CHAPTER 50: DARK DAY IS SAVING US!

Jing Shu pressed her forehead, feeling a wave of melancholy. Mr. Jing was exaggerating again, "The Dark Day won’t end now; we’ve already entered the apocalypse! For at least the next decade, we’ll have to endure various natural disasters and man-made calamities. Do we really need to let Third Aunt and her daughter continue staying with us?"

This fear was a classic case of ’once bitten, twice shy.’ Mr. Jing had a duty to provide for Grandpa and Grandma Jing. Moreover, she didn’t want her grandparents to pass away early again in this life. However, having been killed by her own maternal aunt in collusion with outsiders in her previous life made her cautious of everyone else, fearful of nurturing another ingrate.

Just as she was about to find a reason to refuse, her cousin Wu You’ai declined first.

"I still need to work on a research project with my professor for the next two weeks to try and secure a recommendation. You guys go ahead." Wu You’ai was accustomed to living alone. For a homebody like her, none of Mr. Jing’s concerns were problematic. She could go a month without cooking, washing dishes, bathing, or using air conditioning, as long as her spiritual needs were met.

Such a homebody, who lived in the anime world, turned out to be a scholarly postgraduate student...

Jing Shu squinted, finally remembering the reason. Third Aunt’s ex-husband’s family heavily favored sons over daughters. Since Third Aunt couldn’t get pregnant again, she resolutely divorced him. When Wu You’ai was in school, Third Aunt wanted to change her surname to Jing You’ai, but Wu You’ai adamantly disagreed.

Even as a small child, she had declared, "I want to keep the surname Wu. I have the Wu Family’s bloodline; that’s something I can’t hide. I will study hard, become a scientist, become the most accomplished person, and make the Wu Family regret it and come begging me. Only then will I change my surname! If I don’t make a name for myself, I won’t change my surname!"

So, while striving hard and immersing herself in her anime world, she envied the characters who could defy fate and turn their lives around.

"I’ll stay here with Youai. Let Mom and Dad go instead," Jinglai said, unable to bear leaving her daughter alone in such an environment.

"Then we’ll just wait for Youai to finish this busy period," Grandma Jing said, grabbing Jing Shu’s arm and smiling contentedly. "If the Dark Day isn’t over by then, we can all go and stay for a few days to relax. For now, with these two together, it’s just right; we wouldn’t feel at ease going anywhere." She patted Jing Shu’s arm. "You’ve gained some weight." Hearing this, Jing Shu looked exasperated.

They had come in a hurry this time and hadn’t brought anything. Mr. Jing promised to bring some fresh fruits and vegetables in a few days and then left. Jing Shu quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

Meanwhile, Jing Shu felt this situation wasn’t sustainable. The elderly cherish returning to their roots; they dislike staying at their daughter’s home one day and their son’s the next. With the apocalypse projected to last a long time, even if Grandpa and Grandma Jing lived in the villa permanently, the old couple wouldn’t feel comfortable. Yet, she was uneasy about letting them return to their home in the countryside.

However, Jing Shu didn’t have to worry for long; the situation resolved itself perfectly within a few days.

「Nearly two months had passed since the sun vanished.」

This was longer than the thirty-plus days the news had initially reported for the Dark Day to end, yet there was still no sign of its return.

After half a month of turmoil, the Black Fungus Beetle incident had almost completely subsided. People were gradually getting used to the high temperatures, water shortages, and the receding threat of death from bacterial infections. However, with daily conversations still revolving around who had died, a sense of trepidation grew.

While hoping for the Dark Day to end, they also thought about stockpiling more food.

Because no one knew when the light would be restored, CCTV’s Science Channel released a new statement: "The Dark Day is saving us!"

"It is said that the impact of colliding stars shifted Earth’s orbit, causing disrupted seasons and bringing Earth closer to the sun, which is why the temperatures are so high."

"We should be thankful for the colliding stars. The immense quantities of dust and debris remaining in the atmosphere have blocked the sunlight; otherwise, Earth’s temperatures would be even higher! The living environment would be far more severe! Earth is now slowly returning to its original orbit. We ask the public to remain calm and wait for Earth to recover."

After watching, Mr. Jing and Mrs. Jing had an ’ah, so that’s how it is’ expression. Jing Shu couldn’t help but roll her eyes. "Keep boasting," she muttered. "Every month, you come up with all sorts of different excuses. Truly impressive."

Even though the central government tried every measure to appease the populace, setting task targets for local governments and even creating several new departmental positions: The first was the Community Outreach Commissioner, responsible for ensuring visits to every community to listen to people’s concerns, comfort the despondent, and simultaneously monitor for potential unrest.

The second was the Dark-Environment Crop Cultivation Commissioner, tasked with soliciting and gathering all relevant information on new and effective methods for growing vegetables in the darkness.

The third was Civil Security, responsible for security checks at the entrances of supermarkets, hospitals, and bus stations. This provided employment and some benefits for idle individuals, also serving as a measure to prevent disturbances. Typically, two armed police officers would be paired with ten security staff. However, after some time, these positions would only be attainable by those with powerful connections and genuine ability.

One shouldn’t underestimate these positions. In the post-apocalypse, these jobs were considered the easiest ’establishment’ roles and came with at least one meal. In fact, after about a year, even positions like serving in the large public canteens, managing supplies, distributing water, or keeping records would be considered decent.

Jing Shu intended for Mr. Jing to try for either the first or second type of position soon. She knew that if they waited until the following year, when the situation might stabilize, it would be much harder to secure such a role.

The large supermarkets changed their opening hours to 7 PM to 9 PM, only two hours of operation. With the uncertainty of when sunlight would return, even more people queued up daily. Soon, people started lining up as early as 5 PM, waiting for the supermarkets to open, and this trend only intensified.

Jing Shu remembered that in less than three months, this would escalate to people queuing for several days and nights, all for the supermarkets to open for just one hour. Those who didn’t make it in would have to continue waiting for the next day.

Snacks, processed foods, vegetables, grains, and oil—everything edible was being panic-bought. Some people even paid exorbitant prices to procure grains from rural areas.

While the prices of goods were soaring, cars, which were almost as worthless as scrap metal, were also dropping crazily in price. People’s wallets had been drained over these two months from various purchases, travel expenses, hospital fees, and food costs.

So what could they do?

Sell cars!

Sell houses!

But as the death toll continuously rose, the demand for these two items drastically decreased. Housing prices, which were already on the decline due to an oversupply, plummeted to rock bottom.

People who owned three or four houses panicked. If they couldn’t sell their houses or cars and had no cash to buy grain from private sellers, what could they do? Lower the price! Keep lowering it!

This led to the housing market nearing collapse.

For Sale in Building 25: "@everyone, I have a fully furnished 123-square-meter apartment on the first floor of Building 25 for sale. Now only 200,000! Cash only, no loans accepted!"

Wang Cuihua sent a voice message: "Are you desperate for money or just crazy? 1,600 yuan per square meter won’t sell in this remote wasteland! Even prices in the city center have dropped to 2,000 yuan."

When this message suddenly appeared in the group, Jing Shu was delighted. Just a few days ago, she had been worrying about where Third Aunt would live and how Grandma Jing could find a comfortable place. And today, someone was selling their house!

Moreover, this residential area was slated to become the New Development District of Wu City, a place many coveted but couldn’t get into. Buying an apartment here now at such a low price was an absolute bargain!