Chapter 276: Chapter 276
Beyond the transformation of her field, Jing Shu also used eight cubic meters to raise fish. She planned to breed a large batch of fish to make various prepared dishes—such as baked, fried, steamed, and braised—to keep in the Magic Cube Space for snacking at night. After the Magic Cube Space upgraded, she wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but her appetite seemed to have increased somewhat. She got hungry especially easily, which made her irritable.
Last year, she had spent her time drying various vegetables. There wasn’t enough space in the Magic Cube Space to raise more fish then. This year, with both time and ample space, it was better to prepare these foods now, making them convenient for her to eat anytime. Otherwise, it would be too troublesome and time-consuming to start cooking only when she remembered to eat.
She used another twenty-four cubic meters to breed Domestic Poultry, doubling their quantity. Jing Shu planned to slaughter another batch of Domestic Poultry in about half a year and turn it all into cooked food. She wanted to prepare early for the fifth-year migration. After all, once the fifth year began and they were constantly on the move, there would be no time to prepare these cooked meals.
The main task for the second half of this year was to turn various types of food into prepared meals and store them in the Magic Cube Space. She had to ensure that she, this ’big-eater’, would have plenty of good food to eat in the future. Then it was about pickling whatever could be pickled, trying to make everything long-lasting so that when she took them out later, people wouldn’t be overly surprised.
For instance, turning fruits into canned goods and vacuum-packing cooked corn. When taken out in front of many people, they at least wouldn’t be too conspicuous, and they could even be passed off as food that had expired before the apocalypse.
After the apocalypse, a vacuum-packed bag of corn was as precious as a 1982 Lafite; indeed, these pre-apocalypse expired foods were diminishing with each consumption. Read complete version only at novel·fire·net
Therefore, Jing Shu’s Magic Cube Space now consisted of:
1 cubic meter of Spiritual Spring + 24 cubic meters of field + 8 cubic meters of fish school + 24 cubic meters of Domestic Poultry + 286 cubic meters of supplies.
The 286 cubic meters were not fully used up, with more than eighty cubic meters of space remaining. Aside from the space occupied by gasoline, diesel, TNT bombs, bottled water, rice and flour from the basement, an extremely small number of giant hammer-shaped stones, specially crafted reusable conical steel, and 8 cubic meters of nuts, most of the rest consisted of various foods, each occupying one to three cubic meters.
Once Jing Shu had nearly used up the space, she planned to reorganize and integrate it again. As the Magic Cube Space grew larger, Jing Shu sometimes wished there was a ’rearrange’ function like in games. That way, all supplies could be uniformly placed and arranged easily, rather than her expending huge effort to sort them out. Even though she had a 360° unobstructed, perspectival view of the supplies, looking over the cubic cells still made her eyes dizzy.
Jing Shu’s current Magic Cube Space was level seven, and she was about to challenge the level eight Magic Cube. The level six space had added the ’Second Form,’ which virtualized and overlaid with reality, allowing for more direct and convenient management of the space. Even slaughtering pigs and cows could be easily accomplished using the overlap of the Second Form and reality.
The level seven space had added the ’Illusion’ ability, which could directly control and affect creatures within the Second Form’s range and also affect people within its range. However, its effect on people was minimal. Still, it provided Jing Shu with extra control, lifesaving measures, and scouting and tracking abilities.
That was why, when Jing Shu was practicing with the level seven Magic Cube, she often experienced illusions. Every morning at four o’clock, she would invariably get up and stir up some trouble...
Jing Shu guessed that advancing the Magic Cube Space now required more than just restoring it to its original state. Instead, new elements would be added to distract her and slow down her restoration time, significantly increasing the difficulty of advancing the Magic Cube Space. But the rewards would also be more abundant; it would undoubtedly come with new abilities.
Thus, having no choice, after studying the upgraded Magic Cube Space, drinking a pot of porridge, and consuming a bunch of crayfish, Jing Shu continued to practice with the level eight Magic Cube.
She didn’t know what challenges she would face this time in leveling up or what new related abilities the Magic Cube Space would develop after the next upgrade. However, time was running short for her, and she wanted to upgrade the space again before heading to the United States the following year.
That way, she would be able to bring back more items and not make the trip in vain. Thus, Jing Shu was full of motivation now.
Time flew quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was the end of April. The temperature dropped from 36° to 29°. In two more months, the temperature would plummet, and the warm spring rains would turn into bitterly cold torrents.
Inside the Magic Cube Space, the silkworms had laid thousands of eggs. Starting the following month, the number of these silkworms would double. In the villa’s courtyard, the silkworms had also laid over a thousand eggs, keeping Grandma Jing and Zijin busy. Mr. Jing had made more than a dozen racks, which were now filled with silkworms in the bedroom. If there was no more room, he would place them in the living room, although the living room was already partially occupied by garlic, onions, and Mushrooms. Adding more silkworms would make it somewhat cramped.
More than a month had passed since the last incident. The bombing of West Mountain ultimately remained unknown to the public, circulating only within certain circles. She heard that Qian Duoduo was busy establishing a new ’One-Stop Base.’ During this time, he contacted Jing Shu several times, inviting her to visit in a few months. He promised new surprises for her then and even boldly declared he would gift her anything she fancied.
As for what the One-Stop Base was really about, Jing Shu didn’t know. After all, in her previous life, she was at the bottom rung of society, unaware of the matters concerning these circles.
Su Xiangnan, however, was quite distinctive. No matter how many times Qian Duoduo contacted Jing Shu, Su Xiangnan made sure to contact her one more time than him, always claiming he wasn’t as stingy as Qian Duoduo. Jing Shu felt quite helpless. When she mentioned Qian Duoduo was preparing a surprise for her, Su Xiangnan, not to be outdone, told her to wait a bit longer, as he too had a surprise for Jing Shu.
Jing Shu felt a bit of anticipation, but she was also somewhat irritable and apprehensive. This was because Lin Yi had not only been spared execution but was also being protected. Jing Shu was baffled when she heard this news.
"Why? Such people should be killed quickly. Did he hypnotize your leaders’ leader?"
Yang Yang replied helplessly, "The M Country Government, knowing he had been captured, had dispatched assassins, trying every means to kill Lin Yi because of the secrets he knows. The value of these secrets was immense. Until the scientists have fully researched them, Lin Yi would not only be spared execution but would also be closely protected."
Thus, Jing Shu didn’t know when Lin Yi would die. The fact that he wasn’t dead made her feel uneasy. Now, she could only keep a close eye on Lin Yi’s situation. Fortunately, his abilities were known, and corresponding measures had been taken to ensure he wouldn’t escape again.
In this past month, other minor incidents had also occurred. For example, Wu You’ai had finally captured the father and son who had assaulted Zhang Bingbing and sent them for labor reformation. It was said that within a few days, those two were worked so relentlessly they felt as if they’d shed a layer of skin. The torrential rains continued, and the floodwaters had not yet receded. In the urban areas, anything that could be salvaged had been. What couldn’t be salvaged, or wasn’t worth salvaging, had been submerged for months and was now useless.