Chapter 3 Jade Fruit

Qiao Yu searched online for information on the Paramount Marauder. The Marauder is an extremely rugged and durable vehicle, measuring 5.14 meters long, 2.48 meters wide, and 2.55 meters high, with a ground clearance of 420 mm. It boasts exceptionally high ballistic resistance and maneuverability, capable of withstanding threats posed by mines, improvised explosive devices, and ballistic fire. Qiao Yu didn't know much about vehicles, but she had the good fortune of having seen a Marauder in a past life, and it truly lived up to its name. In a post-apocalyptic world, such a rugged off-road vehicle would be a rare "mobile fortress."

Unfortunately, the Marauder was a military vehicle, unavailable to ordinary people. Qiao Yu had no connections, so he had to settle for the next best thing: two Knight XVs. While not as capable as the Marauder, the Knight XV was still quite resistant to impact. Its bodywork was constructed of bulletproof steel, and its windows and windshield were constructed of 54mm thick, transparent bulletproof material. It offered excellent bullet and explosion resistance.

Qiao Yu paid the full amount, contacted customer service and added some shipping fees for the expedited order. As expected, money makes the world go round, and the customer service immediately said that the car would be delivered in about a week.

Once you have a car, it's time to consider fuel. Consumables like gasoline and diesel are generally subject to purchase restrictions.

Qiao Yu searched online and discovered that bulk gasoline required personal identification to purchase at a gas station. This worried her. If that was the case, then stockpiling fuel in large quantities would be impossible.

But if you can’t buy it… then you can only rob it after the end of the world comes.

After the apocalypse, the rules of the human world will be reshuffled, and plundering will become commonplace. The pre-apocalyptic systems and moral concepts will be vulnerable to the threat of survival.

Qiao Yu printed out several high-definition maps of various areas in S City. He then grabbed a notebook and made a list of must-buy items, writing down gasoline and diesel first. He then began searching for various gas stations in S City, noting their locations on the map.

By the time Qiao Yu finished marking all the gas stations, it was already getting dark.

Qiao Yu spent the entire day in shock of rebirth and confusion over preparations. Only then did he realize that his stomach was aching from hunger, so he got up and went to the kitchen.

There were some eggs and tomatoes in the refrigerator, as well as a bag of noodles, so Qiao Yu simply made a bowl of tomato and egg noodles.

Qiao Yu’s cooking skills were not that good, but the noodles in front of her were so delicious that it brought her to tears - she couldn’t remember how long it had been since she had eaten such fresh food.

After the apocalypse, the most common food was the bran-wheat pancakes sold at the major survivor bases. They were small, a bit rough, and the texture wasn't very good, but they were much more filling than tree bark. Qiao Yu was actually quite content at that time, because most people couldn't even afford bran-wheat pancakes.

Qiao Yu ate her noodles in small bites, savoring the long-lost flavor. It was only then that she truly felt the reality of her rebirth.

After the meal, Qiao Yu felt a little thirsty, so she took out the kettle stored in the space and poured a glass of water. It was the hot water she boiled this morning. She thought it should have cooled down by now, but as soon as she brought it to her mouth, her face was covered with the hot steam.

Qiao Yu was stunned and stared at the glass of water with wide eyes. It was indeed still steaming, and the temperature was exactly the same as freshly boiled water!

How could this be? Is time in Yushu space still?

Qiao Yu didn't even bother to worry about her thirst. She grabbed her phone and started ordering takeout. There were meat, vegetables, rice, and soup. She had to confirm that everything she put into Yushu's space would remain exactly as it was when she put it in.

The takeaway was delivered very quickly, and all the food was delivered in less than an hour. Qiao Yu took a small portion and put it into the Jade Ring Space, and then put the rest into the Jade Tree Space.

Qiao Yu looked at the time. It was already past nine o'clock in the evening.

Qiao Yu still felt a headache, but she didn't want to sleep. The impact of rebirth and space on her was too great. She was afraid that this was just a dream, and when she woke up, everything would return to the starting point.

Since she was tense and couldn't sleep, Qiao Yu simply curled up on the sofa and began to study the "Yushu Space" which gave her a huge surprise.

Qiao Yu carefully stared at the jade tree in the space from top to bottom for a long time before carefully picking a lotus leaf-sized fruit and carrying it outside the space. Since Qiao Yu only needed to use his consciousness in the space, he had no idea of ​​the fruit's weight. Suddenly, when he took it out, wow! This fruit must weigh forty or fifty kilograms, right?

The fruit was a translucent jade color, its shell neither soft nor hard, feeling a bit like a mango, with a faint sloshing sound inside. Qiao Yu took a large 25-liter PC bucket, placed the fruit on the sofa, carefully opened a small hole at the top, and slowly poured the liquid from the fruit into the bucket.

The liquid inside the fruit was transparent and looked just like water, but it had a faint, delicate fragrance. As the liquid drained from the fruit, it unexpectedly began to shrink in size. Only when the bucket was almost full did the liquid drain out. The drained fruit shrank to the size of an adult's fist.

Perhaps because the jade tree and Qiao Yu were connected, Qiao Yu almost subconsciously determined that the juice was non-toxic and drinkable. Taking a sip, he found it tasted much sweeter and clearer than ordinary water, a bit like mountain spring water, but with a hint of an unknown fragrance.

Qiao Yu was delighted. In the apocalypse, everything was in short supply, and water was even more scarce, becoming priceless. With this "Jade Tree," it was like having a large, pollution-free reservoir. Drinking water was no longer a problem for the time being.

Qiao Yu thought the water tasted delicious, and since she was thirsty, she drank a few more sips, finishing half the cup before stopping. She then replaced the lid on the bucket and returned to studying the remaining "jade fruit," now drained of its water.

After the water was drained, the color of the jade fruit darkened a bit and it was no longer translucent. The internal structure was completely invisible from the outside. But if you squeezed it hard, you could feel some grains.

Qiao Yu took a small knife and wanted to cut the fruit directly, but the blade seemed to be unable to find any foothold on the fruit. Qiao Yu tried several times but failed to cut it, so he had to give up and instead kneaded and squeezed it with his hands.

It was a desperate measure, but Qiao Yu actually managed to "squeeze" the contents out - a jade seed that turned out to be emerald green.

The jade seed was the size of a pea. Qiao Yu picked it up and looked at it in his palm. He didn't know what the use of this seed was. Could it grow into another giant tree?

As Qiao Yu was thinking, he felt his mind become clear, as if a few strands of emerald green energy were flowing along Qiao Yu's palm and slowly being transported from the Jade Tree Space to the seed. After a while, the seed seemed to sprout, and suddenly a crack appeared. A small piece of emerald green vine emerged from it. It looked exactly the same as the vine wrapped around the trunk of the giant tree in the space, but it was slightly smaller and had no leaves, but there was a small green bud on the top of the vine.

Qiao Yu was stunned. Is it going to bloom?