[edited]

Jiang Ning never expected that in 1801, not only did new tenants move in, but it was also the young man who lent a hand at the express delivery point.   

The other party nodded slightly in surprise and then continued working.   

The man have a handsome and cold appearance, tall and lean, with muscles faintly visible under his clothes, giving off a strong and explosive feeling.   

Jiang Ning’s felt her scalp went numb and quickly retreated to her room after exchanging greetings.   

This life was different; not only did the typhoon come early, but there were also new neighbors.   

Who in their right mind would install three stainless steel gates in a row?   

It would be best if things could remain peaceful, but she couldn’t afford to be less vigilant.   

The other person showed bravery without any pretense, but that was before the natural disaster. With the moral decline at the end of times, who can guarantee that he will maintain his original actions?   

After locking the door securely, brushing her teeth, washing up, and finishing breakfast, the sky was slightly brighter but still very gloomy.   

Jiang Ning stood on the balcony. The fierce typhoon was howling and continuously battering the walls, while the torrential rain pounded against the blast resistant glass.   

In just one night, the streets were flooded, many vehicles were submerged, and the low lying areas were directly swept away by the floodwaters.   

The rain obstructed her view, making it impossible to see clearly. In the distance, it’s grey and gloomy. The sky grew darker and darker, like two invisible hands of darkness compressing the entire city into the palm of their hands, crushing it mercilessly.   

Jiang Ning held a pair of binoculars, standing on the balcony overlooking the city. The city streets were submerged, and the dark clouds loomed lower and lower. There seems to be a water vortex connecting the sky and the earth, rapidly rotating and sucking in everything—rain, trees, cars—seemingly intending to devour all creation…   

A tornado!  

Jiang Ning was extremely shocked, watching as the tornado instantly severed the overpass. The lightning struck some trees, causing fires, only to be quickly extinguished by the downpour.   

Did tornadoes exist in her past life?   

Jiang Ning couldn’t recall, but she felt like many things were different now, seemingly heading in a worse direction.   

Her phone kept buzzing with messages, but annoyed by the noise, she shut off the internet and busied herself in the kitchen.   

She blanched the frozen chicken and duck feet in boiling water to remove the bloodiness, then used various spices to make braised snacks. Handling pork and beef offal also takes a lot of time.   

After being exposed to too many cooking fumes, Jiang Ning lost her appetite. For lunch, she made a simple tomato and egg noodle dish.   

As she turned off the fume hood, she faintly heard a child crying.   

She didn’t pay much attention to it, packing up the household garbage and throwing it out the door. Just as she was about to go back to her room, she heard someone crying coming from next door.   

She had only studied medicine for a year, so she couldn’t even be considered a novice, but she knew more than others. The child’s crying didn’t sound right.

After hesitating for a moment, she knocked on the door of 1801. “Doudou.”   

The three stainless steel doors were too thick. Jiang Ning knocked for a while but there’s no response. Just as she was about to turn away, she heard a click from inside.   

There was a lot of fuss inside, and finally, the door opened to reveal a timid face with tear marks all over, with traces of vomit not yet cleaned off from the corners of the mouth, and an abnormally flushed face.   

“Why is Doudou crying?”   

Jiang Ning reached out to touch her head, which felt unnaturally hot. Clear nasal mucus kept dripping from her nose, indicating a cold and fever.   

“Where’s your dad?”   

“My brother’s gone.” Her voice was hoarse with a hint of tears, and her small hands kept wiping her eyes. “Brother also doesn’t want Doudou anymore.”   

“Also”? It seemed that she had been abandoned before.   

Looking at the solid stainless steel door, Jiang Ning gently patted her head to comfort her. “No, he probably has something to do outside. He’ll be back soon. How about going to sister’s place for now?”   

Facing a sick five year old child. The strange environment was especially frightening for the kid, but she remembered her sister in front of her and hesitantly nodded in agreement.   

Bringing Doudou back home, Jiang Ning measured her temperature, which was over 39 degrees Celsius. She found some cold medicine suitable for children that contained antipyretic ingredients.   

After giving the medicine, afraid that her parents might worry, she wrote a note and stuck it on the door of 1801.   

Listening to the roaring typhoon outside, Jiang Ning couldn’t help but be curious about her neighbor. Wasn’t it suicidal to go out in this weather?   

With the typhoon occasionally accompanied by lightning, the TV had lost its signal. Seeing Doudou curled up on the sofa, looking extremely terrified and restless, she couldn’t help but recall her own childhood. She remembered lying in bed crying, feeling abandoned by the whole world when she fell ill, while seeing other children being cared for by their parents.

Not knowing how to entertain a child, she could only take out her tablet and play the downloaded cartoons for Doudou.   

The cartoons were indeed a great distraction, and the sluggish Doudou became more energetic.   

Jiang Ning sat beside her, scrolling through her phone. Several profile pictures flashed, including Yang Weicong’s.   

“An Ning, I was rude yesterday. Please don’t be angry.”   

“I was really looking forward to you coming to celebrate my birthday with me, but since you didn’t show up, that’s why I feel so disappointed.”   

He looked like a tough guy on the outside but turned out to have such a soft heart that he couldn’t even hold on for a single night.   

Well, with so many people celebrating his birthday for him, there should still be seven or eight left at home. The gatherings are all about snacks, beer, and cake. There’s no way they’d cook meals, let alone have any food stock.   

Even if there were instant noodles and biscuits, they wouldn’t be enough to satisfy so many mouths.   

Jiang Ning looked at the time and saw that it had been sent an hour ago. Sure enough, he was hungry and begging for food.

Several friend requests came in, but she ignored them all after Yang Weicong messaged her.   

Two parents from tutoring messaged her, thanking her for reminding them to buy food in time; otherwise, their families would have gone hungry.   

One of them even sent a red envelope as thanks.   

Jiang Ning didn’t accept it; even if she did, she wouldn’t have the chance to spend it.   

She continued to browse the group messages. There were people bragging about their seafood feasts, enjoying hot pot, and drinking alcoholic beverages in the middle of the storm. They even showed off their well stocked refrigerators.

A lot of them are bragging, they’re even playing word games, unaware of the consequences of their careless behaviour.

Typhoons and rainstorms last for a month. Even if the country had the intention to rescue, the harsh reality of the environment wouldn’t allow it.

These people would become the first targets of theft as soon as food shortages put lives in danger.   

When there’s people showing off, there’s someone seeking help.   

The number of people asking for help wasn’t small; almost all of them were young people who relied on takeout for a living. They splurged on everything else, but they rarely cooked. Despite having heaps of clothes and face masks at home, there was nothing to eat.

“Yesterday, all the instant noodles at the supermarket were sold out. Can anyone please help?”   

“I couldn’t get any either. I bought two bags of plain flour, but we don’t have any pots at home.”   

Someone started, and many others followed suit. There were even those people who invited pretty girls to come over for hot pot, but unfortunately, they weren’t in the same building.   

There were many onlookers, but few genuinely helped out, until someone suggested exchanging goods. Five pieces of face masks for a packet of instant noodles, and soon, there were responses.   

The messages were overwhelming, and Jiang Ning quickly scrolled down. She saw a forwarded video clip: a car being swept into a torrent, firefighters risking their lives in the typhoon to rescue, only to be engulfed by the torrent from a breached dam in an instant.   

These videos were quite common, some showing successful rescues while others showing a complete devastation.   

Jiang Ning felt a heavy weight on her heart. She was about to exit her phone, but then Yang Weicong message popped up again.