Another death had occurred. Just a few hours ago, the man had been lively, arguing in the group chat over water and dismissing her warning. Now he was a corpse, a statistic.
A cold, palpable sense of panic spread through the digital space of the group chat. Many people began typing frantically, asking what exactly had happened, how metal poisoning could become so severe so quickly as to cause death. At the same time, they turned their fear into fury, verbally tearing into the absent Supermarket Boss Bai.
[Wang Xuemei, No. 2]: "@Supermarket Boss Bai, you knew damn well it was industrial water and you still sold it at high prices. What were you thinking? People like you who make black-hearted money should just die!"
[Young Mother I Have Kids, No. 13]:"Luckily, I listened and didn't get water today. It's terrifying out there. The chickens, ducks, and pigs outside were all sick or dead. The water was industrial, vegetables are being sold at dozens of times the normal price, hot by day, freezing by night. When will these Earth's Dark Days end?"
[Feng, No. 3]:"Good thing I only drank a few sips and felt off immediately, went and got my stomach pumped. @Supermarket Boss Bai should be made to compensate for my medical bills!"
[Wang Qiqi, No. 13]: "@everyone, neighbors who bought water, please, don't drink it. Throw it out. And thanks again to @Xiao Shu, Villa District for her timely warning to everyone. Otherwise, the consequences would've been even more unimaginable."
[Luxury Car Dealer, No. 5]:"Hold on. If @Jing Shu, Villa District knew it was industrial water, why didn't she stop us from buying it more forcefully? What good is a little warning? I still got metal poisoning! There isn't even a proper hospital bed now. I have to spend the night in the damn hallway on an IV!"
[Wang Qiqi, No. 13]:"Everyone, please calm down. Supermarket Boss Bai has already been… dealt with by Xiao Shu's father, @Jing An, Villa District. The police issued a formal commendation for their actions, and all the supermarket's goods were confiscated. After the Dark Days end, presumably a new, regulated supermarket will move in. For now, if you want to buy supplies, you'll have to travel the seven kilometers to the Ai Jia Supermarket."
More people had joined the group chat in recent days, drawn by the crisis, and everyone was following this drama closely. When they heard their most convenient local supplier was gone, the complaints started flooding in anew: "If a supermarket sells fake water, it should compensate us with its remaining goods!" "Ai Jia Supermarket is so far, who forced the old boss to leave? Someone needs to step up and open a new store!"
At this moment, Jing An, who had been reading the chat with a deepening frown, spoke up.
[Jing An, Villa District]:"@Luxury Car Dealer 5, is the hospital wifi still working well? Are you at Yuewen Hospital right now? [smile]"
Everyone in the group remembered this particular [smile] emoji from noon. It was the exact same precursor he'd used right before asking if the supermarket boss was present, which had led directly to the boss being rendered unable to care for himself and the police issuing that commendation. This person was showing the group through action that those who could act should not be confused with those who only dared to curse angrily in a chat window.
The group went utterly silent.
Two full minutes passed with no one daring to type a word.
[Jing An, Villa District]: "@Luxury Car Dealer 5, you're in the same hospital as the late Luo Hao, aren't you? Yuewen Hospital. [smile]"
[Luxury Car Dealer 5]: "No! Really not the same hospital! Sorry, uncle, I was just making things up before, venting. @Xiao Shu, Villa District, I'm wrong, I'm sorry. Please tell your dad not to… not to get carried away."
From her sofa, Jing Shu snorted and typed a reply: "Helping you was a favor. Not helping was my duty. Don't try to be clever or play the victim here, or my father might just decide to have a personal chat with you."
Elsewhere, in a crowded hospital corridor, Luxury Car Dealer 5 typed frantically: "Last year I bought a freaking Rolex, damn you, who's afraid of who, you little brat," then, with a jolt of fear, deleted it. He typed another aggressive line, thought better of it, deleted it again, and finally settled on: "Sorry, sorry, it's the fever talking. My apologies."
Salespeople often had this problem. They couldn't confront the people they were actually angry with, so they vented at easier targets in private. Luxury Car Dealer 5 didn't realize that in his feverish, anxious state, he had accidentally sent the first, unsent draft message to Jing Shu.
Jing Shu received the notification, read the quickly withdrawn message, and her lips curled. "My dad is really handy to have around," she thought. "Feels great."
"Just needed to scare him a little, that's all," Jing An chuckled from his armchair, putting his phone down.
It was true. Baozi's father and mother really were slowly changing in this life, becoming more direct, more formidable.
