Once Gu Rou saw that the house was completely empty, she returned to her room and slipped into her space. Inside, not only was there black soil, but her little villa was also there. Whatever her home had looked like before, it looked the same now. Upon entering, Gu Rou walked around her familiar space twice, as usual, and drank some spirit spring water.
These days, Gu Rou had been drinking the spirit spring water almost every day. Each time she drank it, a layer of filth appeared on her skin, and her complexion became increasingly fair. Looking in the mirror, she saw her already beautiful face had become even fairer and more delicate. The original owner had been a classic beauty in the traditional style, with bright eyes and white teeth, as radiant as peach blossoms. Drinking the spirit spring water daily made her face even more striking. Even wearing coarse cloth clothes couldn’t hide her outstanding looks.
Gu Rou smiled in satisfaction and pinched her fair cheek lightly. The texture… she couldn’t help but touch it herself. If a man were to touch this, wouldn’t he go crazy? “I’m truly beautiful!”
The original owner’s appearance was similar to hers before the apocalypse, but back then, she had been too focused on survival—gathering supplies and researching medicine—to care for her looks. Even with her natural beauty, the constant hardships had reduced it to about sixty percent. Crossing into this new world wasn’t bad. Although she had become a minor character, there was no extreme survival mode here. As long as she had resources and money, life could be easy and comfortable.
Thinking of this, Gu Rou immediately went down to the small laboratory on the first floor. This had been the place she had spent the most time in during her previous life. As soon as she entered, she could smell the metallic scent of disinfectant mixed with a faint ozone odor.
The core area had several heavy alloy lab tables, multifunctional integrated robotic arms, fully enclosed synthesis chambers, energy containment field generators, and one-piece sealed protective suits. There were gloves with energy filtration layers and emergency injectors—the quietest and most dangerous things in the space.
The machinery hadn’t changed at all. Gu Rou mainly came to check on the drugs and medicinal herbs stored here. Before crossing over, she had spent much time researching in this lab. Many supplies had been consumed, and her body had used a lot as well. Now, the remaining herbs and medicines were limited.
Unlike the apocalypse, here she couldn’t just go out and loot supplies. Many things didn’t exist in this world yet, so she would have to collect raw materials from the mountains in the traditional way.
Speaking of the mountains, there was food up there. In the ten days she had been here, she had only eaten chicken once; the rest of the days were just porridge with vegetables or corn buns with wild greens. Her taste buds had almost gone bland.
There were resources in the mountains—wild chickens and rabbits—that she could bring back to satisfy her cravings. She could also gather herbs to grow in her space. These herbs could be used for medicine or sold to a collection station for money.
Xiangyang Village was surrounded by mountains on three sides, and beyond them was the county town. This area would develop rapidly in the decades to come, with the economy booming.
Gu Rou didn’t have other thoughts for now—she just wanted to eat meat today. With that in mind, she grabbed a basket and went up the mountain. Following the original owner’s memory, Gu Rou found the resources were indeed plentiful. With a small tranquilizer gun from her space, she quickly captured two plump rabbits—a male and a female.
Seeing them as a pair, she immediately changed her plan to cook them tonight. She fed the two rabbits some spirit spring water and placed plenty of grass in the space for them. Rabbits breed quickly, so she decided not to kill them yet—they would multiply in the future.
Just as she thought she wouldn’t get any meat today, a wild chicken with a colorful tail arrogantly flew over her head. Gu Rou reacted quickly and effortlessly caught it. Looking at its beautiful tail feathers, she smiled: “Dinner will have meat tonight.”
After finding meat, Gu Rou focused on collecting herbs. The most important one she needed now was called the oleander. There were many in the mountains, but she remained cautious and went deeper to avoid being seen. She quickly found some. Oleander had red flowers and green leaves, resembling bamboo but not really bamboo, and like a peach but not really a peach. It looked beautiful, but it was also extremely poisonous. The whole plant, including the white stems and leaves, was highly toxic.
She placed two plants in her space to grow, while the rest were used to extract toxins. She planned to make a poison spring. She had made similar poison springs before. Once completed, the poison spring could harm people invisibly—causing vomiting, diarrhea, unconsciousness, body lesions, and even destroying evidence.
The poison spring required several ingredients. Oleander alone wasn’t enough; she also needed datura, aconite, gut-grass, and ginkgo leaves. Most importantly, she needed poison spring grass, which usually grew deep in the mountains. Its roots contained strong toxins, and the plants were fragile and small, making them difficult to find.
This time, Gu Rou managed to collect all the other ingredients except the poison spring grass. She decided to search for it when she had more time.
Carrying her collection, she headed down the mountain.
“Help! Help! Is anyone there?”
Gu Rou froze. Someone was shouting for help. Usually, villagers didn’t enter the deep mountains alone. After a brief hesitation, she decided to head toward the voice. Villagers were mostly kind-hearted, and forming a good connection could never hurt.
“Help!” The feeble voice came again.
Ahead, Gu Rou saw a large pit, likely an old trap used by hunters for large animals. Had someone accidentally fallen in? Peering in, she saw two men at the bottom. One was unconscious, lying on the ground with blood on his face, partially obscured by tall grass and trees. The other sat weakly on the ground, continuously calling for help.
“Hey, are you guys okay?” Gu Rou asked.
“Ahhh, ahhh, boss! Someone’s here! We’re saved!” Luo Fei immediately stood up, tears threatening to fall. He had been shouting for a full day and night, nearly losing his voice, and finally saw someone approaching. Seeing Gu Rou, he felt as if he had encountered an angel.