During all this, Wu You'ai came by the RV once. She sat on the edge of the dinette seat, her fingers tapping a nervous rhythm on the laminate table as she chatted carefully about totally random things. Jing Shu finally realized she was worried she had gone deaf and didn't dare say it out loud in case it upset her. She had even asked her mentor, Chu Zhuohua, for help. She was ready to try his method if Jing Shu couldn't match their prearranged signals.
Wu You'ai patted her chest, her shoulders finally losing their tension. "You scared me to death. At noon you looked soulless, like your spirit had just left your body. I called you a runway and you didn't react at all."
Thinking of that, Jing Shu let out a silent laugh. It's a good thing the ringing had faded by then. If Wu You'ai had asked today, she really might have treated her like she was deaf.
Jing Shu had made a bold call. She would go full "self-torment." She planned on overusing illusion on purpose, then practicing the cube through the headache and the skull-buzz. It wasn't reckless; it's calculated.
First, she had read enough web novels to know any power or martial art only grows if you grind it.
Her Rubik's Cube Space came with an illusion ability that was way too weak. At most, she could only plant a suggestion in one person at a time. She needed a bigger trump card for the apocalypse. If she ever got surrounded like Lelouch and couldn't control one guy, wouldn't that mean she was doomed to be beaten?
So she set a plan. Every seven days, she would summarize how far the illusion had advanced. Each day, she would log how long she could sustain it and how much it hurt. If a month passed and she still could only affect one person while her head roared the same way, she would quit. There's no point frying her brain for nothing.
Second, she had tried tons of ways to push the cube to level up the space faster, and all had failed. Honestly, the cube's quirks were wild. She would be practicing it, then somehow her mind would wander off to do something else. That's just like the last time it leveled; she needed a trigger and specific conditions.
Helping Qiao Lian deliver a baby by chance had likely tripped the right flag. She could call it good deeds paying off. If she hadn't helped, who would know when she would get a chance to use illusion on two people at once.
From what she had seen, every time the Cube Space advanced, the new branch ability demanded a price.
Each tier chained to the next. While they looked unrelated, she was sure the endpoint was to fuse them. Her job was to unseal layer after layer and surface each tier's gift. So the upgrade requirements probably tied to the current tier's ability.
If practicing illusion meant paying with an ear-splitting buzz that hammered her brain and eardrums, then maybe the Cube Space really was "expanding memory and adding brainwaves" in her head to boost the illusion. Otherwise, why did she always faint and get a splitting headache every time it leveled?
With a clear target and plan, Jing Shu got busy. She picked morning and evening windows for testing. She couldn't risk making herself truly deaf. Every time it buzzed, she really couldn't hear the outside world.
Two days later, once everyone had finally calmed down, Wei Chang finished processing all the pork. Jing Pan set a farewell table since Jing Shu had to head back to Wu City.
It wasn't a lavish banquet, but it's the best they had; there was more meat than vegetables. They lacked seasonings, so the spices for the star dish, Dongpo elbow, came from Jing Shu's RV. The steam rising from the plate was thick with the scent of star anise and ginger. The master marinade was luck too, since she had just braised a batch a few days ago and handed it over.
They scraped together one plate of greens and a plate of wood ear mushrooms stir-fried with eggs that Jing Shu brought.
After the red nematodes vanished, they still couldn't grow vegetables. The weather was too cold. Without a greenhouse and lamps, which cost a fortune, ordinary households could only sprout garlic in jars of water.
Like at Jing Pan's place, they had raised a few potted greens in the bedroom. They tended them like jewels. On the table, the leaves were short and weak.
Wei Chang lifted a little cup and spoke first. "Qiao Lian and the baby came through. Jing Lai named the child Wei Shuen to honor Jing Shu's grace. Jing Shu, your uncle truly thanks you. Everyone knows what you have done for our family. This cup is for you."
He tipped it back and smacked his lips as the liquid burned down his throat.
"Uncle, I should toast you. All I wanted was mother and child safe. You really don't need to use the name for me." Jing Shu stood and returned the honor with tea. She was still secretly pleased with the tribute.
"It matters. I have heard from You'ai you even had a cold and fever that day. I was swamped and didn't look after you. That's why we set this early banquet. Thank you for the chicken, the fish, and the eggs, and thank your parents for the milk powder. With those, Xiao Shuen can grow strong." Jing Pan cradled the baby against her chest. In just a few days, the kid's features had already opened up. It was fast.
Qiao Lian, her hair wrapped in a towel to ward off the chill, had her color back. Her cheeks were no longer pale. She smiled. "And thanks to Grandma Jing for the tiny clothes and bedding, Grandpa Jing for the gold lock, Third Aunt for the cloth diapers, and the sister I don't know for the little handkerchiefs. After such a close call, blessings must follow. To have so many good things in the apocalypse, that's her triple good fortune."
She knew how to speak from the heart. Word was she had sent her own mother home the day of the birth. At the edge of life and death, you see who you can lean on. Jing Shu still believed in love. Back then Qiao Lian was dark and heavy, but Wei Zheng still chose to save the mother. Jing Pan and Grandma Jing respected the couple's decision too. That was something.
Jing Zhao watched the scene with envy. She was already plotting to find a wife for her son so Jing Shu would bring gifts like these. In the apocalypse, having Jing Shu as a backing meant no worries about food. She really had been brainless to offend them before the world fell.
The meal left everyone happy, except Jing Shu, who still wasn't full. Her appetite was simply too large for a standard family portion.
As much as Grandma Jing hated to part, and Jing Pan wanted her own mother to stay longer, time didn't allow it. Jing Shu had to hurry back to prepare for year three. Wu You'ai's work was exploding. She was practically living in a sleep pod with her phone. Grandma Jing's silkworms had hatched in a new batch, and in this cold, they would die without care.
Even Grandpa Jing needed to get back to the site to repair the villa and tackle the long list of upgrades Jing Shu had given him.
Everyone was busy, so they left right after the meal. Before they went, they took the care packages Jing Pan had prepared for the whole family. Country folks were poor but generous. You never left without local goods. The congealed blood and brains in their jars would make perfect blood-pudding hotpot. The braised pig tongue, heart, and ear only needed slicing for a cold dish. It was the kind of food that goes with any meal.
===
Lelouch vi Britannia, also known as Lelouch Lamperouge, is from the anime Code Geass. You should watch it; it's a really good anime.