Chapter 76

Su Jing had just finished reinforcing the coal pile with metal barriers in the yard, her hands still covered in cement dust. As she pushed open the door of the new prefabricated house, a warm, comforting aroma mingled with the faint scent of coal wafted towards her.

The thermometer on the living room wall still steadily showed 25°C, and the coal in the heating stove was burning red-hot, with flames occasionally leaping out of the stove opening, making the surrounding air sway slightly.

Before she could wipe the dust off her hands, the system panel in front of her suddenly started flashing a light red notification. The words "Global Channel New Messages 999+" flooded the screen like a tidal wave, instantly breaking the silence of the room.

She lightly tapped the panel, and the channel content instantly flooded the screen:

- Light blue "User 567 from the Land of Flowers": "Help! I've been stuck on the West City Elevated Road for three hours! I just checked the thermometer, and the outside temperature has dropped from 20℃ to 10℃! The wind is getting stronger, the car windows are starting to fog up, my phone is almost out of battery, and I haven't reached my shelter yet!"

- Light blue "China User 891": "Can anyone help me? I'm at a gas station in the suburbs, but the shelter is full and they won't let me in. It's already 9°C outside, and I'm only wearing a thin jacket. My hands are so cold I can't move them. Are there any fellow countrymen nearby who can lend me a jacket?"

- Red "US User 234": "The temperature is dropping even faster! It's already 5°C in New York! The shelter doors are all broken from the crowds, and the staff can't stop anyone. I've been freezing outside for an hour and still can't get in! 'I'm the God of Wealth'! Do you have any ideas? Please!"

- Gold "EU User 456": "It's already 3°C in Paris! My water pipes burst from freezing, and the shelter is still fixing the heating, so I can only wait outside. Does anyone have any extra pills? I'll trade them for gold!"

The messages were filled with crying and pleading emojis, and there were even more than a dozen messages tagging "I am the God of Wealth". Some people said, "You have so many supplies, can you share some?" and others said, "Please show me the way, I don't want to freeze to death."

Su Jing's fingertips lightly traced across the screen, her gaze landing on the words "Shelter full" and "Too cold to move," but her heart remained unmoved.

She knew that all she could do was guard this villa deep in the mountains. The chaos outside was too great, and if she got involved, she would only be dragged into it, or even have her location exposed.

She raised her hand and clicked "Turn off channel notification" in the upper right corner of the panel. The light red notification disappeared instantly, and the screen returned to a clean system interface.

"Let's make a decent dinner first." Su Jing turned and walked towards the kitchen. Although the kitchen in the prefab house was small, it was tidy.

The stainless steel countertop was polished to a shine, and two housekeeping robots were placed next to it. "Kitchen 1" was wiping the rice cooker, and "Kitchen 2" was washing the steamed egg bowl. They were all "dinner preparation programs" that she had set in advance.

"Get the ingredients first." Su Jing tapped the panel lightly, her consciousness sinking into the "livelihood area" of the space: in the frozen section, a piece of pork belly with skin lay quietly in a food storage box. It was a "three-layer pork belly" that she had stocked up on earlier, with alternating layers of fat and lean meat. The label read "Stocked on 2025.10.01, not thawed";

The rice container in the storage area contains pearl rice grown in the space, with plump grains and a natural off-white color;

In the egg baskets of the "breeding area," the 55 eggs laid that day by 300 chicks were still warm, with clean and smooth shells.

"Chef 1, defrost the pork belly, put it in a pot of cold water and blanch it, adding ginger slices and cooking wine to remove the blood foam." Su Jing took the pork belly out of her spatial storage and handed it to the robot.

As soon as the pork belly came into contact with the air, a thin layer of frost quickly formed on its surface. Chef 1 skillfully placed the meat into a stainless steel bowl, added cold water to cover it, added two slices of ginger and a spoonful of cooking wine, and then placed it on the gas stove to heat it.

While the rice was being blanched, Su Jing prepared the rice: she scooped two bowls of pearl rice from the rice container, poured them into a glass bowl, and gently rinsed them with cold water—the rice grains tumbled in the water, which quickly became cloudy. She rinsed it twice until the water was clear.

