The next second, the entire silver-gray train faded into the air like an eraser wiping it away. She could feel the carriage still existed in this space, but it had entered a parallel dimension, no longer squeezing the living room.
With a thought, the carriage reappeared steadily, exactly in the same position.
"Incredible. Who made it?" Such technology shouldn't exist on Earth.
Lin Mo continued to explore the carriage's other functions. She found that the control panel also had an option to adjust the carriage temperature, but when she clicked it, it again showed "Insufficient energy."
It seemed energy was crucial. With enough energy, this could become a temperature-controlled train racing across the land. No wonder the blonde girl said only by trusting her could they survive— she had probably already stockpiled energy and gained an advantage.
The priority now was to complete the novice mission quickly and upgrade the carriage. From the bits of information she'd gathered online, Lin Mo felt she was already falling behind.
Tch. That deep-seated East Asian anxiety about falling behind was quietly gnawing at her.
But even so, she had no intention of exposing herself.
"Rushing online to seek sponsorship? Too impulsive."
Whether people believed it was one thing; the bigger problem was the consequences of exposure. Cooperating with the government was minor, but what if she were kidnapped by someone with ill intentions and forced to have the system stripped away? That was a price she couldn't afford.
Slow might be slow, but at least it was safe.
With that settled, Lin Mo began organizing the supplies in the carriage. She neatly stacked the bags of rice, noodles, peanut oil, and olive oil on top of the cabinets. Last year, she hadn't even finished one bottle of olive oil, had she? She wondered if all this oil would be enough.
She had too little experience cooking and buying groceries. To save time and stay in shape, her workday lunches were usually steak, salad, or takeout chicken. Occasionally on weekends, she tried cooking simple dishes.
She'd have to ask AI for answers.
The cured sausages and cured pork belly could be stored at room temperature. She went back to the kitchen, found a clean storage bin, put them in, sealed the lid, and placed it on the left side of the floor. Next to it were boxes of instant noodles and seasonings.
The instant noodles came in four flavors: pork bone soup, old hen soup, pickled cabbage, and curry.
The 10 barrels of 14.8L bottled water were lined up against the right-side window.
Since the Basic Locker could preserve fruits and vegetables, maybe it worked for cakes too. Lin Mo put 10 cakes and 10 boxes of butter rice cakes into the second Basic Locker to test; she'd check the results in a couple of days.
Potatoes, carrots, winter melon, corn, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, and cabbages— these durable vegetables didn't need to go into the Basic Locker. The precious preservation space was for leafy greens and fruits. These odds and ends had to sit awkwardly in the middle of the carriage.
"I need to buy a shelf," Lin Mo muttered, rubbing her back.
After organizing the supplies, she remembered that the train always materialized in the living room. So she started clearing space: moving the crushed coffee table, luggage, and clothes rack to the dining area, leaving only a deformed fabric sofa in the living room for sitting.
The landlord had already removed most of the furniture, so tidying up was easy. As for the crushed solid wood shoe cabinet, it could be used as fuel later.
Lin Mo rolled up her sleeves, dragged it to a corner of the yard, and piled it there. She also glanced around the yard. The landlord had left a dozen unused flowerpots, including large ones that could grow kumquats. They'd come in handy later when she bought seeds from the flower market to grow greens.
She took out her phone and asked the AI assistant to read out the method for preserving green onions: "Bury the roots of the green onions in a flowerpot with moist soil, about 5 cm deep, or place them in a container with water, submerging the roots 1-2 cm, and keep in a cool, ventilated area."
She listened carefully as she picked up a small shovel, dug a small pit in a flowerpot, buried the green onion roots, and gently pressed the soil with her fingers.
The AI's voice continued: "Water or change the water every 3-5 days. The green onions will grow slowly, and you can pick fresh leaves anytime."
Lin Mo watered it as instructed and moved the potted green onions to the kitchen. The yard was too cold; the kitchen was just right.
There were also two glass vases in the kitchen. Lin Mo washed them, thinking she could use them for hydroponic green onions later.
Her phone vibrated in her pocket. It was a WeChat reply from her friend Jian Qing: "Have you been reading too many extreme cold apocalypse novels? (dog face)"