Chapter 13: The Early Arrival of the Supercell Storm

After a chaotic commotion, a few large black rats scurried out from Sun Qing’s apartment.

Xia Xiaoman had a bad feeling in her gut.

She opened her door and was met with a puddle of dirty water. In the dim light, cockroaches the size of thumbs skittered into cracks, and dark shadows zipped past every so often.

“Zhou Qiuyang, where did you say that new apartment complex just opened for sale is located?” She wanted to move. She was completely done with this godforsaken place.

“Chenyang Community, over on South River Road.”

Xia Xiaoman frowned. “That far?”

From their current neighborhood to South River Road, it took over an hour by bus. If they paddled there in an inflatable boat, it would take at least three to four hours—assuming everything went smoothly and they didn’t bring too many supplies.

Ye Xiaojie caught onto Xia Xiaoman’s intent. “You’re thinking of moving now?”

Xia Xiaoman nodded. “If it’s going to rain like this for the next few days, our floor is bound to get flooded eventually. The downstairs residents will start coming up too.”

Too many people, not enough supplies. The residents from below would undoubtedly eye their stash.

No matter how tough they were, they couldn’t fight off a whole building of people. If the neighbors ganged up on them, they might not only lose their supplies—they could lose their lives.

Sun Qing, already at her breaking point from the cockroach and rat infestation, said, “I agree—let’s move. Right now, immediately!”

“But how are we going to move all this stuff?” Zhou Qiuyang asked.

Ye Xiaojie thought for a moment. “Let’s patch together the inflatable mattresses. Put the heavy items on top. Smaller stuff we’ll put in sealable bags, tie them up, and drag them behind the inflatable boat with rope.”

Sun Qing nodded. “Let’s do it. And let’s hurry before the downstairs folks come back and start making trouble again.”

Everyone rushed back to their apartments and began packing quickly.

Halfway through, the rescue team arrived with loudspeakers, calling for everyone to come downstairs and collect supplies. But Xia Xiaoman’s group ignored them, racing against time to get everything packed.

BOOM—

A thunderclap exploded right next to their ears, shaking the entire building.

Xia Xiaoman rushed to the balcony. The outside was pitch-dark. Fierce winds whipped the floodwaters into towering waves. People who had gone out and hadn’t made it back clung to their makeshift rafts, tossed around by the storm.

Heavy raindrops pounded on the windows. Wind howled through the cracks like a screaming kettle. Within minutes, the balcony window ledge was flooded. The water was coming in too fast to drain properly—it began spilling into the apartment like a waterfall.

“What the hell! I thought the supercell wasn’t supposed hit until tomorrow? Thunder, lightning, and a rainstorm all at once? Do they want us dead or what?!”

Sun Qing’s shouting echoed from the hallway. “Xiaoman! Xia Xiaoman, are you going to get the rescue supplies or not?!”

The storm outside was too intense—moving was no longer an option. Since the rescue team was still around, they might as well go collect supplies.

Zhou Qiuyang volunteered to stay on the seventh floor and guard their homes while Xia Xiaoman and the others went to get the supplies.

The third floor was underwater, so distribution took place on the fourth.

Before they even reached the fourth floor, Xia Xiaoman heard a woman wailing.

“You’re the rescue team—you can’t just stand by and watch people die! My husband’s still outside—please save him!”

“Please! Our son is only three years old! He can’t grow up without his father! I’m begging you!”

A young mother knelt in front of a rescue worker, crying and pleading for them to go out and save her husband.

The rescue worker looked helpless. “It’s not that we don’t want to save him—we can’t. The wind’s too strong. If we launch the boat, it’ll flip immediately.”

“What do you mean you can’t?! I think you’re just too chicken! If you’re so scared of dying, what kind of rescue worker are you?!”

A large, burly man shoved the rescue worker. “Useless coward! If you won’t do it, I will! Give me the boat—I’ll go rescue him myself!”

The rescue worker tried reasoning with them. “Please be rational. The wind and rain out there are too strong. As soon as the boat hits the water, it’ll flip. You’ll not only fail to save anyone, you’ll die too. Don’t throw your life away for nothing.”

But no one wanted to listen.

After a few shoves, the residents saw that the rescue team wouldn’t resist. A few of them just grabbed the inflatable motorboat by force.

Four or five people carried the boat out, but as soon as they set it on the water, a powerful gust flipped it instantly.

Clinging to the boat, the group was swept several meters out before the current slammed them into the flood. In seconds, they disappeared into the storm.

The rescue team shouted after them, but it was already too late.

The wind and rain were too intense. Within minutes, both the people and the boat had vanished into the downpour.

The rescue worker slapped his thigh in frustration. “I told you! I told you not to go! But you wouldn’t listen. And now look what happened!”

The crowd fell into silence. A few of the loudest onlookers quietly slipped away, afraid someone would hold them accountable.

When it’s someone else’s problem, many people are happy to play the hero. But the moment it involves their own safety, they avoid it like the plague.

The young mother nearly fainted from crying, but after witnessing how terrifying the storm was, no one dared suggest going out to search for anyone again.

“Can we still collect the supplies?” Xia Xiaoman’s voice cut through the heavy silence.

Everyone suddenly remembered why they were there and started asking the rescue team about the distribution.

The rescue supplies were the same: instant noodles and bottled water. Five big packs of noodles (each with five small packs, meant to last seven days) and seven 500ml bottles of water.

Back home, Xia Xiaoman stored all the supplies into her spatial dimension.

The floodwaters were backing up from the drains, and the balcony windows were leaking like mad. The whole apartment was already waist-deep in water.

She didn’t bother cleaning it. It was pointless. The drains were bubbling up nonstop, and even a toilet plunger couldn’t stop the flow. The window leaks weren’t going to stop either.

So she stuffed some old curtain fabric at the bedroom door to block the water from seeping in.

The bedroom had nothing in it except the bed—everything else had been stashed into her spatial storage.

With the room empty, there was nowhere for cockroaches or rats to hide. It didn’t take her much effort to exterminate them.

By the time she finished, it was dinnertime.

Xia Xiaoman pulled out a gas stove from her spatial storage, placed a small clay pot on it, and picked a packet of ultra-spicy, extra-stinky luosifen (snail rice noodles) to cook.

Once the water boiled, she tossed in her favorite hot pot ingredients—meatballs and fatty beef slices.

The smell of the stinky, savory broth filled the air, making her stomach growl with anticipation.

The humidity and rain helped mask the odor—one small upside to a stormy day.