Chapter 3: Everything Must Go

After emerging from the space, Jing Shu examined the Five-stage Rubik’s Cube in her hand, which had become the key to the evolution of the space. No matter how far away it was, as long as Jing Shu wished, she could summon it back to the Magic Cube Space at any time. The real Magic Cube Space was in Jing Shu’s spiritual world, invisible and untouchable to others. In her previous life, Jing Shu had experimented with letting her parents try various methods to see the Magic Cube Space, including letting her mother play with the Magic Cube, but it was no use. Once activated, the Magic Cube recognized its owner. The current Magic Cube Space was 64 cubic meters, and to evolve it into a Magic Cube Space of 5x5x5, totaling 125 cubic meters, she first had to learn how to solve the Five-stage Rubik’s Cube! Upgrading the Magic Cube Space will have to wait for now. The most important thing at the moment is to stock up on supplies in preparation for the apocalypse two months from now! Although it was a bit rushed, Jing Shu was already quite satisfied. It was now one o’clock at noon, and her parents had gone to work and would not be home until late in the afternoon. I need to take this time to write a detailed plan. However, from the moment of my rebirth, I decided: eat on time, sleep on time, and strengthen my exercise routine. There’s nothing more important than eating, and in this life, I will not order takeout again. Jing Shu walked into the kitchen, rolled up her sleeves, and began to rinse the rice, chop the cured sausage, and wash the greens. Then she smeared a bit of oil on the bottom of the clay pot, added water and rice along with a little more oil, brought it to a boil over high heat, and then simmered it on low. After the rice was cooked, she added the cured sausage and greens and boiled them a little longer. As the aroma of the rice wafted through the air, Jing Shu swallowed her saliva and prepared the seasoning sauce. While cooking, she pondered her plan. Once everything was cooked, Jing Shu turned off the heat, cracked two eggs into it, and let it steam for another five minutes. After lifting the lid and drizzling the seasoning sauce over it, the fragrance of rice mixed with the scent of the sausage had completely infused the clay pot rice, and those two sunny-side-up eggs added a tempting color. "It’s been either eight or nine years since I last ate rice," Jing Shu said, tears streaming down her face, while eagerly swallowing her saliva. I can’t wait to taste it! I’ll savor the cured sausage with each bite of rice, slowly chewing, letting the flavors shift back and forth between my teeth and tongue for the ultimate satisfaction. After swallowing the last flavorful bite, Jing Shu felt a sense of happiness float up inside her. Compared to the things eaten in the apocalypse—grass roots, tree bark, and rotten food—that was simply worse than what pigs or dogs eat! Seriously and carefully scraping the last piece of crispy rice crust into her mouth and licking the bowl clean of any leftover sauce and greens, Jing Shu let out a satisfied burp. She quickly washed the pot and tidied up before turning on her phone. She began listing out her recent plans in the notes app. Having a plan is crucial for methodically gathering supplies in these two months without chaos. Otherwise, remembering this today and forgetting that tomorrow will result in a lot of wasted effort. At the same time, she downloaded tutorials and methods for solving the Magic Cube from the 5th to the 17th stage onto her phone. I don’t know the maximum number of stages for the Magic Cube Space, but it’s always good to be prepared. It will be my greatest reliance after the apocalypse. At 3 p.m., after Jing Shu had listed her inventory, she faced a big problem: No money! So Jing Shu began to calculate the total assets of the family of three. Her father, Jing An, was a minor shareholder and the head of carpentry at a large-scale renovation company in Wu City. More than twenty years ago, he and his friend Wang Zhong started the business together. His friend contributed a hundred yuan in rental fees, and he joined the partnership with his carpentry skills. After years of hard work and honest dealings, they had grown the business to its current size, earning him eight thousand yuan a month plus an annual bonus of two hundred thousand yuan. Wang Zhong didn’t take a salary but only the annual dividends, which were over ten million yuan. Jing Shu quickly jotted down on her phone the potential sources of income: 1. Dad cashing out his shares. Her mother, Su Lanzi, was a civil servant, earning four thousand yuan a month. 