That’s right.
After yesterday’s chaos, the military and government departments quickly adjusted their strategy and decided to deploy the army to maintain order.

Unlike the police, soldiers wouldn’t hesitate to open fire. Their mission was to safeguard national stability.

Jiang Ning remembered that in her previous life, the army had also been deployed. With an iron fist, they had executed a group of evildoers, which finally stabilized the situation.

She observed outside through binoculars and indeed saw soldiers in military green uniforms patrolling on assault boats, fully armed with live ammunition.

The intermittent sound of firecrackers lasted the whole morning, and the world felt much quieter.

The gas stove, soaked in water, wouldn’t light. After fiddling with it for a while, Lu Yu dismantled the portable gas stove and finally fixed it by replacing several parts.

Having regained a sense of usefulness, he was very pleased and even offered to fix Jiang Ning and 1801’s stove too.

Later, he and Zheng Weili invited Jiang Ning to dinner, thanking her for finding a place and taking them in.

The meal was simple—braised vegetables and stir-fried shredded potatoes with Lao Gan Ma chili sauce.

The potatoes were brought by Jiang Ning; they had already sprouted, so she cut out the sprouting parts and blanched them in hot water.

Although the food was plain, Zheng Weili and Lu Yu were almost brought to tears.

For the first time in twenty days, they had soft, fragrant rice and a comfortable hot shower.

It felt so good to be full again—they felt alive.

“A-Ning, if it weren’t for you, we’d probably still be crammed in a shelter somewhere,” Zheng Weili said.

She raised a glass of plain boiled water in a toast and said seriously, “Today was simple, but when things go back to normal, I’ll treat you to a big feast at a five-star hotel.”

“Sure, if we get the chance.”

As they ate, Lu Yu said, “Now that the military is out, things have calmed down a lot outside. I heard the government is distributing supplies at the department store. Citizens can buy limited amounts based on need. Should we go tomorrow?”

“Yes, and we’ll have to go early.”

“By the way, a lot of people went diving for supplies today.”

Lu Yu continued, “The largest supermarket near us was packed with people, but the water’s too deep. Ordinary folks don’t have the equipment. I heard several got swept away. Some good divers managed to recover a few things, but most of it was spoiled—and they still wouldn’t throw it away.”

Zheng Weili sighed. “If A-Ning hadn’t reminded us, we’d be starving now.”

The department store opened at 8 a.m., so they set alarms for 6 a.m.

After a bit of tidying up, they left by 6:30.

1801 stayed behind to watch the place.

At 6:30, it was only just getting light, but already a lot of people were out. It took them an hour to reach the department store.

They entered directly from the fourth floor. The place was soaked like a water world, and everywhere you looked there were people.

The distribution point was set up on the sixth floor, but the queue stretched all the way down to the fourth. Some people had even lined up the night before just to get a spot.

Armed soldiers patrolled the scene. Because of yesterday’s iron-handed tactics, though the crowd was noisy, no one dared to act out.

The three quickly joined the line.

As time passed, more and more people arrived.

At 8 sharp, the doors opened. They let in 50 people at a time, giving only 5 minutes to shop. Once time was up, they cleared the floor.

Purchasing was tightly restricted: only 2 jin (about 1 kg) of grain per person, with ID required and cash payment.

Three hours in line for five minutes of shopping.

The mall was spacious, but you needed both fast hands and quick feet.

The three had agreed ahead of time: rice and flour were the most filling; avoid instant noodles and snacks.

People in the south ate rice, and flour spoiled easily in damp weather. Jiang Ning chose rice, while Zheng Weili and Lu Yu took 2 jin of each.

100 yuan per jin!

Outrageously expensive—but it would only get pricier. Eventually, even paper money would become worthless, not even good enough for toilet paper.

Fengcheng had a large population, and rice and flour would be gone fast. The government would release more later, but it would all be salvaged from underwater and dried out.

Never mind the health risks—there wouldn’t be enough to go around anyway.

Jiang Ning decided to spend her entire 2,000 yuan.

Zheng Weili, worried their rubber boat might break, thought of buying a spare—but it was priced at 10,000 yuan.

Lao Gan Ma, dried vegetables, and similar items had also increased by dozens of times. The cost and risk of just one trip were extremely high. The three pooled their money, spent the full 2,000 yuan, and packed everything into their bags—but it wasn’t much.

Outside, the line grew longer and longer, while the remaining rice and flour inside quickly dwindled.

As they went down the stairs, they happened to see Yang Weicong and Su Mengyao in line too. The two were holding hands intimately, while the girl from 1202 stood behind them, so thin her eyes were sunken. She looked completely lifeless.

Looking at her, Jiang Ning couldn’t help but think of her past self.

When Yang Weicong saw Jiang Ning, he instinctively let go of Su Mengyao’s hand and smiled, as if to greet her.

Jiang Ning turned her face away coldly and pretended not to see him.

They left the mall by rubber boat.

Seeing that it was still early, Lu Yu suggested, “Zhang Chao lives nearby—should we go check on him?”

They had kept in touch the day after the typhoon hit, but had lost contact since.

Jiang Ning thought for a moment and agreed.

Aside from his poor taste in women, Zhang Chao hadn’t done anything bad as a friend.

In her past life, she had received help from Zheng Weili. And from childhood until now, her only friends were Lu Yu and Zhang Chao. If she could help him, she would.

It took an hour to reach Zhang Chao’s community, and they made their way to the 8th floor by memory.

They knocked for a long time before a woman inside responded, “Who is it?”

“We’re looking for Zhang Chao.”

“There’s no one by that name. You’ve got the wrong place.”

The three had helped Zhang Chao move—there was no way they had the wrong address.

Judging by the voice, the woman wasn’t young—probably middle-aged.

“Mom, who is it?” came a boy’s voice from inside.

“Just strangers. Got the wrong door.”

Jiang Ning frowned. Something didn’t feel right.

No matter how they knocked, the people inside refused to respond, and they even disturbed the neighbors.

When an elderly woman opened her door, Jiang Ning quickly asked, “Granny, do you know if Zhang Chao lives next door?”

The old woman’s expression grew complicated. She waved her hand and wouldn’t say anything.

Lu Yu had a bad feeling. He took out about three taels of rice from his bag and handed it over.

After hesitating for a while, the old woman finally let them in. “You’re looking for that polite young man with a funny way of talking, right?”

Lu Yu quickly nodded.

“He was a nice kid, just a bit foolish—he invited wolves into the house and got driven out.”

The old lady shook her head as she spoke. “When the typhoon first hit, that woman came with her parents and two kids. The young man even went out in the storm to pick them up. I thought they were siblings, but within a few days, they kicked him out.”

Lu Yu: “…”

Jiang Ning: “…”

Zheng Weili clenched her fists: “…”

“He knocked on the door several times, but the woman wouldn’t open. In the end, he had no choice but to sleep in the hallway. He was only picked up during the rescue.”

The shelter placement was based on district. The people from their area had been taken to Fengcheng Hotel.

Lu Yu couldn’t imagine how Zhang Chao had survived those ten-plus days.

How could there be… such a disgusting woman?!

“What do we do now?” he asked, so angry it felt like his liver hurt.