Chapter 8 – Looting Supplies

These self-righteous people kept accusing Xia Xiaoman of being rude and unreasonable, all while their eyes were glued to the three inflatable rafts.

You didn’t need to read their minds to know exactly what they were thinking.

Xia Xiaoman had already anticipated that the building’s residents would be envious of their supplies, which was why she told Sun Qing and Ye Xiaojie not to bring the rafts too close to the stairwell.

She was just about to pull out the axe at her waist to “reason with virtue,” when Zhou Qiuyang popped his head out from upstairs and shouted, “Xia Xiaoman, did you come back alone?”

His voice drew a lot of attention. The nosy aunt glanced at Xia Xiaoman, then at Zhou Qiuyang. “Xiao Yang, you know this girl?”

Zhou Qiuyang hurried down the stairs, completely ignoring the aunt. He went straight to Xia Xiaoman. “Where are the others?”

“They’re outside. Go help bring Ye Xiaojie in,” Xia Xiaoman replied, stepping aside.

Zhou Qiuyang nodded and, with a strong push, dove into the water and swam over to the inflatable boat where Ye Xiaojie was. He began pushing it back toward the building as he swam behind it.

Just as they got close to the stairs, several hands reached out to grab the raft.

Xia Xiaoman didn’t hesitate. She pulled out her axe and slammed the flat end down — right on the auntie’s hand.

The aunt screeched and yanked her hand back. “Ah! My hand! My hand’s broken!”

Xia Xiaoman stared her down coldly. “Touch my stuff again, and I won’t hesitate to actually break your hand.”

“Xia Xiaoman, that’s going too far! How can you just hit someone like that?”

Qin Yali ran down the stairs and stood protectively in front of the aunt. “You brought back so many supplies. Can’t you just share a bit? We’ll even pay! Was there really a need to get violent?”

With someone standing up to her, the rest of the residents began another round of moral outrage, pointing fingers and scolding Xia Xiaoman like she’d committed some unforgivable sin.

Then Qin Yali’s boyfriend swaggered over with a few other guys. “The hell are we talking for? We’ve got numbers. Let’s just grab it. Whoever gets it, keeps it.”

As soon as he said that, Ye Xiaojie stepped forward, brandishing a trekking pole, and smacked him square in the kneecap. She twisted her wrist and struck the legs of two other guys, who immediately fell, groaning in pain.

Clap clap clap!

Sun Qing, who had just paddled over to the stairwell, gave a loud round of applause. “Xiaojie, you’re amazing! That was badass!”

Ye Xiaojie’s cold expression melted into a shy smile at the praise.

Sun Qing jumped off the raft, wrapped one arm around Ye Xiaojie’s shoulder, and pointed the trekking pole at the crowd with the other. “My girl Xiaojie’s been training in martial arts since she was a kid. If you want to try robbing us, feel free to come take her on. See how well that goes for you.”

The room fell silent, except for the few injured guys moaning on the floor.

“No guts, huh? Then what are you still doing here? Haven’t you heard the phrase ‘a good dog doesn’t block the road’?”

The crowd reluctantly backed off, their resentment obvious, but they didn’t have the nerve to challenge them further.

——

Zhou Qiuyang brought up the last load of supplies and shut the door. “You guys were way too reckless today. You’ve pissed off everyone in the building. Be careful when you go out.”

He paused for a moment and added, “Actually, be careful at home too.”

Sun Qing shrugged nonchalantly. “Whatever. We’re not planning on staying here long anyway.”

Zhou Qiuyang blinked. “You’re moving?”

Xia Xiaoman’s face turned serious. “It’s not that we want to move, we have to.”

“The flooding downtown is getting worse. These past couple of days the rain has let up a little, so the water hasn’t risen as fast. But it hasn’t stopped raining at all. It’s only a matter of time before it floods up to the seventh floor.”

After going out today with Sun Qing and Ye Xiaojie, she had a clear understanding of the current state of the floating city.

If they were lucky, it might take ten days or two weeks for the water to reach their floor.

If not — if the cities upstream opened floodgates or the gates were damaged in the flood — the water could rise to the seventh floor overnight.

No matter what, they had to move. Unless the skies suddenly cleared up.

“Alright, enough gloom. Let’s divide up the supplies!” Sun Qing said excitedly, already categorizing everything.

There were: four 130L camo hiking backpacks, four 80L mid-sized packs, eight full sets of scuba gear, oxygen tanks, collapsible grills, two-person tents, gas stoves, inflatable mattresses, portable sleeping bags, alcohol burners, emergency thermal blankets, multitools, multi-function safety hammers…

Time was tight. Xia Xiaoman had made sure to grab everything they might need — at least four sets of each item.

For consumables like gas stoves, oxygen tanks, and alcohol burners, she grabbed extra.

Sun Qing divided everything into four equal sets, one for each person.

Zhou Qiuyang looked uneasy. “I’ll just take a scuba set. You guys can split the rest. I didn’t do anything to help — it wouldn’t be fair.”

“Just take it,” Sun Qing said with a smile. “If you really feel bad, then next time we go out scavenging, you stay back and guard the place.”

“We made a lot of enemies today. Next time we leave, they’ll definitely come pounding on our door. You better make sure nothing gets taken.”

Zhou Qiuyang immediately felt the pressure. “Maybe we should just move now…”

“I know a newly built residential complex that hasn’t sold many units yet. The buildings are complete and the doors and windows are all installed. We could move there.”

Sun Qing thought about it and shook her head. “Let’s wait and see what the authorities plan to do.”

The rain hadn’t stopped. The higher-ups wouldn’t just let everyone drown. Surely there would be some emergency response or resettlement policies.

Xia Xiaoman agreed. “No rush. This neighborhood is still close to shops and supermarkets. It’s easier for us to scavenge supplies from here.”

Once the supplies were sorted, Xia Xiaoman dragged her share home.

After paddling all day, her arms were sore and swollen.

She used the gas stove to heat up water, wiped herself down, then took out some medicated patches from her space that she had fished out earlier. She stuck them to her arms to ease the muscle pain.

Dinner was something hot: a pot of dumplings and two char siu buns.

Half-asleep that night, she was suddenly jolted awake by a blood-curdling scream.

She sat up in bed, barefoot, ran to the living room, and stood still, straining her ears to catch what was happening outside…