Before coming here, Lin You had worried that something might go wrong and had planned to stockpile more supplies.

But now, there was not even enough vegetables and fresh meat to operate normally tomorrow, let alone hoard anything.

In the short time she spent purchasing, the stalls in the entire vegetable market had emptied out even more.

The vendors who had sold out were packing up and heading home.

Passing by the stall owner, Lin You could hear vague complaints—now they were starting to worry about their livelihood.

Lin You carried the fresh meat onto the van.

Without lingering at the scene, she quickly closed the door and left the vegetable market.

She realized that even Ancheng’s largest vegetable market was facing resource shortages.

Then the supermarkets and convenience stores were likely in the same situation.

The road closures had come very suddenly. Just yesterday goods could still be transported in, but today they were intercepted en route.

The local radio was already broadcasting information about this while calling on everyone not to panic. They were trying various ways to transport supplies from other places.

They hoped residents would not panic-buy and hoard goods, to avoid causing uneven distribution of resources.

The radio host was still patiently advising.

But Lin You knew that under these circumstances, it was impossible for people to remain rational.

Thinking about the toothpaste and toilet paper that were about to run out at home, she also began to panic.

No wonder the residents of Ancheng were so anxious.

People were afraid that zombies would break into the city tomorrow and also afraid that they would not be able to buy the necessities of life.

Lin You pressed harder on the gas pedal and the van sped down the road.

The journey that usually took more than two hours was shortened to just over an hour by her.

After getting out of the car, Lin You immediately opened the breakfast shop door and put the meat and vegetables into the freezer.

Then she quickly turned around, got back into the van, and headed for the largest supermarket nearby.

She needed to buy some personal necessities, otherwise even basic living would become a problem.

There were quite a few people with the same idea as Lin You. Most of the cars on the road were speeding up, all rushing to handle urgent matters.

When she drove to the entrance of Fuxin Supermarket, Lin You’s heart sank.

Looking around, every parking lot nearby was full. Even the driveways between the parking spots were jammed with cars.

By the greenbelt, many cars were parked randomly, narrowing the pedestrian sidewalks by more than half.

It was clear that many people had come to stock up.

Lin You circled the area but could not find any parking space.

She had to drive farther and wandered within a 500-meter radius.

Lin You’s luck was fairly good.

After about ten minutes, she happened to see a car leaving a corner of the parking lot and quickly reversed into the spot.

She then opened the car door and ran into the supermarket at full speed.

Lin You knew that when she came back, carrying big bags and packages, even a 500-meter distance would be hard to manage.

But there was no other choice.

Everyone was racing against death.

As soon as the car door opened, people “whooshed” down from their cars.

Some even brought huge packages and carts just to load more goods onto their vehicles.

It was not unusual for entire families to come out together.

Several children sprinted toward the supermarket, while a middle-aged woman shouted behind them, “Run slower, do not fall!”

She did not forget to remind them, “Do not randomly grab snacks, remember what we said before about rice, flour, and vegetables…”

Although she had mentally prepared herself, the moment she stepped into the supermarket, Lin You was still stunned.

In front of the two manual checkout counters, long queues had already formed, stretching far beyond sight.

Around the self-checkout machines, people were crowded together, and despite the supermarket staff’s constant efforts to maintain order, unpleasant disputes still occurred from time to time.

Customers waiting at the back kept urging,

“Hurry up, there are so many people waiting behind you, stop dawdling!”

“What are you planning to do, move the whole supermarket home? Taking so much stuff!”

However, when it was their turn, the amount they grabbed was no less than the person before them.

Hands carrying, shoulders bearing, arms hugging… everyone hoarded different things, seemingly following their own lists and strategies.

Originally, because online payment had become so convenient, many people had not visited large supermarkets for a long time.

But now it was different, no one was willing to wait for the delivery, afraid that in just an hour, everything they wanted would be gone.

Moreover, because there were too many people shopping in person,

delivery workers could not keep up, and the delivery times had been pushed back to half a day later.

In this half-day, most customers could only watch helplessly as the goods they wanted were taken away and removed from the shelves, making delivery impossible.

Thus people chose to come in person, leading to an unprecedented bustle in the supermarket.

Lin You was almost squeezed into the supermarket entrance by the crowd.

The shelves on both sides were already significantly empty, and most useful and durable goods had been cleared out.

Time was pressing, and Lin You did not have the luxury to make a detailed plan—

by the time she made a list, the goods she wanted would probably be long gone.

She headed straight for the things she needed.

