Chapter 34

Jixing Community is located in the eastern part of Lou Yuncheng, to the east of Yun River, near the outskirts of the city, facing Dam No. 1.

The eastern outskirts of Lou Yuncheng have lower terrain and house several shelters. Being close to the flood-prone area, this region—especially the eastern urban section near the outskirts—is considered one of the less desirable residential areas in the entire city.

Jixing Community has a maximum height of 25 floors and lacks large supermarkets nearby. From various aspects, it is far from an ideal residence in her mind.

If she had to find two advantages to comfort herself, one would be that Jixing Community is built on a hill in the eastern part of the city, and the buildings have elevators.

Although 25 floors aren’t particularly high, when combined with the hill’s elevation, the buildings are still significantly taller than Dam No. 1 in the distance. Living above the 20th floor allows for a view of the vast waters beyond the high walls.

Roughly speaking, it could be considered a “sea-view apartment.”

Additionally, the rent here is very cheap. For the same price, she could rent a space twice or even three times larger than her previous residence.

Finally, while many apartment complexes in the eastern part of the city have been designated as official co-rental housing for incoming refugees, Jixing Community was fortunately excluded from this category.

Most of the residents here are locals. Even those from outside the city are people with enough means to afford independent rentals.

Shu Fu parked her car beneath Building No. 3 in Jixing Community. Through the rain-covered windshield, she saw the massive base of the building standing before her like a gray mountain.

Jixing Community consists of only four buildings, but each one is enormous. Combined, they could likely house all the residents from her previous rental community, Ping’an Complex, in Suicheng.

Building No. 3 stood next to Building No. 4. The two buildings were close together, connected by aerial corridors on the 9th and 15th floors.

Shu Fu slung her backpack to the front of her body and put on a thick raincoat that covered her completely. As she stepped out of the car, she held a fully charged stun baton in her hand, while a loaded nail gun was placed on the most accessible shelf in her bag.

She had still gone through a real estate agent—someone familiar with the area. She didn’t have many requirements: preferably a unit on the 20th floor or higher, minimal furniture was fine, but the doors and windows had to be sturdy.

The agent assured her on the spot that, since the onset of extreme weather, many vacant apartments in the area had undergone door and window reinforcement. Otherwise, the strong winds and hailstorms would easily shatter ordinary glass.

Building No. 3 was designed in a large fan shape, with spacious hallways and many residents. The corridors extended in all directions. On rainy days like this, those who didn’t have to work often gathered in the hallways to chat, gossip, or play mahjong.

Shu Fu didn’t take off her raincoat. She even wore a mask, leaving only her eyes exposed. As she entered the elevator, she avoided the corridors, but she could still feel the watchful eyes around her. She wasn’t just wary of others—others were wary of her as well.

Some people noticed that she was a young woman, and their vigilance quickly faded. Others, however, continued to stare at her until she disappeared around the corridor’s corner.

The agent showed her two apartments, both in Building No. 3.

The first was on the 24th floor, facing south, with good sunlight. It had three bedrooms and a living room, was fully furnished with modern decor, and had running water, electricity, and gas—ready for immediate move-in.

“It rains every day, and you’re talking about sunlight?”

The agent wasn’t embarrassed and simply laughed before taking her to the second option.

The second apartment was on the 21st floor, smaller in size, with one bedroom, a living room, and a storage room—barely qualifying as a two-bedroom unit. It also had running water, electricity, and gas, with the landlord covering the utility bills, which were settled at the end of each month based on usage.

The apartment had basic furnishings and a layout similar to her old place in Suicheng. However, its windows faced east, and both the kitchen and bathroom lacked windows. The bedroom had one east-facing window, while the living room featured an enclosed balcony—its lower half was a solid wall, and the upper half was reinforced glass with security measures.

Through the window, she could see Dam No. 1 standing silently in the heavy rain.

She paid special attention to the kitchen and bathroom, carefully inspecting the gas lines, electrical wiring, and drainage system. The apartment was small but relatively clean. The living room was bare—there wasn’t even a TV wall, just a long sofa and a glass coffee table.

Having experience with renting, she finished her inspection efficiently and decided to take it.

Based on the task description, she only needed to check into Jixing Community and successfully rent an apartment—she might not even have to stay here long-term. The lease required a two-month deposit and one month’s rent in advance, with monthly payments transferred to the agent, who would deduct fees before forwarding the rest to the landlord.

The rent wasn’t expensive. After signing the contract, she paid via mobile phone and immediately received the access card and keys. She also added the landlord on WeChat.

