Someone in the high school group immediately asked, their text bubble appearing instantly on the screen. "One bug in exchange for some food?"
"Yeah, as long as it's not one I have already collected. To keep things fair, whoever got to the base first gets priority to trade with me."
Jing Shu didn't bother scrolling anymore. Instead, she sent a private message to Su Mali, her thumb moving quickly over the glass. "Are they seriously collecting or just pretending? Feels like they're bending the rules just to sneak more food to those classmates."
Su Mali quickly replied with a crying-laughing emoji, the yellow face flickering on the display to show how helpless she felt. "You don't know, the higher-ups ordered it. They want to do genetic recombination, modify these bugs, and turn them into new food sources. But right now only silkworm pupae, cicadas, and stick insects have protein and fat that fit human needs.
If nothing else works, they're even planning to mass-breed cockroaches and compress them into protein bars, but it's not going well. Some people found that slowly mutating bugs carry a substance called dark matter, and it's packed with protein. That's why they're trying to get more samples for research."
That jogged Jing Shu's memory, the information clicking into place. Right, these experiments had already started. It was a good thing research had begun years earlier, or else when the extreme cold hit and crops couldn't grow, they never would have managed to produce those genetically modified food sources.
Cockroaches compressed into protein food; she hadn't heard of that before. "Wait, wait. Holy shit." Could it be that the fried protein food she ate in her last life was actually this stuff? The specific one cooked in corpse oil. The thought sent a violent wave of nausea through her, and she nearly puked right there in the cabin.
She hurriedly shoved a few marinated eggs into her mouth to calm her stomach, the saltiness grounding her. Then she mixed spicy chili sauce with all the marinated beef and ate an entire bowl until she finally felt better, her stomach heavy and warm.
Damn it, just how many things had the government been hiding from ordinary people? Jing Shu didn't dare dwell on it and didn't want to either. After talking over a few details with Su Mali, she focused on practicing with her Rubik's Cube, her fingers twisting the plastic blocks in the dim light.
The TV screen flickered with a static-filled broadcast of another grim report. A worldwide catastrophic earthquake, which was likely not a coincidence, wouldn't stop anytime soon. In fact, the experts predicted it might last as long as heavy rainstorms.
"Earth's orbit has shifted and its gravity is off, which disrupted its rotation and revolution. This caused seasonal chaos. Based on the data, these quakes aren't from external influences; they're probably Earth's way of self-adjusting.
Before, Earth's rotation cycle was too fast. Now it's too slow. The clash between the two forces forms a whirlpool of energy. We call this the Tornado Quake. In simple terms, once Earth finishes its self-adjustment, the apocalypse will be over. So please, hang in there a little longer."
The poor newscasters always had to spin every disaster into a story about the end of the apocalypse being right around the corner. Even Jing Shu almost believed them for a split second.
Rumble!
The floor of the RV groaned as the ground started violently shaking again, the metal frame rattling. The thunder and lightning outside hadn't weakened with time; if anything, they were only getting stronger, the flashes of light illuminating the swampy park.
The people taking refuge in the wetland park couldn't sit still anymore. Some tried to leave the crowded area, only to be buried alive on the way back when the ground gave way. That terrified others into returning to the mud. Rumors spread like wildfire through the tents until it turned into a common warning: step outside and hundreds of people will be buried alive by the quake.
She already knew what was going on. The Banana Community might not collapse, but if she dared to suggest going back, her family would drown her in spit. That was the painful part of her situation. She knew the buildings wouldn't collapse, but she couldn't go back yet. She had to put on an act, pretending to be scared, because she couldn't exactly reveal she could foresee the future.
So, on the third morning, when she tried to head out, she hit a huge roadblock with her parents. After scarfing down over twenty pork-and-noodle buns and promising over and over that Su Mali's bodyguards would protect them, she finally got into Su Mali's extended business car and went to Xishan. The car navigated the cracked roads with a low, heavy thrum.
Before leaving, Grandpa Jing insisted she carry a black backpack made of reinforced canvas. He had designed it based on her ideas in just the last two days. In danger, the pack would deploy long, thin claws that latched onto the surroundings like a spiderweb, then catapult her out to safety.
"Well? What do you think?" Grandpa Jing asked, his face full of expectation as he adjusted the straps for her.
Jing Shu wiped the sweat off her forehead, feeling the weight of the metal frame. "Grandpa, it's a great gadget, but honestly, I'm probably the only one who can use it. Who else can carry something that weighs dozens of kilos? I feel like I am hauling a boulder."
Grandpa Jing muttered to himself, "That's just for testing. Once it works, I will rebuild it with aluminum alloy and make it a lot lighter."
Su Mali's eyes widened as she stared enviously at the bulky black backpack. She even said if they perfected it, she would buy one herself.
When they arrived, more than twenty people were already waiting at the Xishan base entrance. Pretty much all of Jing Shu's surviving high school classmates were there, huddled together in the cold.
It was freezing, so everyone was either breathing into their hands, stomping their boots, or jogging in place to keep the blood flowing. Compared to last year's gathering, by this second day of 2025, they all looked much thinner. They were already sliding toward being skin-and-bones, just like they had in her past life.
As always, Su Mali was dressed in the latest high-tech insulated bubble dress, complete with a matching hat and gloves. Fully equipped, adorable, and luxurious, she radiated energy. She looked like a pink little princess ready for spring, her outfit pristine against the grey mud.
By contrast, Jing Shu was plain. She wore a pre-apocalypse white down jacket with black leggings. For warmth, she had layered autumn pants and wool pants underneath. Back before the world ended, this outfit would have made her look neat and tidy. But now, in the third year of the apocalypse, after droughts, floods, and quakes, wearing a spotless white down jacket was basically a sign of massive family wealth.
"You're finally here!"
"They're made it!"
Classmates in all kinds of mismatched, ragged outfits ran up to greet them. A few were still neat and clean, which was no small feat in this environment.
But before they could chat for even a minute, Jing Shu's phone rang in her pocket. It was Yang Yang!
The cheerful reunion scene instantly froze. The noise died down as everyone instinctively turned to her, their eyes wide. Nobody dared say a word, almost like they were afraid to disturb the boss while she took a call.
Jing Shu frowned and picked up, a bad feeling stirring in her gut.
"Hello?"
"Get ready. We're about to pull off something big."
On the other end, the phone buzzed against her ear with Yang Yang's voice. It came low and restrained, but it was buzzing with barely contained excitement. He sounded like a caged beast snarling, desperate to break free. He was doing everything he could to keep from exploding with emotion right there on the line.