“Dr. Shen, are you going out to buy supplies too?”

Not long after leaving the community, Shen Xiaoxiao and her family ran into neighbors who were also shopping.

They had pooled together for a motorized rescue boat and were returning from the store.

Seeing Shen Xiaoxiao’s family in an inflatable boat, their eyes filled with envy.

Shen’s father nodded. “We’re going to get some supplies first.”

Everyone in the community chat already knew where supplies could be purchased. So seeing someone bring out an inflatable boat wasn’t particularly surprising to those on the motorized boat.

One neighbor kindly warned, “By the way, there was some trouble up ahead. A group of people grabbed a batch of supplies and ran. You three should be careful.”

“We just passed by there. Luckily, we stayed a bit away from them. They grabbed the supplies and ran; even if the rescue team comes, there won’t be any evidence,” another added.

“Yeah, it scared me. I saw two people fall into the water, and their boat deflated. I don’t know what’s happening now.”

Hearing this, Shen Xiaoxiao’s expression grew serious.

As expected, without supervision, some people were beginning to cross boundaries.

She quietly touched the nail gun she had prepared in her bag. Compared to a real gun, its power was limited, but it was still a weapon she could use, and for someone who had never seen it, it carried a certain deterrent effect.

Shen Xiaoxiao nodded. “Thanks for letting us know. We’ll stay safe.”

After a moment’s hesitation, she spoke about their plan to go to the emergency shelter.

“Everyone, if it rains again, don’t worry about your houses. The official emergency shelters are safer. The government has repeatedly urged those who can to move to higher shelters where there’s water, electricity, and food. If there are still spots available, it’s best to get in now.”

The neighbors were momentarily stunned but agreed it was a good idea and thanked her.

“Got it, we’ll remember that.”

“Dr. Shen, your place is on a higher floor. Are you going now?”

Shen’s father nodded. “The shelter isn’t as comfortable as home, but at least we’ll be under the protection of the state. With the current situation, staying home isn’t much safer. Going there will give us peace of mind.”

“Dr. Shen is right. According to the official forecast, the rain will continue. Staying home doesn’t feel secure.”

“Exactly. With this much rain, it’s better to hide in an official shelter and just lock the door at home.”

“True. My neighbors on lower floors went to a shelter since their home flooded. They messaged me last night saying conditions were okay, and they did some volunteer work, which wasn’t tiring.”

However, some weren’t convinced, mumbling: “Why bother? Shelters are temporary. Home is more comfortable. Our place is on the 13th floor, safely in the middle—not flooded, not leaking. We can still buy food, and the government will distribute supplies. Staying home is better.”

“Exactly, the water will eventually go down. Why leave home now?”

Faced with such obstinacy, Shen’s father didn’t argue further. After a few polite exchanges, the two groups parted ways and continued in opposite directions.

A rescue boat happened to pass by, and Shen Xiaoxiao followed. Their inflatable boat was slower, and after a while, they saw the rescue boat stop at the location the neighbor mentioned.

Floating on the water was a deflated inflatable boat, slowly sinking. The only woman on it was crying, unsure what to do.

Her two companions were in the water—one holding onto a tree branch, the other clinging to a store sign. The current was strong, and they couldn’t hold on much longer. Fortunately, the rescue team arrived just in time.

As the neighbor had said, in these circumstances, rescue teams couldn’t waste time tracking the thieves for a few supplies. After arranging the victims at the nearest rescue point, they rushed to the next emergency.

The three unlucky looters only received a few words of consolation.

“You’re not the only ones. Last night, several small shops were robbed. In situations like this, you can’t catch the thieves. One shop owner even got beaten to death protecting his goods. It’s better not to fight these people. Losing supplies is okay; your life is the priority.”

A rescue worker sighed. Incidents like these had increased over the past few days. Opportunists, street thugs, and ill-intentioned people were trying to profit from the chaos.

Hearing this reinforced Shen Xiaoxiao’s determination to get to the base.

Her parents, standing nearby, also felt a chill—if they had left earlier and encountered the thieves, they might have been robbed.

Even though their backpacks contained nothing valuable, and food and valuables were safely stored in Shen Xiaoxiao’s black card space, being robbed is still unsettling.

It had been raining all week, temperatures had dropped sharply, and now hovered around 12–13°C.

If someone fell into the water in this cold, even healthy adults would struggle. A minor cold or illness would force them to tough it out with their own medicine.

Once out on the water, Shen Xiaoxiao had to watch for submerged obstacles while checking her map on her phone.

Huanxi Valley in the southwest was over a hundred kilometers away by car, nearly an hour and a half’s drive.

The inflatable boat didn’t have enough power, and navigating the hazards beneath the water would take even longer.

She had planned ahead, finding a midway gas station to refuel the boat before continuing.

Before that, she intended to stop at a supermarket to buy food.

Over the past week, the three had consumed a fair amount of supplies.

Since there was a chance to restock, they couldn’t miss it.

Soon, they reached a supermarket offering fair prices.

The first floor was flooded, so they dismantled a second-floor sign and docked the boat on the central platform to shop.

Several red, black, white, and blue inflatable boats were docked on the second floor, brought by nearby residents. Each had one person staying on board, likely to prevent theft while shopping.

Shen’s father, looking the most imposing, stayed to guard the boat while Shen Xiaoxiao and her mother went inside to buy food.

They loaded a cart with compressed biscuits, chocolate, candy, canned ham and sausages, instant noodles, and limited items: two boxes of cigarettes and a bottle of baijiu.

These items were easy to eat, portable, and space-saving.

The cigarettes and alcohol served as hard currency in these extraordinary times—they didn’t yet know the situation at the base, and cash might not be usable. In such moments, recognized hard currency could preserve value and be used to trade for other supplies.