Chapter 69

Chen Yuezhen hurriedly put on a raincoat, not even having time to wear rain pants. She was carrying two travel bags filled with supplies in one hand, while a boat bag hung from her other arm, and she had a boat engine in her hand. Her backpack was on her back, and she was weighed down by all the gear, looking like a Christmas tree with no item left behind.

She rushed out of the small building and, upon seeing them, her face lit up with relief.

“Good thing you two are back! Hurry up! The bridge collapsed over there, the tributary’s water level is rising, and the floodwaters are already up to the waterline!” Chen Yuezhen quickly summarized the situation. Though she wasn’t sure if the flood would reach the complex, it was better to move to safety sooner rather than risk it.

She had originally planned to find a higher building on the way back so she could spot them immediately upon their return, avoiding getting separated. Now that she had seen them come back safely, it was even better.

Chen Fa and Shu Fu didn’t have time to ask many questions. They immediately stepped forward to take the travel bags and boat bag from her, and the three of them left the complex, heading back to the main road. As they got closer to the city center of Lucheng, the terrain rose.

Even if the floodwaters reached the waterline and flooded the nearby area, it wouldn’t reach the city center, so as long as they left this area, they would be safe.

The three of them, guided by the memory of the route from their earlier return, found a small building.

This building was on the second floor of a row of simple commercial buildings along the street. It was a small commercial building, so the floors were slightly higher.

They chose a second-floor auto repair shop. The first floor was a warehouse that had already been emptied of useful auto repair parts, but the steel walls of the warehouse sheltered them from the wind and rain and were out of sight, making it a suitable place to stay for the night. On the other side, there was a room with a broken window, which provided a good view of the outside.

Two hours later, the three of them cleaned up the warehouse, collected some dry cardboard, dismantled a wooden chair, and found an empty diesel barrel in the repair shop downstairs. They lit a fire for warmth.

They also collected rainwater and added purification tablets to it, using the water to wash their faces and bodies and change out of their wet clothes, rinsing themselves in the water. They found an empty steel frame, which was originally meant for holding tires. After cleaning it, they moved it next to the diesel barrel and hung their clean clothes to dry.

On the floor beside them, two camping mats were spread out. While Shu Fu and Chen Yuezhen were hanging the clothes, Chen Fa sat on the camping mat, using a portable stove and a small camping pot to heat up the canned food they had swapped for today.

Shu Fu was good at cooking. Inside, there were several curry potato beef brisket and curry chicken dishes, which she poured out into one pot and mixed together. She added bread, preparing a curry dinner.

The curry was perfect for warming up, especially with the heavy rain that had lowered the temperature. Since the three of them had gotten wet, a hearty curry dinner was exactly what they needed.

Honestly, with the Drift Island House as a backup, Shu Fu had been able to eat well and sleep comfortably since the natural disaster started. She had never worried about food, clothing, or shelter. But this period of time, with all its uncertainty, had been the most unstable and wandering for her.

There were no gourmet meals, snacks, fruits, milk tea, coffee, or drinks. No clean bathrooms with aromatic bath bubbles, no comfortable, soft beds, or fluffy blankets to roll around in…

But perhaps because she had companions now, and they all worked together, using limited resources to create a comfortable space for each other in a constrained environment, she found an unexpected sense of joy and security.

This feeling of safety, however, was different from the absolute security she had felt before, which was laced with loneliness. This new safety was accompanied by novelty and danger, but because they had each other, and they worked together, every day felt more fulfilling.

Though she knew that this period of time would eventually end—after she completed the level 4 progress bar for the raft, she would have to return to a solitary state—this drifting life, filled with adventure, warmth, and protection, would become part of her memories, growing more precious and beautiful with time.

So, no matter how harsh the current environment was, she didn’t feel discomfort. She didn’t even miss the Drift Island House as much as she had imagined.

After all, even the best things, if experienced alone, would always have a tinge of regret…

In the middle of the night, Shu Fu turned over on the camping mat, looking toward Chen Fa in the room at the other end of the warehouse. Tonight, it was her turn for the first watch. She had put on a raincoat and was sitting in the room, ready to check the outside situation at any time.

It seemed like Chen Fa had sensed Shu Fu’s gaze. She turned around and met her eyes across the dim, flickering light of the diesel barrel.

Chen Fa looked at her with dark eyes, and after a brief smile, gestured for Shu Fu to hurry up and get some sleep.

Shu Fu also smiled faintly, preparing to close her eyes and rest. But then, another loud thunderclap erupted outside. As the lightning flashed, she instinctively sensed something was wrong. Her eyes shot open, and she quickly turned her gaze to the top of Chen Fa’s head.

Since the room wasn’t very big and the windows were all broken, the heavy storm had made it easy for rainwater to enter. So, Chen Fa had put on her raincoat and pulled up her hood.

The raincoat was a dark, military green color, and Shu Fu, in the darkness, shouldn’t have noticed her hood. But just now, in a fleeting moment, it seemed like she saw white streaks of light flashing rapidly from above her head.