However, things that were missing from home, like toilet paper, toothpaste, facial cleanser, and laundry detergent, could no longer be carefully chosen.

The good ones had all been bought up, and only men’s facial cleansers were left…

Lin You did not care about what skin type they suited anymore and simply grabbed two men’s facial cleansers.

Of course, if the apocalypse truly arrived, facial cleanser was not a necessity. So Lin You did not buy too many, instead saving her strength for more urgent supplies.

She rushed straight to the toilet paper section.

It was packed with people.

No one cared about prices or brands anymore.

Everyone grabbed rolls of toilet paper as soon as they saw them, carrying them away bundle by bundle.

Normally, toilet paper might not seem so essential, but at critical times, it was absolutely indispensable.

Thus toilet paper became one of the must-have stockpiling choices for many.

Lin You squeezed through the crowd.

She was lucky that at a corner there were still a few bundles of toilet paper untouched.

But just as she reached out to grab them,

a big-bellied middle-aged man suddenly snatched them away.

After grabbing them, he even smiled smugly at her and said, “Young girl, with your snatching skills, you could stay here all day and still not get anything.”

After speaking, he strode off quickly, heading to the next area to grab more goods.

How could Lin You not want to snatch too?

Some old men and women were masters at grabbing goods even in normal times, and now they were using their quick hands and strength to their fullest.

Looking at the frantic grabbing scene, Lin You felt a bit ashamed of herself.

But now she could not afford to care.

If she wanted to have toilet paper at home tonight, she had to grab at least one bundle back.

She moved quickly through the crowd, locking her eyes on any toilet paper she thought she could grab.

But every time she just got hold of one, someone else would use brute force to snatch it away.

Gradually, Lin You began to feel extremely anxious, and the fierce competition made her bottle up a lot of frustration.

However, she also understood that everyone was trying to survive and had no time for politeness.

Lin You could only try to toughen herself up.

For example, next time she saw toilet paper, she would grab it at the fastest speed possible.

As for snatching from someone else’s hands, she still could not bring herself to do it.

Luckily, just as the shelves were about to be completely emptied, the staff brought out two more carts of toilet paper.

Lin You let out a long breath, seized the chance, grabbed two bundles, and ran out swiftly.

With the toilet paper in hand, she felt as if she had completed one major task, and slightly relaxed.

Cleaning supplies were not the most urgent.

The real essentials were food supplies, like rice, flour, oil, and vegetables.

However, when Lin You entered the food section, she was completely stunned by the empty shelves.

If not for the shelf labels still remaining, she would not even be able to tell what used to be stored there.

For single young people who were not good at cooking, the most needed were frozen and convenient foods.

Thus instant noodles and similar foods were the first to be grabbed clean.

Rice, flour, and oil, which could last longer, were also the top choices.

Vegetables like potatoes, carrots, and cabbages that could be stored for some time had also long disappeared.

As for leafy greens and fruits, since they could not be kept for too long and spoiled easily, people only bought a few as supplements.

Now only a few leafy vegetables were left on the shelves, scattered in a chaotic mess.

Pieces of leafy greens were flying everywhere.

Although still purchasable, they looked terribly wilted and unappealing.

One could not tell how many hands had picked through them, the leaves were already drooping.

Lin You felt a bit disheartened, it seemed that stocking up on supplies for herself was no longer possible.

If it really came down to it, she could only use the food supplies meant for her breakfast shop.

There were still plenty of rice, flour, oil, salt, and other supplies in the shop.

If it was only for her own use, it would be enough to last for almost a month.

But if the shop opened tomorrow and those who had not managed to buy food suddenly flooded in to eat breakfast, business would boom instantly, and the supplies might only last for a day.

After that, the ingredients would be gone, and when it was her turn, there would be nothing left.

Understanding this, Lin You immediately decided to close the shop tomorrow.

She planned to endure these two days and wait for the food shortage situation to ease before reopening.

Though Lin You made the decision quickly, it was still a difficult one.

She had finally gathered the courage to resign and had put a lot of effort into opening this breakfast shop, but unfortunately, after only a couple of days of business, she had to face closing down.

The feeling of a dream collapsing was just like this.

While sighing, Lin You, carrying a large pile of daily necessities, made her way to the checkout area.

The shopping baskets and small carts in the supermarket had long been used up, so most people were carrying their goods in their arms. Sometimes when they carried too much, a few steps would cause things to fall to the ground.

Because of this, miscellaneous fallen items could be seen scattered on the supermarket floor every few steps.

Some people carried so many goods that they could not bend down. If the fallen items were not essential, they simply left them there.