What exactly would a rich man's private garden have? Poverty really limits people's imagination. Even Jing Shu, who'd seen her share of things, couldn't picture what kind of treasures might be hidden there. What did "luxury" even mean in the apocalypse now?
She rubbed her hands together, eyes gleaming with anticipation. Now this—this felt like the proper way to sneak into America! New York was the very symbol of prosperity, and she was dying to see what it had become three years after the end of the world. The news always made it sound like the country had turned into a nonstop action movie full of gunfights, but since she got here, not a single bullet had come her way. She'd even worn a thick coat for months for nothing. Totally not thrilling enough!
Then again, what had she been doing these past two months? She'd ended up in a godforsaken no-man's-land near the Mexican border, lived in an underground city, almost got buried alive by an earthquake, then wandered into the radioactive ruins of Austin and nearly got cooked by radiation.
And when she tried to scavenge something useful, she found herself stuck between two extremes—either the people were so rich she couldn't get close, or they were so poor their stuff wasn't worth looking at.
The only real profit she made was from Peggy's little treasure hoard. That small-time tycoon's stash had been full of American specialties—olive oil, wine, collectibles, even some weapons. The priciest items were probably caviar and other luxuries.
Oh, and the seafood, deli meats, and frozen goods she "borrowed" from the yacht. Even with all that, her Rubik's Cube Space still wasn't full after the latest upgrade. Something still felt missing, though she couldn't say what. Life just didn't feel complete until that space was packed to the brim.
So when she heard "a rich man's private garden," her excitement shot through the roof. Wealthy people had to have secret vaults, right? And she just loved looting those. She really hoped this one wouldn't let her down.
Everyone else seemed fired up too.
Yang Yang spread out the map and said, "At the same time, we'll meet up with our final team to complete this mission."
Right—he'd mentioned that before. When they first arrived in America, Yang Yang said another team had landed at the opposite end of the country. They'd been moving south while her group moved north. After all this time, they were finally going to meet.
Snake Spirit frowned. "Why does this mission need two teams?"
"Because it's difficult," Yang Yang said simply.
That one line made everyone go quiet. Difficult? Harder than what they'd already been through? The answer was obvious—it definitely was.
Yang Yang stamped his feet to warm up, tightening his thin leather jacket. His voice dropped low. "I'll say it again. We came here to gather supplies, not to die. Things back home aren't looking good, and while America still has resources, we grab what we can. You've seen it yourselves—everything outside the government's control is chaos. Half the population can't even feed themselves anymore, except for the rich."
He glanced around. "So remember this: safety first. The last mission's tough. If we can finish it, great. If not, we pull out. Once we meet the other team, we'll decide together."
A heavy mood settled over everyone, even Jing Shu. Though curiosity still itched in the back of her mind—what kind of "treasure" could that so-called sacred cauldron be? Was it one of those huge bronze tripods with four legs? And how the hell could that extend someone's life?
What, they scrape off a bit each day to brew tea? No way it could compare to her Rubik's Cube Space anyway.
Back in her room, she started practicing with her upgraded cube. The deeper she got, the more natural it felt, like the moves had become part of her bones.
Now, when she played with it, she could freely manipulate and restore it without much thought. It felt almost magical, even though solving a 9-tier cube still took her an hour or so.
After three years of training, she was finally at what could truly be called the beginner stage. Before, she'd only been using memorized formulas. Sure, she'd been fast—world-class even—but that wasn't mastery.
Because the true Rubik's Cube Space wasn't just about solving it.
She still didn't quite understand how to advance to the next tier, but she knew one thing—there'd be resistance. And that resistance was the key. Based on past experience, it would definitely tie into whatever new ability came with the upgrade.
The Cube Space didn't exactly grant her powers. Except for the Spirit Spring that gave her physical strength, the rest had simply been unlocking layer after layer of its sealed strength.
Actually, it felt more like it was slowly merging with her, as if too much power too soon would overload her body. That only proved her suspicion—the Cube was probably a higher-dimensional object blending into a lower dimension. It needed stable anchors to exist.
"Maybe one day," she murmured, "the Cube Space will fully merge with me, and I'll be able to step inside for real. When that happens, even if Earth's destroyed, I'll still have a place to live. Seven years… I've got seven years left. Who knows if Earth will even survive that long."
The team they were about to meet had to be strong as hell, right?
After all, her group was already made up of elite squads from the Capital and Wu City. The other team should be just as good. She'd imagined a big crowd of powerful fighters when they finally met.
But after trekking through mountains and rivers, crossing half of America, she realized she might've been a little too optimistic.
"May God bless you with peace, joy, and eternal life, my children. Finally, we meet. Amen."
When the so-called priest appeared before them, Jing Shu's brain nearly short-circuited.
The man wore a spotless clerical outfit, held a Bible in one hand, leaned on a cane with the other, and sported a pair of sunglasses that didn't quite hide the greasy stubble and shifty eyes underneath.
But when he spoke, his tone was full of divine grace, as if a holy light shone behind him. For a second, it was hard to tell if he was genuinely devout or just putting on a show.
Yang Yang frowned. "Where's everyone else? Don't tell me you're the only one."
The priest crossed himself solemnly before answering, "Their souls are eternal. Those who believed in Christ have gone to heaven."
Jing Shu was silent for a moment. "So… you mean everyone's dead?"
The priest spread his arms to the sky. "They've merely gone to heaven."
"Then why didn't you go?"