Though busy, Jing Shu maintained her nightly routine of inspecting her little ecosystem within the Cube Space and practicing her control over the newly expanded 6th level space. Her improved physical fitness and mental clarity from the Spirit Spring allowed her to manipulate the Cube Space with even finer precision.
She also made a significant new discovery: the 12 cultivation fields within the 5th level tier of the Cube Space still consumed one drop of Spirit Spring per field per day to maintain their accelerated growth. However, the space itself now produced 26 drops of Spirit Spring daily, up from the previous 20. Jing Shu felt a surge of excitement. This meant she could now use the precious liquid more freely for other purposes.
Daily, feeding the livestock, her family, the fish and shrimp in the tanks, and the bees consumed about 5 drops of Spirit Spring. With the surplus, Jing Shu decided to start feeding her battle rooster, Xiao Dou number 1, with a daily dose of undiluted Spirit Spring again. Number 1 had performed exceptionally well recently, fiercely obedient and aggressively protecting the property. Jing Shu was curious to see if she could cultivate a truly legendary, supernaturally fierce battle chicken.
In the future, while others might release guard dogs, she could release a chicken, strong in combat, capable of laying eggs (if it were a hen, which it wasn't, but the thought amused her), a versatile and useful companion.
The vegetables and fruits she had recently planted in the Cube Space fields had rapidly matured. Jing Shu carefully transplanted batches of tomatoes, eggplants, and baby bok choy into their home greenhouse and outdoor vegetable plots (under the protective glass roof), claiming to her parents they were bought at exorbitant prices from a desperate greenhouse owner. With vegetable prices skyrocketing and supply barely meeting demand, the story was believable. Many people attempting to grow vegetables at home had watched their plants wilt and die in the intense, unnatural heat. Indoor mushroom cultivation kits were becoming a popular, if sad, alternative.
She'd also stored bags of garlic in the living room, which now occupied Jing An's entire bookshelf. She peeled the cloves, placed them in shallow plates with a little water, and watered them with Spirit Spring diluted solution. Green garlic sprouts shot up in just days, allowing for continuous harvests of fresh, pungent greens.
In the context of the apocalypse, a plate of vibrant garlic sprouts had become a surprisingly high end gift. Jing Shu was planning ahead. In her previous life, Su Lanzhi had failed to secure a critical opportunity at a key moment due to lack of "social lubricants," causing the family to miss systemic support. This life, Jing Shu would ensure her mother had the resources to reach new heights.
She also replanted staple crops like pumpkins, soybeans, and potatoes, hardy, long lasting things, intending to store the harvest in the basement, occasionally making pumpkin porridge or pan fried potato cakes for variety.
The main focus was soybeans. In the apocalypse, soybeans were incredibly valuable, they could be pressed for oil, the residue became nutritious cakes for animals, and they could be processed into soy milk, tofu skin, tofu, dried tofu, fermented tofu, and various bean sprouts.
When conducting necessary deals or exchanges later, she could discreetly hand over a small bag of plump, fresh soybeans while shaking hands, ensuring a knowing, grateful smile from the other party.
Jing Shu also planned to fry half of the soybean harvest into crispy golden beans. They could be eaten as salty snacks, added to stir fried rice noodles, used as a hotpot topping, or mixed with noodles and pickled vegetables. One bite of crispy golden beans, one bite of sour pickled greens, delicious!
Her mouth watered just thinking about it.
For fruits, she focused on quick yielding, refreshing varieties, watermelons and oranges. She had also planted a lemon tree. After more than half a month in the accelerated space, the first batch of lemons was ripe and heavy with sour juice.
In the apiary section of the 4th level Cube Space, the bees had already produced over 100 kilograms of honey. At the 5th level, the output had doubled. She had harvested 2 liters of precious royal jelly and a staggering 400 kilograms of clear, fragrant honey, equivalent to twice the annual production of a large, ordinary bee farm.
This was still limited by the Cube Space's relatively small planting area for flowers. Though 400 kilograms sounded like a lot, it occupied only about one fifth of the dedicated 1 cubic meter storage partition she used for liquids and soft goods.
Finally, the lemons were ready. Jing Shu washed and thinly sliced them, layering them in large glass jars with the raw honey. She let them soak for three days in the refrigerator, the honey drawing out the tart lemon essence into a syrupy blend. She then prepared ice cold filtered water, and in a private moment, poured the lemon honey syrup and water into a clean container within the Cube Space, mentally commanding it to freeze. One full cubic meter of frozen lemon honey water was now ready, a solid block of refreshment waiting to be chipped away.
In this scorching, desperate apocalypse, a cup of ice cold lemon honey water wasn't just a drink, it was a tiny piece of heaven.