The water rose steadily, reaching their waists.
Seeing the second floor of the hypermarket was no longer safe, Lin Sheng urged his wife, Huang Xin, “Hurry, let’s get to the roof.”
The storm raging outside no longer mattered. Survival was the only priority now.
Huang Xin glanced around, then nodded. She grabbed the half-finished woven bag and followed her husband, stepping one by one into the freezing water.
Inspired by the couple, others on the second floor began to act, each finding their own way to escape.
A few men tore apart the store’s shelving units, using the wooden planks as makeshift rafts. One by one, they plunged into the flood.
A group of young women extended a laundry rack into the water to snag drifting plastic basins. They lashed the basins together with torn strips of clothing, creating a crude raft. They climbed aboard and let the current carry them away.
As more people found ways to flee, the second floor gradually emptied.
Yet, a closer look revealed that most of those escaping were unburdened young singles. With no one else to consider, they could make the decisive choice to leave without hesitation.
However, many families who had come for vacation remained on the second floor. With elderly parents and young children, most groups numbered at least four or five. They couldn’t be as decisive as the young singles, who simply grabbed a wooden plank and plunged into the flood.
“What do we do, Dongguo? Think of something, quickly!”
A woman from one of the families was on the verge of tears, her half-grown son strapped to her back as she urged her husband forward.
The man named Dongguo paced frantically, trying anything and everything. He tore at wooden planks and clawed at water-soaked clothing from the store’s racks, but nothing could carry his elderly parents, his wife, and his son to safety all at once.
What do I do? What do I do?
If they waited any longer, his entire family would die.
Overwhelmed with panic, he slapped himself twice, the sharp stings barely forcing him to regain his composure.
“Listen, honey,” he said, gripping her shoulders. A flash of desperation and cold resolve crossed his face. “Carry our son and go beg that couple—the ones who were sewing the woven bags. They seem to know how to make buoyancy packs. Ask them to give us two of the finished ones.”
“What? That couple?” The woman hesitated. “But they made those themselves. Will they really give them to us?”
Dongguo stared at her, his eyes burning with a murderous intensity.
She instantly understood. Her eyes widened. “You… you want me to rob them?!”
“If they won’t give us a single one,” he replied coldly, “we have no choice.”
The woman’s mouth hung open, as if she couldn’t stomach the idea of surviving this way. But after a few heartbeats, she looked up.
The desperation and cold resolve in her eyes now mirrored his.
“Fine. I understand,” she said, her voice turning hard. “For our son, I’d even kill right now.”
With that, she hoisted her son onto her back and limped toward the rooftop, her steps uneven and faltering.
After she left, a chilling glint flickered in Dongguo’s eyes.
He scanned the remaining people on the second floor, his gaze narrowing until it settled on two young women in the corner.
“Give me what you’re holding.”
The two women were just about to finish their work, their faces lighting up with relief—until a massive shadow suddenly engulfed them.
The two women looked up, glaring at him. “Why should we give them to you? We worked hard to make these ropes. If you want one so bad, go make one from the curtains!”
The man had no patience for words. His voice dropped an octave. “I said, give them to me. Or you’re the ones who will suffer.”
The threat in his voice grew ever more menacing.
One of the women, terrified, nudged her companion’s waist. “Maybe… maybe we should just give him one? The water hasn’t reached us yet. We still have time to make another.”
Her companion frowned, clearly displeased, but they both shrank under his gaze. Reluctantly, she held out a single rope.
The man didn’t budge. “Give me all of them.”
“Are you fucking crazy?!” the woman who had handed over the rope snapped, her patience gone. “We worked our asses off to make these! You just want them for free? What, are you a cripple? Too disabled to make your own?”
“Heh, a cripple?”
The man didn’t seem insulted. Instead, his smile turned vicious. “Fine. Let me show you exactly how ‘disabled’ I am.”
He swung his fist.
Crack.
The woman’s head snapped back. Before she could even scream, she collapsed into the floodwaters.
Crimson blood seeped from her seven orifices, swirling into the murky depths like a vortex of death.
Her companion shrieked, her face draining of all color. But the cry was cut short as a fresh barrage of fists rained down on her. She had no defense, quickly collapsing beside her friend.
The commotion drew the attention of the others, but they shrank back, terrified by the man’s reckless brutality. No one dared speak, only watching him with wary eyes.
The man sneered, indifferent to their judgment. He snatched the handmade ropes from the women’s lifeless hands and strode toward an elderly couple.
The crowd watched, their hearts sinking for the two old people.
The couple knew exactly what was coming. They didn’t resist. “Just take it,” the husband said.
The man’s lips curled into a thin smile. “I like people who know their place.”
He seized the two wardrobes they had dismantled—the very tools they had built to escape.
The wood was lightweight yet sturdy enough to support an adult. The old man had strained every muscle to dismantle the door panels, only to have them snatched away just as he was about to climb in.
He knew his frail body was no match for the man. The brutal fate of the two women served as a silent warning to everyone present.
So he gave up, offering the materials without a fight.
At least we’re still alive, he thought. As long as we’re alive, there’s hope.
A new wave of tension gripped the second floor. People watched the rising waterline with one eye and the ruthless man with the other, terrified of becoming his next victim.
The frantic pace of construction accelerated.
The man was no exception. He lifted his parents into the two wardrobes one by one. Under their weight, the wooden boxes sank deep into the water, but fortunately, the sides remained above the surface, keeping the interior dry.
He tied the stolen ropes into a long, continuous cord, winding it tightly around the two wardrobes to lash them together.
After ten minutes, the two boxes were securely bound as one.
