Chapter 19: Extreme Heat and Rat Plague

Jiang Si said, “The Qian family is already gone. I’ll go check—whatever mint I can gather, I’ll gather.”

Jiang Linhai and Jiang Chenghai both wanted to go with her, but Jiang Si shook her head. “It’s too unsafe to leave Mom and Grandma alone at home. You both stay. I can go by myself.”

Her mother said worriedly, “At least let your dad go with you.”

Jiang Si raised her nail gun. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon. It won’t take long.” She smiled to reassure everyone. “I’ve survived ten years in the apocalypse. Normal people can’t even scratch me.”

Seeing her insist, everyone had no choice but to agree.

As soon as she stepped outside, Jiang Si felt the temperature had reached at least 55°C (131°F). The basketball court had been baked into a rubbery swamp, bubbling with tiny air pockets. The village looked like it had been ravaged by a plague—strange, chilling cries could occasionally be heard.

Suddenly, a woman ran out from ahead, being chased by a few men with filthy, lecherous eyes.

Seeing Jiang Si was like spotting the last life-saving straw. The woman charged over and hid behind Jiang Si, shouting, “Save me! Save me! Jiang Si, please help me!”

Jiang Si recognized her—an old classmate from middle and high school, Jiang Liwen.

Suddenly, another woman appeared—one even more attractive in figure and demeanor than Jiang Liwen. The men’s eyes lit up. The biggest among them, with a scarred face and covered in tattoos, clearly a thug from before the apocalypse, pointed at Jiang Si and said, “She’s even prettier. I want her first. After I’m done, you guys can have her.”

“Sure, big bro eats the meat, we’ll drink the soup!”

The men’s lecherous gazes roamed openly over Jiang Si and Jiang Liwen.

Jiang Liwen trembled in fear, sobbing, “Please let us go… I’m begging you…”

“Hahaha, let you go? Impossible! Even if we die, in this apocalypse, we’ll enjoy every second we can!”

As the men laughed madly—

“Thud-thud-thud—”

Jiang Si moved swiftly. Her nail gun fired eight rounds in quick succession. The men all clutched their eyes, screaming in agony and collapsing to the ground.

Jiang Si fired eight more nails, this time into their temples—eliminating the threat for good.

From despair to relief, Jiang Liwen burst into grateful tears, grabbing Jiang Si’s hand. “Thank you, thank you, Jiang Si!”

Jiang Si coldly shook off her hand. If she didn’t have a nail gun and had been an ordinary person, what would’ve happened when Jiang Liwen ran over for “help”? Jiang Liwen should know exactly what kind of outcome she would’ve faced.

Sensing the chill in Jiang Si’s demeanor, Jiang Liwen quickly tried to flatter her. “Jiang Si, you’re amazing. I always knew you were different from other girls, so cool and strong.”

Jiang Si didn’t even glance at her and kept walking. Jiang Liwen panicked and, like a piece of gum, stuck close behind. “Sisi, are you alone now? Do you want to come back to my place? We can stick together. My parents will treat you like their own daughter!”

Jiang Si suddenly stopped and looked at her. “Stop following me.”

Her tone was cold to the extreme, completely devoid of warmth.

She was clearly utterly disgusted.

Jiang Liwen’s eyes reddened. Desperate, she grabbed Jiang Si’s arm and finally blurted out her real reason: “Sisi, please come home with me and save my parents. You’re so strong, and you have that nail gun—you can definitely rescue them. You’d be our family’s savior. You can have all our best food first. Please! It’s just a small effort for you!”

Saving her once had already been the limit of Jiang Si’s mercy. “Get lost.”

Jiang Liwen stared in disbelief, face full of grievance. “Sisi, we grew up together. Is it really that harsh to ask you to save my parents? Besides, aren’t you in danger alone? If you’re scared, lend me your nail gun. I’ll save them and return it afterward.”

Jiang Liwen actually had the nerve to covet her nail gun.

Jiang Si smirked. Thinking she had softened, Jiang Liwen was about to speak again when—**“SMACK”—**Jiang Si slapped her hard across the face.

She didn’t hold back.

Jiang Liwen’s cheek visibly swelled, and blood trickled from her lip.

“No one is obligated to help you!”

Jiang Si walked ten meters away before Jiang Liwen snapped out of it and shouted venomously at her back, “You could’ve saved us! Why do you have to just watch us die? Jiang Si, you’re so cold-blooded! Someone like you won’t survive long either!”

There were too many delusional people in the apocalypse.

Jiang Si turned around, raised the nail gun. “Three seconds. Run.”

Her pitch-black eyes gleamed with icy light.

“1.”

Jiang Liwen’s heart raced. She tried to plead, “Sisi, I was just upset… Please forgive me. Save my parents, please. They even used to pick you up from school. Can you really watch them die?”

They weren’t her parents. Why should she risk her life for them?

Because Jiang Liwen thought she was that important?

“2.”

Jiang Si’s finger tightened on the trigger.

Realizing she was serious, Jiang Liwen gritted her teeth and ran off.

The delay had cost some time. By the time Jiang Si reached the mint field behind Qian’s house, Qin Shen had already harvested all of it—piled into two small mountains and ready to carry away.

He’d clearly realized the value of mint too.

Jiang Si stared at the neatly bundled mint, thinking of how to ask for half.

But Qin Shen greeted her first and asked, “You want some mint?”

Jiang Si nodded, prepared for him to make an outrageous demand.

Instead, Qin Shen, surprisingly straightforward, pointed at half the mint. “Take half. Just give me a few sets of clothes and shoes, okay?”

Jiang Si was stunned. That was it? She felt almost embarrassed to bargain and instinctively nodded.

Qin Shen even offered politely, “I’ll help you carry it back.” Then hesitated and asked, “Do you want a wild boar too? I want to trade for some grain.”

His supplies had been completely ruined by the rat infestation.

Jiang Si looked at him—everything about him radiated an honest, simple energy. He didn’t seem like someone who would poison a pig and sneak into their home afterward. Still, she was cautious.

“How much grain do you want for it?”

Qin Shen asked tentatively, “One wild boar… for five pounds of grain?”

Oh my god. This guy’s a meat-delivering angel.

If she didn’t take the deal, she’d be the one who looked suspicious.

Jiang Si was just about to accept, but then asked warily, “Why don’t you trade with someone else?”

Surely plenty of people would want that deal. What if he had poisoned the meat and was planning something nefarious after gaining their trust?