At the checkout, a conflict suddenly broke out at the front of the line.

In the current situation, everyone was under a lot of psychological stress. The cashier was a bit slow, and that alone drew extreme verbal abuse from shoppers.

The cashier had been working nonstop all morning, barely drinking any water, and was extremely irritated. She confronted the customer head-on.

For a moment, neither side would yield.

Soon, a long line formed at the register, and those waiting became increasingly restless, on the verge of chaos.

Fortunately, the military arrived just in time. Armed, they persuaded the cashier to finish checking out the items while urging the customer to leave quickly. The small commotion was quickly brought under control.

Once the line returned to normal, murmurs and discussions spread around.

Especially, a woman in front of them began complaining to her companion:
“If I had known, I would’ve begged Manager Wang to keep me here. Who knew working at the supermarket now would be so profitable? It’s all because I misjudged the new boss and offended him.”

The tall, thin man next to her also scolded her:
“I told you, your temper gets you into trouble. You never listen. Now look, we get nothing for free and have to buy everything ourselves.”

Then he seemed to think of something and lowered his voice:
“But that supermarket isn’t fully operating yet, right? No one’s really managing it. How about I take a few guys and—”

The woman quickly covered his mouth:
“Don’t talk nonsense, there are people around.”

She then glared sharply at Shen Xiaoxiao and her mother, as if warning them.

Shen Xiaoxiao thought: I just wanted to check out, how did I end up attracting trouble?

She quickly turned away and pretended not to hear.

Luckily, the two finished their checkout soon and didn’t bother them.

Still, Shen Xiaoxiao realized these were opportunistic thieves and wondered if the supermarket owner could take precautions to prevent such people from succeeding.

Soon, she and her mother finished checking out, brought their supplies to the inflatable boat, and set off.

As they exited, someone at the supermarket entrance glared at them ominously, seemingly sizing them up. Shen Xiaoxiao and her mother quickly walked away.

It wasn’t until they had traveled some distance that Shen Xiaoxiao looked back and saw no one following. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief.

It was terrifying—this happened right at the supermarket entrance, which had soldiers stationed inside, yet someone still had the audacity to target customers. Truly insane.

For the rest of the journey, she deliberately chose waterways commonly used by rescue teams, willing to take a longer route just to ensure safety.

Midway, the inflatable boat’s fuel ran low. Shen Xiaoxiao had to adjust her route, leaving the main channel to reach a gas station.

This gas station was on a small hill, partially flooded but still operational.

Shen Xiaoxiao docked and refueled, spending a bit of money.

The attendants reminded her that, due to the special circumstances, gasoline was a restricted resource, and the amount allowed would be limited.

Shen Xiaoxiao understood. She didn’t need much—just enough for buying supplies for now, with plans to return for more later. The attendants let them go without issue.

The sky remained overcast, and fine, misty rain began to fall again.

Shen Xiaoxiao glanced up and said, “Dad, I’ll teach you how to control the thruster. You take over for a while.”

Her father nodded: “Alright.”

Steering wasn’t difficult, and he quickly got the hang of it.

With a moment to spare, Shen Xiaoxiao pulled out a folding tent from her black card space. It fit perfectly on the inflatable boat and was set up with her mother’s help.

By now, the rain had picked up, pattering on the tent—perfect for blocking wind and rain.

“Dad, you sit inside first. I’ll drive for a while.”

Her father shook his head: “No, I’ll drive. You’ve been at it a long time—rest, eat something, regain your strength.”

Shen Xiaoxiao thought for a moment: “Alright, I’ll take over after I eat.”

Passing a forest park, the road was lined with exposed broadleaf trees, and broken branches floated in the water.

To avoid damaging the boat, her father slowed down even more.

Inside the tent, Shen Xiaoxiao set up a low table. She pulled out two steaming buckets of beef noodles from her space and gave her mother a pair of chopsticks. They began eating.

It was Chen Juan’s idea—pre-cooked, stored in an insulated container, ready to eat.

Now with the tent for cover, they didn’t have to worry about being seen.

In the drizzly weather, with mist over the water, the aroma of beef noodles wafted around—a rare moment of comfort in such stressful times.

Even so, they ate heartily. After the morning’s exertions, they needed the energy.

Compared to others, they were relatively fortunate—they could enjoy hot meals.

Residents in their community weren’t so lucky.

Electricity and water were only available for short periods at night. Each household could make some hot food then, but for the rest of the time, only leftover meals remained. And in this weather, without proper insulation, even hot food quickly lost warmth.

After finishing, Shen Xiaoxiao studied the map, planning how to bypass the city area and reach the highway leading to Huanxi Valley in the shortest time.

Once the route was clear, she swapped with her father to let him eat.

Just as things seemed to be going smoothly and the highway was within reach, a motorized boat suddenly appeared from a corner ahead, shooting toward them like an arrow.

To avoid collision, Shen Xiaoxiao immediately turned sharply to evade it.

Unexpectedly, the boat followed, seemingly intending to stop their inflatable boat.

A chill ran through her.

The boat looked exactly like the rescue team’s, with official markings and painted flags.

But the people aboard—especially a bald man wearing a large gold chain and holding a knife—were clearly dangerous.

“Xiaoxiao, what’s wrong?”

Her father peeked out of the tent and saw the scene. He shouted: “Who are you people?”

Rain fell heavily, dripping onto them.

The bald man on the attacking boat didn’t move—he just raised his arm and ran his tongue along the knife tip, exuding menace.

He hissed: “If you want to pass, pay a toll. Hand over all your supplies to pay respects to me, your Fifth Master.”