Chapter 358: Chapter 358
"We should stay in the civilian cave. Let Little Black find a better house. If we live in the Underground black market, it’ll be hard to escape if we’re exposed," Snake Spirit said, her tongue flicking.
Although Yang Yang’s initial plan was to have the Mercenary Team reach S-rank within ten days, their primary goal remained the same: to transport as many resources as possible out of the city. This applied whether they succeeded or not. If they were exposed and trapped in the Underground black market, they would truly be sitting ducks.
Jing Shu had the same thought, only she was also worried about earthquakes causing a collapse.
Little Black didn’t understand. Now that they were B-rank mercenaries, why still live in the civilian cave? Damn it, I just finished bragging, he thought. Well, it’s not like I have the right to dictate where everyone lives. Little Black went to find one of the last remaining villas in the civilian cave, agreeing to pay 20 Black Market Coins per day. The civilian cave was already overflowing, as new people arrived from Mexico every day.
The problem was that the second floor of the villa was still occupied by some tenants whose identities were unknown.
"Hey, this is already the best place in the civilian cave. After the flood, it’s packed with all the poor people of Sacramento. Being able to squeeze into one floor of a villa is pretty good. Either that or buy it. Otherwise, you’ll have to go to the Underground black market. Prices there are cheaper for Official Mercenaries, and the environment is good, just like before the apocalypse."
"Fine, we’ll just make do for tonight." Tan Ke felt a pang of regret. The civilian cave was disgustingly dirty. As they moved their luggage downstairs, the upstairs tenants stared wide-eyed, especially when they saw the live animals—a dog and what looked like a chicken.
Living in the truck wouldn’t have been bad either, but Little Black’s truck was rented, costing 10 Black Market Coins a day, not including fuel.
There were no private rooms on the first floor of the villa. Snake Spirit took the kitchen, Tan Ke and Monkey settled in the living room, and Lingling was in the dining room. Jing Shu found herself in the space between the living and dining rooms. Essentially, none of them had any privacy.
This wasn’t just the worst living condition Jing Shu had encountered since the apocalypse; it was the same for everyone present. The first-floor furniture had been completely cleared out, leaving only a dining table that could still be slept on, and piles of useless garbage everywhere, which even emitted a fecal odor.
You couldn’t tell which pile of garbage hid a turd.
"Everyone, tidy up a bit and get some rest. Same old rules: two-hour shifts for each person. Tomorrow morning at 8, we’ll check out the Duel Arena in the Underground black market. I hear it’s one of the fastest ways to raise your mercenary rank." ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭•𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢•𝓷𝓮𝓽
Tan Ke was definitely one of the least particular men Jing Shu had ever met, and also one of the quickest to fall asleep. As team leader, he assigned himself the toughest shift in the dead of night, after the two women had taken the earliest or latest slots. He simply placed his luggage on the ground, unrolled his sleeping bag, lay down, and started snoring almost immediately.
He fell asleep instantly! Jing Shu thought. Just great, another sleepless night for me. I can never sleep with snoring.
Jing Shu bandaged Monkey’s wound again. Since she wasn’t skilled in stitching, she resorted to the kind of stitches used for sewing clothes. Without anesthetics, Monkey grimaced and hissed in pain, at one point even suspecting Jing Shu was taking revenge on him; his entire shoulder felt like it was about to fall off. If not for Jing Shu’s medicine, Monkey would have been completely incapacitated on this trip. With her medicine, he’d be back in fighting form in about ten days.
After taking the medicine, the pain kept Monkey from sleeping. He could only feed Ah Huang, whispering softly to the dog. Monkey was quite dejected. They hadn’t earned anything yet, and he still had to pay Jing Shu 100 Contribution Value for medicine daily. If my wounds don’t heal, won’t I be working for Jing Shu forever? he wondered.
Lingling lowered her head. She had initially wanted to offer the only dining table to Jing Shu, but Jing Shu had refused. So, Lingling took out her sleeping bag and spread it on the large table.
While her teammates were either eating, wiping themselves down, feeding the parrot, or organizing their belongings, Jing Shu once again upended their understanding of things.
They watched in astonishment as Jing Shu began to clean. She meticulously cleared the garbage from her designated area, wiped everything down thoroughly with a rag, and even sprayed some Wind Oil Essence. But she didn’t stop there. She laid down a mat, set up a single-person military tent, and placed a thick, soft down sleeping bag inside.
Anyone else would have thought that was sufficient. For someone on the road, Jing Shu’s setup was already luxurious, especially considering everyone had limited luggage space. Apart from firearms, the main thing everyone carried was food, of which they had plenty. Daily necessities and living supplies, however, were scarce—unlike Jing Shu, who was strong enough to carry much more.
But Jing Shu then took out several empty flower pots, casually filled them with soil from outside the villa’s entrance, and planted a row of seedlings. Next, she placed a dish filled with garlic cloves in water.
"Are you planning to grow flowers in those pots?" Lingling asked softly, her curiosity thoroughly piqued.
Jing Shu coughed. "Wouldn’t meals be better with some green onions, garlic sprouts, and lettuce? These don’t need sunlight to grow and will be edible in a few days."
Snake Spirit and Lingling were speechless.
Monkey grumbled, "Women are so fussy."
Jing Shu rolled her eyes. Just wait, she thought. In a few days, when I’m eating sandwiches with ham and lettuce, I’ll make them all drool with envy.
But she did something even more outrageous. Jing Shu pulled out a complete set of portable cooking tools—a pan, a spatula, and a disposable gas canister—and began to heat oil in the pan.
Cooking? After the apocalypse, many people had never cooked. Those from well-off families didn’t need to, and those from poor families couldn’t afford to.
She then reached into the nest she had just set up for the fat chicken beside her tent, took out one egg after another, and CRACK! CRACK! Broke them directly into the pan. The SIZZLING sound of frying eggs filled the air instantly. Just as the fat chicken laid another fresh egg, Jing Shu deftly caught it. CRACK! She broke this one into the pan too, casually sprinkled some salt, and then, using the spatula, began to eat the fried eggs one mouthful after another.
The fragrance slowly wafted through the villa, the enticing aroma of fried eggs. Listen closely, and you could hear the sound of people swallowing hard.
Jing Shu felt no guilt. Yang Yang had made it clear: this time, everyone was responsible for their own food. It wasn’t a communal pot. She hadn’t eaten properly all day, so it was only fair that she finally got to eat her fill.
Lingling and the others watched, dumbfounded. They were finally beginning to understand what Goat had meant when he’d said bringing a chicken to lay eggs would help them recuperate. But isn’t this a few too many eggs? And she’s eating quite a lot too! they thought. One is certainly a prolific layer, and the other a voracious eater!
After scrambling the last few eggs, Jing Shu swiftly added diced ham, beef bits, and dried shrimp. She had previously soaked some cooked rice and Dried Vegetables in water until the rice became translucent and the vegetables plump. Now, she tossed these into the pan for a quick stir-fry. The only thing missing was a sprinkle of green onions. Jing Shu felt a twinge of regret about this as she devoured the entire pot of food in about two minutes, swallowing it down quickly.
The fat chicken, eyes narrowed, was incubating two American black eggs they had acquired from the Black Market that day. Both master and servant let out a sigh of satisfaction.
Around them, the sounds of people licking their lips and swallowing could be heard. This fragrant display was practically an invitation for envy. Jing Shu quickly retreated to her tent and began practicing with her Magic Cube Space. This first stop has the most resources, she thought. Now that I’m full, I need to work even harder!