawthorn (Shan Zha). These could treat everyday ailments, and pseudoginseng and angelica could stop bleeding and help circulation. With these, she would no longer have to use Spirit Spring for every little wound.
As time passed, the value of medicinal herbs would only rise. Jing Shu planned to eventually trade small amounts of herbs for supplies that were currently impossible to get.
She left one plot of land for everyday vegetables.
The other five plots, thirty sections in total, were filled with radishes and daylilies, with an expected yield of over a thousand jin (500 kg).
During this first half-year of the apocalypse, Jing Shu intended to grow large quantities of vegetables. Some would be stored fresh in her Cube Space, but the rest she would dry into vegetable and fruit preserves. That way, when she eventually had to live in public shelters, her food wouldn't draw so much attention.
The timing was perfect. Only during this first year of the apocalypse, starting at the end of May, did the world enter this superheat stage that lasted six months. After this, such temperatures would never appear again, making it impossible to sun-dry vegetables outdoors.
This was the best time to make naturally dried vegetables and fruit. The heat was so intense that after one day in the open air, all moisture was gone. Once sealed and stored cold, these vegetables and fruits could be rehydrated back to freshness with water and would last an extremely long time. They would be the best food to carry during migrations.
By the second year of the apocalypse, even clothes would stay damp, and food left out for a few days would mold. Wild mushrooms would grow everywhere. At that time, unless she had a dryer, making dried vegetables would be impossible. That was why Jing Shu wanted to make as much as she could during this six-month window.
The last six plots were still occupied by coconut trees. Though they had taken over three months to mature, the payoff was worth it. She could harvest coconuts every five days now. Every day, Jing Shu opened the Cube Space's Second Form to make coconut-based treats: coconut pudding, coconut sticky rice, coconut jelly. Sometimes she would just crack one open and drink the juice.
The scorching heat rose again from over 40°C to 50°C, and some people who had begun to adapt were collapsing from heatstroke. Worst of all, water shortages had become critical.
At this point, a heatstroke diagnosis was almost a death sentence. Hospitals had no medicine. Neighbors watched you like vultures, waiting for your death so they could report it, drag the corpse away, and collect their two work credits in exchange for a little drinking water.
This caused a chain reaction.
Households began trading everything they could: seasonings, bedding, clothing, knives, utensils. They used their credits to buy rice and water. The government's daily ration of 500 ml of water was far from enough. People were ready to sacrifice everything to survive.
In Jing Shu's community, residents had just received some credits, but most of them had already exchanged it for water. Even though they sipped it drop by drop, it was still not enough to counter the heat draining their bodies. Only in the evenings, around five or six, when temperatures plummeted to single digits, could they feel a little relief.
Even Jing Shu, in her air-conditioned home kept at 26°C, needed to drink over a dozen coconuts a day, plus ice cream, yogurt shaved ice, and watermelon juice just to feel normal.
"I wonder what Wu You'ai is eating at her teacher's place. With the gas supply cut, I bet they can't even cook." Grandma Jing's voice carried concern.
"Don't worry. I'll bring her some food."
Jing Shu packed a large box of meals: glutinous rice balls, century egg and lean pork congee, braised pork, and a barrel of mineral water. It was enough for two people.
She wasn't worried because she could monitor Wu You'ai from her phone.
Contrary to what anesthesiologist A Lan had warned—that Wu You'ai would be in agony when the anesthesia wore off—nothing like that had happened. Jing Shu had only seen Wu You'ai lying in bed scrolling through her phone, reading comics. When hungry, she grabbed biscuits nearby; when thirsty, there was water; when she needed the bathroom, she didn't even have to get up.
That was thanks to Chu Zhuohua. Wu You'ai's mentor had somehow found a hospital bed with a built-in toilet. With one press of a button, she could use it without leaving the bed. Wu You'ai's mental state was excellent, though she still couldn't move her legs. Jing Shu visited daily to bring food, inspect her wounds for infection, and apply Spirit Spring. She hoped she would recover quickly.
Wu You'ai had even joked that her life had peaked. This was her favorite way to live—if only there were more snacks and the weather wasn't so hot, it would be perfect.
After all, not every household could maintain a constant 26°C like Jing Shu's.
Jing Shu was surprised to discover that Chu Zhuohua owned a Maserati sports car. That wasn't the most shocking part. Chu Zhuohua had personally modified it into a hybrid vehicle and had even built a compatible charging station.
Reworking an engine was like replacing its soul. Jing Shu could only admit it was impressive.
Her eyes narrowed thoughtfully. Before the apocalypse, she had considered buying a RV to survive earthquakes or migrations but abandoned the plan because of high maintenance, fuel costs, and its million-yuan price tag.
But now, if she could acquire a gasoline-powered RV cheaply and prepare a battery, perhaps Chu Zhuohua could convert it into a hybrid vehicle for a fair price. That would make survival infinitely easier.
Gasoline and natural gas were now classified as national strategic resources. Even the United States had stopped supplying them to civilians. The value of fuel had skyrocketed, and gasoline-powered cars were practically worthless. A RV might be cheap to get now.
"I'll look into this carefully." In her previous life, she had seen some wealthy survivors using energy vehicles or even gasoline cars during migration. RVs were rare but existed. Those who owned them lived far more comfortably. The thought of increasing her own quality of life in this life filled her with excitement.
The extreme heat lasted several more days without any sign of cooling. Public outcry for more water rations was ignored. The government had bigger problems: the city's polluted water sources had become breeding grounds for evolved carrion scavengers. They had already spread throughout Wu City.
The new wave of carrion scavengers had grown much larger. Worse, they had developed a new habit: like mosquitoes, they now fed on living flesh.
Actually, mosquitoes only sucked blood. These new carrion scavengers preferred flesh. They usually did not actively attack people, but when food was scarce and their numbers swelled, they wandered into human dwellings and began eating.
A single bite was small, painless, and hardly noticeable.
But according to news reports and local incidents, if you slept through the night with food in your house, and a batch of carrion scavengers laid dozens of eggs on you, you might wake up missing a patch of flesh. That wound would slowly rot.
And then more carrion scavengers would come…