The continuously rising extreme temperatures have made it impossible for people to continue working or studying. Most companies and schools have switched to working from home or online classes.

During the day, the streets are almost empty, with no pedestrians or vehicles in sight. It’s not until eight or nine at night that people venture outside to breathe some fresh air.

With the high temperatures persisting for so long and not a drop of rain falling, the crops in the fields are on the verge of being sunburned, and the water levels in lakes and rivers have dropped significantly.

Some people with a heightened sense of crisis have started to notice the unusual atmosphere and quietly began stockpiling supplies at home.

Online, doomsday theorists have begun to voice their opinions, claiming that the country’s abnormal high temperatures are a sign that the apocalypse is imminent.

When this statement surfaced, it sparked mockery from netizens, who said the blogger was reading too many novels and indulging in fantasy. Some even claimed the blogger was promoting the doomsday theory to encourage people to spend money and stockpile supplies, clearing out their inventory.

However, a very small group of people believed what the blogger said and went to the supermarket to buy supplies, while others were in a state of half-belief, stockpiling just in case, reasoning that even if nothing happened, they could just eat the supplies at home without waste.

This post quickly gained traction on Weibo and soon made it to the trending topics. It wasn’t long before the official accounts intervened and blocked the post, making it impossible to search for any information related to the doomsday theory.

The flood of information online was overwhelming, bombarding netizens’ minds at all times. This post was just a tiny drop in the ocean and was quickly forgotten as people moved on to the next hot topic.

This post was written by Ye Yuan’an, who had done the best she could to warn others—nothing more could be done.

In this new life, all of her emotions had become unusually indifferent, and she no longer had the energy to care about the survival of people unrelated to her.

Not long ago, the warehouse-style supermarket and pharmacy that Shuxin had bought for stockpiling supplies had shut down, officially announcing that they went out of business due to financial difficulties.

Shuxin remembered that shortly after the storm, the government and military took over all major supermarkets. She didn’t want to go out in the heavy rain to deal with these matters when the time came.

Closing early also helped avoid the locals eyeing the supplies in the supermarket when they ran low on resources.

When dismissing all the employees, Shuxin had the manager give each person an additional three months’ worth of salary, along with five bags of vacuum-packed rice and flour, as well as a small first-aid kit with essential medicines.

If they managed to keep these items at home and not sell them, they should be able to survive the upcoming year or more of natural disasters.

Bo Xiangwen and Mu Qimai also moved into the house where Shuxin and Yan Mo lived. The house was divided into two levels: Shuxin lived upstairs, while Yan Mo and the three men lived downstairs.

When Bo Xiangwen and Mu Qimai saw the house, which was secured like a high-security bank vault, they couldn’t help but marvel at Shuxin’s sense of safety and admire her even more.

Each of them had collected supplies from ten large warehouses and handed them over to Yan Mo as their share for future expenses. Yan Mo, knowing their intentions, didn’t refuse and took them, along with Shuxin, to collect them late at night.

Fortunately, Shuxin’s space was large enough, otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to fit so many items. Many of the non-perishable goods were stored on the second floor, taking up the grassy area where the small calves and lambs roamed.

On the last day of June, the sky, which had been bright and sunny, turned dim, and a gentle breeze began to blow. With the falling raindrops, people finally felt a sense of coolness.

“The National Meteorological Center has issued an urgent yellow alert for a heavy rainstorm. The rain will last for about a week. Residents are advised to stockpile supplies and reduce outdoor activities.”

“Government agencies and related departments will carry out emergency measures for the storm, cutting off dangerous outdoor power sources and suspending outdoor work. Schools and businesses in hazardous areas should suspend classes and operations, taking special measures to ensure the safety of students, children, and employees. Proper drainage measures should be taken in urban and agricultural areas, and attention should be paid to preventing disasters such as mountain floods, landslides, and mudslides.”

The heavy rain came unexpectedly. Upon hearing the news, people rushed to various supermarkets, and Shuxin and her group were no exception.

Though they had ample supplies and their house was already filled with items, including empty rooms stacked with goods, they knew they couldn’t just stay put while others were out stockpiling. It would make it obvious that they had enough supplies.

When everyone ran out of food, they might become targets, attracting unnecessary trouble.

They didn’t fear trouble, but they didn’t want to stir things up either. They just wanted to live their peaceful and happy lives.

When they went to the supermarket, they decided to avoid grabbing the essential survival supplies to not draw attention. They only took a bag of rice and flour to cover up their intentions, filling their shopping carts with snacks, drinks, and seasonings.

While everyone else was rushing for rice, flour, oil, vegetables, fruits, meat, and eggs, the snack aisle stood out as particularly empty, with only a few young people wandering around.

They didn’t hold back on the snacks either. They threw in everything they liked or had never tried before. Shuxin even picked up two big boxes of ice cream, despite her boyfriend’s disapproving look.

Seeing his girlfriend sneaking glances at him while continuing to add to the cart without hesitation, Yan Mo couldn’t help but sigh.

Looks like he would have to keep a closer eye on her. Otherwise, if she ate too many frozen treats during such a special time and complained of a stomachache, it would be her own problem.

The four of them pushed four shopping carts. Yan Mo and Mu Qimai pushed carts for Shuxin and Bo Xiangwen, as they had too many things to fit into just one.

At checkout, they were met with a line of curious stares, especially from the older people, whose eyes were filled with disdain and reproach. Normally, someone would have scolded them for wasting money on trivial things, but everyone was too busy stockpiling to pay attention to them.

When the group left, they drove the Knight XV Shuxin had ordered from Germany, and it easily fit all the items they had bought.

Since it would soon be inconvenient to go out because of the storm, they quickly decided to go out for a nice lunch together.

Maybe it was the perfect atmosphere, but even Yan Mo couldn’t resist eating to the point of being overly full.

With close friends and a loving partner by his side, living a calm and happy life like this was truly wonderful.