The sky was dim that day, a heavy shroud of slate-gray clouds hanging low over the world, and cold winds howled endlessly through the skeletal gaps of the building.
It was getting colder and colder with every passing hour, yet there still wasn't any sign of the mudslide freezing over. The thick, viscous sludge continued to churn and flow, defying the plummeting temperatures in a way that made no scientific sense. It was as if the liquid earth possessed a malicious heat of its own, refusing to yield to the winter.
Jing Shu had already secretly added another sweater under her clothes, layering it over thermal underwear she had pulled from her private stores. She looked a bit puffier now, her silhouette rounded by the extra wool, but she didn't mind the loss of mobility. The alternative was the bone-deep chill that was currently claiming everyone else.
A lot of people in the building were already shivering, their breath blooming in white plumes as they huddled together for warmth. There was no helping it; the concrete structure had basically turned into an ice cellar. The walls felt like slabs of frozen meat, and the floor pulled the heat right out of anyone standing still for too long.
They couldn't even run around to warm themselves up because that would waste too much precious food energy, and calories were currently more valuable than gold. Instead, everyone piled together in the lobby like stacked human towers, a desperate mass of shivering limbs and shared body heat.
Nobody had bathed or changed clothes in ages. Even in the freezing cold, a strange, cloying smell still lingered everywhere—a mixture of stale sweat, damp fabric, and the sour tang of unwashed skin. The entire building reeked of it, the scent hanging thick in the stagnant air of the corridors.
Ever since Jun Jia returned that day, he had immediately started holding emergency meetings, his voice echoing through the halls as he came up with several self-rescue plans. Just like he had said, he became extremely busy afterward, his face growing gaunt from the pressure of leadership.
Several plans were being carried out simultaneously, the heavy sounds of labor echoing through the stairwells, so people throughout the building finally had work to do again. The purposeful activity helped stave off the crushing weight of despair, even if only slightly.
As usual, after attendance was taken inside the private room, Jing Shu gave Xiao Liu a few quiet reminders. She then stood up, her grip tightening on the heavy tools in her hand, and turned to leave.
"Hey, wait! Jing Shu, where are you going?" Jin Baba shouted from behind.
She turned around and pointed at the homemade fishing rod in her hand. It was a crude but sturdy construction, designed for a very specific purpose.
"Fishing."
"Fishing??"
Jin Baba stared at the length of steel rebar in her hand, wanting to say something but stopping himself as his mouth hung open. His expression turned strange, a mix of confusion and disbelief.
Seeing her continue walking away without a second glance, he hurriedly shouted, "Wait for me, I'm coming too!"
He scrambled to his feet, and hurried to catch up. He wanted to see what exactly she was up to this time.
Jing Shu walked ahead calmly, while Jin Baba followed closely behind like a persistent shadow. Only after the two of them left did the classmates start whispering among themselves, their voices low and sharp with curiosity.
"What are those two even doing? Did you guys see that? That steel bar was so thick, but Jing Shu carried it around like it was an actual fishing rod. That's terrifying."
"The real question is, when did Ba Ge become Jing Shu's little follower? Lan Shao, aren't you close with Brother Ba? What is going on?"
Lan Shao rubbed his swollen red hands, the skin cracked and raw from chilblains, and gritted his teeth. "I don't know."
"I seriously envy Ba Ge. His family has got connections, so nobody assigns him work. Look at Lan Shao, even he has to work alongside us now."
"Honestly, I envy Jing Shu more. She can leave the building whenever she wants and doesn't even have to work."
"Why don't they have to work?" one student asked, his voice thin with hunger.
"Because we need to eat, so we have to work," another replied bitterly.
"I don't think Jing Shu even goes to the cafeteria."
"Maybe she is running her own private kitchen."
Jiang Changke moved his sore elbow, his face pale and sunken. "Big shots like her are obviously eating crackers with Ba Ge. By the way, I think the cafeteria food these past few days has red nematode patty mixed into it. I have eaten that stuff a lot before, I know the flavor."
A lot of the students' eyes lit up at the mention of meat, however repulsive the source might be. Especially Lan Shao; even he had no choice but to eat the same meager rations as everyone else now.
"I heard you get rewarded for reporting hidden food," someone whispered.
"But they are our classmates."
"Aren't you curious about what Ba Ge and Jing Shu are eating? Why don't they share any with us?"
Outside the building, the atmosphere was even more tense. There were patrol teams stationed at every exit. To prevent another tragedy like the last time, nobody was allowed to leave anymore. There were twenty-four-hour patrols both inside and outside the building, their eyes watching every corner and shadow.
"Sis, heading out?" Li Chenglong handed her a steaming cup of hot water in a chipped clay bowl and grinned, his face smeared with soot. "Drink some, it will warm you up. It's cold outside."
"I'm fine. I'm going to the outer perimeter."
