I Am Cultivating in the Apocalypse

Chapter 617: Return to Wu City

What a strange turn of events. A big man suddenly pulled something out of his pants pocket, threw it down, and tried to run. Jing Shu, of course, caught Tan Ke and dragged him back. That’s how she learned the reason: both he and his sister had been benefiting from Jing Shu’s kindness for a long time. They felt ashamed and had nothing to repay her with.

After all, what doesn’t Jing Shu have? What could they possibly give her?

It just so happened that while they were out herding their geese, they discovered a small duckling had mixed in with the flock. Don’t be fooled by its small size; they had found it three months ago, but it never seemed to grow. Initially, Tan Ke thought it was malnourished and took great care to nurture it, but it remained small nonetheless. It ate a lot and pooped a lot, but it just wouldn’t grow.

This aroused Tan Ke’s suspicion. He started to secretly collect information and meticulously observe the duckling’s physiological traits, even referencing big data analysis. He finally determined that it was a Mutation gander. However, it was hard to say what breed it belonged to because the duckling was so small and hadn’t developed in the areas it should have, making it difficult to identify based on certain traits.

And now, according to the apocalypse law, the criteria for Mutation creatures are very clear: 1. Mutation creatures adapt to the various harsh environments of the apocalypse and can survive well. 2. Mutation creatures can find food on their own in various environments, and their bodies contain Dark Pigment. 3. Mutation creatures have their own unique characteristics.

These characteristics could mean many things. For example, when Tan Ke spoke about the duckling’s characteristics, he was somewhat hesitant and only offered this: "Anyway, this goose... my sister and I have been raising it for so long, and we both agree that it’s not an ordinary goose. Those who like it, really like it—like my sister. Those who don’t like it..."

Tan Ke gritted his teeth, recalling the previously chaotic days, and reluctantly covered his face, saying, "They nearly hate this little guy to death. Oh, and this gander can help us herd geese; the dozens of geese from the Grain and Oil Bureau all listen to it. Perhaps it’s also a King among geese. I hope that after you get it, you’ll be able to properly cultivate it and someday make it as useful as Fat Chicken... to be a useful goose."

Only someone like Mirror could raise Fat Chicken; this Mutation goose would be wasted in their hands. They had no better way to thank Mirror, so they hoped this Mutation goose could help her in the future.

What else could Jing Shu say? She could only accept the little gander that looked like a duckling.

Tsk tsk. Da Hua and Gou Dan were now fat and strong, their flapping wings spanning over a meter—such a splendid sight. In contrast, Little Gua Gua was only the size of a palm.

If someone carelessly sat on it, they would probably squash it to death.

"Alright, alright, Fat Chicken, take Wanzi and go play. I need to study this little thing for a while," Jing Shu said, giving some beef jerky to Fat Chicken and Wanzi, finally managing to send off the little green-eyed monsters.

The plane slowly descended. The loud roar of the engines filled the air, the lights dimmed, and the air conditioning blew warm air. Jing Shu squinted and picked up Little Gua Gua. It wasn’t afraid of strangers and quacked affectionately, pecking gently at Jing Shu’s black gloves.

The soft Blood-sucking Leech glove unexpectedly had a tiny piece of it nibbled off by Little Gua Gua. The Blood-sucking Leech, probably dormant, likely never expected to have a piece of its ’flesh’ pecked off. Enraged, it instantly tried to unfurl and envelop Little Gua Gua, intending to swallow it in one gulp.

Luckily, Jing Shu reacted swiftly. She immediately controlled the Blood-sucking Leech, forcing it to revert to its glove form, and in the nick of time, whisked Little Gua Gua into her space, preventing its untimely demise. Once inside the space, Little Gua Gua stretched out comfortably and fell asleep...

Jing Shu was speechless.

Anyway, the trip back to Wu City went incredibly smoothly, calm without a single ripple. Jing Shu had been worried the entire trip, eyeing everyone as if they were potential robbers. After all, half of the goods on the plane belonged to her, and these openly acquired items couldn’t just be stored in her space.

Of course, along the way, Jing Shu also nearly thoroughly researched Little Gua Gua. Why ’nearly’? Because Jing Shu wasn’t quite certain whether Little Gua Gua possessed intelligence or not.

Feeding Little Gua Gua a bit of Spiritual Spring water allowed Jing Shu to fully control it. However, she found that Little Gua Gua was different from all her other pets in one aspect.

Its mind was like a mess of paste—to be precise, a total blank, devoid of desire or want... Jing Shu couldn’t sense Little Gua Gua’s desires or thoughts.

When it came to the intelligence and thoughts of a pet, Fat Chicken and the termites were very intelligent, with many thoughts and, naturally, many desires. Through her connection to the space and by feeding them Spiritual Spring water, Jing Shu could clearly understand what they were thinking and trying to express. Similarly, she could feel her new pet, the Blood-sucking Leech, constantly thinking: EAT, EAT, EAT! MATE, MATE, MATE! Even for pets that almost lacked self-awareness, Jing Shu could still perceive their general feelings of hostility or friendliness.

But Little Gua Gua was something else. She couldn’t sense anything at all from it, almost like an emotionless machine. As for its abilities...

Sigh, it was completely muddled, sticky, and clingy.

Even though Little Gua Gua was a Mutation gander, its usefulness was currently unknown. Most importantly, it couldn’t lay eggs like Fat Chicken.

What use could a gander be? If only ganders could lay eggs too, Jing Shu sighed with some regret.

Her enthusiasm for properly nurturing this Mutation gander diminished somewhat. Regardless, Little Gua Gua was a Mutation creature, one that had adapted and evolved in the apocalyptic environment. This was Jing Shu’s second Mutation creature, after the Mutation Dinosaur Chicken she had bred using the red energy—not counting, of course, the reproductively flawed second-generation Dinosaur Chickens.

Jing Shu’s attention quickly shifted to other areas of her space.

Truth be told, Jing Shu was very busy every day with a massive workload. As her space upgraded, the number of fields and animals increased, along with a variety of sea fish, shrimp, and other by-products. Even without adding Spiritual Spring water, she had to cull a batch every month or two.

In her previous life, her dream was to count money until her hands cramped. Now, unexpectedly, she found a lot of her time consumed by sorting out these trivial matters.

If only there were an intelligent being in the space to help her harvest crops, feed the pigs and sheep, and sort things out... she mused. In the past, in Thailand, they trained Monkeys to pick coconuts. Jing Shu also wanted to train a Monkey to help with farming.

But perhaps Monkeys were already extinct?

Returning to her current tasks, the bamboo rats and various feed insects in her space had already started receiving Spiritual Spring water. Jing Shu didn’t have much time left. After these relatively stable five years in the apocalypse, she would have to start traveling extensively.

She still carried the psychological scars from how she had lived in her past life. So, it wasn’t a matter of having too much, but of never having enough. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket, and, of course, don’t stake everything on a single option.

Because you never know which will arrive first: an accident or tomorrow.

「Wu City.」

She had finally arrived.

"Welcome home."