Jing Shu topped it all off with a fresh glass of watermelon juice pulled from the depths of her Cube Space. The glass was beaded with condensation, the vibrant red liquid cold enough to make her teeth ache. She paired it with succulent grilled meat, roasted sausages that snapped when she bit into them, and fresh salad wraps filled with crisp, green lettuce she had stored weeks earlier.
Everything tasted delicious. It was absolute bliss.
At that moment, surrounded by the silent luxury of her private villa while thousands struggled just a few meters away, it felt like life had already reached its peak.
Luckily, Jing Shu had always been the type to prepare for any eventuality. Whenever she had free time at home, she would spend hours in the kitchen making all kinds of cooked food in bulk.
There were different porridges for cold mornings, slow-cooked soups rich with marrow, spicy crayfish, and braised pork casseroles. She had stored pan-seared steaks, braised lion's head meatballs, oil-braised prawns, roast duck, and seasoned chicken cutlets.
All of it was organized and stored by the cubic meter. A rough estimate put her total food reserves at well over a hundred square meters.
Because of that foresight, her Rubik's Cube Space now held every kind of delicious meal imaginable. Whatever she craved, she could simply reach in and take it out, and it would still be steaming hot, as if it had just left the stove.
After finishing the main course, she treated herself to dessert. She mixed a bowl of thick yogurt with sweet red beans, chewy taro balls, and chunks of fresh fruit. It was a perfect, refreshing fruit bowl that cleared the palate.
Heavenly.
She didn't let anything go to waste. The leftovers were tossed straight back into the Cube Space to feed the pigs and chickens she kept there.
"Sigh, it still feels kind of empty. I'm really not used to Xiao Dou not being here."
She hadn't been separated from the hen in years. Wherever she went, she always brought the bird along. It gave her a sense of security and kept things from getting boring during long stretches of isolation. Now, the silence of the villa felt a bit too heavy.
Who knew how long they would be trapped here?
The uncertainty gnawed at her. She still wanted to get home as soon as possible so she could make even more preparations. After all, her instincts told her that the real storm—the true disaster—was still ahead.
"And there isn't even anyone to talk to," she murmured to the empty room.
She glanced at the clock on the wall. It was still early, so she decided to spend the time tidying the villa. While she was at it, she installed several extra traps. She checked the doors, the windows, and every surrounding corner.
If anyone dared to sneak around her property, they would regret it the moment they stepped over the threshold. Jing Shu had always lacked a sense of security, and in a building full of desperate people, that paranoia was her best defense.
After finishing her homemade security measures, she spread out thick bedding in the master bedroom and prepared to practice with the Rubik's Cube. Her daily four-hour training session was non-negotiable. It was the kind of skill that only improved through grueling repetition.
Sure, there were formulas to follow, but true mastery came from endless trial and error. She needed the thousands upon thousands of repetitions to be burned into her muscle memory.
Every previous level-up had been accompanied by some bizarre event or an inexplicable urge. Those strange incidents always turned out to be related to the newly unlocked abilities of the Cube. After summarizing her experiences, Jing Shu had categorized the abilities into different realms: the First Realm, the Second Realm, and beyond.
At the moment, all of the current powers of the Cube belonged to the Second Realm. If it ever reached the Third Realm, her theory suggested that the space would fully overlap with reality. If that happened, the Rubik's Cube Space might truly exist in the real world. At that point, she would basically become invincible. Even if the entire world collapsed around her, she wouldn't have to fear.
That was why the current situation felt so strange. This time, the Cube had been unusually quiet. Since her recent upgrade, there hadn't been any weird incidents. There was no sudden urge to wake up at four in the morning to practice, and no mysterious forgetfulness about her training. Everything had been perfectly normal.
The more normal things seemed, the more unsettled she felt. It was like something was stuck in her throat, leaving her anxious and restless. That was why she had been pushing herself to practice even more often.
Several days passed in the blink of an eye. The two thousand people trapped in the New World Tower hadn't run into any major problems yet, mainly because Jun Jia had immediately organized full military-style management. He kept everyone firmly under control.
Of course, small conflicts still flared up in the crowded halls, but with military authority backing every decision, they were quickly resolved. Gradually, people began to adapt to the strange, cold routine of their new life.
As for Jing Shu, she spent almost all of her time inside the villa. She practiced with the Cube, fed the chickens, cows, and pigs in her space, and harvested fresh vegetables to store away.
Since resources in the tower were tight and there was no electricity or heating, she had spent the past two days researching how to generate power inside the Cube Space and transfer it into reality. Somehow, she actually pulled it off. Once she had the diesel generator inside the Cube Space running, she could connect the line to the real world.
The best part was that no one would notice the source. From now on, she would never have to worry about losing power again. The downside was that she had to stay nearby. She couldn't move beyond the effective range of the Cube Space, and she had to keep part of her attention focused on maintaining the connection. Otherwise, the line would instantly be severed by the spatial separation.
Back when the Cube was only at tier 5, shortly after Earth's Dark Days began, she had already tried sending electricity from inside the space into reality. It hadn't worked then. Back then, objects were indivisible; they either existed fully inside the space or fully outside it. Nothing could exist half in one place and half in the other.
She had been disappointed for a long time, but after the Cube unlocked the second space, reality and space had partially fused. That gave her this new ability. It made her suspect something even more absurd: if the Cube ever reached the Third Realm and the space fully overlapped with reality, would she be able to enter it herself?
If danger ever came, she could simply hide inside. Based on everything she understood about the space, she wouldn't have to stay still either. She could move around inside, drive her vehicles, and use the Cube Space as a medium to move through reality.
She caught herself and sighed. She was getting carried away and dreaming too much.
"All personnel! Report to the central plaza immediately! We have an important announcement! Repeating…"
Jing Shu was jolted awake by the sudden broadcast. Another gathering was being called.
She stuffed the last bits of steak, sausage, and fried egg into her mouth and hurriedly pulled on her bulletproof vest and helmet. After downing a can of soy milk, she grabbed a mask and rushed toward the auction hall.
Xiao Liu was already there, looking neatly dressed and fully prepared despite the conditions. She had laid out a blanket for Jing Shu and brought over the small heater. She had even heated a pot of tea on top of it, waiting respectfully for her boss to arrive.
"Boss, sit here. The heater is ready. Have some tea first. We will check what is left in the cafeteria later."
Xiao Liu sounded worried. Food was basically gone. The tower's reserves had nearly run dry, as feeding two thousand people consumed supplies at an alarming rate. Still, the assistant couldn't help wondering about her boss.
Jing Shu's appetite seemed ridiculously tiny, almost like a mosquito's. Every meal, Jing Shu only took a bite or two, always wearing that slightly disdainful expression. Could that little bit of food really be enough to keep her going?
Jing Shu plopped down onto the chair, her hair still messy from her bedhead. It didn't matter; the entire hall was pitch black anyway. Aside from the faint light on the stage, which was barely enough to illuminate Xiao Shuai, everything else was swallowed by the darkness. People gradually filed into the plaza, their teeth chattering and their bodies shivering from the biting cold.
Still wearing her gloves, Jing Shu held her hands near the orange glow of the heater and breathed out a long sigh. The warmth felt amazing against her skin.
"Why do I smell fried eggs? It smells so good."
"No way, that's definitely steak."
"You are imagining things," another voice grumbled. "There's no steak here."
Xiao Liu's nose twitched. There really was a rich, meaty aroma lingering in the air around them. And mixed in with it was the faint, sweet scent of soy milk. It smelled incredible.