She poured the rice into the rice cooker, adding just enough water to cover the rice grains by one finger joint (she had tried this amount of water many times, and it produced the softest and stickiest rice). She pressed the "cook" button, and the rice cooker immediately emitted a soft "hum" as it began to heat up.

Chef 1 has already taken the blanched pork belly out of the water and rinsed off the surface blood foam with warm water.

The pork belly had become firmer, with more distinct layers of fat and lean meat, and the skin was slightly wrinkled. Su Jing took the meat and cut it into 3-centimeter square pieces with a knife. When the blade fell, she could clearly feel the elasticity of the meat, without the stiffness of frozen meat.

She poured a little cooking oil into the wok, turned on low heat, added a handful of rock sugar, and stirred slowly—the rock sugar melted into a transparent liquid, the color gradually changing from light yellow to deep jujube red, and fine bubbles appeared. "You can't burn the sugar when you're making caramel, otherwise it will be bitter."

She muttered to herself, then immediately poured the meat chunks into the pot and stir-fried them quickly.

The moment the meat chunks are coated with caramelized sugar, their bright red color immediately appears, the oil sizzles, and the aroma of caramel and meat fills the air.

Su Jing added two spoonfuls of light soy sauce and one spoonful of dark soy sauce, and continued to stir-fry to coat each piece of meat evenly with the sauce. Then she poured in freshly boiled hot water (adding cold water would make the meat tough), covering the meat pieces. She then threw in two star anise, a piece of cinnamon, and a bay leaf (all dried spices stored in her space). After bringing it to a boil over high heat, she turned to low heat, covered the pot, and simmered it for 40 minutes.

During this time, she didn't rest and started making steamed eggs: "Chef 2, crack three eggs." The robot took three eggs from the basket, cracked them into a white porcelain bowl, and stirred them clockwise with an egg beater until the yolks and whites were completely combined without any egg white lumps.

Su Jing took the bowl, added 1.5 times the amount of warm water (the ratio of eggs to water is 1:1.5, which makes the steamed egg more tender and smooth), added a little salt, stirred well, and then filtered the egg mixture through a fine sieve.

The filtered egg white clumps remained on the sieve, leaving the remaining egg liquid clear and transparent. She placed the bowl in a steamer, steamed it for 10 minutes after the water boiled, and let it sit for another 2 minutes before turning off the heat. When it was done, she drizzled a little sesame oil and light soy sauce on it. The tender and smooth steamed egg custard had a light sheen, and the aroma instantly filled the kitchen.

By this time, the braised pork was ready. Su Jing lifted the lid, and a rich aroma of meat wafted out. The broth had thickened and coated the glossy red pieces of pork. She picked up a piece with her chopsticks; the pork was perfectly marbled with fat and lean meat, melted in her mouth, and wasn't greasy at all.

The rice cooker dinged, indicating the rice was cooked. Opening the lid, steam carrying the aroma of rice wafted out, each grain distinct and glistening with oil.

Su Jing placed three dishes on the table: a bright red braised pork belly in a deep dish, a bowl of white rice next to it, and a plate of smooth steamed egg custard.

She sat in the warm living room, the wind outside the window growing stronger, the fog on the glass thickening, and she could vaguely hear cries from the distant town, but inside there was only the aroma of food and the soft hum of the heater.

She ate slowly, feeling at peace with every bite—this was the last peaceful meal before the end of the world; after it was finished, she would face the extreme cold of -60°C.

After dinner, Su Jing had the robot clear the dishes and went to the washroom to wash up with warm water—the fresh water supply in the space was stable, and the water temperature was just right. She checked the doors and windows of the prefab house to make sure they were locked, and added two more pieces of coal to the heating stove to ensure the temperature wouldn't drop at night.

Back in her bedroom, she lay on the bed, listening to the wind outside, a faint spiritual energy swirling around her fingertips. She felt no panic whatsoever—sufficient supplies, impeccable defenses, and a stable cultivation level. She had made all the necessary preparations and was just waiting for the extreme cold to arrive.