After finishing her delivery work, Ji He returned home, carefully shutting all the doors and windows before letting out a deep breath.

The journey back had not been easy.

Now that she had been seen working at night, the neighbors would surely realize she was poor. That was exactly what she wanted.

Without stopping to rest, Ji He rushed to the kitchen and bathroom, turning on all three faucets and placing buckets underneath to collect water.

Luckily, the water supply hadn’t been cut off yet.

In times of disaster, food and water were the most crucial resources.

Even if she had already stocked up on bottled water, there was no such thing as too much.

Who knew how long she would survive? If she had a storage space but still died of thirst, that would be a disgrace to the space itself!

Once the water was flowing, Ji He picked up the remote control, intending to turn on the air conditioner—but there was no response.

She tried other electrical appliances. None of them worked.

The power was out.

She hurried to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator.

Fortunately, the frozen food had only started to thaw and hadn’t spoiled yet.

Quickly, she transferred everything into her storage space before finally sitting down to rest.

She hadn’t realized how exhausted she was until she sat down—only to feel a sharp stinging pain on her arm.

Carefully removing her clothes, she looked down and saw that large areas of her skin had turned red from sun exposure, radiating a burning sensation.

She even spotted blisters on the back of her hands.

The back of her neck was also throbbing with a fiery pain.

She knew she had suffered a sunburn.

Stretching out her palm, a soft white glow appeared, and soon the blisters on her hand disappeared.

Satisfied with her healing ability, Ji He continued treating the rest of her body. Within moments, all traces of sunburn were gone.

The injuries weren’t severe today, so even after fully healing herself, she didn’t feel too drained.

Once done, she sat down again, plugged her phone into a power bank, and went online to check the news.

The internet was a complete mess.

Some young people were spreading panic about the apocalypse, urging others to hoard supplies as if their lives depended on it.

One person, undeterred by the heat, had driven out to buy supplies—only for their car to break down in the middle of the road. They couldn’t find a mechanic and were now begging for help online.

Even after offering extra payment, no one was willing to go.

Who would risk driving in this extreme heat? Most cars wouldn’t last long.

Others were posting pleas for help—elderly family members had collapsed from heatstroke, and ambulances were overwhelmed. They were seeking anyone who could help transport them to the hospital.

One post advertised a carpool with air conditioning—200 yuan per seat, two spots left.

As soon as it was posted, a flood of people scrambled for the seats.

A video surfaced of people setting up tents in underground parking lots. Though still hot, the temperature there was under 40°C, much better than outside.

Someone even paid a high price online for Huoxiang Zhengqi Water, claiming pharmacies had run out of stock.

Supermarket owners ranted online about their stores being looted, swearing vengeance on the robbers.

Many people frantically placed online orders, but no delivery drivers were willing to take them—even with tips as high as 200 yuan per trip.

Ji He raised an eyebrow. Compared to that, her deliveries—dropping off supplies for just a few snacks—were practically a bargain.

After browsing the news, she opened the in-game shop.

She wanted to check for any changes.

The prices were still outrageously high—10 copper coins for a bottle of water, 20 for a single pack of instant noodles.

At least the selection was complete; even meat and vegetables were available.

But the prices were absurdly steep.

Spinach: 3 stalks for 50 copper coins.

It was the first time in her life she had seen vegetables being sold by the stalk.

She switched to the search menu, sorting items from cheapest to most expensive.

When the results loaded, she was speechless.

Previously, seeds for radishes, cabbage, and tomatoes were only 1 copper coin per seed.

Now, the price had increased tenfold—10 copper coins per seed.

So, the game shop’s prices weren’t fixed?

Did they raise prices because real-world food supplies were collapsing?

Ji He pondered this for a while but couldn’t figure it out. In the end, she simply closed the shop.

She had no copper coins anyway, so the price hike was irrelevant to her.

Switching to the game’s chat channel, she started reading the latest messages.

[Old Blade: (Image)]
[Old Blade: Look at this supermarket we took over—it’s packed with supplies! Join us, brothers! With all this, we can live comfortably for years!]

[Salute: I advise you to surrender before it’s too late! This is a crime, and you will pay the price for your actions!]

[Flaming Soul: Go to XXXXXXX.] (The system had censored the message for being too vulgar.)

After a while, Ji He grasped the situation.

The chat was dominated by two opposing groups.

One side consisted of the gang that had looted supermarkets. They had brought the game into reality, gathering a group to seize power amid the chaos.

The other side seemed to be government-affiliated individuals, speaking with authority and warning of consequences.

Ji He analyzed the information and realized that this disaster wasn’t just affecting her city—it was nationwide.

Somehow, these game players had coordinated and formed gangs in real life. They had specifically chosen this day—the hottest one yet—to act together, taking over several large warehouse supermarkets.

With hostages in their grasp, they were now a major headache for the authorities.

No wonder the mall she had visited earlier was in chaos but still lacked a police presence.

With bigger crises unfolding elsewhere, the authorities had no time for ordinary looters.

Ji He sighed.

She had been so focused on cooking, selling food, and making money that she had only checked the game chat briefly before bed each day, failing to notice how things had escalated.

She had no idea when these people had transitioned from virtual gangs to real-world ones.

What were they thinking?

If ordinary people could become game players, wouldn’t special forces and military personnel be able to do the same?

The game’s two beginner tasks were slightly challenging for civilians, sure—but for trained soldiers, slaughtering chickens and geese would be as easy as cutting vegetables.

How could they possibly fail?

Did these people really think they were the only ones with abilities?

Were they idiots?

Ji He mulled it over for a while but couldn’t wrap her head around their logic.

In any case, she had no intention of exposing herself.

She wasn’t combat-oriented. If she revealed her abilities, she’d just become easy prey.

Better to keep a low profile.

Stretching lazily, she got up and prepared to get to work.

She left the faucets running—until the water supply was cut, she would collect as much as possible in her storage space.

Besides stockpiling water, she also planned to prepare more food in advance, in case cooking became inconvenient later.

Most of what she had in storage was braised dishes. Eating the same thing every day would get tiring, even for her.

To maintain a decent standard of living, Ji He decided to cook a greater variety of meals.