Jing Shu watched Li Chenglong direct dozens of soldiers through another huge operation. They were filtering water through layers of sand and charcoal, then immediately boiling it after filtration over small, sputtering fires. Meanwhile, the leftover mud was being pressed into molds and fired into bowls and other basic pottery.
The fuel issue had only recently been solved. Someone had used their professional knowledge to create a system for making biogas from human waste. Apparently, it was extremely dangerous though. One wrong move, one spark in the wrong place, and the whole setup would go boom.
The waste from over two thousand people became fuel. Mudslide sludge was dug up and filtered into water, while the remaining dirt got turned into daily necessities. The problem was that everyone was eating less now, so there was less waste to fuel the fires. Some people only relieved themselves once a week, their bodies desperately clinging to every scrap of nutrition.
"Sis, I will go with you. It's dangerous outside. Some monster might suddenly jump out of the muck," Li Chenglong said, putting down the warm cup and escorting her toward the outer edge.
Jin Baba looked at Li Chenglong with pure disdain. "What a bootlicker," he thought. Still, he quickly followed after Jing Shu anyway.
The wind was fierce once they left the shelter of the interior. All three of them wrapped their clothes tighter around themselves, their shoulders hunched against the biting gale, as they finally arrived at the edge of the building's footprint.
A one-meter-high wall of crude masonry and reinforced mud had already been built there. Jing Shu easily jumped onto it, her movements light despite her extra layers. She looked out at the surging black mudslide that constantly churned below, the sound a low, rhythmic roar. Waves of mud crashed endlessly against the wall, sending splatters of cold grit into the air.
It's bizarrely similar to ocean waves, a dark and suffocating sea. Their current location was equivalent to the stern of a massive ship. The building itself was tilted upward at roughly a thirty-five-degree angle while moving forward, a position that prevented the mudslide from pouring into the lower levels. Otherwise, Jing Shu would have genuinely believed the building was actually a giant, powered vessel.
Li Chenglong climbed up effortlessly as well and scratched his head, squinting into the gloom. "It's pitch black, I can't see anything. But my uncle said you are someone who watches the stars and does big things. He told me if you run into any problems, I should help you no matter what."
"I'm fishing. Let's see if I can catch anything."
Jing Shu swung the steel rebar in her hand. It was long enough, sturdy enough, and perfectly balanced for what she wanted. She spun the homemade fishing rod several times, the metal whistling through the air, before using the momentum to cast a long steel wire fishing line. It was baited with thick, pungent worm patties that she had prepared in secret.
The fishing line instantly disappeared into the churning darkness. As the building swayed with the current of the sludge, the bait was quickly swallowed by the endless black sea.
Jin Baba opened his mouth, his eyes wide as he watched the wire vanish. "What the hell... she was actually here to fish in this mess?"
Li Chenglong blinked, his expression one of pure admiration. Sure enough, everything Sister Jing did was extraordinary. He didn't understand it, but as long as he knew she was doing something important, that was enough for him.
"Grrr..."
Li Chenglong's stomach suddenly growled at the worst possible moment, the sound loud in the sudden lull of the wind. He coughed awkwardly, his face heating up despite the cold.
"Maybe... maybe I will head back and drink some water." At least he could fill his stomach a little that way, tricking his body into feeling full.
Jin Baba snorted even more disdainfully as he climbed up beside them, perching on the edge of the wall.
"Grrr..."
His stomach growled too, a deep, rumbling protest that he couldn't hide.
"I used too much strength just now," he muttered, looking embarrassed as well. Recently they had really been eating worse than pigs; the cafeteria food was practically impossible to swallow without gagging.
"Grrr..."
This time, Jing Shu's stomach growled too.
Things instantly became awkward on the edge of the wall. The three of them stared at each other for a moment, the silence broken only by the churning of the mud below. Jing Shu sighed and reached into her pocket, pulling out some black, rock-hard yogurt chunks.
"Here, eat."
Li Chenglong grinned and immediately bit down hard after taking one, his eyes shining with gratitude. "As expected of Sister Jing; even now, she still had food hidden away. Amazing."
Crack.
He nearly shattered a tooth. Tears instantly welled up in his eyes from the sudden, jarring pain.
"...Suck on it slowly. It's yogurt curd. It's harder than a rock. Unless you don't want your teeth anymore," Jing Shu reminded him, her own voice muffled as she placed a piece in her mouth.
Soon, the three of them sat atop the wall, their legs dangling over the edge as they each held a yogurt chunk, slowly sucking on the pieces bite by bite. There was no point rushing anyway; nobody could chew the thing without a hammer.
"It tastes good, but it really tires out your tongue," Li Chenglong said, his voice sounding aggrieved.
"Shut up. It's training your tongue skills. Once you have mastered it, what woman won't fall for you?" Jin Baba countered.
"Little Brother Ba, you really know a lot. So this trains tongue skills? Like this?"
"You have got to make it flexible, don't keep it stiff. Use the tip of your tongue."
Jing Shu glanced at them both, her expression flat. "Keep talking nonsense while eating yogurt curds and I will kick both of you back down there."