At first glance, Jing Shu looked like a coward, overly cautious about everything. But who could blame her? She'd already died once. After finally getting a second chance at life and gaining the Cube Space, she wasn't about to throw it all away. Now she really understood why people said the richer you are, the more afraid you become of dying.
Weapons were non-negotiable. She had to bring everything: grenades, explosives, pistols, even a crossbow.
That about covered the gear. She could always add more if she thought of something later. As for food, she needed plenty. Sure, when no one was around she could secretly whip up something better, but everyone already knew about her ridiculous appetite. And she wasn't about to starve herself. High-calorie, protein-packed food that was easy to carry all had to go in the stash.
She regretted not buying more before the apocalypse. Back then, she'd bought a huge box of Snickers, thinking they were too sweet to eat often and would just serve as treats during the end of the world. Now, barely two years in, she'd nibbled away at them until only half a box was left. Forget it, she'd just bring the rest along.
Compressed biscuits, self-heating rice, naan, flatbreads, dried veggies, all of it went on the pile.
Everyday essentials too, like tissues, sanitary pads, spare underwear. Before she realized it, the pile looked like she was moving house. And that was without adding the seventy-plus kilos of battle armor, not to mention the stash she'd secretly tucked into the Cube Space as her backup.
She worried for days about how to actually carry it all, then just let it be. There'd be a way when the time came.
Having lived once before, she couldn't stomach the hardships of the apocalypse anymore. Especially not her. She demanded a standard of living others wouldn't even dream of. Even when she went to America, she'd make sure to eat well, stay warm, and live comfortably.
"Last time Yang Yang went, he hauled so much stuff. There must be plenty of storage places there. If he could do it, bringing this much shouldn't be a problem. Worst case, I'll compress and pack everything tight." She couldn't risk storing anything that left an official trail inside the Cube Space.
Her preparations wrapped up soon enough. Since coming back from her Eldest Aunt's place, she'd been spinning like a top, busy from dawn to dusk.
Most important of all, she wanted the Cube Space to level up before heading to America. She cut her sleep down to four hours a night and spent every spare moment practicing with the cube.
After just ten days, she realized that using the Cube Space's illusions really did strengthen her ability, even if the progress was slow. Controlling two people at once was still a huge strain, but the biggest improvement was that the roaring in her ears wasn't as agonizing as the first time. She could even faintly hear again.
People said the first time was always the worst, and it'd get better afterward. Maybe her brain's development worked the same way.
Her other time was split between the Medicinal Herb Association and tending to her Cube Space. As vice president, her position was so cushy even Zhou Bapi looked down on her. If not for her efforts getting Wu City into the preliminaries, she'd have been kicked long ago. The retest was scheduled for next April or May, giving everyone half a year to grow their entries. So she had to clock in and plant herbs for the contest now and then.
She also needed to diversify her storage. She couldn't bring all her stock to America. First, the Cube Space wasn't that big, and freeing up room meant she could haul back even more. If she failed to advance, making the trip would've been a waste.
Second, she'd learned her lesson from her past life. Back then she'd put all her eggs in one basket, and when she died, it all vanished. Not this time. No matter what, she'd stash some things at home. If something happened to her, her family would still have enough supplies to survive the next seven years.
After thinking it through, she buried the massive stone cones in the back mountain, freeing up twenty-five cubic meters.
Gasoline and diesel took up too much room too, so she transferred them into two giant water tanks. As for food and other supplies, she'd move them right before leaving, just to keep them fresh. Her goal was simple: leave with an empty space, return with a full one.
The checklist was long, but she crossed items off one by one. Time slipped away so fast she barely noticed. She even caught herself thinking, "Just a few more days and this endless rain will stop."
And then one morning, it did.
Like always, she synced with the cube, ate a hearty breakfast, then went to the yard to feed the leeches, red nematodes, and pond fish.
But this time, no raindrops fell on her head.
Jing Shu pushed open the gate and stretched out her hand. Nothing. Not a single drop. Xiao Dou paced nervously around the yard, letting out a sharper, more haunting cry than usual. Lately she'd been like this every day. At night, she'd even sleep by her bed just to calm down.
Her heart clenched. She bolted back inside and pushed open the small room where Grandma Jing sat with a hot water bottle while Zijin worked on altering clothes.
"What day is it today?" Jing Shu asked breathlessly.
Grandma Jing adjusted her reading glasses and said calmly, "December thirty-first. New Year's Eve. What do you want to eat? I'll make it for you."
"Shit!" Jing Shu slammed the door and rushed off.
How could she have forgotten something this important?
She'd been too busy. Even though she'd been counting down the days in her head, somewhere along the way she'd messed up. And now, here it was.
Today. The first great earthquake.
She didn't know the exact time, but she remembered one key thing: in the third year, the epicenters were scattered. That meant within the same city, multiple quakes would strike in different spots. Some areas would only shake lightly, others would be torn apart as if the earth itself flipped over.
That's why she'd often heard those endless rolling booms at night. It was all the quakes hitting nearby!
In her past life, the Banana Community had endured hundreds of tremors, but never collapsed. There wasn't a major epicenter under it. Still, she remembered clearly, frequent quakes had caused part of the levee to collapse, and whole buildings from the community had vanished into the water.
And that wasn't even the worst of it.
Because starting today, the floodwaters in Wu City's downtown would begin vanishing at a speed visible to the naked eye. People had no idea where the water went, but Jing Shu knew. That disappearance was what triggered the deadly mudslides the following year.
She checked the time, muttering, "I should still make it in time."