Jing Shu frowned, her gaze lingering on the closed doors leading to the upper levels. She might find time later to personally investigate things in detail. Over the past two days, she had noticed that Boss Lü's private room had been constructed with special, high-density materials. Even her smallest bugs couldn't find a gap to slip through. Otherwise, she would already know every secret he was hiding.
"Boss, we have still got plenty of worm patties. Right now, only Li Youtian and Jun Jia know the exact amount. No one else does," Xiao Liu whispered as they walked away from the crowded hall. "The truck is being guarded in their camp by Li Youtian's people. What should we do?"
Jing Shu kept her pace steady, her boots clicking softly on the floor. "Leave the worm patties alone for now. It's not just Boss Lü hiding food; others are doing the same. Let's just watch and wait."
Over the past few days, her bugs and snakes had gathered quite a bit of information while patrolling the shadows. She wasn't the only one whose food supplies hadn't been confiscated during the initial chaos.
Some people had managed to bring their own stashes into the building by chance, and they were keeping quiet about it to avoid being lynched by the hungry crowd. In this situation, there's no way she would let anyone know she still had a surplus.
"Boss, does that mean we will have to eat worm patties from now on?" Xiao Liu asked, her voice tinged with a slight shiver of disgust. "The cafeteria food… I don't think we can eat that anymore." She thought of the black sludge being served and felt her stomach churn.
Right then, another group poured into the cafeteria, their loud, frantic voices cutting through the gloom. Jing Shu glanced over and saw her group of former college classmates. They stormed into the room, looking disheveled and frantic.
"What the hell! They said they needed people, and now they say the slots are full?" one of the boys shouted.
"Yeah, didn't they say they wanted five hundred people for digging? It's already full? What are we supposed to eat then?"
"Zhang Hao, lend me some virtual currency, please," a girl begged, grabbing his sleeve. "I have hit my limit. They won't even let me run a tab anymore."
Zhang Hao shoved her hand away. "Get lost. That's what you get for not working these past few days. I don't have anything left either."
"Let's go find Lan Shao," someone else suggested. "He got us into this place; he should help us arrange something."
"Why does Lan Shao only arrange easy jobs for the women and not for us?" a tall student grumbled. "Yeah, let's go find him. If he can't find us a job, at least he can cover our meals. I saw him eating biscuits yesterday!"
"Let's go! Get food from Lan Shao!"
The group rushed off just as quickly as they had arrived, their desperation turning into a mob-like focus. Lan Shao had really brought trouble onto himself by trying to manage such a large, ungrateful group.
Jing Shu shook her head. "Forget the worm patties. I can't get used to them myself. Come with me."
Since the cafeteria food had become impossible to stomach, she stopped the charade of pretending to eat it. Carrying her black case, she headed toward the small room shared by Xiao Liu and the driver. The driver was currently at the camp, sitting in the cab of the truck to guard the cargo with Li Youtian's men.
Ever since he realized that the truck of worm patties might be the last significant food supply in the entire building, the driver practically lived there. He didn't dare leave it unattended, especially since even the soldiers didn't know exactly what was inside the crates.
When he was hungry, he ate worm patties in secret. When he was tired, he slept with one eye open. It was an exhausting existence.
Xiao Liu wasn't having it easy either, constantly running through the tower to gather information and handle Jing Shu's arrangements. Jing Shu wasn't going to treat either of them poorly while she lived in luxury.
Once they were inside the room, Jing Shu shut the door and checked the corners to ensure no one was lurking. She opened the first layer of the black case, quickly pulled out two small packs, and snapped the case shut again.
"Boss… what are you doing?" Xiao Liu asked.
"These are for you and the driver. One pack each. If you are hungry, eat them quietly. Don't let anyone see," Jing Shu said.
Xiao Liu opened the pack with trembling fingers. Inside were five black, fist-sized lumps that looked more like polished stones than food. "What… what is this?"
"Give it a lick," Jing Shu said.
Xiao Liu hesitated, looking at the hard object, then finally touched her tongue to the surface. A sharp, intense sourness hit her first, making her shiver. A second later, a rich, creamy milky flavor spread across her tongue and through her entire mouth.
Her pupils widened, and a small tremble ran through her body as the concentrated nutrients hit her system. She licked it again, and then again. The flavor was deep and addictive.
"This is…?"
"Yogurt curd," Jing Shu explained. "It's a concentrated essence made from fermented milk. Each piece is roughly equal to about one to one and a half kilos of fresh milk. Eat it slowly. It's incredibly filling and nutritious, perfect for an emergency like this."
She pointed to the second pack. "Those are compressed biscuits. Half a piece is enough to fill a person up for hours. If you ration them carefully, this will last you ten to fifteen days. These are hard for others to detect by smell, so hide them well."
Xiao Liu was so moved she couldn't find the words to speak. Her boss really was different from anyone else.
"Boss, do you usually carry this much food when you go out? If you give us this, will you have enough left for yourself?"
Jing Shu nodded. "I have been through situations like this before. I always bring enough. Don't worry about me; I have plenty."
As the days passed, the New World Tower remained in full emergency mode. People worked nonstop under the freezing sky, digging pits and building walls. It wasn't a perfect system, but in just three days, they had managed to surround the entire building with a one point five meter wall and a deep trench behind it.
The extreme cold helped the construction. The wet mud in the wall hardened into something as solid as concrete, giving the terrified survivors a fragile sense of safety. No one could explain why the mudslides deep underground hadn't frozen yet, but they didn't question their luck.
After the wall was finished, Jun Jia didn't let anyone rest. He ordered the barriers to be raised even higher and commanded teams to scavenge for materials to build weapons and traps. If you wanted to eat, you had to work. There were no exceptions.
In those moments, Jing Shu caught a glimpse of the cold tyrant Jun Jia would eventually become five years in the future. It made sense; the seeds of that personality were already there.
For a few days, the Darklife didn't return. The atmosphere in the tower lightened slightly as people began to relax. But a new, more hollow anxiety took its place: hunger.
Before, the cafeteria had served a thick black mush. Now, it was just a thin, murky soup. You could drink a whole bowl in one gulp and still feel your stomach cramping with emptiness. Worse, the soup was full of fine grit. Chewing it hurt your teeth, and swallowing felt like rubbing sandpaper down your throat.
Then, just as everyone shifted their focus to the gnawing pain of hunger, a scream tore through the silence of the middle of the night.
Chaos followed instantly.
Alarm sirens began to blare, their shrill wails echoing off the concrete walls. The men on night patrol rushed inside, their boots thundering on the stairs.
"Help! Help!"
"What is happening?"
"Ahhh!"
The sounds of frantic screaming, trampling footsteps, and a strange, wet chewing sound mixed together in the dark. The entire building descended into madness.
Jing Shu's eyes snapped open. In her mind, countless hidden viewpoints and bugs stirred all at once.