Smoke curled up from the stove. Hao San'er had been staring blankly for so long that he didn't even realize his hand was on fire until the searing pain hit him. He yelped, clutching his hand, but still couldn't take his eyes off Hao Yunlai, who'd just jolted up from under the quilt. No, that wasn't a man waking up—it was a demon crawling out from the eighteenth level of hell!
And behind him stood the people Hao San'er least wanted to see—his mother, who'd died giving birth to him; his second brother, who'd choked to death; his eldest brother, who'd died holding in his piss; his third sister, who'd drowned in a cesspit; and his father, crushed by a cow. Every single one of them was back. They all glared at him with cold, vicious eyes.
Hao San'er stumbled backward and collapsed onto the ground. Terror flooded his face. They were back. His whole damned family had come back!
Hao Yunlai clutched his head and kicked violently. The stitches on his body tore open again, blood spurting out as if he were being tortured by something invisible and unbearable. Yang Yang rushed forward to hold him down but got thrown across the room.
Jing Shu didn't hesitate. She grabbed a box and smashed it straight down on Hao Yunlai's head. The world went dead silent. Blood trickled down his forehead as she pulled out a few black pellets and pressed them on the wound.
Yang Yang just stood there. "Seriously? The guy finally woke up, and she went and knocked him out again. What kind of logic was that?"
"It's fine. Looks like my method's working. He just needs a few days of rest," Jing Shu said, sounding pretty pleased. She sewed up the torn stitches on his shoulder again, calm as ever.
"Really?" Yang Yang's tone was full of doubt.
"As long as nothing unexpected happens," she said confidently. Though in truth, Hao Yunlai's body would likely experience the same thing hers did—the pain he felt before dying would linger for quite a while. Better to be unconscious than awake through all that agony.
The house was creepy as hell. Jing Shu could feel eyes watching her from every direction. After leaving a few black pellets for Hao Yunlai, she hurried out with Yang Yang. Neither of them paid any attention to Hao San'er, who'd gone pale and was now pointing, trembling, toward a corner of the room. Yang Yang followed his finger a few times, frowning. "Is there something over there?"
"Probably just Hao Yunlai's whole family coming up to say hi," Jing Shu joked.
She'd planned to check on the construction site she'd marked earlier, but her mind was full of the Spirit Spring. She couldn't wait anymore. She went straight home, locked herself in, and got ready to test it. She needed to know what exactly the Spirit Spring converted from that crimson crystal could do.
She carefully placed the withered tree—the only known converter—back into the crimson liquid. It was the only method she knew, so she had to treat it with care.
The faintly reddish Spirit Spring was about the size of her fist. She guessed it weighed only a few hundred grams, precious and rare. To avoid wasting any, she diluted it into five different concentrations, labeling them Crimson No.1 through No.5. As usual, No.1 was the strongest.
Her five test subjects were seaweed, red nematodes, a newly planted orange tree, a rooster, and—well, the fifth one she hadn't found yet. She figured once Hao Yunlai woke up, he could help test it.
Just like with the first Spirit Spring, the goal was to see how the diluted versions affected different living things and whether any special reactions appeared. Then she could compare the data with her previous results and figure out what made this Spirit Spring unique.
After filling out the table, all she had to do was wait. She stretched lazily, feeling good now that most of the Hao Yunlai situation was handled. She drew a neat line through the sixth task on her plan.
Next, she needed to visit Xingfu Shiyuan to collect her dividends. The place was expanding rapidly, and she had to stay updated on its progress. It wouldn't be long before that tyrant tried to seize control of it, and she needed to be ready a year and a half ahead.
She'd worked so hard to save Xingfu Shiyuan, there was no way she'd let Qian Duoduo just sit back and relax. Speaking of him, there was also the matter of the ZS10 synthetic meat project. She decided to talk to him about it first. At this stage, rich folks like Qian Duoduo were more capable of producing synthetic meat anyway. The government had bigger problems—like figuring out how to feed the remaining three million people in Wu City.
Of course, she had another reason for seeking him out. Everyone knew Xingfu Shiyuan was built from stone, and the stones there were finely processed—perfect for construction. She was already thinking ahead to the fourth year, when mudslides would become a real threat. She planned to request a batch of high-grade special stones to prepare in advance.
"Task eleven: Go to Xingfu Shiyuan for dividends, talk to Qian Duoduo about synthetic meat, and discuss the stone supply."
Jing Shu's stomach growled. She went downstairs to find food. Xiao Dou was in the yard, clucking loudly while teaching the two little black chicks where not to poop.
Inside the villa, Grandma Jing was busy processing the ingredients Jing Shu had brought home, pickling vegetables and drying others into preserved greens. She even smoked and marinated meats to keep them from spoiling. In these dark times, they couldn't stop storing up food.
After three years of drinking Spirit Spring, her grandparents looked healthier than ever. Their faces were rosy, and though the wrinkles remained, they seemed frozen in time.
It turned out the Spirit Spring didn't make people younger—it just maintained their current condition. Jing Shu and Su Lanzhi also looked about the same as when they'd first started drinking it, but their health and skin had improved so much they looked younger anyway.
Jing Shu munched on freshly made takoyaki, savoring every bite. The crisp shell, the tender octopus, the cabbage, the seaweed, and bonito flakes—all of it made her feel warm and happy. But she couldn't help wincing a little too. The octopus was frozen stock, and supplies were running low. She hadn't thought to raise any before the apocalypse. If she ever got the chance, she'd raise some of every kind of creature she could.
In the backyard, the German MAN RV sat quietly in the safest corner, far enough that even a big earthquake wouldn't crush it. Grandpa Jing was busy tidying the yard and sketching plans. Once done, he'd start building a sealed backyard.
The mountain behind them was mostly rock, and so was the backyard. If they wanted to grow crops there, they'd have to till the ground. But for now, he wasn't planning to. For once, he and Jing Shu agreed—they'd raise more chickens instead.
She kept chewing her takoyaki while feeling the tremors of the occasional quake and hearing thunder rumble in the distance. She thought about how to reinforce the backyard. After the fourth year, the government's food reserves would run out, and people would be starving everywhere. Anyone who saw food would go feral. If the villa's backyard wasn't secure, they'd be in trouble.
Just as that thought crossed her mind, a blinding white light flashed across the sky, leaving everyone momentarily blind.
Her heart skipped a beat.
That was the sign.
The great earthquake was coming.