The man let out a breath of relief and glanced back at the stairs leading to the rooftop.
Up there, a woman carrying her son on her back collapsed to her knees at the sight of the young couple.
“Please, I beg you, save my son!” she wailed, her face streaked with tears as she kowtowed repeatedly. “He’s so young. He can’t die like this!”
Huang Xin couldn’t bear to watch her suffer. She looked down at the two buoyancy packs she had just finished sewing, hesitated for a moment, and then frowned as she held them out.
“Take them. Tie one to the front and one to the back. They work just like life jackets.”
“Huang Xin…” Lin Sheng reached out to stop her, but he was a second too late.
The woman grabbed the two packs, which were sewn from woven plastic bags.
“Thank you… thank you, you kind people!” she sobbed, her face a mess of tears and snot.
Huang Xin sighed and waved her off. “Go on, we still need to make our own.”
But the woman made no move to leave. Instead, her gaze fixed on the other two buoyancy packs beside them.
Alarm bells rang in Lin Sheng’s head. This time, he moved instantly, lunging forward to shield the buoyancy packs with his body.
“We already gave you two,” he warned. “Leave. Now.”
The woman tilted her head, a slow smile spreading across her face. “But there are five of us. How can two be enough?”
Huang Xin gasped. “Then make your own! Why are you asking us?”
“Because I don’t know how,” the woman said, her lips curling as she winked.
Suddenly, something shot out from behind her.
Squelch.
Something had been stabbed.
“Huang Xin! Huang Xin!” Lin Sheng screamed. His wife was clutching her stomach, blood gushing from between her fingers.
“You’re insane!” Lin Sheng roared, lunging forward to wrestle the sharpened rebar from the woman’s hand. “You actually killed her!”
But the woman was faster than he ever imagined.
Or rather, once someone had completely discarded the value of human life, there was no limit to what they could do.
With her son still on her back, the woman ducked under Lin Sheng’s arm and snatched the remaining two buoyancy packs from the ground before he could even blink.
Lin Sheng started to chase after the woman, but the sight of his wife curled on the floor in agony stopped him cold. A sharp pain pierced his own heart. He rushed back to Huang Xin and gathered her in his arms, his eyes brimming with tears.
“Hold on, Huang Xin! Just hold on… I’ll get you out of here, I promise… I will…”
As he spoke, Lin Sheng broke down.
Huang Xin’s stomach was already soaked in blood. The torrential rain mixed with the gore, quickly forming crimson rivers that streamed across the rooftop—a sight that chilled Lin Sheng to the bone.
Below, the woman had successfully seized all four buoyancy packs.
She strapped two to her own chest and back, then fastened the other two to her husband, Dongguo. They placed their son inside the wardrobe they had taken from his grandparents’ room. After a final check to ensure everything was secure, and at Dongguo’s suggestion, they pushed the wardrobe to the window’s edge.
“Hold on tight,” the man said, slowly slipping into the water. “We’re heading to the Lakeside Hotel.”
The wardrobe bobbed like a small boat, drifting out of the hypermarket with the current. The man and his wife clung to the wardrobe’s edges, floating away with it. Thanks to the buoyancy packs, they barely had to exert any effort to stay afloat.
Lakeside Hotel.
After briefing the restaurant staff, Song Yue led Huang An back to their room.
She explained the situation to the group, and they all nodded in agreement to move to a higher floor.
“But before that,” Song Yue said, pulling two packs of instant noodles, two bags of bread, two boxes of crackers, and two bottles of mineral water from her backpack, “let’s get some strength back. It’s not much, but you can share it.”
Huang An, who had been nursing a growing hunger, didn’t care that the portions were small. He split half a bag of bread, a few crackers, and half a cup of water with the woman holding the child, then began devouring his share.
The others felt awkward about accepting the free food. Song Yue had insisted on finding supplies herself, yet they were still relying on her in the end.
But they were all starving. Unable to refuse, they thanked her one by one and divided the food equally.
“Song Yue, you should eat something too,” Sister Mei said, noticing she hadn’t taken anything. Worried Song Yue might faint from hunger, she kindly offered her half a pack of instant noodles.
Song Yue had turned down the food for a simple reason: she couldn’t stomach the thought of it.
With the memory of Kung Pao chicken, sweet and sour pork, black pepper beef, and braised chicken waiting for her in her Space, the dry instant noodles and crackers were utterly unappealing.
She made an excuse, telling Sister Mei she had other food in her room on the eighth floor and not to worry.
The simple comment brought Sister Mei to tears. She seized Song Yue’s hand, her voice ringing with conviction. “Song Yue, I apologize for my past behavior. I was shallow, judging you unfairly. I swear it will never happen again. If you ever need anything—anything at all—just ask!”
The other three girls nodded eagerly, though their mouths were still full as they chimed in with their own oaths.
“Me too! Me too! Song Yue, you’re so good to us. If you ever run into trouble, we sisters will always have your back!”
“You saved our lives,” one of the girls exclaimed. “The rest of us in Dorm 401 can’t promise much, but when we’re back at the Academy of Fine Arts, we’ve got your back one hundred percent!”
Song Yue couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cry.
All this over a little food? she thought. They’re acting like we just swore a blood oath in the Peach Garden.
The group quickly finished their meal and prepared to retreat to the eighth floor. Suddenly, a commotion erupted outside.
Song Yue cracked the door open just a sliver.
Through the gap, she saw a crowd of hotel staff gathered by the elevators, including the chef who had delivered the food earlier.
“I’m warning you!” the chef bellowed. “You’re not coming in until you explain the blood on your clothes!”
Huang An, pressed against the wall, whispered the translation to Song Yue.