"Let's stay in the slums. Have Xiao Hei find a decent place. If we live in the underground Black Market, we'll be trapped if we get exposed," Snake hissed, his tongue flicking out as he spoke.
Yang Yang's plan was to push their mercenary squad up to S-rank within ten days, but their real goal was the same—to haul away as much material from this city as possible. Whether they succeeded or not, getting caught in the Black Market would mean getting sealed inside a trap with no way out.
Jing Shu had the same thought, though for a slightly different reason—she was afraid an earthquake might bring the whole place down.
Xiao Hei didn't get it. They'd just become B-rank mercenaries, so why the hell were they still living in the slums? Damn it, he'd just finished bragging about their promotion too. But it wasn't his call to make. With a helpless sigh, he went to rent the only first-floor villa left in the slums. It cost twenty Black Market coins a day. The place was overcrowded now, packed with refugees pouring in daily from Mexico.
The real issue was that the second floor was already occupied by some shady people whose background no one knew.
"Hey, this is already the best spot in the slums," Xiao Hei said. "After the floods, all of Sacramento's poor ended up crammed here. Having even one floor of a villa is lucky. You could buy it, sure, or go live in the underground Black Market. It's way cheaper for registered mercenaries, cleaner too. Feels just like before the apocalypse."
"Fine, we'll make do for tonight," Tank muttered, already regretting his choice. The slums were filthy beyond belief. As they carried their gear inside, the upstairs residents leaned over the railing, eyes wide—especially when they saw a dog and what might've been a chicken.
Staying in the truck might've been better, but Xiao Hei's truck was a rental that cost ten Black Market coins a day, not including gas.
The first floor of the villa didn't even have private rooms. Snake took the kitchen, Tank and Monkey shared the living room, Ling Ling took the dining area, and Jing Shu set up in the narrow space between them. Privacy was nonexistent.
It was the worst place Jing Shu had stayed since the apocalypse began—and for the others too. All the furniture was gone except for a dining table someone could sleep on. The rest of the floor was littered with trash, reeking faintly of feces.
You never knew which pile of garbage hid a chunk of shit.
"Everyone settle in and rest early," Tank ordered. "Same routine, two-hour shifts. Tomorrow at eight we'll check out the Black Market arena. I heard it's one of the fastest ways to rank up."
Tank had to be one of the least fussy men Jing Shu had ever met, and definitely one of the fastest to fall asleep. As captain, he volunteered for the hardest shift—the dead of night—and gave the two women the earliest and latest shifts. He dropped his pack, unrolled his sleeping bag, lay down, and within seconds, started snoring.
Instant sleep. Great. Another sleepless night for Jing Shu. There was no way she could fall asleep with that snoring.
She bandaged Monkey's shoulder again. Since she didn't really know proper stitching techniques, she used a sewing method she remembered from fixing clothes. With no anesthetic, Monkey's face twisted in pain, convinced she was getting back at him. His whole shoulder felt like it was about to fall off. Still, if not for her medicine, he would've been done for. With it, he'd be back on his feet in ten days.
After she finished applying the ointment, Monkey couldn't sleep from the pain, so he fed Ah Huang some scraps and whispered to the dog, grumbling about how miserable he was. They hadn't earned anything yet, and now he owed Jing Shu a hundred contribution points a day for medicine. If he didn't heal soon, he'd basically be working for her forever.
Ling Ling kept her head down. She'd originally planned to let Jing Shu take the villa's only table, but when Jing Shu refused, she rolled out her sleeping bag on top of it instead.
While everyone else was eating, cleaning up, or feeding the parrot, Jing Shu once again stunned them all.
She started cleaning.
Under her teammates' bewildered gazes, she cleared away every bit of trash in her area, wiped the walls and floor with a rag, then sprayed everything with essential balm. After that, she spread a mat and pitched a one-person army tent, padding it thick with her down sleeping bag until it looked soft and warm.
Everyone thought that was the end of it, but Jing Shu wasn't done. For most people, this would've been a luxury setup already. Their luggage was limited, and most of what they carried was food and ammo, not daily necessities. Jing Shu, on the other hand, had ridiculous strength, so she could carry a lot more.
She pulled out several empty flower pots, filled them with dirt from outside the villa, and planted a neat row of seedlings. Then she grabbed a plate, filled it with water, and set a few cloves of garlic on it.
"Are you… planting flowers in that pot?" Ling Ling asked softly, unable to hold back her curiosity.
Jing Shu cleared her throat. "What, you don't want scallions, garlic shoots, or lettuce to go with your food? They'll grow fine without sunlight, and in a few days, they'll be ready to eat."
Ling Ling and Snake stared at her in silence.
Monkey muttered, "Women are such a hassle."
Jing Shu rolled her eyes. "Just wait a few days," she thought. "I'll be eating ham and lettuce sandwiches while you all drool."
But she wasn't finished surprising them yet. She pulled out a full outdoor cooking kit—pot, spatula, portable gas canister—and started heating oil.
Cooking. Actual cooking.
After the apocalypse, hardly anyone cooked anymore. Those who could afford it didn't need to, and those who couldn't afford it had no ingredients left.
She went over to Xiao Dou's freshly made nest beside the tent, scooped out a few eggs, cracked them straight into the hot pan, and the sound of sizzling filled the room. Xiao Dou gave a proud "Cluck cluck cluck" and immediately laid another fresh egg. Jing Shu caught it mid-air, cracked it open, and dropped it into the pan. She sprinkled in some salt, flipped the eggs neatly, and popped one into her mouth.
The smell of fried eggs spread through the entire villa.
The scent was mouthwatering. Even without looking, she could hear everyone swallowing hard.
Jing Shu didn't feel bad about it. Yang Yang had said clearly that this mission was every person for themselves when it came to food. No communal meals. She could eat what she brought. And she'd been hungry all day. Now, she was going to eat properly.
Ling Ling and the others stared, speechless. They finally understood what Yang Yang meant about bringing a hen along to lay eggs for nutrition. But… this many eggs? And this much food? One lays them, one eats them—it was a perfect team.
For the last few eggs, she whisked them together with chopped ham, beef bits, and dried shrimp. She soaked some dry rice and vegetables until they plumped up, then tossed them into the pan to fry. Finally, she sighed, regretting she didn't have scallions to sprinkle on top, and scarfed down the whole pot in two minutes flat.
Xiao Dou, meanwhile, nestled down contentedly over two black eggs Jing Shu had traded for in the Black Market earlier. Both hen and owner let out matching sighs of satisfaction.
Around them, there was nothing but the sound of lips smacking and throats swallowing.
Yeah, that hatred meter just shot through the roof.
Jing Shu quickly ducked back into her tent and started practicing with her Cube Space. This first stop had already brought her plenty of supplies, and now that she was full, it was time to get to work.