So in the end, she really had the state to thank for this, the vast machinery of its hidden operations creating an opening, and along the way, she could even get herself an RV, a prize plucked from the chaos.
Jing Shu decided to settle the RV matter first before talking about anything else, the vehicle now the fixed point in their negotiation:
"Of course I want it! What do you want in return?" Her voice was direct, cutting through the evening air.
Risking some payment being wasted was nothing compared to this. Missing the chance to get her hands on an RV like this might mean she would never see another like it. Anyone who owned one of these in the apocalypse probably did not lack money or comfort, their lives already secured behind layers of steel. Convincing them to part with a vehicle like this would be extremely difficult, a negotiation from a position of weakness.
Yang Yang was right. The price he asked was probably already the lowest possible. As for time, she was not in a rush. As long as she could secure it before the big migration, when the roads became rivers of people, she would be fine. The timeline was a luxury she could afford.
"Soldiers and horses have not moved yet, but provisions come first." Yang Yang folded his arms, listing his demands. "For two months, prepare the best food you can offer for the six of us. Both raw and cooked. I heard you even have black pigs, kill two, turn them into smoked meat for us to carry. We need density and calories.
We have military rations and compressed biscuits, but brothers who live with guns pointed at their heads should eat better." He paused, his gaze steady. "We have insulated boxes, so don't worry about food spoilage. Just make it good.
Things are chaotic in the States. Gunfights happen every day, so injuries are unavoidable." His tone shifted, becoming more intent. "Wang Dazhao said you had some homemade ointment that saved his life back then. I want enough of that medicine for at least ten uses, and get us some hemostatic, anti heatstroke, and mosquito repelling supplies. The basics, but in quantity.
That's all. This mission is extremely dangerous. I don't know if I will even come back alive, but don't worry." He said it plainly, a statement of fact. "As long as one of us is still breathing, we will get your goods and ship them to the border for you. I already spoke to Lao Niu, he owes me a favor. If I die, go to him to collect the debt." He kicked his military boots against a stone, the scuff of leather on rock sounding final, and said it carelessly, as if discussing the weather.
Jing Shu raised an eyebrow, surprised yet not. In the apocalypse, what was the most important thing? The answer was simple and brutal.
Food and medicine.
They surely had weapons, but besides that, Jing Shu did not seem to have anything else of value, nothing they could not procure through other channels.
No one would have guessed that supplies worth only a few thousand yuan before the apocalypse could now trade for an RV worth over 13 million. Yet Yang Yang's team was not really at a loss. Heavy as this vehicle was, in a world like this, few people could afford to use it, to fuel it, to maintain it. Its value was theoretical for most.
After all, they had looted it. This was a zero cost business deal, though they might be paying with their lives, the true currency of their trade.
"For me, medicine that saves lives is worth more than an RV." Yang Yang met her eyes. "See? My price is already lower than anyone else's, right?"
"Deal." She was indeed making a killing here. Yang Yang's demand for food was secondary, what he truly wanted was the Spirit Spring's rapid healing properties, the miraculous salve that knitted flesh. In this sweltering weather, if someone got shot and the wound festered overseas, it would basically be a death sentence, a slow, septic end far from home. To improve his team's survival chances, he had chosen to barter with her, to trade a future asset for present security.
It looked like it was time for Jing Shu's signature hustling tactics to shine again. If Yang Yang wanted life saving medicine, that meant this mission was far from simple, the danger layered and constant. "So, what exactly are you smuggling back?" She leaned forward slightly.
But Yang Yang refused to say a word about it, his mouth a firm line, the soldier's discipline back in place.
That only made Jing Shu more curious, the itch to know growing. What was America's biggest specialty? Grain? High tech goods? Weapons? What could possibly be worth smuggling back from so far away, across a ruined world?
Her curiosity burned hotter. Her Cube Space had just upgraded and was not full yet, its expanded dimensions still echoing. And if she did not fill it up, she felt uneasy, a compulsive need to stock the void. Should she tag along to the States for a little raid? With international transport paralyzed, the only way was to follow Yang Yang's team, to become a stowaway in their operation.
Yang Yang felt a chill under her gaze, a calculating intensity, and subconsciously rubbed his nose. "Did this woman already guess something?" he wondered.
