Chapter 554: Chapter 554

Jing Shu casually picked a long leg and snapped it off with a CRACK. She then dropped it behind her with a THUD, shocking Liu Dali, who was staring wide-eyed. Just like that, as the villagers’ jaws dropped in amazement, Jing Shu broke off a few more legs and tossed them to Wang Dan. After inspecting the now symmetrical Abdominal Foot Worm, she clapped her hands in satisfaction and turned to leave.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder indeed! Even with missing limbs, symmetry was a must! The Abdominal Foot Worm, in truth, didn’t mind losing a few legs; it had plenty to spare.

Jing Shu had only broken six legs off the Abdominal Foot Worm, which originally possessed thirty-six. She hadn’t broken them from the base but halfway up. She’d heard they would grow back after some time. Wouldn’t that mean she could break them again? Just like lotus root.

The villagers, however, didn’t see it that way. They stared wide-eyed, as if they hadn’t quite grasped what had just happened. What the heck? A creature that big just let someone break its legs without putting up a fight? Just like that, without any resistance? For real? Were monsters these days all so agreeable? This clearly didn’t align with its earlier behavior.

"Come on, what are you spacing out for?" Jing Shu asked Liu Dali, who was still in shock. "Didn’t you say you wanted some meat? Is this enough? If not, I can break off some more." She was being nice, wasn’t she? Considerate, right? These people said they wanted meat, and she had indeed brought them meat. There weren’t many people as accommodating as her.

It took a while for Liu Dali to come to his senses. He could barely carry the three legs, each weighing over ten kilograms. He still felt like he was in a dream; his own legs felt weak. He couldn’t believe this woman had simply and forcefully broken the legs off a monster, and it hadn’t even resisted.

Wang Dan was in a similar state. Looking at Jing Shu now was like seeing a monster—no, not a monster, but an unnervingly talented prodigy, inspiring extreme admiration! Wang Dan’s admiration for Jing Shu had become indescribable.

"She really broke off the monster’s legs, and the monster didn’t even fight back."

"Look, here she comes, and the monster is bowing its head to eat corpses again!"

"This monster doesn’t seem that scary. Maybe we could break some off for a barbecue?"

"Do these look like crab legs? You’ve eaten crab legs, right? They’re delicious!"

Some people began to get restless, eyeing the Abdominal Foot Worm as if it were their dinner.

Leading Wang Dan and Liu Dali back, Jing Shu waved her hand and said, "This insect is mine; I tamed it, and it only listens to me. So, don’t go near it. If it eats you, I won’t intervene. These insect legs are extra rations for you. I hope everyone works hard and saves up more provisions so we don’t go hungry on the road."

After saying that, she led the two away. She was indifferent as to whether those people would listen. It was the same everywhere now: even the government was struggling with food shortages. Having anything to eat was a blessing.

Jing Shu then had Liu Dali help Aunt Wang process the legs. They removed the shells, dug out the foul-smelling flesh, and chopped it up. Finally, Aunt Wang added the meat to their clay cakes and baked them dry, creating clay-meat cakes.

Various types of Fuel burned in the stove, emitting a pungent, unpleasant odor. But there was no choice. Aunt Wang knew they needed to make as many baked clay cakes as possible before any rescue. The journey ahead was long. Even if the government were to rescue them, they wouldn’t send a special vehicle, would they? How much Fuel would that waste? Ultimately, it seemed likely they would have to walk out on their own.

Later, some people indeed tried to imitate Jing Shu and get some insect leg meat. However, as soon as they approached the creature, its giant pincers clamped down, snapping off their arms. Blood spilled onto the ground. Only then did the surrounding villagers realize the danger and dared not approach the Abdominal Foot Worm again.

Things on Jing Shu’s side were not as carefree as one might imagine. Li Dayou guarded the Seeds so strictly, with everything meticulously recorded, that it was difficult for her to secretly transfer some into her Magic Cube Space beforehand. Therefore, the matter of the Seeds had to be postponed until after the rescue. Once that was secure, she was no longer in a rush.

Jing Shu had her own selfish reasons for venturing down here alone in advance. Her Magic Cube Space had finally found the black liquid needed for an upgrade, and she naturally didn’t want to give up on it so easily. The previous day, while observing the "giant wave" that continuously scraped against the critical point and devoured everything, she had noticed something suspicious.

After dealing with these troublesome matters, Jing Shu quietly went to the turbulent border between the two lands. The closer she got to the collision zone, the more the ground trembled. A deep RUMBLING sound filled the air, like that of a giant conveyor belt. This "belt" seemed to transport everything on its surface to an end point, where items were ground into pieces and then dumped into the earth.

That place resembled a black hole, seemingly swallowing everything. Jing Shu observed it quietly for a while and began to feel dizzy.

Jing Shu was not highly educated and didn’t understand the principles at play. But with the apocalypse upon them, such things hardly mattered anymore. She only dared to stay at the edge of the Ga Mountain Valley and couldn’t look for long, as she always felt intensely dizzy.

But there’s definitely something wrong with this place! I have to investigate it carefully.

Jing Shu cherished her life, especially since she had died once before, so she wouldn’t take reckless risks. She dispatched Little Snake to explore the area. As soon as Little Snake slithered onto that patch of land, it was swept up by the wave-like conveyor belt and transported away.

Through Little Snake, Jing Shu gleaned a little information, but that was all. The colliding forces quickly ground Little Snake into pieces, as if it had been fed into a meat grinder.

Jing Shu frowned. The only creatures I can control with enough sensitivity are snakes. It seems I’ll have to send the insects over.

Jing Shu divided the insects into several groups and sent them into the surging, towering waves. She watched as they were pushed towards the end, the point of collision.

"Good! Although it’s slow, the insects are very small and weren’t crushed by the waves," Jing Shu said, a little excited. Indeed, an elephant can’t easily crush an ant.

Jing Shu focused on the information relayed by the insects. Like everything else continuously transported and ground to dust, the insects were carried by the conveyor belt to its end—into that black-hole-like place. Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭•𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢•𝓷𝓮𝓽

The insects dropped down. They relayed a final sensation of being surrounded by black liquid before being instantly engulfed. They were obliterated! No, the black liquid engulfed them. But was it their life or just their consciousness that was devoured?

Jing Shu’s heart leaped. A persistent thought echoed in her mind: if I can get the black liquid from that black hole, I’ll strike it rich! But now, everything I’ve sent over has been wiped out. How can I possibly obtain that dangerously potent liquid?