February was approaching, and so was the Spring Festival.
This year, people had no joy for the New Year, no fleeting pleasure, not even a self-deceiving mirage. Times were tough, one could endure it, but once the spirit shattered, all was lost.
Under the government's strong propaganda, society's mood had been barely stabilized, but still, many felt despair and saw no path forward. Almost every day for the past two months, there had been suicides.
Before the world fell apart, The Kingdom of Jushi had nearly 2 billion people over a territory of more than ten million square kilometers. In just seven years, the population had shrunk to 1.5 billion, and the usable land had receded from the borders, leaving mountainous, riverside, and seaside regions deserted for thousands of miles.
