Zheng Weili called Jiang Ning to go downstairs together to check the situation.

They had finished all the flour, and although there was still a bag of rice left, the gas had run out. Now, only a small amount of alcohol fuel tablets remained.

To save fuel, every day they soaked the rice first, put it into a thermos cup, then poured boiling water in, tightly sealed the lid, and let it steam until cooked before drinking.

Not only that, the damp weather meant clothes wouldn’t dry, and Zheng Weili had even developed gynecological issues from staying damp all the time.

If possible, Zheng Weili and Lu Yu wanted to go to a shelter. Although the food and living conditions there wouldn’t be good, at least they’d be full and have hot water, right?

“The typhoon and heavy rain far exceeded what the meteorological department predicted. Even here, water has flooded up to the third floor; other places might be worse,” Jiang Ning shattered her hopes.

“The food supplies are all soaked in water, and how much is still floating on the surface? At this water level, even the gym and library are underwater. The authorities probably have to requisition hotels or office buildings as rescue sites.”

With so many people crowded into these places, eating, drinking, and basic sanitation are all problems.

The typhoon ended, but the heavy rain did not. Flooding would continue for months.

In the previous life, many residents of the lower floors moved to shelters, but after a couple of days, they came back to crowd the hallways again, saying everywhere was overcrowded. Not to mention eating and sleeping, there wasn’t even a place to stay.

There were robberies, thefts, fights, and chaos everywhere.

The government had to both conduct disaster relief and send people out to search for food. In the end, when nothing else could be found, they resorted to salvaging from underwater, but the food soaked for so long had spoiled. If people could eat even 30% full, that was considered good.

Zheng Weili felt heavy-hearted but still decided to go down and take a look — maybe there was good news?

Jiang Ning didn’t go; she went next door to check on Dou Dou.

The condition had improved somewhat, which put the half-baked “doctor” in a good mood.

An hour later, Zheng Weili returned dejected. The fire department only rescued residents trapped by water, and they didn’t know much about large-scale rescue efforts.

Jiang Ning encouraged her, “It’s okay. If the sky won’t save us, we must save ourselves. We have to rely on ourselves.”

“That’s right.” Being discouraged was useless, and Zheng Weili rekindled hope. “The typhoon is over, maybe the heavy rain will stop soon too.”

To live, one must always have hope, right?

But not only did the rain not stop, it kept getting heavier, and the sky grew extremely dark.

By five in the evening, it was already dark, but the typhoon had basically ceased. Aside from the sound of speedboats ferrying back and forth, the entire city fell into a terrifying silence.

Jiang Ning ate early, then set an alarm to ring every hour starting at ten o’clock at night.

Around one a.m., the fire brigade finished transferring all the trapped people overnight. The Jinrong residential complex was eerily quiet — nothing but the sound of rain.

She put on the anti-cut and anti-stab protective clothing. The fabric felt similar to thermal underwear, but when she vigorously scraped it with a blade on a sample piece, it didn’t tear — the quality was top-notch.

Feeling cold, Jiang Ning put on a jacket, then a one-piece raincoat, quietly opened the door, and went downstairs.

The hallway was already empty of residents, but garbage was everywhere, and the stench was unbearable.

She climbed out the third-floor window onto a narrow protruding ledge, then in the dark pulled out an inflatable boat and climbed aboard. Wearing waterproof goggles and a lithium battery headlamp, she paddled off into the distance…

The rain was heavy and the current swift. The whole city had long since been unrecognizable, with only the high-rise buildings still above water — making the place feel eerily unfamiliar.

Jiang Ning was well-prepared. These days she not only observed the water currents but had memorized the landmarks along the way.

Still, progress through the rain was painstakingly slow. It took nearly two hours to reach the large supermarket she had visited before the typhoon.

Though only two stories, the supermarket was on relatively higher ground, and its floors were higher than surrounding residential and commercial buildings, so the floodwaters barely reached the second floor.

After some effort, she successfully grounded the inflatable boat on the driveway.

She secured the boat and walked along the driveway to the rooftop parking lot.

The parking lot was very spacious, packed tightly with cars. Most were luxury brands — Mercedes, BMW, Ferrari, Lamborghini…

Fengcheng had many wealthy residents. Presumably, nearby rich people had brought their luxury cars up to the rooftop parking lot before the typhoon to avoid water damage.

Jiang Ning shone her flashlight, scanning row after row.

Her eyes were drawn to a large motorhome. Judging by the badge, it was the most luxurious motorhome worth tens of millions. The body and windows were bulletproof, the tires explosion-proof and wear-resistant, and crucially, it was a hybrid gasoline-electric model with foldable solar panels on the roof.

Energy was scarce in the post-apocalyptic world, and gasoline was a military and government-controlled commodity — not just anyone could get it.

A motorhome was a mobile home. It could be driven to travel but also lived in long-term. This one fulfilled all her fantasies.

Jiang Ning took out an electronic jammer from her space — this was the latest black technology she had bought for a high price on the black market.

She attached the jammer to the car door, pressed the button, and after a few minutes of chirping sounds, she heard the car locks loosen.

Unlock successful, Jiang Ning opened the door.

The motorhome was huge, with a kitchen, living room, bathroom, and two bedrooms, even equipped with a washing machine — the interior was extremely luxurious.

There were very few items inside, and judging by the decor, it was a recent purchase. Unexpectedly, the disaster was a windfall for someone else.

Jiang Ning was very satisfied. Taking advantage of the darkness, she stored the car into her space.

She didn’t rush to enter the supermarket. She took out an oil extractor and empty fuel cans and drained the gas tanks of other cars.

The rooftop fire exit door was locked. She took out big bolt cutters and cut it open, then went down the stairs.

Coming out of the fire exit, she was in the second-floor clothing section. The water was already about knee-deep, and many clothes were soaked.

Space was limited, so Jiang Ning picked up some clothes from the women’s section and then ran to other areas.

Next was the discount and promotion section — various brands of tissues, sodas, mooncakes, chips, sunflower seeds, bath products, etc.

Across from that was the home appliances area. Refrigerators, air conditioners, and washing machines were already waterlogged. She selected some small appliances from the shelves — yogurt makers, ice cream machines, bean sprout machines, small frying pans — anything she thought could be useful later, and tossed them into her space.

Then came the living goods area, where she chose high-end air-conditioned quilts, down comforters, bed sheets, pillowcases, pillows, all thrown inside. Also various sports shoes, Martin boots, and more.

There were all kinds of skincare products — masks, eye creams, serums, and so on.

Next was the tobacco, alcohol, and tea counter. Moutai, Wuliangye, XO, Martell, red wine, beer, cocktails — countless brands, some expensive, some cheap. These were all precious goods in the post-apocalyptic world, hard to come by later at high prices.

After collecting everything above water, Jiang Ning took out a window breaker and shattered the glass counters to fish out items soaked underwater.

All sorts of valuable cigarette brands were wiped clean, though it was a pity many were waterlogged.

Fortunately, the tea leaves were sealed airtight and placed on the shelves.

West Lake Longjing, Pu’er, Tieguanyin, Xinyang Maojian — no matter cheap or expensive, they were irreplaceable resources. Not a single piece was left behind.

This section alone almost occupied ten cubic meters of space.

But it didn’t matter — before leaving, she had already cleared space by transferring the balcony planting pots, the living room’s vegetables and fruit trees, and kitchen charcoal to the apartment, freeing about 150 cubic meters.

The floodwaters were rising rapidly; these things would be submerged before dawn…