It looked like some sort of old-fashioned electronic screen…

Was it just her eyes playing tricks? How could that be?

Outside the window, another thunderclap rang out, with lightning flashing brightly, and at the same time, it illuminated Chen Fa’s body and face, flickering slightly.

It turned out that the white light strip she had seen earlier was probably just a mistake on her part.

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The three of them spent their third and fourth nights in the upper floor of the repair shop. On the fifth day, they woke up early, packed their things, and prepared to head into the city.

Shu Fu had already expressed that she intended to go to the No. 3 trading post on the third and fifth days of the opening. The difference was that after visiting the No. 3 trading post today, they would not stay in Lucheng but would continue northward through the entire city and head toward Pingcheng, which was farther north.

Shu Fu wasn’t sure if Lu Zheng and the others were still in Pingcheng, so today, when she went to the No. 3 trading post, she planned to log into her old WeChat account and reach out to them.

If they were still in Pingcheng, that would be ideal; if they had left, she could still gather information about the current situation in Pingcheng.

The heavy rain had been falling for several days, but today it showed some signs of subsiding. However, the city of Lucheng, which had been battered by the storms for several days, looked even more desolate and dilapidated. The three of them entered the city cautiously, as they were carrying all their supplies with them.

The boat bags were covered with empty travel bags, and the boat engine was placed in another empty travel bag to avoid attracting attention.

They stuck to the edges of the group’s territory and carefully made their way to the museum.

There were fewer people than the last time, likely because the continuing storms and lightning had made it harder for people to travel, so fewer outsiders came for the trading.

Shu Fu and the others paid with three packs of biscuits to enter, not only to complete their check-in and use the internet but also to trade for some portable food, such as canned goods and instant noodles, as well as bottled water, so they would have enough supplies for their journey north.

In fact, Shu Fu had another plan—she wanted to solve their transportation problem for the journey ahead.

Gold was still valuable here, and if she just wanted to exchange for a car that didn’t require fuel, it should not be too expensive.

After all, the most expensive thing wasn’t the car, but the fuel, which was now as valuable as gold.

And in her space, she had more than 3,000 liters of fuel stored from last year in Suicheng, of which only about 200 liters had been used. Thanks to the frequent electric card draws in the last month, her electricity usage was now plentiful, and she rarely needed to use the generator anymore.

After connecting her phone to the internet, she quickly muted the sound before logging into her old WeChat account.

As expected, right after connecting, a flood of messages appeared, including messages from Zhang Tian, Wu Shaoshan, Liu Shuang, and Cheng Yu.

Zhang Tian and Wu Shaoshan had already been notified about her survival by Chen Fa the day before, and both of them had scolded her in response to the relief, venting the worry they had felt from the giant tsunami.

Compared to the others, there were fewer messages from Liu Shuang and Cheng Yu, and she couldn’t focus on them for now.

She immediately found Lu Zheng’s name among the flood of red notifications and sent a message to him. He didn’t respond right away, probably due to a delayed signal. This phone had been off since leaving Hexi town, but it still had a decent amount of battery, so she didn’t turn it off again and instead tucked it away, planning to first trade for the necessary supplies.

Today, she didn’t plan to use medicines for trading but instead intended to use only gold.

After all, the medicine she had shown to Chen Fa was only a few boxes, and at most, she had a few more types of medicine in her bag, but it wouldn’t make sense to carry too much. Moreover, medicine was precious, and part of the reason for the last trade had been to gather information, so today it was unnecessary.

Gold, on the other hand, was small and easy to hide. She could carry a lot of it in her waist bag. Since the three of them were carrying a lot of supplies today, they didn’t separate and instead looked around together.

Chen Fa wasn’t surprised when Shu Fu pulled out a gold bar to trade for a convenient self-heating rice pouch. After they left the stall, Chen Fa took a bag of gold jewelry from the side pocket of her backpack and handed it to Shu Fu, signaling her to keep it safe for future trades if needed.

The jewelry was quite heavy, but Shu Fu didn’t ask any questions. In times of chaos, it was understandable to have some gold on hand. She wasn’t planning to use it immediately anyway. After all, she had several gold shops stored in her space…

The three of them made a quick round and were soon done exchanging their food and water supplies. Shu Fu also traded two pills for a replacement gas canister for their camping stove.

She also asked around about cars at two stalls. The response was clear: if she wanted a car, they wouldn’t trade it for gold, only fuel.

30 liters of fuel would get a small car, and 50 liters would get a 4×4.

This made things a bit tricky for Shu Fu. Gold was small and easy to carry, but how would she get more fuel? Was she supposed to pick it up on the side of the road?

While she was thinking, someone suddenly yanked her arm hard, pulling her to the side.

Chen Fa and Chen Yuezhen reacted instantly. One stepped in front of Shu Fu, swiftly drew a multi-tool shovel from her backpack, and aimed it at the person, while the other took a step forward, positioning the sharp end of a fire axe at the person.

