Chapter 29: Meeting Topic — Whether to Move to the Relief Center

The floodwaters rose quickly, and they receded just as fast.

In just a few days, the water level had dropped down to the second floor, giving people hope that maybe, before long, the world would return to the civilized society it once was.

After finishing her throwing knife practice, Xia Xiaoman noticed that Sun Qing and Ye Xiaojie hadn’t returned yet, so she stood on the balcony in a horse stance, using the time to observe the weather outside.

Suddenly, dark clouds rolled in from the distance. The already grey sky quickly turned pitch black. The wind picked up rapidly, and waves formed across the water’s surface.

A bolt of lightning split the sky, instantly illuminating the darkness. Then came a deafening crash of thunder, as if the entire floating city was trembling.

Bang! Bang! Bang!
Urgent knocking at the door.

“Xiaoman, can you come help real quick? Sun Qing and the others are just downstairs. But the wind is too strong and blowing against them. Every time they get close to the building, they get pushed back. Help us pull in the inflatable boat!”

Hearing Wen Jianfeng’s voice, Xia Xiaoman stopped practicing and opened the door.

Sun Qing and Ye Xiaojie were paddling hard, arms swinging in wide arcs. Each time the raft neared the third-floor balcony railing and Ye Xiaojie reached out to grab it, a gust of wind would send the boat rocking backward.

They repeated this over and over — the building was right in front of them, but they just couldn’t reach it.

Xia Xiaoman followed Wen Jianfeng down to the third floor and threw out a climbing rope they had prepared earlier.

The end of the rope was tied to a full water bottle for weight, and under gravity, it successfully landed on the inflatable boat on the first try.

Ye Xiaojie grabbed the rope while Sun Qing spread her limbs to steady the boat and keep it from flipping. Together, Xia Xiaoman and Wen Jianfeng hauled them in.

Finally reaching the building, Sun Qing let out a long breath. “We made it back.”

“How come you were gone so long? Is the relief center really that far from here?” Xia Xiaoman asked.

Sun Qing pressed her lips together. “We asked around about our parents’ situations.”

Both she and Ye Xiaojie were from out of town, studying here. Their hometowns weren’t local. Since the flood hit, they hadn’t been able to contact their families and had no idea how they were doing.

This trip to the relief center gave them a chance to ask the staff for any updates.

But there were many people trying to get news about their own families too, so it took a long time for the two of them to finally reach someone who could help.

Sun Qing’s hometown was in the north. Hail and heavy rain had flooded cars, and everyone was trapped indoors, unable to go out to scavenge like they could here.

Ye Xiaojie’s hometown was in a neighboring city, also hit by floods just like the floating city.

From the way rescue efforts in the floating city had been going, they had already guessed things weren’t looking good across the country.

Including reserves, Xia Nation had at least 20 million troops. Add firefighters, auxiliary police, volunteers — that should have been more than enough to rescue just the floating city.

But from the disaster until now, no help had arrived. Instead, they were asking veterans to assist in rescue work.

What did that say? That the disaster was nationwide. The whole country was too overwhelmed to send help here.

So even though they were mentally prepared, it didn’t ease their worry about their families’ safety.

Back in apartment 1503, after showering and changing into dry clothes, Sun Qing gathered everyone in Zhou Qiuyang’s apartment for a meeting.

Meeting topic: Should they still move to the relief center?

This time, Wen Jianfeng brought his two kids along to listen. They weren’t allowed to speak, only observe.

Xiao Zheyu asked eagerly, “Sister Qing, how far is the relief center from us? Could we get there in about an hour?”

He was very concerned about the distance. If it was too far, he’d exhaust himself rowing and wouldn’t be able to transport all their supplies.

Sun Qing shook her head weakly. “Forget it. Trust me — you definitely won’t want to move there.”

The relief center was set up in a hotel. After the flooding, the hotel’s sewage system was completely clogged. Even from a distance, you could see piles of trash around the building.

As they got closer, the stench of urine was overpowering — even holding your nose didn’t help.

Sun Qing had nearly turned back then and there. The only reason she kept going was to ask about her family.

Inside, the hotel was somewhat maintained. The hallways were clean, but the rooms were absolutely filthy.

There were too many displaced people. Each room held at least 8 people, sometimes 10 or 12 if it was larger.

The rooms were damp, stale, and reeking. The once-white hotel bedding had turned black and shiny with grease.

Everyone inside looked lifeless, curled up in misery, waiting for aid workers to bring food.

“The place is basically a beggar’s den. No one does anything — they just lie there waiting for handouts.”

“And the food? Just two palm-sized patties, two meals a day.”

Sun Qing had asked the staff about them. The patties were made by mixing salvaged pre-cooked food with a bit of water and pressing it into a dense lump.

For example, if they pulled out vacuum-packed cakes, bread, biscuits, or snacks that day, the staff would tear it all up, mix it with water, and mash it into patties.

The taste depended on what they found that day — but without exception, every day’s batch tasted awful enough to make you question life.

“Two patties a meal? No way that fills anyone up!” Xiao Zheyu couldn’t imagine surviving on just two discs of mystery mush. He’d be a walking skeleton.

Xia Xiaoman spoke up. “Two patties per meal — not enough to fill you, but enough to not let you die. That’s the minimum survival threshold.”

Xiao Zheyu suddenly understood. “Oh, now I get it. That’s why the notice said it’s for people who are homeless or struggling to survive. Because the relief center just makes sure you don’t starve to death — not that you’ll be full.”

“If you go there hoping for a full meal, you’ll be hungry every day. But if you’re on the brink of survival, at least you won’t die of hunger.”

Sun Qing nodded. “So it’s really not suitable for us. It’s too dirty, too chaotic. Unless it’s absolutely necessary, we shouldn’t go.”

“Even if we wanted to now, we probably couldn’t,” Wen Jianfeng said, looking out at the balcony. “It’s getting windy again. Who knows how long it’ll last this time.”

Xia Xiaoman frowned. “Wind’s fine — just as long as the rain doesn’t get too heavy.”

If it poured like before, the floating city would turn back into an underwater city…