The entire family raised their glasses in celebration, clinking them amidst a string of well-wishes before beginning their meal.
Jing Shu felt particularly nostalgic. In her previous life, around this time, her mother had returned home suffering from heatstroke and was left unemployed, while her father endured the scorching 40-degree temperatures waiting in line at the supermarket. As night fell and temperatures dropped to 3°C, they would cover the supermarket queues with thick blankets, sleeping to secure their spot.
It was around then that Jing Shu truly matured. She not only had to take care of her mother but also prepare daily meals between 5 and 7 PM, bike 3 to 4 kilometers, and deliver food to her father, who could only buy a small amount of grain the next evening.
Every household would leave someone at the supermarket to hold their place. Over time, this evolved into laying out blankets on the ground, with family members bringing meals during the day and everyone queuing together—a grand spectacle that lasted until chaos erupted, leading the government to shut down the supermarkets entirely.
This led to many people suffering from heatstroke while waiting in line, with hospitals having stopped dispensing medication. Drinking a bit of water and lying down became a matter of survival, leaving the fate of many to chance.
Additionally, numerous elderly individuals depended on medications to sustain their health, and without them, their conditions deteriorated rapidly.
In new residential areas like Jing Shu’s, such phenomena were rare. However, neighborhoods with many elderly residents saw mass deaths, prompting many who had previously been cautious to now speak out in frustration.
In this life, Jing Shu’s family sat together at the dinner table, enjoying vegetables they couldn’t find elsewhere, drinking milk, and using electricity unavailable to others. Despite the scarcity of water resources, Jing Shu’s family still had two large water storage tanks, allowing them to conserve and survive the last six months.
Jing Shu felt grateful. Living a second life, she finally experienced the stable life she had yearned for in her previous life, without the constant fear of queuing at supermarkets.
“Cheers to four things tonight!” Jing Grandpa raised his glass, and the family clapped enthusiastically.
All the poultry from the Western Slaughterhouse had been processed into preserved food and stored away. Temporary workers were let go, while Jing Shu’s third aunt, Jing Lai, was kept on for her hard work and dedication, earning her a permanent position.
As the family celebrated, Jing Shu and Wu Youai’s phones kept ringing incessantly. Pulling them out, they saw another group chat explosion.
Wang Xuemei 2 posted: “Help! Five or six people with knives are at my door, and someone’s trying to break in! The emergency line is always busy! Our family of three is home! We’re at Building 2, Unit 401!”
At such an inconvenient time, with most people queuing at the supermarket, Wang QiQi immediately advised that if these intruders broke in, they should not resist—give them what they want and then find someone to ask who was home.
Upon hearing that the attackers were armed with knives, nearly everyone froze. The security guards at the gate had all gone home a few days ago because they couldn’t afford the monthly 3,000 yuan, leading opportunists to take advantage and break in.
In the end, Wang QiQi urged everyone to band together. If these people tried to rob the next household, all the men at home should grab knives and gather at Building 2, Unit 1, scaring the intruders away with a group front.
Jing Dad immediately grabbed the two longest watermelon knives from the kitchen, ready to go out. Jing Grandma tried to stop him, “Mom, I did this to ensure that if someone tries to rob our house, we can get help from others!”
“But you can’t risk your life, foolish son!” Jing Grandma insisted.
Finally, Jing Shu persuaded her father to stay back by suggesting they send him out with additional members to increase their numbers.
Jing Shu herself accompanied him, using her “Real Iron Rod” as a weapon. In her previous life, due to various reasons, Jing Shu had accidentally killed those who wanted to harm her—pulled apart corpses, slept with dead bodies, and even stole leftover food from the dead. In this life, after drinking spiritual spring water, she constantly felt an urge to kill.
Thus, her main objective this time was: real combat practice.
Unfortunately, everyone arrived a step too late. By the time they gathered, the intruders had already completed the door-breaching phase.
Building 2 was quite far, and even though Jing Shu drove quickly, it took her two minutes to reach it, parking her car next to Unit 3.
“Turn off the lights and stay in the car. You’re not allowed to leave. I’ll go meet them and then return!” Jing Dad, fully armored and wearing a helmet, grabbed his knife and hurried off.
Jing Dad, embodying the philosophy of “help others and they will help me,” had a good heart, but the apocalypse was teaching him a harsh lesson.
As Jing Shu followed in her car, ready to support her father, a group of six emerged from Unit 3. Four were armed with machetes, and two carried sacks of rice, emanating a strong stench of blood.
The moment Jing Shu caught a whiff of the bloody smell, her adrenaline surged. Her heart raced, her body heated up, and she felt an uncontrollable excitement wash over her. In the darkness, her eyes seemed to glow brighter, allowing her to see more clearly.
Without giving the intruders a moment to react, Jing Shu swung her iron rod with all her might. With a resounding “bang,” the rod struck one of the shadows on the head, breaking under the force. The shadow let out a scream and collapsed to the ground.
As the other attackers realized what was happening and began to shout, “Charge! Kill her!” Jing Shu swiftly hurled large stones from a distance of seven to eight meters, catching three of them dead on. Two of the intruders, sharing the force, were only partially hit and fell, unable to get up.
As the attackers writhed in pain, Jing Shu approached them step by step. In the darkness, her vision was exceptionally clear. She could see their pained, tear-filled faces and one even incontinent, yet inexplicably, she felt a rush of excitement.
“What are you doing? What do you want? Ah!!” Jing Shu stabbed the remaining two intruders in the necks with her broken iron rod, showcasing her immense strength. Her first battle was a swift victory, eliminating both targets within seconds.
Jing Shu quickly began cleaning up the scene. Even after killing them, she remained exhilarated until the adrenaline fully subsided, at which point fear crept in. She hadn’t expected herself to be so violent—was it the influence of the spiritual spring water?
“If only I could kill like this in my previous life, maybe I wouldn’t have died.”
The five stones Jing Shu had thrown had already broken one, while the remaining four, hitting the intruders with buffer, didn’t break. She smashed the blood-soaked stones into large pits beside them, burying the dead, and then collected the remaining stones.
After calming down, Jing Shu headed upstairs, only to hear Wang Xuemei crying. She learned that Wang Xuemei’s husband and daughter had both died.
—
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