The man immediately released her and stepped back, not daring to approach.

This was inside the trading post, where unless there was a deep personal vendetta, no one would make a rash move. When the man suddenly grabbed Shu Fu, the three of them forced him back and stopped their actions.

The man clearly didn’t expect the people beside Shu Fu to react so quickly. At that moment, he also saw Chen Fa and immediately recognized her. He became furious and pointed at them, accusing them of not helping him when he was in danger that day, and saying that he suspected they were accomplices of that group, which was why they had deliberately ignored him.

Chen Fa rolled her eyes at him. “Crazy.”

At that moment, Shu Fu also recognized him—he was the one who had been caught in a trap outside the trading post two days ago, ending up with nothing but his underwear.

Her eyes scanned him for a moment, and she gave a knowing smile. “So it’s you. You’re dressed quite neatly today…”

Xu Jiechu instantly understood what she meant. Looking at the smile on Shu Fu’s lips, he wasn’t sure whether to be angry or something else, but his face instantly turned bright red.

That day, both of them had worn rain hoods and masks, walking quickly, so he hadn’t gotten a clear look at their faces. It was only now that, standing in front of them and locking eyes, he realized that they weren’t some tough older women. Both girls were quite young, probably even a few years younger than him, and both were rather good-looking. Especially the one smiling at him right now…

At that moment, Xu Jiechu remembered how he had been seen in such a humiliating state that day, and his anger and embarrassment intensified.

However, in the trading post, he didn’t dare to act recklessly. Having been tricked and robbed earlier, he had lost the gold his brother had given him to bring, which was already causing him a headache. So, without saying much, he turned and walked away.

“Be careful,” Chen Fa reminded, worried that the man might have a group behind him, holding a grudge and waiting for a chance to retaliate.

Two hours later, the three of them had exchanged all their supplies and were ready to leave.

Shu Fu had not received a reply from Lu Zheng. Before the network was cut off when leaving the trading post, she opened the chat boxes for Liu Shuang and Cheng Yu. The last message from each was over a month ago, one from two months ago, and the other a little more than a month ago.

Liu Shuang’s messages were all texts, starting soon after the world-ending tsunami. They ranged from urgent worry to messages of prayer in the end.

Cheng Yu’s messages were a few days later than Liu Shuang’s. At first, he had been on a mission. Later, he must have learned from Liu Shuang that she was out of contact. His messages were voice notes, each one short, asking why she didn’t leave Lou Yuncheng sooner, where she was, if she was still alive…

In the last few messages, he said he was going on another mission, this time to the border, which was dangerous, and he didn’t know if he would survive.

The very last message was the first time he had written in text.

—If I survive this time, it means you survived as well. Shu Fu, I want to see you again if I make it.

Shu Fu stared at this message for a long time, silent, before replying to both of them.

—Safe travels, hope you are safe too.

—I’m still alive, you will definitely survive as well.

The messages were sent, but she knew they wouldn’t reply immediately, especially while on a mission. She also didn’t have the time or conditions to keep in contact with them; who knew when she might have to disappear again for some reason…

Her reason for sending the message now was that, for the time being, she had blended into the crowd with a credible explanation. As for further explanations, that could wait until they had a chance to meet again.

She shut off her phone and started thinking about what excuse she could use to split off from the group briefly and get some fuel, at least solve the car issue.

However, no sooner had they walked out of the trading post than they were stopped again, this time by the same man and two others behind him.

“Three against three, now it’s fair!” Xu Jiechu clearly had been waiting for them for a long time. He couldn’t find the group from two days ago, but now that he encountered them, he was convinced they were all part of the same group. He had to save face. “I’ll give you the choice—either one of you comes out for a one-on-one duel, or we do a three-on-three brawl?”

“Crazy.” Chen Fa’s response was succinct.

Shu Fu didn’t even say a word. She simply took out a nail gun from her backpack and aimed it at him.

Just as the brawl seemed imminent, a cat suddenly leapt out of nowhere and scrambled up Xu Jiechu’s pants, scratching at his face.

“Ow! Ow! It hurts! You damn cat! Ow, I’m bleeding! It hurts—”

With the help of the two people beside him, Xu Jiechu finally grabbed the cat and frantically looked around. “Lu Ce, you little bastard! Get out here! Lu Zheng! Can’t you keep your damn cat under control? If you don’t, don’t blame me for catching it and eating it!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the blue-eyed tabby that he was holding began to struggle again, trying to bite his hand.

Soon, a familiar voice rang out nearby: “What are you doing, grabbing my Lan Lan?! Xu Jiechu, you’re an adult and you’re bullying a cat? Have some shame! Brother! Over here! I found Lan Lan!”

At the sound of the familiar voice, Shu Fu quickly turned around. Through the gloomy rain curtain, she saw an old acquaintance walking toward them briskly.