The agent had never encountered such a straightforward tenant before. From scheduling the viewing to finalizing the rental, the entire process took only two to three hours.

People in this business appreciated efficient clients like her. Before leaving, the agent invited her to several local community groups, explaining that if she needed fresh vegetables, fruit, fish, meat, or medicine, she could check the group messages.

These groups were organized by the local neighborhood committee for bulk buying and trade. The prices were slightly higher than what one would pay at a supermarket, but given the current extreme weather—constant storms and strong winds, with a hurricane and massive waves hitting outside the safety wall just yesterday—many residents, especially the elderly or those without cars, relied on these community purchases.

Older individuals and those without quick reflexes couldn’t compete with younger shoppers in supermarkets, nor could they jostle with middle-aged folks in crowded stores. So, they entrusted the neighborhood committee with their purchases.

This type of proxy purchasing isn’t about stockpiling and reselling at high prices. Instead, the needs of group members are gathered first, and then the purchases are made through government-approved channels.

Each household gets one portion, and there is no room for false reporting or deception.

The people managing these groups are essentially government employees.

Fresh goods and other supplies bought through this system are delivered to the hallways of the residential buildings at a set time, after which residents are notified via the group chat to pick up their items based on their order confirmation and payment records.

The trading group, on the other hand, is much less formal. It consists of residents exchanging items they temporarily don’t need for things they urgently require.

For example, one night, a family’s child developed a fever of 39°C during a heavy rainstorm. Desperate for fever medicine, they sent a request in the group.

Another household in the same building had stockpiled several bottles of fever medicine but was short on fruit. Coincidentally, the family in need of medicine had extra fruit, so they quickly reached an agreement in the group chat. The family needing the medicine went to the other household and made the trade in person.

For newcomers like Shu Fu, it would have been impossible to join these groups so quickly without a recommendation from the real estate agent.

The current state of law and order isn’t great, especially in the eastern part of the city, where theft and robberies happen from time to time. That’s why entry into these groups is restricted—new members must be vetted and typically need recommendations from group administrators or trusted acquaintances.

The real estate agent’s office was nearby, and he lived in the area. He was well-connected with the local neighborhood committees and property management offices. Seeing that Shu Fu was a young woman renting a place so decisively, and that she had a local ID, he recommended her directly.

Shu Fu wasn’t particularly concerned about supply shortages, but she preferred to blend in rather than stand out. Since she was invited, she joined the groups without hesitation—she could always just lurk silently.

Besides, being in the group meant establishing a connection with Jixing Community and nearby residential areas. Important updates would be posted by the group admins or shared through conversations among residents.

For someone like her, who preferred to keep her distance from crowds, this was an ideal way to stay informed while maintaining her space.

After that, she asked the agent about parking.

Earlier, when she entered the building, she noticed that the parking lot was on the first floor, spanning the entire base of Building 3. The entrance had an electronic barrier, preventing unauthorized vehicles from entering.

With the stormy weather outside, and since she had rented a car, she wanted to protect it as much as possible.

The agent told her that parking spaces were also available for monthly rental. Few people in the area owned cars, so there were plenty of spots. She could inquire with property management, which was also in one of the groups he had just added her to. They would assign her a space and provide a monthly parking permit.

Following the agent’s advice, she quickly found the property management contact and sent a friend request.

After the agent left, she took off her raincoat, locked the door, and did a thorough inspection of the apartment once again. After confirming that everything was in order, she pulled the curtains in the living room. Then, she moved the sofa to the inner side of the room, pushed the coffee table aside, and released her raft.

The familiar raft and floating cabin appeared before her, and she instantly felt like a fish that had been stranded on land for too long, finally returning to the ocean. She couldn’t wait to be back in her warm and comfortable home.

Half an hour later, after taking a shower and changing into clean loungewear, Shu Fu flopped onto the soft mattress, rolling around in the blanket that carried a faint scent of laundry detergent.

These past few days, she had been miserable from using the purified water at the hotel—it left a chemical smell on her body. Since she had to go out frequently to view apartments and buy food, she avoided using overly fragrant shampoo or body wash, relying only on sulfur soap.

Now, with the gentle scent of cherry blossoms on her skin and the soothing fragrance of lavender in her hair, she had never felt so fresh before. She smelled like a flower.

It was a little past 1 PM, meaning she had the rest of the day to spend in her floating cabin.

The front door of the cabin was open, and as she lay on the bed, she could clearly hear the sound of rain outside on the balcony.

