Chapter 20: An Overwhelming Blessing

In extreme cold, microorganisms struggle to grow or reproduce quickly, making corpse decomposition painfully slow.

The family in Villa 048 had already been dead for nearly a month.

Their bodies were still mostly intact, carelessly left lying in the villa’s hallway and living room.

The villa had been thoroughly scavenged—stewards had taken everything they deemed valuable.

But compared to Villa 008, at least the furniture and setup here remained in place. With a little cleaning, it could be moved into immediately.

Having handled corpses since morning, the Gu siblings were now completely desensitized to the horror.

They were working hard to carry the corpses outside and load them onto Mu Jiu’s heavy-duty truck.

Once the inside was cleared, they’d find a proper place to bury the bodies.

Mu Jiu had returned home to fetch a massive stainless-steel soup pot—like those used in dining halls—and a few thick, fire-resistant wooden logs, which she brought over and set up in the villa’s main hall.

The icy Villa 048 finally had a bit of warmth.

Mu Jiu also handed over all the weapons and tools she’d received from the steward earlier, straight from the truck to the Gu siblings.

Chainsaws, shovels, axes, electric batons, knives—over ten kinds in total.

These were for their future supply runs into the mountains. After all, from now on, their survival depended on themselves.

Tools like these were piled like mountains inside Mu Jiu’s space.

Due to limited firewood, the Gu siblings decided to restrict their activity to the first-floor hall, huddling together for warmth.

As for the rest of the villa, they’d tidy it up slowly later—there was still plenty of time.

Sleeping on the floor was too cold, so they dragged out two single mattresses from a downstairs bedroom and placed them beside the fire—one on each side.

Once their basic living needs were settled, both their stomachs began to rumble—it was already 2 p.m.

Having spent the whole day with the siblings, even Mu Jiu forgot to eat and was now feeling hungry too.

But of course, Mu Jiu wasn’t one to shortchange herself.

With the amount of supplies she had stored, not indulging herself in good food would be a disservice to this second life she’d earned.

As for the Gu siblings—at this point, they could probably be considered her people now.

So why be stingy over a bit of food? What kind of adult would bicker over food with children?

She didn’t even bother thinking about the possibility that they’d betray her for food.

In this chaotic apocalypse, Mu Jiu had absolute strength. In this resort where stewards ran wild, she could protect these siblings just fine.

A full meal now, and full meals later—any child with sense would know how to be grateful.

So, Mu Jiu cheerfully returned home and used a cart to bring over ingredients, cookware, and utensils.

Considering the rough conditions of Villa 048, she decided to keep lunch simple—one big pot of lamb and mushroom stew to fill everyone’s belly.

She set a giant pot over the fire.

Then she had the siblings scoop clean snow from the upper part of the courtyard and pour it into the pot.

She added ginger, garlic, and cooking wine to remove any gamey smell.

Next came the star of the show—lamb. A warm, nourishing food perfect for this extreme cold, helping to drive out the chill from the body.

Mu Jiu pulled out a whole rack of lamb ribs.

This came from a 25-pound young lamb freshly butchered by the space farm’s AI butler, Beibei.

It was tender meat from a lamb just two months old.

The Gu siblings were stunned.

Before the apocalypse, this wouldn’t have been considered a rare treat.

But now, after going months without a single bite of meat, it was divine!

Mu Jiu chopped the lamb ribs into small pieces with a bone cleaver and threw them into the pot of snow to boil.

The siblings, like hungry puppies, clutched their bowls and squatted next to the pot, greedily sniffing the aroma of the stew.

Mu Jiu also added the wild mountain mushrooms the siblings had collected and delivered earlier.

She had already asked the space’s butler to inspect them one by one—non-toxic, highly nutritious!

They’d brought several large batches. Mu Jiu had tried them twice and loved the unique, savory flavor.

So, she used a machine to dry them for long-term storage.

Today, they were the perfect ingredient to enhance the stew’s flavor.

Lastly, she threw in three blocks of instant noodles and three eggs—today’s main starch.

Soon, the pot of lamb and mushroom stew was ready.

Mu Jiu personally ladled soup into their bowls, divided the ribs, scooped noodles, and fished out eggs.

The bowls she brought weren’t bowls at all—they were metal basins, bigger than one’s face!

The noodles, ribs, and mushrooms formed mountains in the bowls, topped with a big egg.

Mu Jiu’s generosity nearly shocked the Gu siblings speechless. This single meal matched their food intake for an entire month!

“Sis, this is a lot… After we eat this… do we skip the next meal?” Gu Yang asked nervously.

Mu Jiu paused for three seconds, then made a decision:

“Okay, since we’re eating, I’ll make an announcement.

From now on, you two are my people. You’ll listen to my instructions, and if you have problems, come to me.”

The siblings didn’t hesitate a second. They nodded vigorously. “Mm! Mm!”

After all, big sis was the most powerful person in the entire resort—the thigh everyone wanted to cling to, but couldn’t.

Being picked up by her was like a heaven-sent blessing, kicking their pitiful lives into fortune!

“I’ll guarantee you one full meal a day—with meat. The rest, you’ll handle yourselves. OK?”

With her abilities, Mu Jiu could have fed them three meals a day.

But “a measure of rice is kindness; a bushel breeds resentment.” This was the apocalypse—overprotecting them would help no one.

Rather than give them fish, she’d teach them how to fish. She wanted them to stand on their own feet in this world.

The Gu siblings nodded like pecking chickens. “Mm mm mm!”

In the past, they couldn’t even eat one real meal—now they had a daily full meal with meat? This was practically a miracle!

“Alright, it’s cold and you need the energy. Eat up so you can work.

Didn’t you two still need to find a burial spot at the foot of the mountain? Get going. And if you can’t finish it all, forget it.”

Reminded by Mu Jiu, the siblings clutched their bowls and devoured the food without any concern for image.

Finish it all! For kids who had starved before, wasting a bite of food would be sacrilege!