She walked into the kitchen, first finding a large basin before taking out vegetables from her space to wash them.

Unlike professional chefs who could create elaborate dishes, she only knew how to cook home-style meals.

She prepared braised pork ribs with beans, shredded potatoes with chili peppers, braised eggplant, crispy fried pork, tomato-braised beef brisket, cumin lamb, garlic oil wheat lettuce, spinach soup, pork rib and winter melon soup, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, stir-fried pork with chili peppers, braised pork with quail eggs, braised tofu, cold enoki mushroom salad, garlic stir-fried broccoli, stir-fried zucchini, stir-fried bok choy, lettuce in oyster sauce, dry pot cauliflower, and smashed cucumber salad.

The main priority was to cook all the leafy greens first.

As for radishes, yard-long beans, and cucumbers—things that could be pickled—she planned to gather them later and ferment a whole batch of salted vegetables.

When Ji He picked up some lotus roots, she suddenly remembered that she hadn’t planted any in the lake inside her space.

Looking at the plump, white lotus roots in her hands, she silently put them back. Instead of eating them now, she wanted to try using them as seeds.

Ji He was so busy in the kitchen that her feet barely touched the ground. While stir-frying dishes, she also used the large pot beside her to steam buns.

Since food supplies weren’t too scarce yet and people weren’t overly sensitive to flavors, she had to prepare as much as possible in advance.

Staple foods were just as important. If she had time, she would make extra—just in case. A single steamed bun with a pack of pickled vegetables could be a meal on its own.

She worked nonstop until the moon hung high in the sky before finally sitting down to eat.

At this time, both of the large pots beside her were still in use. Sitting on a stool in the kitchen, she ate a steamed bun with a plate of cold enoki mushrooms while scrolling through the news on her phone.

The government’s response was swift. After an afternoon of emergency repairs, many households had their electricity restored.

However, since Ji He’s home was in the suburbs, power hadn’t reached her area yet.

With electricity and running water, people could turn on air conditioning and cook meals—life was temporarily returning to normal. The panic from earlier in the day had subsided.

The gory videos that had been circulating in the afternoon were nowhere to be found now. The authorities must have had time to remove them.

As the temperature dropped, police and military forces were dispatched, and public security improved slightly. It wasn’t as chaotic as before.

Someone uploaded a video of shopping at a supermarket. Many soldiers in green uniforms were standing guard with guns, maintaining order. People could shop without fear of another riot like in the afternoon.

A loudspeaker nearby continuously broadcasted a message:
“Purchase limit: 1,000 per person. Please shop rationally and avoid excessive hoarding to prevent waste.”

The habit of hoarding supplies was deeply ingrained in the people’s mindset.

Even with the loudspeaker’s reminders, most people still bought the maximum amount allowed. Some even dropped off their goods outside, then returned to line up again—entire families mobilized for a shopping frenzy.

Aside from supermarket videos, new footage from hospitals emerged.

Many people had been injured during the riots earlier.

Now, hospitals were packed—heatstroke victims, bleeding wounds—every available space was occupied. The wards were full, forcing patients to lie on the floor. The hallways, already narrow, could only fit a single person passing sideways.

The government hadn’t addressed the looting in the supermarkets yet; they were likely still too overwhelmed to handle it.

Ji He scrolled for a while longer before closing her phone.

None of this directly affected her. She would keep to herself and avoid adding to the country’s burden.

After finishing her meal, Ji He got up and continued working.

The temperature had dropped a bit compared to daytime—still at 40°C. It was scorching, but at least the sun wasn’t beating down.

She opened the windows while working so that a little night breeze could flow in.

Even if it was hot air, it was better than nothing.

Ji He planned to adjust her schedule over the next few days—sleep during the day, cook at night. That would make things a bit more bearable.

She focused on chopping vegetables, cleaning and preparing all the leafy greens first.

Though it looked like a lot, once they were stir-fried, they would shrink significantly.

As long as gas and water were still running, she intended to cook as much as possible.

By the time it reached past midnight, Ji He checked the time and realized she wouldn’t be able to log into her game again today.

She went to the backyard, took out her solar charger, and began setting it up according to the instructions.

Standing in the yard, she could smell the scent of food from the neighboring houses and hear an elderly woman complaining.

It was too hot, and the power still hadn’t returned.

That afternoon, many middle-aged women had been cursing about their refrigerators—if the electricity didn’t come back soon, all the food inside would spoil.

They couldn’t bear to throw it away, so they had to figure out how to cook everything.

Compared to those strong food aromas covering the air, the scent from Ji He’s home was hardly noticeable.

She cautiously used a flashlight to work in the backyard.

She didn’t dare set up the charger in the front yard—it would be too conspicuous.

The backyard was slightly better; though there were other residents nearby, at least fewer people would see her.

She wasn’t skilled at this kind of work. With a flashlight in hand, she struggled through two hours of trial and error before finally installing the charger.

Yawning, she checked the time—it was already past 3 AM.

By now, the neighbors had all gone to sleep. The surroundings were eerily silent.

Rubbing her eyes, she returned to the kitchen to continue working.

This was the best time to cook without drawing attention. She couldn’t waste it.

Even while installing the solar charger outside, she had kept the kitchen busy—if she wasn’t cooking, she was boiling water.

The water she had stored before was all raw. To drink it, she needed to boil it first. Ji He planned to prepare 20 barrels of boiled water so she wouldn’t have to keep reheating it later.

Since it would take a while for the water to boil, she entered her space to sort out the supplies she had gathered today.

Most of today’s food stockpile consisted of packaged goods rather than fresh vegetables or meat. Besides some ready-to-eat meals, the rest were snacks and vacuum-sealed foods.

These were valuable items—perfect for bartering in the future.

Ji He carefully categorized everything and recorded them in her notebook.

That way, she’d always have a clear inventory of what she had.

After sorting out the food, she moved on to organizing daily necessities.

There wasn’t much to say about these—she just stored them in boxes and recorded them in her log. When needed, she could easily retrieve them.

Even though she had accumulated a lot, Ji He doubted it would last her until she was 60. If possible, she still needed to stockpile more to feel secure.

Finally, she sorted the medical supplies.

There were many medicines today, including a variety of vaccines.

She only glanced at them briefly before deciding not to log them individually—there were simply too many.

She placed them carefully in a designated corner of her space, marking the spot for future reference.

Once everything was neatly arranged, the space felt spacious again.

By then, it was already 4 AM.

Ji He took some vegetables and cornmeal from her space and stepped outside to cook food for the pigs.