A steady, medium rainfall—not too heavy, not too light—falling endlessly since the day of the massive waves.

Online, she had checked the past two months of weather patterns in Lou Yuncheng. The thunderstorms and hailstorms here weren’t as severe as those in Suicheng. Occasionally, heavy rain would be accompanied by thunderstorms or hail, but these would usually last only about thirty minutes.

At times, a sudden downpour would overwhelm the drainage system, causing temporary flooding in some areas of the city, but the water would recede quickly.

Compared to Suicheng and Ningcheng, which had been completely submerged by floods, and the coastal regions that had been devastated by typhoons and tsunamis, Lou Yuncheng’s situation was relatively fortunate.

Shu Fu opened her notebook, where she recorded disasters and contingency plans, and speculated about what might happen next.

There had already been torrential rain, flooding, tsunamis, thunderstorms, and hail. Based on her notes, the only things left were aquatic mutations and rising sea levels.

Technically, sea level rise had already begun, but aquatic mutations fell outside the category of natural disasters and leaned more toward biological catastrophes.

However, based on the information she had gathered so far, the fish and other aquatic creatures in the water still seemed normal. Some people staying in hilltop lodges had even started fishing near the water’s edge or taking boats out to deeper waters.

They had caught fish, shrimp, and crabs—fresh seafood that became an essential part of their diet. Many of them even posted pictures online of their grilled fish feasts and spicy shrimp-and-crab dishes, making those stuck in the city, where fresh seafood was scarce and expensive, incredibly envious.

She just couldn’t get past the mental hurdle herself and wasn’t ready to eat seafood caught from the flooded area yet.

Based on everything so far, there should be a relatively peaceful period here before Lou Yuncheng gets submerged by rising sea levels, right?

Besides, the water-blocking dam has already been built, so that day shouldn’t come too soon…

Shu Fu’s thoughts didn’t drift too far before the hunger in her stomach pulled her back to reality. She had only eaten a sandwich and a latte for breakfast, and now she was starving.

Especially after settling the rental, now that she was safely inside the floating island house, she instinctively wanted to treat herself to something good.

In the bathroom, both washing machines were still running, and she had laid out everything that needed charging. Since she hadn’t deployed the raft for a while, a huge pile of dirty laundry had accumulated. It was the perfect time to turn on the full-house power supply and take care of all the electricity-consuming tasks at once.

Always trying to make the most of the power supply while it was on, Shu Fu finally decided on hotpot for lunch—the kind cooked with an induction cooker!

The broth was a dual-flavor pot: one half was a plain bamboo fungus chicken soup, while the other was a spicy red broth stir-fried with a newly bought spicy beef tallow hotpot base and some mushrooms.

The chicken soup had been made back when she was still in Suicheng. She had been too bored there, and every time she turned on the full-house power, she would instinctively start making soup—bringing it to a boil with the induction cooker and then transferring it to an energy-saving self-cooking pot to simmer slowly.

This way, it saved power while ensuring a rich and flavorful broth.

She didn’t eat hotpot often, and when she did, she would mix in her own selection of vegetables, meatballs, and seafood. There was still about one or two meals’ worth of food left from her hotpot gift pack: a box of cartilage lamb, a box of fatty beef rolls, a box of beef tripe, a box of baby squid, a box of luncheon meat, along with a mixed platter of oyster mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, garland chrysanthemum, Chinese cabbage, fried dough sticks, rice cakes, konjac, and dried tofu skin.

When eating hotpot or barbecue, she never ate rice—just meat and vegetables until she was full. She simply took out everything that was left, planning to eat as much as she could. Anything unfinished would be stored away again.

Hotpot had to be paired with an ice-cold Coke. She had plenty of drinks stocked in her storage space, but very few were actually chilled. The fridge in the small kitchen only worked when the power was on, so having cold drinks regularly wasn’t practical.

This newly rented house did have a fridge, so she could store some drinks there, but it wasn’t a long-term solution.

With that thought, Shu Fu temporarily set down her chopsticks and went to the small kitchen. She took an ice maker from her storage space, briefly checked the instructions, and quickly understood how to use it. After cleaning it, she added purified drinking water and started making ice.

The manual mentioned that the first ice-making cycle would take about one to two hours, and subsequent cycles would be faster. The full-house power wouldn’t be on that long, but she had a generator, so she could switch to that before the electricity card expired.

As she passed by the back door, she remembered the golden second-place prize she had drawn.

It was a one-hour trial card that had to be equipped on the raft before use.

