If this really worked, then they wouldn't have to fear those creatures anymore.
Of course, the third function of bone powder, the so-called vaccine effect, still needed testing. All they had to do was keep a few sludge sirens alive the next time they attacked. That part would be simple.
More importantly, at this stage, all the bones were in her hands.
No one had wanted them before. Everyone thought those eerie bones were useless and disgusting. No one would go out of their way to collect something like that.
Especially after Li Yuetian saw that Jing Shu wanted the bones, he had Li Chenglong send all of them over without hesitation.
So for now, she had a complete monopoly.
As for next time, Jing Shu narrowed her eyes slightly. Li Yuetian would probably take control of them, or maybe whoever killed the monsters would keep the bones.
Thinking about it, she almost wished those sludge sirens would show up more often.
After finishing her experiments and confirming her conclusions, she didn't want to stay in that place filled with screams and blood any longer.
She left.
Before she went, Doctor Zhang stopped her with a complicated expression. "Once we are done here, we will report this. You have made a huge contribution."
Jing Shu raised an eyebrow. "I'm not providing bone powder for free."
She didn't care about merit or recognition. In a world like this, what were a few awards worth?
Doctor Zhang nodded firmly. "Of course. Don't worry, you will get a proper return."
"What? The bone powder isn't free?"
"Yeah, it's just monster bones, why would it cost money?"
Whispers spread around them.
Doctor Zhang cleared his throat. "If any of you can get this kind of bone, we will buy it at a high price. More importantly, whoever discovers a way to stop the bleeding like this will definitely be reported for top merit."
That shut everyone up.
He had a point. Who would have thought monster bones could stop bleeding? And who in their right mind would collect so many creepy bones?
Then they remembered those monsters. Almost immune to weapons. If the authorities hadn't sent hundreds of soldiers with torches, electric batons, and other gear, those things wouldn't have been killed at all. Anyone else would have died on the spot.
After quietly giving Xiao Liu a few instructions, Jing Shu returned to her villa in high spirits.
No matter how others felt, she was in a great mood.
She took a long, comfortable hot shower, then got to work.
Grinding bone powder.
It was a massive task. The sludge siren bones weren't especially hard, and crushing them in the Rubik's Cube Space didn't take much effort, but there were just too many.
A single skeleton, around two meters long, weighed at least fifty kilograms. With piles filling the yard and more stored in her space, how much did she even have?
If the bone powder wasn't so valuable, she would have outsourced the grinding. But she didn't trust anyone with something like this.
Better to do it herself.
She also started feeding different ratios of bone powder to chickens, ducks, fish, and shrimp, separating them carefully, just like when she had tested the Spirit Spring before.
She wanted to see if the powder had any other effects. That would take time.
She had a feeling it did.
Call it intuition.
The New World Building took three or four days to repair after the attack. During that time, Jing Shu's villa filled up with piles of white bone powder. Cabinets, beds, even kitchen storage were packed. Some of it she stored in her space.
For days, she did nothing but grind bones. Aside from releasing bugs for patrol, she ignored everything happening outside.
The official commendation hadn't come yet, but even though the higher ups were overwhelmed, they still sent her rewards.
Coal. Clean drinking water. Even canned braised pork from before the apocalypse.
She was a bit surprised. These were all critical supplies right now. She hadn't expected Jun Jia to be able to secure them.
That smiling fox really did have some tricks.
That afternoon, she was summoned to the second floor of the New World Building, to the hollow glass meeting room.
The same place Boss Lü had looked down from during the auction.
No one told her why she was called, but she had a bad feeling about it.
From the outside, it looked like a small independent glass room. Whether people could see inside depended on those within.
But once she stepped in, she clicked her tongue softly.
From here, the entire first floor, as well as the corridors of the third and fourth floors, were clearly visible.
A perfect vantage point.
About twenty people were already seated inside. Some looked out at the view, some stared at nothing, some pretended to nap. No one spoke.
The atmosphere was cold.
Boss Lü lounged lazily in a bathrobe and slippers, spinning in his chair with a creaking sound.
Jing Shu found a seat at the edge and sat down quietly, observing everyone.
Jun Jia sat to the left. Li Yuetian stood silently behind him.
Even Jin Baba was there, pouting unhappily beside Jun Jia. When she saw Jing Shu, her eyes lit up and she started signaling frantically.
Jing Shu ignored her.
Looking around, she recognized most of the people. They had all been big spenders at the auction, influential figures in Wu City. The top tier of that crowd.
Put simply, everyone here had their own private room.
Everyone here had power.
Boss Lü saw that everyone had arrived and spun his chair, grinning. "Jun Jia, stop being mysterious. Why did you gather us all here?"
Jun Jia stood up with a smile. "Nothing much. Just letting everyone know that the authorities have run out of food. Completely. There's not even anything for dinner. So we are hoping everyone can help out, take out your private reserves so we can get through this together."
Several people's expressions changed, but no one spoke.
Who would dare?
They had thought rescue would come in a few days. It had already been over ten days with no news.
Food was everything.
Jing Shu glanced at the middle aged man beside her. He lowered his hat and kept his head down, his hands trembling slightly.
Silence filled the room.
Jun Jia kept smiling. "No need to pretend. According to records, none of you have visited the cafeteria lately. Don't tell me you have all learned to live without food? If you didn't have private reserves, who would believe it?"
He paused, then continued casually, "Actually, there's no need to trouble everyone. Since you are all here, I have already sent people to conduct a full search of the building. Every room. No exceptions. All food will be confiscated and redistributed. Fair and square. No one will be left out."
This time, several faces changed immediately.
Jing Shu remained calm.
There wasn't any food in her villa anyway. Just piles of bone powder. The only important item, her black case, was with her.
More importantly, Jun Jia already knew about her red nematode patties.
"That's not allowed!"
"This is illegal!"