Finally, everything had been moved back. As before, she turned on the air-cooling fan, then went to take a shower. After being outside all day, her body was completely soaked in sweat. Once she finished washing up, she took out the braised chicken and iced cola she had prepared earlier and began eating, while also sorting through the supplies in her space.
The contents of that entire warehouse had already been opened with a mere thought from Jiang Li. It was very convenient inside her space, she did not even need to do it manually. Inside were many toiletries, food, daily necessities, clothing, and some items that were not useful for the time being. Jiang Li sorted everything into categories.
She then organized the right side of her space as well, picking the ripe fruits from the fruit trees she had planted earlier and storing them properly. Fortunately, plants in the space did not depend on seasons; as long as they were watered from time to time, they would grow on their own. She had previously worried they might not survive.
Eggs and duck eggs were also stored properly. Some of them had already hatched into chicks and ducklings. The rabbits had given birth to several litters, and the fish in the pond had also increased in number. After feeding the animals, Jiang Li went to rest.
Although using the space was very convenient, controlling it with her mind still consumed a lot of energy over time. Not long after, she fell asleep.
In the following days, Jiang Li mostly stayed at home. Sometimes she went out with Gu Jin to search for supplies, and sometimes she went out alone. During this time, people occasionally came to cause trouble. Some saw the iron door and left immediately, not daring to make a scene. Others, however, assumed that since there was an iron door installed, there must be a lot of supplies inside, and became even more eager to break in. But all of them were dealt with by Jiang Li and Gu Jin. Over time, no one dared to come anymore, and everyone knew that the people on this floor were not to be messed with.
Just like that, a long time passed. Then, one day, people suddenly woke up to find that the temperature seemed to have dropped slightly. Although it was still extremely hot, this change still gave people hope.
Jiang Li looked at the thermometer. It now showed only a little over sixty degrees. However, this did not make her happy, because she knew that once the extreme heat ended, what would follow was an earthquake.
In her previous life, after finally surviving the end of the extreme heat, everyone had the same thought as now, that things were finally going back to normal. But in reality, even greater natural disasters and human chaos were still ahead. At the very least, until the day she died in her previous life, the world had never truly returned to normal.
After that, each day the temperature continued to drop compared to before. Eventually, it stabilized at around 27–28 degrees Celsius. Another week passed with the temperature remaining the same, and people began to believe that things had returned to normal. Everyone was immersed in joy and failed to notice that it was already December, this should have been winter.
On one of those nights, while everyone was still celebrating, the earthquake quietly arrived.
The moment Jiang Li felt the tremors, she was already awake. Realizing it was an earthquake, she immediately stored everything into her space, grabbed her backpack, and rushed out. When she opened the door, Gu Jin was already outside as well, so there was no need to wake him. Without exchanging many words, the two of them ran downstairs as quickly as possible in perfect coordination. Along the way, many people were also rushing out one after another. They fell several times due to the shaking, but quickly got back up. Finally, they reached the open square. By the time they got downstairs, both of them were already covered in dust and dirt.
The earthquake was still ongoing. Many buildings had already collapsed with loud crashes, and cracks were spreading across the ground. The air was filled with screams, cries, and curses. In the darkness, an atmosphere of despair spread through the crowd. No one had expected that what came after the end of the extreme heat was not hope, but despair.
Reaching the square only meant they were less likely to be crushed by collapsing buildings. The ground itself had split open in many places; some of the fissures were large enough that people had already fallen into them.
Because of the shaking, Jiang Li was unable to stand steadily. At that moment, a nearby crack suddenly widened, extending toward where she was standing. It looked like she might fall in.
Just as she was about to step aside, her wrist was grabbed. Her body was pulled forward and she fell into a warm embrace. Gu Jin wrapped one arm around her waist, pulling her into his arms to shield her, then led her forward while running.
Due to the earthquake, Jiang Li also lost her balance and instinctively wrapped her arms around his waist. She was carried forward involuntarily as he moved.
As time passed, the earthquake gradually began to weaken. When they finally stopped, they were still in an embrace. Only after coming to their senses did they realize their position, and both of them flushed red.
“Sorry, I acted on instinct just now. I saw you were about to fall, so I—” Gu Jin’s face and ears were completely red. It was the first time he had hugged a girl, and he was a little at a loss, also worried that Jiang Li might be angry.
“No, I should be the one thanking you. If it weren’t for you, I might have fallen in.” Jiang Li’s face was also slightly red as she quietly loosened her hands from around his waist.
“Um… you can let go of me now.”
Gu Jin’s ears turned even redder after hearing Jiang Li’s words. Now even his neck was flushed red. He hurriedly let go of the hands that were holding her.
Once he released her, the warmth in his arms suddenly disappeared. For some reason, he felt a little regretful. The feeling of holding Jiang Li just now, her waist was soft, and it gave him an urge to keep holding on. Gu Jin quickly suppressed that thought. How could he possibly think like that? If Jiang Li found out, she would definitely think he was a pervert. No, no, absolutely not.
Jiang Li, unaware of his inner thoughts, only felt that when she had just held onto Gu Jin’s waist, it had felt firm and strong. His body felt well-built, clearly someone who trained regularly.
Although there were still occasional tremors, they were only aftershocks and not very strong. More and more people gathered in the square, some supporting each other, others alone. Those who had not made it out likely would not appear again. Even if they did manage to come out later, there were no hospitals or medicines now, so survival would be unlikely.
After a while, the atmosphere between the two gradually returned to normal, but something still felt slightly different.
Jiang Li simply found a spot, leaned against her backpack, and sat down. Going back to the apartment was clearly impossible now, even if it had not collapsed, it was still unsafe. Moreover, aftershocks were still occurring from time to time. She remembered that in her previous life, about half a month after the earthquake ended, the official base had already been established. When the time came, she would go there as well. After all, humans were social creatures.
In her previous life, she had followed the main group to the base. Although the base itself was not large, there were many people, and there was simply nowhere to live. In the end, everyone had to squeeze into communal dormitories. A space of a few hundred square meters had to accommodate thousands of people, maybe even more. Everything was bunk beds, with only enough space between beds for one person to walk through.
Although it was not very hot anymore, the sheer number of people generated a lot of heat. The air in the space was filled with overlapping breaths, not to mention all kinds of mixed odors. There were only a few ventilation points, making it extremely unbearable.
Later on, she had worked hard to complete tasks and used her points to exchange for a less crowded place to live. She still did not know whether she would have been able to endure it otherwise. In this life, however, she had her space, and food was no longer a concern. She would make sure to live well.