Chapter 82: True Wolf Fang Mace

Jing Shu frowned. She had been worried about steel rods and wire mesh these past few days.

In her previous life, she hadn't stockpiled these materials in bulk. At this time, most households had already installed extra burglar bars and reinforced their doors, causing these materials to skyrocket in price. By the time she realized she needed them, the factories had already shut down.

She had considered stealing some, only to find that the factories were completely empty. It suddenly dawned on her—any strategic material had long been requisitioned by the government for storage and future use.

There was a law that allowed local governments to requisition any strategic material in times of national crisis.

Half of Wucheng’s police force was probably busy doing just that. How else could she explain the scarcity of everything she needed? The armed police and special forces had become mysteriously elusive, claiming that their jurisdiction no longer involved capturing criminals.

Another clue—Heng Jin, the prince of Wucheng's logistics industry, had been even busier than Jing Shu over the past six months.

Three months ago, the courier industry had suddenly been nationalized, with companies like SF Express, China Post, and Cainiao taking the lead. Now, they had disappeared from the public eye altogether.

Even popular financial services like Huabei and Jiebei had ceased operations, while Ma Baba silently shifted his business.

Meanwhile, Wanda's Wang Jianlin, despite being in debt to the tune of billions, remained a top figure. The resources required to maintain such a position were immense, and his son Wang Congsi had announced that he had established numerous "Wang Congsi's Secret Grain Depots" around the country.

It seemed the wealthiest were always prepared.

In her previous life, Jing Shu had been too focused on surviving to notice these trends. But in this life, she began to see a pattern. Many business giants had started diversifying, preparing for the future while dividing the pie of national resources.

In WeChat’s fitness rankings, Heng Jin always took the top spot with over 20,000 steps daily. When asked what he was doing, he would always reply, "Delivering goods, unloading, taking orders."

Even in the apocalypse, the logistics mogul was swamped. Who was still placing orders?

Now, it all made sense. Power remained in the hands of the top 3%.

"Hello? Hello?"

The anxious voice on the other end interrupted Jing Shu's thoughts.

"Okay, send me your location. I'll come to get you."

Jing Shu quickly gathered bandages, alcohol, and some basic first-aid supplies and rushed to Wucheng County, 30 kilometers away.

When she arrived, Wang Dazhao lay pale and weak in a small, shuttered motel. He groaned softly, his right shoulder and neck deeply slashed by a cleaver, revealing bone. Blood pooled on the floor, and he was on the verge of unconsciousness. But he kept his eyes open.

His first words to Jing Shu were, "Save me. I thought they were all dead, but one got away. I need to kill him... After I take my revenge, this life is yours." He gasped for breath between each word.

Wang Qiqi paced anxiously, "The hospitals are out of medicine. Your artery is cut. Pulling out the knife would be fatal. If you have any final words, I’ll make sure your revenge is taken care of. For now, let’s get you home. I have some medicine there, and maybe a doctor can help."

Wang Dazhao gave a bitter laugh, "Home means nothing without my wife and child. If I die, don’t bother avenging me..."

"He won’t survive the trip back like this. Let me handle it," Jing Shu interrupted, tearing off Wang Dazhao’s shirt.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Wang Qiqi rushed over. "You can’t pull out that knife! The wound is too big—you need forceps and sutures!"

Jing Shu ignored him.

"Your life is mine now, so you’d better take care of it," Jing Shu said, prying open Wang Dazhao’s mouth and forcing in a drop of her mystical spring water along with some haphazardly mixed hemostatic drugs. She washed it down with water and, before anyone could react, yanked the cleaver from the wound. Blood sprayed all over Wang Qiqi’s face.

"It’s over," Wang Qiqi thought as Wang Dazhao screamed in agony.

But within moments, Jing Shu expertly cleaned and dressed the wound, finally securing it with bandages. "Alright, let’s go," she said nonchalantly.

Wang Qiqi, frozen in shock, swallowed a mouthful of blood. "It’s... done? How did you stop the bleeding? That was an arterial wound!"

"I distracted the knife. Now, let’s get him home to heal. Once he's recovered and takes his revenge, I have more tasks for Wang Dazhao."

Jing Shu squinted. She had survived the apocalypse for ten years and had grown used to seeing people die—whether from sickness, cold, or falling behind in migration. So she didn’t have Hua Tuo’s habit of saving everyone she saw.

Death was a normal occurrence.

But if saving Wang Dazhao could earn his loyalty, Jing Shu was willing to try. She had tasks that needed doing, and if he disappointed her, she could always reclaim the life she had spared.

As they loaded Wang Dazhao into the car, Wang Qiqi pulled out several newspapers to line the back seat. "I didn’t want to dirty your car," he explained.

Wang Qiqi was a meticulous person, well-versed in human interactions, which is how he had secured a steady relationship with the workers at the steel processing plant. True to his word, he had managed to procure some steel rods for Jing Shu, though the quantity was still insufficient.

Seeing the large, idle machinery in the factory, Jing Shu proposed creating heavy spiked steel plates. She also found steel wire mesh, which gave her a great sense of security.

In exchange for a single black pig, she acquired steel that would have been worth tens of thousands before the apocalypse, producing five spiked steel plates and a wire mesh that spanned her entire villa’s yard.

A black pig was worth far more than that. She also had a true steel wolf fang mace made. Due to limited craftsmanship, the mace and the spiked head were made separately, but they could be assembled into one weapon.

The spiked head was a steel oval with 20 cm-long spikes welded onto it, capable of immense destruction.

The benefit of this design was that the parts could be separated into a steel rod and a flail.

The entire wolf fang mace weighed 52 kilograms, exactly Jing Shu’s weight. It was a bit heavy for her now, but if she removed the spiked head, it was just right.

However, Jing Shu’s strength was still growing. Soon, she would be able to wield the full weight of the mace. With her strength as her advantage, the wolf fang mace was the perfect weapon for her.

After several days of effort, Jing Shu finally transported the completed items back home, where her father and grandfather began the final modifications.

Then, early on May 16th, Wang Dazhao visited.

"You saved my life that day, and now I’ve avenged my family. From now on, my life is yours."

---

Author's Note: Thanks to *First Love Dragon Sakura* for the support!