If the spoiled son of a landlord was considered a newly rich second-generation heir, then Su Mali was a native aristocrat, a wealthy fifth-generation heir born and raised into fortune.
Wu City, located in China's northwest, was famous for its vast land, abundant resources, and rich natural reserves. Among its many treasures, natural gas, coal, and petroleum stood out as the region's most valuable assets.
Natural gas, in particular, carried the reputation of fueling the "West-to-East Gas Pipeline Project": starting from Lunnan in the Tarim Basin in the west and extending all the way to the magic city in the east, supplying natural gas to the Central Plains, East China, and the Yangtze River Delta, serving 400 million people across the country.
This region alone contained over 30% of China's oil and gas reserves.
Su Mali's family business was in natural gas development, holding an unshakable position in Wu City's natural gas sector. With the construction of the artificial sun underway, natural gas, alongside petroleum and coal, was one of the core resources needed.
In her past life, Jing Shu never realized that there had been such a low-profile, naïve, yet wealthy classmate among them. She only knew Su Mali was rich, generous, and often "fooled" into giving things away.
It wasn't until the second year after the apocalypse that Jing Shu heard Su Mali's home had been flooded, forcing her to move into a villa within Jing Shu's gated community. Of course, Su Mali's family was impressive enough to remodel three separate villas into a private estate.
And it was right next door to Jing Shu's own villa.
In this life, when Su Mali mentioned exchanging compressed natural gas (CNG), Jing Shu's eyes lit up. Natural gas was a tightly regulated resource.
In truth, their home could have managed with electricity or coal-fired boilers, though it would be less convenient. But CNG was far more versatile, especially as fuel for vehicles.
Most taxis and buses ran on natural gas, costing less than 0.1 yuan per kilometer, compared to 0.5 yuan for gasoline, making it extremely profitable for taxi services.
A 25-liter CNG tank could power a vehicle for about 270 kilometers. While it wasn't as energy-dense as liquefied petroleum gas, natural gas was one of the cleanest energy sources and made an excellent cooking fuel.
Su Mali's tank was a 50-liter model.
Jing Shu mainly wanted it for two purposes: to use in her villa before the migration so she could cook meals daily for nearly half a year, and afterward to install it in her RV for cooking on the road.
The UBC solar panels on the RV would power other daily necessities, like heating. After all, an induction cooker's 1,500W power draw was too much for cooking. With outdoor temperatures dropping to at least -50°C, keeping the RV warm would be the top priority, while diesel and batteries would power the RV itself.
If the CNG tank made Jing Shu excited, Su Mali's second item made her heart itch with anticipation.
It was a 2022 model amphibious shark submarine.
This toy was modeled after a great white shark, designed to mimic its appearance and habits. It could dive underwater like a submarine and skim over water like a speedboat, with 10 gear levels for 360° manual control, delivering a thrilling experience. Its size was comparable to a real great white shark, and it could reach a top speed of 80 km/h. Originally developed by wealthy Americans as a luxury toy, it was later upgraded into an amphibious vehicle, costing 740,000 RMB.
[Su Mali]: "I had originally planned to use it for diving, but now even the rivers are dried up. I can't use it at all. Let's trade it for some antidote instead. I desperately need medicine for carbuncle infections, either Western or Chinese. [helpless]"
[He Shouwu]: "Even if my family had that, if I traded it for something like this, I'd be beaten to death. [terrified]"
[Xie Zihao]: "@Su Mali, I've had my eyes on that thing for ages but couldn't afford it before. Now I definitely can't."
[Wang Chao]: "Isn't that just a jet ski? At most, that's worth 50 or 60 thousand, right?"
[Xie Zihao]: "[speechless smile]"
[Su Mali]: "I have plenty of other things I don't need anymore. Does no one really have antidote?"
…
Learning from past mistakes, Jing Shu quietly added Su Mali and successfully closed a deal with her.
The truth was, this shark submarine would be a game-changer in the coming year, both for survival and—well—showing off. No, scratch that. When next year's great flood hit and half of Wu City was submerged, this vehicle would become invaluable.
Imagine the supplies stranded in the city center.
She certainly couldn't swim through swarms of red nematodes to get to them. Even if she could, the submerged houses would become dangerous mazes. Anyone without strong swimming skills or a perfect sense of direction would get lost and die.
Sure, diving suits might help, but by then, the waters would be infested with leeches, carrion scavengers, and all sorts of other bugs. One bite could still prove fatal.
And it wasn't just about scavenging. With this submarine, there'd be no need for cars at all. Whether traveling on land or navigating a flooded city, she could truly move freely wherever she wanted.
Though the submarine would likely only last a year or two, the price Su Mali offered was shockingly low. She was genuinely offloading unwanted items. Exchanging a few medicinal herbs for it was a bargain Jing Shu couldn't pass up.
That was Su Mali's peculiar quirk: she loved trading away things she didn't want at low prices. No matter how much she paid for something, if she didn't need it anymore, it became worthless in her eyes. But she wouldn't throw it out; she just preferred to trade.
In Jing Shu and others' eyes, Su Mali was someone who would trade a watermelon for a sesame seed.
Of course, that sesame seed had to be something Su Mali wanted or liked. Back in high school, she once traded a luxury watch worth tens of thousands for a rabbit-eared hat.
People called her foolish.
She simply said, "You can't buy my happiness with money."
Jing Shu later realized that this was true wealth.
Truthfully, Jing Shu envied everything about Su Mali. In a world like the apocalypse, someone like Su Mali should never have survived. She was like a glittering, golden lamb waiting to be slaughtered. But fate often defied expectations: not only did she survive, she thrived. Those who tried to harm her often met terrible, inexplicable fates.
Jing Shu pressed the brakes and stopped at the entrance of a shopping mall in the new district. A crowd had gathered, huddled in thick coats, stomping their feet for warmth in the cold darkness. They were her old classmates, their faces bright with excitement as they admired a pile of goods stacked as high as a small mountain.
And right there, standing proudly among them, was the shark submarine Jing Shu had been dreaming about.
At the center of attention stood Su Mali herself, her bright smile as sweet as a crescent moon. She wore a princess dress, radiating innocence as she happily explained the items around her.
"Can I have this one? You don't want it anyway."
"This is amazing, Su Mali. You're really rich!"
Every time Jing Shu saw Su Mali's pure, angelic smile, she thought of her as a white lotus in disguise. What was her true face beneath this flawless façade?
How could anyone be so pure, so kind? She wasn't just an angel; she was practically the embodiment of the Virgin Mary!
In this life, Jing Shu swore to keep her distance from Saint Su Mali!