I Am Cultivating in the Apocalypse

Chapter 759: Six-dimensional Space

As for the fat chicken, before the apocalypse, it was just an ordinary old hen. There was nothing special about it, nor was it a variant like the Overlord Chicken. Its only advantage was having grown up on Spiritual Spring water for years, which had evolved it into its current form.

Whether it was due to a species-specific counter or because it drank from the Spiritual Spring, Jing Shu decided to conduct a small experiment to verify some of her suspicions.

The long marching column continued forward without pause, strictly following stringent regulations. They fumigated with Mugwort Pillars periodically, checking themselves for any signs of swelling. The atmosphere in the command vehicle was tense. Until Elder Zhang found a solution, no one dared to be careless.

The fumigation with Mugwort Pillars was performed with great enthusiasm. The entire command vehicle was filled with smoke, occasionally causing someone to cough.

The night was torturous. No one could sleep well.

Jing Shu stayed in her small, separate room, holding a frantically wriggling Tick with tweezers. She carefully brought it toward her ankle, ready to crush it the moment it tried to burrow in.

When the Tick touched her skin, it showed no intention of burrowing in, as if that patch of smooth, pale skin was not its preferred food.

She experimented this way with over a dozen Ticks. All of them showed no interest in Jing Shu’s skin; they even seemed to detest it, much like they did Mugwort. In their perception, it was as if Jing Shu’s living blood wasn’t blood at all.

Regardless, the fact that the Ticks did not burrow into her body to suck blood was indeed good news. Jing Shu let out a breath, feeling somewhat relieved.

However, for Jing Shu to remove her protective suit and the three layers of protective coverings was absolutely out of the question; she could not afford to be careless.

Indeed, it has something to do with drinking the Spiritual Spring... So, according to my hypothesis, the Ticks’ mutation must be related to the energy of a Dimension Space, not just a simple mutation of Dark Creatures. A mere mutation wouldn’t make them ignore me like this; they would still suck blood regardless. The Dimension Energy from the Spiritual Spring is superior, possessing a suppressive quality, so lower-grade Dimension Energy is ineffective against it. That’s why the Ticks resist me like this.

Although she still didn’t know why her personal space hadn’t yet detected Dimension Energy from the Ticks, this matter was basically confirmed. She anticipated that the energy needed for her space to upgrade would soon appear, and Jing Shu instantly felt energized, practicing with the Magic Cube even more diligently all night long.

Over the next few days, under strict discipline and amid the choking smoke of Mugwort Pillars, hardly anyone else was bitten. The exceptions were a few people who had to leave their vehicles for refueling and logistical support. However, at least no one else died from the bites, and everyone gradually began to relax.

That day, Elder Zhang gathered all core personnel for a meeting.

The meeting room, crowded and filled with choking smoke, was where Elder Zhang presented the results of his recent research. The usually energetic old man looked exhausted, but his voice was still robust. "There’s both good news and bad news," he announced. "The good news is that we’ve developed a medication that can suppress and kill the Ticks, and prevent them from burrowing into the body."

The entire command vehicle erupted with excited chatter. This meant the Tick bites were no longer lethal.

Even Jun Bao, who hadn’t slept well, looked a bit better.

"The bad news," Elder Zhang continued, "is that this medication can’t be mass-produced. The Ticks are a variant of Dark Creatures, and the potion needs to be extracted from these mutated Ticks. Our inability to mass-produce the antidote and exterminate them means we’ll have to abandon this migration route. Of course, if we had enough time, we could develop an affordable alternative medication. But the problem is, we don’t have that much time. Along our journey, the number of Ticks has been increasing..."

"The ground crushed beneath our wheels is now practically paved with Ticks. Their sheer numbers are simply beyond what our manpower and resources can handle. Expending great effort to control and exterminate them would be a waste of personnel, resources, and funds. Therefore, I suggest we abandon this migration route and take a detour."

The joyous atmosphere was once again doused with cold water, and everyone immediately quieted down.

Jun Bao, sitting at the head of the table, asked, "Can we avoid this Tick-infested area? If we abandon this route, it will add an extra month to our journey. Do you realize how much food one million people require for a month?"

Elder Zhang grunted, "Ask the higher-ups. Central Storage surely still has some. Besides, it’s not just us who’ve developed synthetic meat recently... It might be unpalatable, but it’ll have to do."

"The higher-ups developed new food? What is it? How come we haven’t received any news?"

"It’s said to be apocalypse rations, already stored in the most secret locations as a last resort, undisclosed to the public."

Jing Shu tapped the table. This isn’t quite matching my expectations. Could the butterfly effect really be causing me to alter another path?

Just as the meeting reached a stalemate, an old man specializing in cartography coughed. He displayed the satellite maps he had compiled over the past few days. "Let’s put that aside for now," he said. "I just want to ask, are we currently on an uphill road?"

"It feels like we’re going downhill..."

The driver shone the headlights outward. Indeed, they could see the road inclining upward. From a distance, it certainly looked like an uphill road, yet everyone distinctly felt the vehicle tilting downward, as if they were going downhill...

The old cartographer clapped his hands in resignation. "I sensed something was amiss. Now it’s clear! Our convoy is likely trapped here, unable to escape!"

Old Doctor Zhang exclaimed, "What is going on?"

The old cartographer displayed the satellite map. "This old man may not be much, but I’ve been drawing ground maps for decades. I’ve surveyed numerous geographical locations and have a superficial understanding of the relevant sciences. I didn’t realize anything was amiss until today, when I discovered we’ve entered another Dimension Space..."

"A space that exists only in speculation and books—the Euclidean Space, the rumored Six-dimensional Space."

Jing Shu suddenly raised her head, staring at this unimpressive-looking old man. She had interacted with this amiable old fellow many times, but she had never been as shocked as she was at this moment.

The scene turned awkward for a moment. Most people there weren’t highly educated and were understandably baffled.

"So, what now?"

The old man replied gravely, "We are lost. We can’t find our way out."

"Why?"

"We all know that this continent, which appeared suddenly after the apocalypse, is sandwiched between two provinces. Logically, it shouldn’t be too large. If we kept heading in one direction, we should be able to get out, right?"

The old man sighed and revealed the bizarre satellite map, explaining, "A Six-dimensional Space refers to any space that has six dimensions, within which six-dimensional polytopes and five-dimensional spheres can be constructed. It requires six data points or coordinates to specify a position within that space. These coordinates can have infinitely many variations."

"That means, if you can’t calculate the specific coordinates here, you will never be able to get out."

Jing Shu’s mouth fell open, recalling the time she was lost in the Four-dimensional Space. How had I gotten out then? It seemed there were never any coordinates involved.