Chapter 423: Chapter 423

What could a wealthy merchant’s private garden possibly contain? Poverty truly limited everyone’s imagination. Even someone with a bit of worldliness like Jing Shu couldn’t fathom what treasures it might hold, let alone grasp the true definition of luxury after the apocalypse.

She truly looked forward to it.

Jing Shu rubbed her hands subconsciously. This felt like the proper way to kick off her journey in the United States! New York was synonymous with prosperity, and she was eager to see what the city had become in the third year after the apocalypse. The news always portrayed the United States as a constant gunfight, but her experience had been different. She’d worn a thick cotton coat for months without a single bullet flying her way! It was rather anticlimactic!

And what had she accomplished in the past two months? She had journeyed to a remote place, almost beyond the borders of the United States, hoping for a comfortable life. Instead, she’d nearly died in an earthquake in the Underground City. Afterward, she had almost succumbed to radiation in Austin, the City of Radiation.

And whenever she’d tried to acquire something valuable, the people were either too wealthy for her to approach or too destitute, possessing nothing she desired!

The only truly profitable venture during that time was raiding the minor merchant Pei Qi’s treasure trove. From there, she acquired various United States specialties like olive oil, red wine, and assorted collectibles. Of course, there were also some weapons; the most valuable items were likely the caviar and other luxury goods.

Later, on someone’s luxury yacht, she had pilfered various seafood, cooked meats, and frozen meats. However, even after her Magic Cube Space had upgraded, it still wasn’t full. Jing Shu always felt something was missing, though she couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was. Life just wouldn’t be complete until she stuffed the space to the brim.

Hearing about the private gardens of rich people piqued Jing Shu’s interest even more. Do all wealthy individuals enjoy keeping a little private coffer? She absolutely loved looting such places! Hopefully, this time wouldn’t be a disappointment.

The enthusiasm of her teammates was also piqued.

Yang Yang continued, "At the same time, we will meet up with the last team to complete this mission."

Speaking of which, Yang Yang had mentioned this when Jing Shu first arrived in the United States. Their team had started from the southernmost part of the United States, while the other team began at the northernmost part. They hadn’t crossed paths yet, but now, it was finally time to rendezvous.

Snake Spirit frowned, "Why do two teams need to work together for this kind of mission?"

"Because it’s difficult."

Yang Yang’s single sentence cast a silence over the group once more. Difficult? Could this mission be even more challenging than the previous two? Evidently, that seemed to be the consensus.

Yang Yang shuffled his feet and wrapped his thin leather coat more tightly around himself, whispering,

"I’ll say it again: the main purpose of this trip is to gather more supplies to take back home. The situation in our country isn’t optimistic. While the United States still has supplies, we should take as much as we can. You’ve seen how chaotic it is in places far from the United States Government’s control. In fact, half the population can’t even get enough food." For more chapters visıt 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩✶𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚✶𝕟𝕖𝕥

"So, we’re here to gather supplies, not to throw our lives away. Safety is paramount. The final mission is very difficult. If we can complete it, we will; if not, we’ll retreat. We’ll discuss the specifics with the last team once we rendezvous."

Everyone, including Jing Shu, sensed the tense atmosphere. She was curious how a tripod could be such a treasure. Was it one of those large bronze tripods with four feet? How could it possibly prolong life? Shave off a little powder daily to steep in water and drink? Even if it could prolong life, it wouldn’t be as good as her Magic Cube Space.

Jing Shu returned to her room and took out her upgraded Magic Cube to practice. The further she advanced, the more the Magic Cube’s formulas became ingrained within her.

Now, the Magic Cube she idly manipulated in her hands could be restored with effortless thought and will. It was a wondrous state to achieve, though solving a 9-tier Magic Cube still took her an hour or so.

Only in her third year of interacting with the Magic Cube had she truly reached the ’entry-level’ state. Indeed, what did it matter if she could previously solve the Magic Cube using formulas, even reaching a world-class professional level?

The true essence of the Magic Cube Space wasn’t merely about reassembling the cube.

Jing Shu currently had no distinct insight on how to advance to the next level of the Magic Cube. However, she foresaw that during its restoration, she would inevitably encounter various ’resistances.’ These resistances would be the key to her progression and, based on past experience, were undoubtedly related to the abilities the Magic Cube would possess after leveling up.

The Magic Cube Space hadn’t endowed Jing Shu with many new abilities. In fact, aside from the Spiritual Spring which granted her increased strength, it hadn’t conferred any other powers. It seemed the Magic Cube Space was gradually unsealing, slowly restoring its original capabilities.

Or rather, it was slowly beginning to integrate with Jing Shu, perhaps fearing that unleashing its full power from the outset would overwhelm her. This increasingly suggested that, much like a product of a higher-dimensional space merging into a lower-dimensional one, it too needed to find a ’support point.’

Perhaps one day, the Magic Cube Space will fully integrate with me, and I’ll be able to enter the true Magic Cube Space. Then, even if Earth is destroyed, I’ll have a sanctuary. I still have seven years. Whether Earth will be destroyed seven years from now, I don’t know.

The team they were about to meet... they must be incredibly formidable and powerful, right?

After all, the elite team from the Imperial Capital had joined forces with the Wu City squad to tackle these arduous tasks. The other team should be comparable, shouldn’t they? There would surely be many of them, wouldn’t there?

Jing Shu had pondered this as well.

Only after trekking across mountains and rivers, traversing more than half of the United States, and finally meeting their new teammates did Jing Shu realize she had been somewhat naive.

"May God bless you with a life free of suffering, peace, happiness, and health, my children. I have finally seen you, Amen."

It wasn’t until this man, claiming to be their teammate, appeared before them all that Jing Shu vaguely felt as disheveled as if she’d been caught in a gale.

He was a middle-aged man in a brand-new priest’s cassock, holding a Bible in one hand and leaning on a cane with the other, all while wearing sunglasses. Through the lenses, Jing Shu could discern his shifty eyes and the greasy sheen on his stubbled face.

Yet, the moment he spoke, it was as if a divine radiance emanated from behind him, bathing the earth in a sacred, inviolable aura. It was impossible to discern whether he was genuinely devout or merely putting on an act.

Yang Yang frowned. "Where are the others? Surely, it can’t be just you?"

The priest made a gesture of faith and prayer before speaking, "Souls are immortal, eternal. Holy Christians who have faith in Jesus Christ have ascended to Heaven."

Jing Shu remained silent for a moment before asking, "So, you mean they’re all dead?"

The priest gestured expansively towards the sky. "They have merely gone to Heaven."

"Then why haven’t you gone?"