After enduring the triple devastation of typhoons, torrential rain, and floods, the streets were left in complete ruin.
Even Huang Yiyi stopped fooling around and drove seriously, carefully steering around obstacles in the road.
Chen Siyu leaned against the car window and looked at the kapok trees that had been snapped in half by the storm. She felt deeply regretful.
“These trees used to be so tall and magnificent. Every year they bloomed more flowers than any others. It’s such a shame they got broken too.”
Cheng Zhi looked over and gently patted Chen Siyu’s hand in comfort.
“The roots aren’t broken. Kapok trees are really strong. Maybe next year they’ll grow new branches, and the year after that they’ll bloom again.”
Hearing those words, Chen Siyu’s eyes lit up. Deep inside, she hoped that room 806 could be like those kapok trees and survive stubbornly in this apocalypse as well.
The car moved forward slowly, but Cheng Zhi was not idle either. She made a long list.
“Up ahead is the farm. Let’s get out and search around, see if there’s anything useful. Past the farm is the big market, then we’ll reach the city. After that we’ll sweep through a mall one more time, then head straight to the final destination, Honey Lake Villa!”
The moment she heard “big villa,” Huang Yiyi immediately could not sit still anymore. She swayed around in the driver’s seat.
“Woohoo! Big villa! Big villa!”
Zheng Wan, sitting beside her, immediately pressed down the excited person.
“Why are you so excited? Your name isn’t on the property deed. We’re only staying there temporarily, and there might not even be empty houses for us. It could already be full.”
Cheng Zhi shook her head.
In their previous life, they had stayed there before. Most of the original homeowners had not been around. A small portion of the houses had later been looted, smashed, burned, and destroyed. The entire villa district had felt eerily empty.
Hearing that, Zheng Wan became confused.
“Most of the homeowners weren’t there? That’s strange.”
Xiao Feiran, who was sitting with her head lowered while fiddling with a slingshot, answered:
“Actually, it’s not that strange. That villa district is halfway up a mountain. Most people bought them as vacation homes for weekends. Only a small number of people actually lived there full time.”
After answering one question, Huang Yiyi immediately raised another.
“Then how did you guys know about that place in your previous life?”
The moment that topic came up, the three girls could not help smiling bitterly.
Back in their previous life, the three of them had spent every day living in constant fear. They risked their lives every day just to get a bite to eat.
Eventually, they got tired of living like that, packed up their things, and headed toward the mountains, hoping to disappear into nature.
Who would have thought that a criminal gang had been living in the villa district up there? Hidden inside bushes, they had personally witnessed rich people being robbed and murdered. They immediately fled back down the mountain overnight.
After two exhausting days, all they had accomplished was climbing a mountain. Nothing else.
That immediately frightened Huang Yiyi.
“If we go there now, doesn’t that mean we could run into those bad guys?!”
Cheng Zhi shook her head.
“When we met them back then, the apocalypse had already been going on for over half a year. That criminal group probably hadn’t existed for that long yet.”
Of course, nobody could say for sure.
But things were different this time.
This time they had food and weapons. Dealing with a few people would be more than easy.
When they arrived at the farm entrance, the large iron gate had long since been blown away, and the gatekeeper had disappeared without a trace.
The five girls got out of the car, stored it inside the space, and walked into the farm.
Along the way were countless cow and sheep carcasses. The floodwaters had soaked them until they were rotten, and waves of foul stench filled the air.
Cheng Zhi covered her nose as she walked, trying to find any living creatures.
Behind her, Chen Siyu felt dizzy from the smell.
“Zhizhi, stop looking. Even if there are survivors, after staying in a place like this for so many days, even if they aren’t dead, they’re probably sick. They definitely wouldn’t be edible.”
Finally, Cheng Zhi stopped walking.
The five of them did not stay at the farm long and headed toward the next destination.
The market was in terrible condition as well.
After making a full round, they only found a few bags of meatballs and two jars of pickled vegetables.
After failing to gain anything substantial twice in a row, the mood in 806 noticeably dropped.
Chen Siyu recovered first and encouraged everyone.
“It’s okay. Once we get to the mall, there’ll definitely be tons of stuff.”
No one responded.
Cheng Zhi sighed.
“There are a lot of people in the city. They’ve all been trapped for so many days, and now they’ll definitely come rushing out to look for food. I bet the mall is packed with people. Whether we can even get anything useful is hard to say.”
Zheng Wan stared ahead from the passenger seat, her gaze thoughtful.
“If people are grabbing things, they’ll prioritize ready to eat food. Right now there’s no water and no electricity, so nobody can cook. Rice, flour, grain, and cooking oil probably won’t be taken very quickly. We’ll stock up on those.”
Xiao Feiran also put away her slingshot and reminded everyone:
“Since we’re already going to the mall, we might as well stock up on both heat protection and cold weather supplies too.”
Everyone began making lists.
Even Huang Yiyi, who was still driving, joined in. Whenever she thought of something, she told Zheng Wan to write it down.
As the city skyline gradually came into view, everyone in 806 felt their hearts rise into their throats.
Cheng Zhi suggested they get out and walk.
People moving around on foot would not be as noticeable, and they would be more flexible too.
When they reached the mall entrance, the glass doors had indeed already been smashed apart. From time to time, people came running out carrying bread and bottled water.
The five of them were still observing when a passing woman suddenly warned them:
“If you want food, hurry inside and grab some. There isn’t much left anymore.”
Hearing that, they wasted no time.
They split into smaller groups and immediately began searching for supplies.
Zheng Wan and Xiao Feiran headed to the supermarket on basement level one to stock up on rice, flour, grain, and oil.
The other three went to search for other necessities.
Cheng Zhi immediately collected ten long down jackets that reached down to the ankles.
Chen Siyu grabbed large amounts of quick drying clothing.
As for Huang Yiyi, her choices were far more chaotic. She did not care whether it was men’s or women’s clothing. If it was a luxury brand, she grabbed it.
Looking at the smooth fur coat in front of her, then glancing at the price tag, Huang Yiyi could not stop herself from sighing.
“I never thought I’d live long enough to wear something this expensive.”
Chen Siyu pulled the tag over for a look and sighed as well.
“If we store these away now, then maybe someday if the natural disasters end, we can sell them and get rich.”
“…”
Cheng Zhi looked at her two roommates who had once again started daydreaming and genuinely admired them.
Humanity was practically ending, and they were still thinking about money.
After everyone finished gathering supplies, they got back into the car and continued toward their destination.
Whether by coincidence or something else, dorm 835, driving their campus shuttle, had almost exactly the same route as them.
Unfortunately, because they had been slower, 835 gained almost nothing.
Looking at the only thing they had managed to find, six bags of dog food, Chen Yiyi smiled bitterly.
“If we still can’t find food, we’re going to end up eating together with Shutiao. Dog food shouldn’t taste too bad, right?”
Lu Yuan also looked discouraged as he patted Qi Yanche’s seat.
“Brother Yan, give up already. Even the supermarkets are empty. Let’s just go to a flower market and I’ll plant food myself.”
Qi Yanche, who was driving, remained silent for a while before speaking.
“Let’s stock up on rice, flour, grain, and oil. Then we’ll find a hand powered generator and an electric cooker. We can’t compete for instant food, but there should still be plenty of those left.”
The other three exchanged glances.
None of them knew how to cook.
Qi Yanche replied as if it were completely natural:
“What’s the problem? I don’t know how either.”
“…”
Then what’s the point of stealing all that?!