You have to say, this whole thing was something else. Tank, a man of massive proportions, suddenly reached into his coat pocket, pulled something out, tossed it toward Jing Shu, and tried to run off as if he had committed a crime.
Jing Shu reacted with practiced reflexes, yanking him back by his sleeve before asking what was going on. It turned out both he and his sister had always benefited from Jing Shu's kindness. They felt a deep sense of guilt that they hadn't been able to repay her in any way during her stay in the capital.
After all, Jing Shu had everything a person could want in this era, so what could they possibly give that she didn't already possess?
As luck would have it, while letting the geese out for a walk in the Bureau's courtyard, they noticed a little duckling had sneaked into the flock. Don't let Xiao Guagua's size fool you. They had found the creature three months ago, but it never grew past its initial fledgling state. At first, Tank thought the bird was malnourished, so he took care of it meticulously, providing the best scraps he could find. But it stayed tiny, a miniature fluff of yellow and gray. It ate a lot and pooped even more, yet its physical stature remained stagnant.
That was when Tank started getting suspicious. He secretly gathered information from the archives and, based on the big data metrics for mutated species, carefully observed Xiao Guagua's physiology. That was how he confirmed it was a mutated male goose, though its specific breed remained a mystery. Xiao Guagua was far too small, and the distinctive features that would normally develop in a gander hadn't appeared yet. Identifying its lineage with any precision was a tricky task.
By now, the rules of the apocalypse for evaluating Darklife were well established among the researchers:
First, Darklife adapt to all the harsh conditions of the apocalypse and survive well where others perish.
Second, Darklife can find food in any environment, and their bodies contain detectable traces of Dark Matter.
Third, Darklife have unique, often inexplicable traits.
That last point covered a vast range of anomalies. For example, when Tank talked about Xiao Guagua's traits, he hesitated and finally just said, "Anyway, this goose—after raising it with my sister for so long, we both agree it isn't an ordinary bird. People who like it really like it, like my sister. People who don't… well…"
Tank gritted his teeth, remembering all the chaos the tiny bird had caused in the Bureau's pens. He couldn't bring himself to cover his face, but he added, "Those who don't like it probably hate it to death. Oh, and this male goose can help us herd the others too. The dozens of geese at the Food Regulation Bureau all listen to it without question. Maybe it's a king among geese. I hope once you get it, you will raise it well, and it will become a useful creature like Xiao Dou."
Only someone like Mirror could raise a legend like Xiao Dou. This mutated goose had been wasted in their hands, and Tank felt there wasn't a better way to thank her. He hoped this mutated bird would be helpful to Jing Shu in the future.
Jing Shu could only accept the tiny male goose that looked more like a common duckling.
Tsk tsk. Da Hua and Gou Dan were now plump and strong, their wings stretching over a meter when they exerted themselves. They were handsome, formidable birds. And then there was Xiao Guagua, barely the size of a woman's palm. If she accidentally sat on it, the poor thing would probably be squashed flat against the sofa.
"All right, all right, Xiao Dou, go play with Wanzi. I need to study this little thing for a bit," Jing Shu said, pulling out some strips of seasoned beef jerky to distract her other pets.
The plane began its slow descent toward Wu City, the massive engines roaring with a low, vibrating hum that rattled the floorboards. The lights in the cabin dimmed, and a stream of warm air blew from the ventilation, carrying the faint scent of recycled oxygen. Jing Shu squinted as she picked up Xiao Guagua. The bird wasn't shy at all. It emitted a series of rapid, soft quacks and began pecking affectionately at her black gloves.
The soft mutant vampire leech beneath the fabric got nibbled by the tiny beak. The parasite was probably asleep and didn't expect a bit of its flesh to be taken so boldly. Furious at the intrusion, the leech immediately snapped, its body tensing and ready to engulf Xiao Guagua in a surge of black fluid.
Luckily, Jing Shu reacted instantly. She exerted her mental control, forcing the leech back into its harmless glove form and shoving Xiao Guagua into the Rubik's Cube Space at the last second. That saved the little duck from any harm. Inside the space, Xiao Guagua stretched its tiny wings comfortably and fell asleep on the rich soil. Jing Shu was speechless.
The entire trip back to Wu City went smoothly, without a single bump in the air. Jing Shu had been on edge the whole way, her eyes suspicious of everyone who walked past her seat. Since half the supplies on the plane were hers and she couldn't put them in the Cube Space without drawing attention, she felt vulnerable.
She also nearly fully studied Xiao Guagua during the long flight. She said "nearly" because she still wasn't sure if the creature had any real intelligence.
Even though feeding it Spirit Spring allowed her to fully control the bird, she noticed it was different from her other pets. Its mind was a blank slate, completely empty of the usual chatter. There were no desires and no thoughts.
For comparison, pets like Xiao Dou and the white ants were very intelligent. They had a constant stream of thoughts and desires. After feeding them Spirit Spring and using the dominance of the Cube Space, Jing Shu could clearly sense what they were thinking and wanting to express. Even pets without much self-awareness would still show basic hostility or goodwill.
Xiao Guagua though, was impressive in its void. She couldn't sense anything at all. It was like a machine without emotions, operating on its own internal logic. And its abilities? They felt like a complete mush, sticky and gooey in the mental link.
Even though it was a mutated male goose, its actual usefulness remained unknown. Most importantly, unlike Xiao Dou, it couldn't lay eggs.
What could a male goose do? If only it could lay eggs, Jing Shu sighed in regret, her mind already calculating the lost protein.
Her desire to raise this mutated male goose had dropped a little. Still, Xiao Guagua was a mutant, specifically evolved to survive the apocalypse. This was her second Darklife after the mutated dinosaur chicken she had bred using the crimson energy, excluding the various defective second-generation dinosaur chickens she had produced.
Her attention quickly shifted to other parts of the Cube Space as she performed a mental inventory.
Her days were busy, and the workload was becoming immense. As the space upgraded, she had more fields to harvest, more animals to tend, and more marine products to manage in the ponds. Even without feeding them Spirit Spring to accelerate their growth, she had to slaughter a batch of livestock every month or two just to keep the population under control.
In her past life, she had dreamed of counting money until her hands cramped. Now, she was wasting her precious time on repetitive farm chores.
If only the space had an intelligent creature to help harvest the crops, feed the pigs and sheep, and organize the storage crates. She remembered how farmers in Thailand used to train monkeys to pick coconuts and wished she could train a similar creature to help with the heavy labor of farming.
But maybe monkeys were already extinct in this world.
Meanwhile, the bamboo rats and the various feed bugs were already being fed Spirit Spring in their new enclosures. Jing Shu didn't have much time left to relax. After these relatively peaceful five years in the apocalypse, she knew she would be running everywhere again once the environment shifted.
In her past life, she had learned the value of caution. Supplies weren't a problem as long as they were sufficient and well-hidden. Eggs were never kept in one basket, and the key access cards were never stored in a single place.
You never knew what would hit first: a sudden accident or the dawn of tomorrow.
Finally, the plane touched down.
"Welcome home."