"Need some heavy firepower?" She punctuated her words with a demonstration. She strode over to a dead, dried out tree in the community, its bark peeling in gray strips, and kicked. With a thunderous crack, a tree trunk as thick as a man's thigh snapped clean and toppled to the ground, raising a small cloud of dust.
How strong was that? The display was silent, violent, and utterly clear.
Wang Dazhao, who had been quietly standing by, hiccuped in shock: "Hic~"
Yang Yang swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing. For a moment, he almost nodded, the tactical advantage obvious. But quickly shook his head. No way. Taking a woman on a covert mission like this was unthinkable, a breach of protocol and a logistical nightmare. He pulled out his trump card: "We'll be gone for months. Aren't you worried your family will be targeted by Zhetian again?" It was a low blow, but effective.
Jing Shu was instantly defeated, the fight going out of her shoulders. Until the Zhetian leader was captured, she really dare to run around. What if they came back to kill her in revenge? Wu You'ai had already warned her that Shangguan Jun would come for her again. Now that he knew her villa's location, she had to stay vigilant, a sentinel on her own walls. With this much stockpiled in her villa, if anyone set their sights on it, it would be a disaster, a feast for scavengers.
Yang Yang pondered, seeing her concession. "Next time. If this trip goes well, we will fatten up America and sweep nearby places after. Once we understand the supply routes, we can make a round trip in just over ten days." It was a promise, or perhaps a placation.
He had to admit, with Jing Shu's combat ability and ruthless streak, someone like her was an asset. The way she slaughtered hundreds of Zhetian's men and carved them up without blinking had left him deeply impressed, a memory that resurfaced now.
A person like her was meant to survive this apocalypse. She was built for it.
Jing Shu's eyes sparkled again, the prospect of a future raid lighting them up. Next time her Cube Space could upgrade, she would have hundreds of cubic meters to spare. There would be nothing she could not haul. Once this crisis passed, China would settle down for a while. Then she could take off, a ghost moving across borders.
"Fine." She turned to Wang Dazhao, her tone shifting to one of command. "Your life belongs to me now. Take care of it. I've got big plans for you when you return." The words were not gentle, but they held a strange kind of investment.
She had something in mind for him to try. If Wang Dazhao could join the armed police force, that would be even better, a position of sanctioned authority.
"I will brave swords and fire. At your service!" Wang Dazhao stood straighter, his reply immediate and fervent.
Perfect. Wang Dazhao had just found new meaning in life, a purpose handed to him like a weapon.
Honestly, Jing Shu was not worried about betrayal. That kick just now was not for nothing. Only by standing on equal footing could you negotiate fair trades. Otherwise, it would simply be wolves preying on sheep. Judging from their reaction, they already had a sense of her power. She had guns, bombs, and strength, a trifecta of deterrence.
If they did not understand, she could teach them another lesson. She was no longer the naïve, trusting woman of her past life. Now she only wanted a world where words meant something, where agreements had weight.
"I will deliver everything in five days." She stated the timeline, turning to go.
Back at her villa, the quiet settling around her, Jing Shu discovered that both she and the black pig in her Cube Space were pregnant. The coincidence was absurd. She slaughtered the other pigs inside, the process silent and efficient within that other reality, leaving two for Yang Yang's smoked meat. The rest became braised pork, roasted trotters, and pork ribs, the rich smells soon filling her kitchen. When the piglets were born, she planned to gift some to Jing An for his promotion, a tangible investment in family.
She slaughtered them in the Cube Space's second form. Her control over it was not perfect yet, but she could already kill them painlessly and quickly, with zero waste, not even a drop of blood wasted, making perfect use of the Cube Space's properties, its reality bending rules.
With eight black pigs inside, her Cube Space was balanced for now, enough to feed her for half a year. Once it upgraded again, she could increase production, scaling her private food supply.
As she prepared supplies for Yang Yang, packing insulated boxes with smoked meat and vials of salve, Jing Shu also thought about further modifications to her future off road RV. She needed more batteries, modification parts, and even extra diesel, the list beginning to form in her mind alongside the more immediate tasks. The vehicle was not here yet, but its needs already were.