Before leaving, Daji looked like he wanted to say something, but in the end, he still left quietly.
Jing Shu secretly memorized the man.
Jin Baba looked at her with disdain, unable to understand why his uncle valued Jing Shu so highly now.
Back then, Jun Jia clearly hadn't thought much of her.
"She is just a little girl, no need to pay attention to her."
That used to be Jun Jia's evaluation of Jing Shu.
The truck parked steadily within Li Riyue's territory. The driver stood guard with full concentration before Jun Jia finally spoke.
"The situation is getting serious. We have got to save ourselves. We can't keep going like this."
"You tell me what to do, and I will do it."
Jing Shu nodded.
The situation really was severe.
The tower had already drifted along with the mudslide for so many days. Without GPS or positioning systems, even she had no idea where they currently were.
For rescue teams to find them now was basically like searching for a needle in the ocean.
She also wondered how her family was doing. After hearing she had gone missing, they were probably worried sick.
Jun Jia sighed deeply, his face filled with exhaustion. The pampered man who used to live comfortably seemed to have aged years in only a few days. There was more white hair now, and his once plump face had become thin and dark.
"We are planning to use your worm patties. Today, we already searched every possible place in the tower where food or hidden supplies could exist. You saw the results yourself. Even with the extra green algae, it still won't feed over two thousand people for very long.
And the current problem is that besides passively waiting for rescue, we don't even know how long that will take. There's a good chance we will starve to death before rescue ever arrives."
Jing Shu rubbed her chin and pointed at the muddy ground.
"If things get really bad, we can mix the worm patties with dirt to stretch supplies. Even after the patties run out, people can still eat dirt."
Something she was genuinely proud of was that her worm patties were made from real meat.
Actual chopped bugs, boiled and mixed with salt before being pressed into patties.
In the apocalypse, that already counted as premium quality "pure meat patties."
Once mixed into soup, the patties turned into a fragrant meat broth.
Jun Jia shook his head.
"The mud from this mudslide is strange. Originally, we didn't want to use your worm patties yet. Earlier, we even found cooks and tried making dirt cakes like people did back in Wu City.
We tested them on ten volunteers, but the soil here has way too much stickiness. Even after filtering it more than ten times and using the finest dirt possible, the dirt cakes still wouldn't digest at all.
One person died after eating them for three meals. Another nearly had his stomach burst after only one meal. So dirt cakes probably aren't an option anymore."
Actually, based on the timeline, most places in Wu City should already have frozen soil because of the weather. Making dirt cakes wasn't nearly as easy as before either.
Still, at least it wouldn't kill people after one meal.
In truth, anyone who ate too many dirt cakes eventually developed bloated stomachs anyway. There were always indigestible materials inside.
During the apocalypse, you could often see skeletal people with huge swollen bellies. Most of them had eaten too much dirt.
But in the days ahead, they might not even have dirt left to eat anymore.
Because winter was coming.
"I understand now." Jing Shu nodded calmly. "The worm patties are the final emergency rations. Once we start using them, we will need a backup plan immediately."
"We can't just sit around waiting to die. Once the worm patties are gone, it will truly be over."
Jun Jia looked at her approvingly and sighed emotionally.
"I never expected that over two thousand people would end up relying on your worm patties to survive. Even though the patties can probably last us one or two months, we really can't just sit and wait for death. And fuel is nearly gone too. In weather this cold, people can easily freeze to death."
"In that case..." Jing Shu hesitated before finally asking curiously, "Does Boss Lü have backup plans too?"
The surroundings instantly fell silent.
Jin Baba snorted even more disdainfully.
Jun Jia explained patiently, "We can't pressure him too hard. I heard he has an armory stocked with prohibited weapons. He has food, people, and weapons. If we push things too far and turn against each other, it won't end well.
Right now, our goals are still the same. As long as nobody reaches the point of starving to death, everyone should be able to coexist peacefully. Today, I confiscated everyone else's food partly to reassure him too."
An armory?
Jing Shu became a little curious.
Just a little.
"So what do we do next?" she asked the most important question.
"We gather manpower. Experts from every field. Ship repair specialists, people with practical experience, even those who only know theory. Either we find a way to stop the tower... or we figure out how to steer it toward where we want to go.
At the very least, we need to know where we are now. Or where we are drifting toward."
The last trace of crimson light vanished from the gloomy sky.
The world became completely pitch black.
Cold wind brushed past, and Jing Shu tightened her cotton coat around herself before nodding slowly.
Jun Jia was right.
It was time to act.
"It's dark."
Jing Shu spoke softly, though she could still clearly see the scenery around them.
Everything remained exactly the same.
An endless black sea.
Infinite drifting without an end in sight, with no clue where they were headed.
This place couldn't even count as an isolated island.
"That's obvious," Jin Baba snorted unhappily. "Like anyone needs you to point that out."
The more Jun Jia valued Jing Shu, the more irritated he became.
Honestly, he still didn't think she was all that impressive.
Jun Jia glared at him.
"Baba, watch your mouth. I'm entrusting you to Lass Jing from now on, so hurry up and apologize."
"Sorry, sorry," Jin Baba muttered unwillingly.
Only then did Jun Jia turn back kindly and ask, "So what's different? The sky has always been dark. Ever since the apocalypse started, the sun has never come out again. Isn't that normal?"
Jing Shu shook her head.
"It's different."
Probably because of her night vision.
She could clearly see the outside world, which made her more sensitive to the changes in the environment.
"What is different?" Jun Jia seemed to realize she was about to explain something important.
"Even after the apocalypse, even without the sun, Earth is still rotating. There should still be nighttime darkness and sudden temperature drops. And during the day, there should still be faint light, even if it's gloomy."
Jun Jia nodded.
So even now, people could still distinguish day from night.
Jing Shu pulled out a small notebook and handed it over. "Ever since we got trapped here, I have been recording the sunrise times, daytime temperatures, sunset times, and nighttime temperatures every single day."
The notebook contained detailed dates, temperature records from morning until night, as well as exact sunrise and sunset times.
Jun Jia frowned.
Jin Baba frowned too.
After skimming through it, Jun Jia awkwardly admitted, "Lass Jing, just explain it directly. I... don't really understand this stuff."
Jing Shu smiled faintly. "Different regions have time differences. Like the capital and Wu City, there's a two and a half hour time difference because of geographical location.
So if we have really been drifting at thirty kilometers per hour... after more than ten days, how far do you think we have traveled?"