CHAPTER 641: THE TOWER IS INVADED (ADDED FOR SUSUAN LIN JUANJUAN)

Jing Shu frowned. Perhaps I’ll investigate in detail later when I have time, she mused. Boss Lu’s room has been made of special materials for the past two days; not even an insect can get in. Otherwise...

"Boss, we still have a lot of Insect Cake. Currently, only Li Yuetian and Jun Jia know the exact amount; no one else does. And Li Yuetian is protecting the truck at their camp. What do you think we should do?"

Jing Shu said as she walked, "Don’t touch the Insect Cake for now. It’s not just Boss Lu; others have hidden food too. Let’s just wait and see."

The emergence of insects and snakes in the past two days had allowed Jing Shu to gather significant information. For instance, she learned that her food supplies weren’t the only ones that hadn’t been confiscated; others had also coincidentally managed to bring supplies into the building and were now keeping quiet about it.

Under these circumstances, Jing Shu was determined not to let anyone else know she still had food supplies.

"Boss, does this mean we can only eat Insect Cake from now on? We probably can’t eat the cafeteria food anymore," Liu said, looking at the dark mush with distaste.

Just then, a group of people surged into the cafeteria, chattering. Jing Shu saw it was her college classmates.

They approached, fuming and cursing.

"What the hell! They said they had enough people and didn’t need any more..."

"Exactly! Didn’t they say they needed five hundred people to dig? How could they be full so quickly? What are we supposed to eat then?"

"Zhang Hao, lend me some Virtual Coin. I hit my limit yesterday; they won’t let me run a tab anymore."

"Get lost! It’s your own fault for not working these past few days. You deserve it."

"Let’s go find Young Master Lan and ask him to arrange a job for us. He’s the one who brought us in, after all."

"Why does Young Master Lan arrange jobs for all the women—and easy ones at that—but not for us?"

"Right, let’s go to Young Master Lan! If he can’t arrange a job, he can at least get us some food. Young Master Lan himself was eating biscuits yesterday."

"Let’s go! Let’s go ask Young Master Lan for food!"

The group departed as boisterously as they had arrived. Young Master Lan has really gotten himself into a big mess this time, Jing Shu thought.

Jing Shu shook her head. "Forget the Insect Cake; I can’t get used to it. Come with me."

Since the cafeteria food had become unbearable, Jing Shu stopped pretending. Quietly carrying a black box, she went to the room Liu shared with the driver. The driver was currently at the camp’s truck, guarding the goods with Li Yuetian’s men.

Ever since discovering that the Insect Cake on the truck might be the last food supply in the entire building, the driver had been guarding it practically around the clock. He constantly worried that some troublemakers might try to steal it, even though not even the soldiers knew what was inside the truck.

When hungry, he ate Insect Cake; when tired, he slept in the truck. It was tough.

Liu was also working very hard, running around to gather information and meticulously making all necessary arrangements. Jing Shu wouldn’t let either of them be mistreated.

Once in their room, she closed the door and checked that they were alone. Only then did Jing Shu open the first compartment of the black box, swiftly retrieve two packages, and close the box again before Liu could fully react.

"Boss... what are you planning to do?" Liu’s voice was faint and a little fearful. The Boss rarely acts this strangely. What on earth did she take out?

"This is for you and the driver, one package each," Jing Shu said. "For the next few days, if you get hungry, eat this quietly. Don’t let anyone else find out."

When Liu opened his package, he found five black, fist-sized objects that looked like rocks.

"Th-this... what is this?" Liu was completely baffled.

"Lick it," Jing Shu said smugly.

"Huh? You want me to lick a rock?" Liu pinched the hard, rock-like object and finally licked it. A sharp, sour taste that made him shiver assaulted his senses, immediately followed by a rich, milky aroma that seemed to permeate his entire being. Liu’s pupils dilated, and his body trembled uncontrollably, as if he had reached some new state of existence.

Liu licked it a few more times. The fragrance in his mouth grew richer and lingered, becoming incredibly addictive. He couldn’t stop.

"Th-this is...?"

"They’re yogurt balls, a concentrated essence made by fermenting pure milk. Each ball contains the equivalent of one to one-and-a-half kilograms of milk. You can eat them slowly. They’re very nutritious and filling, perfect for the current emergency."

"Now open the second package. These are Compressed Biscuits. Usually, half a biscuit is enough to make you feel full. If you eat them sparingly, these will be enough for you both for ten to fifteen days. These are foods that aren’t easily discovered, so hide them well."

Liu was so moved he was beyond words. The Boss... she really is the Boss!

"Boss, do you always carry so much with you when you go out? If you give these to us, will you have enough for yourself? Actually, one of these packages would have been enough for both of us..."

Jing Shu nodded. "I’ve encountered many situations like this before, so I always make sure to bring enough food when I go out. Don’t worry, I still have enough."

In any case, ever since the unknown Dark Creatures were discovered, work had begun at a feverish pace in the New World Building to dig pits and erect defensive walls. Although it was a case of robbing Peter to pay Paul for materials, within a mere three days, the entire building was enclosed by a one-and-a-half-meter-high low wall, with a deep trench dug behind it.

Due to the cold weather, the low wall quickly solidified. This provided everyone with some sense of security, although no one understood why the subterranean mudslides didn’t freeze in such frigid temperatures.

People didn’t remain idle in the following days either. Jun Jia had them continue to build the wall higher and constantly search for scrap materials to make weapons and traps.

In short, if you wanted to eat, you couldn’t afford to be idle; you had to work constantly. At this moment, I feel like I’m seeing the tyrant from five years in the future, Jing Shu thought. It figures; they’re clearly cut from the same cloth.

During this time, the Dark Creatures didn’t appear again. Everyone quietly breathed a sigh of relief and began to relax.

However, new anxieties soon arose as people were increasingly not getting enough to eat. The food, which used to be a dark mush, had now thinned to a black, watery broth—so insubstantial that it felt like nothing remained after a trip to the latrine.

The worst part was that it contained a lot of sand and grit. Biting into it was gritty and painful on the teeth, but swallowing it directly was... unpleasant, to say the least.

Just as everyone’s focus had shifted to their hunger, and while they were sound asleep late at night, sudden screams shattered the silence inside the building.

Immediately, the entire building erupted into chaos, filled with more screams. The alarm blared, and the night patrol guards outside quickly rushed in.

"Help! Help me!"

"What happened? What’s going on?"

"AAAAHHHH!"

Screams, the sound of trampling feet, and bizarre chewing noises mingled together. The entire New World Building was thrown into chaos!

Jing Shu’s eyes snapped open. In her mind, countless eyes and insects seemed to stir.