Chapter 68: Bloody First Battle

The whole family raised their glasses to celebrate, and dinner began amidst a string of blessings! Jing Shu was particularly emotional. In her previous life, at this very time, Mrs. Jing had suffered heatstroke and returned home "unemployed," while Mr. Jing braved temperatures over 40 degrees Celsius to queue at the supermarket. When the night temperature dropped to 3 degrees Celsius, they would spread thick bedding in the supermarket queue and sleep there to hold their place. It was probably from that time that Jing Shu truly grew up. Not only did she care for Mrs. Jing, but she also prepared the day’s food between 5:00 and 7:00 p.m., then cycled three to four kilometers to deliver it to Mr. Jing, who wouldn’t get their supplies until the following evening. In every household, someone would remain at the supermarket to hold a spot. Eventually, this evolved into people laying bedding on the ground. Families would deliver meals during the day and queue together. This continued until... looting and killing ensued, and the government simply shut down the supermarkets. Of course, this led to many people succumbing to heatstroke while waiting in line, as hospitals had already stopped providing medicine. Drinking some water and lying down for a while was all they could do. Their survival was in the hands of fate. Many elderly also gradually passed away after their medication was cut off, as they had various diseases that required ongoing treatment. In Jing Shu’s new residential area, such phenomena were rare. However, in areas with many elderly people, deaths occurred en masse, and many who had previously feared causing trouble now started to protest. In this life, Jing Shu’s family sat neatly at the dining table, eating vegetables, drinking milk, and using electricity—none of which were available outside. Even with scarce water resources, Jing Shu’s house still had two large water tanks, which could last them through the final half year if used sparingly. Jing Shu was very grateful. Having been reborn, she finally lived the life she had longed for in her previous existence, no longer needing her family to queue at the supermarket daily, consumed by worry and fear. "The fourth toast is to celebrate Jinglai becoming the head cook at the municipal government’s cafeteria!" This time, Mr. Jing raised his glass, and everyone clapped loudly. All the domestic poultry from the west city slaughterhouse had been cooked and stored, and the temporary workers had been laid off. Third Aunt Jing Lai, known for her hard work and endurance, was kept on. While the family was celebrating, Jing Shu’s and Wu You’ai’s phones kept ringing nonstop. Upon checking, it turned out the group chat was exploding again. Wang Xue Mei #2: "Help! There are five or six men with knives at my doorstep, and one of them is prying my door open! The emergency line is busy! All three of us are home! We live in Building 2, Apartment 401!" It was an inconvenient time, as a large portion of people were queuing at the supermarket. Wang Qiqi immediately advised that if the intruders broke in, they should not resist but give them whatever they wanted. He then began to urgently message people, asking who was at home. Hearing that the intruders were armed with knives, nearly everyone felt their courage fail. The security guards at the entrance had all gone home a few days prior because their monthly salary of 3,000 yuan was no longer enough to afford food, which allowed opportunists to sneak in. In the end, Wang Qiqi said that if they didn’t unite, this group would highly likely rob the next family. He urged the men in the community who were at home to grab knives and assemble at Unit 1 of Building 2 to try and scare off the intruders. After much effort, they managed to round up seven or eight men. Mr. Jing immediately grabbed the two longest watermelon knives from the kitchen and was about to head out. Grandma Jing tried to stop him, but couldn’t. "Mom, I’m doing this so that if someone tries to rob our house, others will help us too!" "But you can’t just go throwing your life away, you silly son!" Grandma Jing simply wouldn’t agree. Finally, Jing Shu persuaded her by saying she would drive Mr. Jing there, and he could just stay back to make up the numbers. Jing Shu went along too, ostensibly to "supervise" Mr. Jing and add to their numbers. In her past life, for various reasons, Jing Shu had even killed those who tried to harm her. She had stripped clothes from corpses, slept beside the dead, and scavenged leftover food from them. In this life, after drinking from the Spiritual Spring, she constantly felt an urge to kill. So, the main purpose of this trip was: actual combat. Unfortunately, everyone was a step too late. By the time they had dithered and finally assembled, the intruders had already pried open the door and broken in. Building 2 was quite a distance away. It took Jing Shu two minutes to drive there, and she parked next to Unit 3. "Turn off the lights and the engine. Stay in the car and don’t go anywhere. I’ll go meet up with them. Wait for me to come back!" Mr. Jing, fully armed with a helmet and knife, hurried off. Baozi’s father operated on the principle, "If I try my best to help others, others will surely help me." His intentions were good, but the apocalypse would likely teach him a harsh lesson. Mr. Jing entered Unit 1. Just as Jing Shu, gripping her genuine iron rod, was about to get out of the car and follow, a group of people ran out from Unit 3, and the two parties collided. There were six of them: four wielding machetes and two carrying sacks of rice. They reeked heavily of blood. As soon as Jing Shu caught the scent, she grew agitated, an uncontrollable feeling welling up inside her. "Hey, Brother Tao, that little piece earlier wouldn’t cooperate. But look, here’s another one! It’s pretty dark, but judging by that figure, it’s definitely a woman," one of them said, stepping forward and raising his knife to grab her. Jing Shu hadn’t expected a direct confrontation right after stepping out. Perhaps it was the smell of blood that caused her body to secrete so much adrenaline. Her heart raced, her body temperature rose, and she began to feel an inexplicable thrill. In the darkness, her eyes seemed to gleam, her vision sharpening. Without giving anyone a chance to react, Jing Shu swung her rod down hard. With a loud BANG, it smashed onto Black Shadow’s head. The iron rod, unable to withstand the force, broke. Black Shadow screamed in agony and fell to the ground. Before the others could react and shout, "Charge! Kill her!" stones rained down from the sky. They heard the stones whistling through the air. The next moment, the stones slammed into flesh. Only then did the dull THUD and the searing pain register. Those hit on the head had their brains splattered, blood sprayed everywhere, and they lost consciousness immediately. Those hit in the abdomen or legs simply collapsed, unable to get up. Jing Shu’s secret spatial weapon was enormously powerful. Launched with force from a distance of seven or eight meters, it instantly killed three of them. Two others, who were standing close together, shared the impact of one stone and weren’t killed outright. As they lay screaming, pinned by the conical stones, Jing Shu approached step by step. In the dark, her vision was exceptionally clear. She could see their faces, streaked with tears and snot; one of them had even lost control of his bowels and bladder. Yet, somehow, she felt very excited. "What are you doing? What do you want?! AHH!!" Jing Shu, wielding the broken iron rod, pierced the necks of the two men, a testament to her immense strength. Her first battle was won in mere seconds. Jing Shu then quickly began to clean up the battlefield. With adrenaline still coursing through her, she remained excited until the effects completely wore off. Only then, after she calmed down, did Jing Shu begin to feel a delayed sense of fear. She was surprised by her own violence. Was it the influence of the Spiritual Spring? If I could have killed like this in my previous life, I wouldn’t have died, she thought. Of the five launched conical stones, one had broken. The remaining four, cushioned by their impact against human bodies, were intact. Jing Shu used the blood-stained conical stones to fiercely gouge several large pits in the ground. She buried the bodies in them and then retrieved the stones. Once calm, Jing Shu headed upstairs. She found Wang Xue Mei crying and learned that both her husband and daughter were dead.