Chapter 28: Two Pieces of News

The family of three had barely gotten a chance to warm their seats in the building before being kicked out.

Before driving them out, Xia Xiaoman, seeing that the “innocent four” knew when to back off, let them each pick one item from the family’s stash of supplies.

Didn’t they say she was stingy? Well, then she’d be generous—generous with someone else’s things. She handed out the couple’s supplies like charity.

She didn’t care for that pile of junk, but others might.

The four were pleasantly surprised by the unexpected opportunity and took their time picking through the couple’s stash, eventually taking all the hidden food.

The couple, though furious, didn’t dare say a word and paddled away dejectedly on their raft, likely never to return.

Back on the 15th floor, everyone sorted the supplies and returned to rest. At 2 p.m., they gathered at Wen Jianfeng’s place for throwing knife lessons, followed by Sanda training with Ye Xiaojie at 4, and back home around 7 to prepare dinner.

This schedule repeated for three days.

More and more people were moving into the building. Three were injured during scavenging trips, so Xia Xiaoman’s group didn’t venture far, only searching the area around the community.

When food was exhausted, they searched for building materials. They managed to acquire a batch of barbed wire and cut and secured it onto balconies and windows to prevent intruders.

Wen Jianfeng found a welding machine and had been fiddling with it in his spare time. If he could fix it, they could weld the iron doors in front of the fire doors, adding an extra layer of defense to the 15th floor.

In three days, the water level dropped to about halfway up the second floor.

At this level, strong swimmers could dive to the first floor to retrieve supplies without diving gear.

People in the building were making frequent trips outside—some returned with full loads, others came back injured, and some never returned at all.

With the water receding significantly, rescue efforts finally resumed.

From the balcony, they could occasionally spot rescuers shouting through megaphones from speedboats.

Trapped residents waved from their windows, shouting for help—some out of desperation, others in gratitude, and some in frustration over the delay.

People in the building also called out to attract rescuers.

The rescuers brought no supplies.

A once-in-a-millennium flood had submerged the entire city. Most supplies were still underwater, making it impossible to distribute enough aid to everyone.

Instead, the rescuers brought a thin wooden board, written with two pieces of news in marker, and nailed it to the wall on the third floor so all survivors could see it when entering or exiting.

First announcement:
Several rescue and trade points had been set up in Floating City.
The homeless could go to rescue points where staff would arrange temporary housing based on the situation.
The injured, sick, and other vulnerable individuals could also go there. If they couldn’t make the trip, they could flag down rescuers on the road, who would escort them.
Medical stations were available at the rescue points to provide free treatment.
Trade points had also been established, with clear valuations for goods. Each trade point was within 100 meters of a rescue point and under regular patrol to prevent robbery.

Second announcement:
All retired military personnel should report to the nearest rescue point with their families to join the disaster relief operations. Floating City would take care of their families.

After the announcement, all kinds of watercraft started appearing on the streets—everyone heading for the rescue or trade points.

A few households from the building also packed up and left, clearly aiming for the rescue points.

They had stockpiled enough food for ten to fifteen days, but being products of a civilized society—used to sipping milk tea and eating Western food in clean environments—after nearly a month of chaotic survival, they were desperate to return to normalcy.

To them, following the government and Party meant civilization was just around the corner.

So even though life in the building was manageable, they still chose to leave for the rescue point, eager to be among the first to return to “civilization.”

Wen Jianfeng stared intently at the second message on the board.

Xia Xiaoman asked, “Coach, are you a retired soldier?”

“No. My parents wanted me to join the army, but I chose to become a fighter instead, and missed the chance.” Wen Jianfeng’s voice was filled with deep regret.

Had he joined the military, he could’ve taken Axu and Lingling to the rescue point. No one could protect children better than the country itself.

“My mom is a retired soldier,” Su Ran suddenly spoke up.

“Then are you going to the rescue point?” Xiao Zheyu added, “You’re just gonna leave me behind?”

Su Ran rolled his eyes, “You lost my ID, remember? Even if I go, I can’t prove I’m my mom’s son.”

Xiao Zheyu scratched his nose awkwardly, “I didn’t mean to.”

Su Ran pouted—if he’d done it on purpose, he would’ve already beaten him up.

Back on the 15th floor, everyone gathered at Zhou Qiuyang’s place to go over the news from Floating City.

“Do you guys want to go to the rescue point?” Xia Xiaoman asked.

Xiao Zheyu looked hesitant. “A lot of people are probably going. I imagine the living conditions won’t be great.”

Sun Qing said, “But there’s a medical station. If we get sick or injured, we can get help right away.”

Her own injury had taught her the importance of medical care—Zhou Qiuyang had nearly died from an infected wound.

Ye Xiaojie added rationally, “There’ll be all kinds of people at the rescue point. With all the supplies we’ve got, we’re sure to attract attention.”

“But we’d also get updates from Floating City in real-time. If anything happens, they’ll prioritize relocating people from the rescue point. We’re so far out here, we’d always be a step behind on the news.”

Wen Jianfeng thought for a while and said, “We could offer up some supplies as a donation. That way, the staff might assign us to a safer, less crowded area.”

After all, aid workers had families too, and they’d naturally accept some ‘gifts’ to make life easier. It’s human nature.

Zhou Qiuyang supported going—he’d been nearly killed this time and figured staying near medical help was safest.

Su Ran didn’t care either way. His parents had gone back to their hometown before the flood—far, far from Floating City. He had no idea how they were doing. He had no real ties here and didn’t mind where he went.

Xia Xiaoman didn’t really want to go. With so many people, there’d be just as many problems. She didn’t want to deal with arguments and fights every other day.

With no unanimous decision, Xia Xiaoman suggested, “Let’s check out the rescue point first. If it looks livable, we can move over.”

Sun Qing nodded, “Then Xiaojie and I will go this afternoon to take a look.”