Gu Xiangwen suppressed a belly full of rage, his face dark and grim the entire way as he and Wang Xiaohu escorted Lin Qingqing to the Yucheng People’s Hospital. However, after the city doctors examined her, they reached the same conclusion: there was nothing wrong with her body.
Lin Qingqing refused to let the matter rest, pestering the doctor: “Doctor, my hand really was in agonizing pain earlier. It felt as if it were being snapped off! There is no way a pain like that means nothing is wrong. I beg you, please check again!”
Seeing that she wouldn’t listen to reason, the doctor said, “If you don’t trust my diagnosis, you can wait until dawn to get an X-ray to see if there are any issues with your bones.”
Lin Qingqing immediately replied, “Fine, I will wait until dawn.”
Seeing how stubborn she was, the doctor told them, “Then go wait outside.”
The doctor thought to himself that even an X-ray could only detect issues with the skeletal structure; it wouldn’t show problems with nerves or meridians. If Lin Qingqing wasn’t lying, then the issue with her hand was most likely neurological or related to her energy channels.
Lin Qingqing, Gu Xiangwen, and Wang Xiaohu left the consultation room and sat on the wooden benches in the corridor. Having been tormented by Lin Qingqing all night, Gu Xiangwen looked like a wilted eggplant, completely drained of his usual spirit. Wang Xiaohu, supported by the strength of his secret crush, felt equally exhausted but was willing to endure it.
With dawn still far off and the radiologist not yet on duty, they could only sit in the hospital in a daze, enduring the wait and hoping for morning to arrive quickly.
Meanwhile, Jun Ning, staying alone in the dormitory, was happily ensconced within her space. She enjoyed gourmet food while mapping out her plans and preparations for living and developing in this world. She had just retrieved several history books and unofficial records from the post-apocalyptic library she had built within the space.
Jun Ning memorized every major event that occurred during the 1970s, 80s, and 90s. With her powerful mental strength, she possessed a photographic memory; her brain functioned like a supercomputer, capable of holding vast amounts of knowledge. Anything she read was imprinted in her mind, never to be forgotten.
The 1970s was an era of extreme material scarcity. It wouldn’t be until the Reform and Opening-up that the state would stop prohibiting private business and encourage the nation to develop the economy, agriculture, and animal husbandry, while building factories and attracting foreign investment. Only then would the scarcity begin to improve.
Jun Ning’s extraordinary Primordial Fragment Space contained more than just the various supplies she had stockpiled; it also held the output of nearly ten years from a massive post-apocalyptic territory—resources beyond counting. If the Reform and Opening-up were happening now, she would have countless industries to manage. However, since those reforms were still two or three years away, she could only conduct business in the shadows to accumulate capital.
Of course, her space also held a vast collection of gold, silver, and jewels. If necessary, she could take some gold to the black market to exchange for cash. Currently, material control was strictly enforced, and everything was distributed according to plan. Many people lacked everything and wanted to buy goods, but they couldn’t because they lacked the necessary coupons.
The most sought-after items were:
Grains, oils, and flour
Brown and white sugar
Various meats
Fabric and bicycles
Her space was stocked with these items. However, whether it was the food, meat, fabric, or bicycles, they were all products of highly advanced cultivation and high-tech manufacturing from the post-apocalyptic era. For instance, the super rice she grew in her space using future seeds yielded as much as 1,500 kilograms per mu.
Small animals like mutated chickens and rabbits had ballooned to weigh dozens or even over a hundred catties. Large mutated animals were even more exaggerated:
Mutated pigs: 1,000 to 3,000 catties.
Mutated cows: 5,000 to 8,000 catties, with some “Bull Kings” reaching over 10,000 catties.
The meat of these post-apocalyptic poultry and livestock tasted incredible—tender and rich with flavor. Most importantly, it contained substances that could enhance human strength. These crops and animals, already mutated in the post-apocalyptic world, were then transplanted into the Primordial Fragment Space, which was rich in spiritual energy (Lingqi). Consequently, the products grown there contained even more spiritual energy and energy beneficial to the human body.
Such meat and grain would be fought over in any era, and the post-apocalyptic world was no exception. In the 1970s, where people were underfed and physically weak, the reaction would be even more extreme. Once people ate such food, they would immediately notice the immense health benefits and would surely search for the source.
For her own safety, Jun Ning did not plan to release these items directly onto the market. She wanted to make a fortune in silence. After much thought, she decided to first absorb the spiritual energy and energy from the meat. Then, she would set up several processing plants within the space, using robots and assembly lines to process the meat into meat sauce and canned goods.
Once the grains and wheat were stripped of their concentrated energy, they could be sold directly or processed into noodles and pastries. Various fruits could be turned into canned goods, jams, and dried snacks. The final step was to find opportunities to quietly release these goods into the market. After surviving these two years until the Reform and Opening-up, she could then openly establish food factories, canneries, garment factories, and more.
The gap between 1975 and 2180 spanned over two hundred years of technological evolution. Although Jun Ning was strong in combat and leadership, she was not a professional scientific researcher. However, the base she had established in the post-apocalyptic world housed the best and largest scientific research center on the planet. She had moved all redundant equipment into her space and built a massive research base there.
If given the chance, she also wanted to build the largest and most advanced research base in this world. She intended to gradually introduce the advanced technologies of the future to help the country enhance its strength and improve the people’s standard of living.
After drafting her future development plan, Jun Ning began absorbing the spiritual energy and energy contained within the stockpiled grain and meat. Although the food would no longer drastically improve human physical quality once she absorbed the energy, the taste would still be far superior to ordinary food.