She took out the dazzling gold card and recalled how the electricity card and drift bottle shield were both timed-use items that could be deactivated at any time. So, she brought the card to the function screen and swiped it to equip.

She needed to figure out exactly what this card did—whether it worked the way she guessed. If it did, then even when she wasn’t in the floating island house, she could feel more secure when venturing out alone.

[Drift Bottle Personal Shield 1-Hour Trial Card. Equip?]

She clicked “Equip.”

Instantly, the golden lettering on the card vanished, and the entire card’s color dulled, looking like rusted metal.

Shu Fu was startled. She remembered that when her first 24-hour electricity card was used up, it had ended up in the same state. A card in this condition meant its usage time had expired, and no matter how many times she tried to scan it, the function screen wouldn’t respond.

Could this trial card be a one-time-use item, where equipping it immediately started the countdown and made it impossible to deactivate?

Fortunately, just as she was feeling unsure, subtitles appeared on the screen.

[Drift Bottle Personal Shield Equipped (00:60:00). This is a limited-time trial function. Within the time limit, the personal shield can be activated by long-pressing the “Shield” icon on the wristband.]

The countdown timer was different from the ones for the electricity card and raft shield—it showed a full 60 minutes but hadn’t started ticking down yet. This meant that the card was only equipped, not yet activated.

At the same time, her wristband vibrated. She raised her hand and saw that beneath the sixth map panel icon, a seventh icon had appeared.

This icon had a different design from the previous six—it was a bit ridiculous. It depicted a bottle with a tiny stick figure inside.

As absurd as it looked, its meaning was crystal clear.

The drift bottle completely enclosed the little stick figure inside, perfectly illustrating the concept of a “Drift Bottle Personal Shield.”

Shu Fu stared at the new icon. She was very tempted to test it immediately because the function panel didn’t provide any details about how the shield actually worked. She wasn’t sure if it would function exactly like the raft’s shield or if there would be some differences.

But this time, she didn’t rush to activate it. What if once turned on, the countdown couldn’t be stopped? That would be a waste.

Since it was already equipped and could be activated at any time, it was better to save it for when she really needed it.

She returned to the small dining table, where the yin-yang broth in the induction pot had already come to a rolling boil, releasing rich, fragrant steam.

Since she had previously drawn a second floor-to-ceiling window, the grid window by the dining table had now also been upgraded to a floor-to-ceiling window. Unfortunately, she was indoors, and the view outside was just the rental house’s wall. If the raft were floating on the water right now, she could have enjoyed the open view, watching the rain while eating.

Shu Fu took out her tablet and found a disaster movie about biological mutations—something to watch while eating that might even be a bit educational.

An hour later, she cleaned up the dishes, disposed of the trash, and put the remaining meat and vegetables into the pot to cook. Then, she stored the entire pot in her space, planning to finish it for lunch tomorrow.

In the small kitchen, the first batch of ice cubes was ready. She retrieved a metal ice bucket from her storage space—something she had fished up with her automatic fishing rod. It was still brand new and unopened, perfect for storing the freshly made ice.

She thoroughly cleaned the ice bucket, scalded it with hot water, dried it, then poured in the ice cubes before immediately storing it back into her space.

The two washing machines in the bathroom had stopped, meaning the laundry was done. All the devices that needed charging were fully charged. She removed the electricity card and connected the two dryers and the ice maker to the generator, making another batch of ice. Then, she transferred all the washed clothes into the dryers one by one.

With everything taken care of, Shu Fu connected her phone to a Bluetooth speaker, collapsed onto the sofa, and put on a soft, gentle song. As she listened, she unexpectedly drifted off to sleep.

**

This nap was deep and peaceful, and when she woke up, it was already nearing evening.

Shu Fu turned off the music, took a sip of water, and pulled out a cup of mochi taro milk tea. As she drank, she checked her wristband. The black notebook still displayed the “Check-in at Jixing Community and Rent a House” task in black text.

She had already spent half the day in the rented house—why wasn’t the task marked as complete?

Did she have to wait three full days for it to be automatically verified as completed?

Oh well. She had time now anyway. Though she was eager to upgrade her raft to level 3 as soon as possible, she knew that progress couldn’t be rushed.

Outside the floating island house, the sharp pattering of rain that had been hitting the glass earlier seemed to have stopped. Shu Fu grabbed a thick plush coat, put it on, and stepped out of the wooden house.

She pulled open the living room curtains and saw that the once-gloomy sky outside the balcony had brightened.