2. The collectible paper money from Mom’s collection can be sold. Jing Shu’s family had an annual income of several hundred thousand yuan, but their expenses were also large. They had two cars to maintain, as well as their precious daughter Jing Shu to support. Last year, they had taken out a loan to buy a villa on the outskirts near the mountains. Mr. Jing was the guarantor, putting it under Jing Shu’s name, saying it was part of her dowry, a place to get away and relax on weekends. In 2022, real estate prices had fallen, let alone in third-tier cities in the Northwest. A suburban villa cost five thousand yuan per square meter. According to the land’s building area, it was a total of 168 square meters, including a gift of a 50-square-meter yard, adding up to 840,000 yuan in total. The villa had two floors, each floor being 168 square meters, and the top floor had a sun terrace of over 40 square meters. Since the family was in the renovation business, Mr. Jing had finished the decoration after the house was built, and he had even dug a 20-square-meter basement, spending all their money in the process. The house they currently lived in was located in a school district in the city center. Although it only covered over 86 square meters, it could be sold for 1.3 million yuan. The family moved away in the second year after the apocalypse, as a flood had submerged half of the city. More accurately, 30% of the Earth was flooded, which wasn’t without reason, but more on that later. There was also a 15-square-meter prime storefront that brought in fifty thousand yuan in rent every year. In her past life, they sold it for six hundred thousand yuan to gather funds for Jing Shu’s tuition to become an internet celebrity. As for Jing Shu, she was still financially dependent. The family only had a few tens of thousands in cash at most. Everything else was tied up in real estate. There were also two cars. In her past life, Mr. Jing sold his Toyota Land Cruiser for over two hundred thousand yuan but couldn’t bear to sell Mrs. Jing’s little BMW. In this life, I’m going to sell Mom and Dad’s two cars, the prime storefront, and the school district house! She happily noted this as the third point on her phone. The villa can’t be sold; its location is extremely good. Whether it’s a great flood or an earthquake with raging storms, it won’t be greatly affected. In my past life, the city center was directly abandoned, and a new district started being built in the suburbs. It wasn’t a lie that one meal could be traded for a villa. Our family’s villa was exchanged, and that’s how the three of us survived and made it through the fifth and hardest year of the apocalypse. 4. Find Uncle Sun to get back the hundred thousand yuan he owes Dad! That should be enough for now. I’ll write more when I think of it. First, I need to get some funds to start collecting things, then begin with plans 1 and 4! Jing Shu squinted her eyes in thought. Zhu Zhengqi’s WeChat kept buzzing. BEEP! BEEP! He sent many messages encouraging Jing Shu to become an internet celebrity with promotional phrases. "Right, I can trick my parents into letting me become an internet celebrity! Wouldn’t the money come then?" Jing Shu suddenly slapped her thigh. If it was like in my past life, wouldn’t the money issue be resolved quickly? Otherwise, there really isn’t any good reason to convince Mom and Dad to sell the prime storefront, the cars, and the house. Could I really tell them that in two months, the Earth will lose sunlight and be shrouded in darkness each day? However, that isn’t the scary part. Just over a month from now, Huaxia will announce an impending planetary collision. The upper atmosphere and distant debris will rapidly encircle the Earth and block the sunlight, urging everyone to be prepared. Huaxia will even issue generous subsidies. Unfortunately, they’ll only predict a month without sunlight and won’t foresee that the sunlight will be blocked for the next ten years. The following disasters were even more terrifying. In the first year without sunlight, global temperatures rose wildly, entering a year-long period of extreme heat, darkness, and water shortage. The disaster brought on by extreme temperatures was enormous: crops failed. This was most plainly illustrated when sea temperatures rose, cooking freshwater fish alive. Tropical regions turned into deserts, sea levels rose, and island nations were submerged and disappeared, sparking a refugee crisis. And the next year, the floods and downpours began.