Scallions, ginger, and garlic were used a little every time dishes were stir-fried, so Lu Xiumei had planted some on the balcony. That way, she could just pinch off a few leaves whenever she cooked.
Su Yun opened the balcony door. The past few days, there had been no water at home, and the tap water couldn’t be used. After being exposed to the blazing sun, the few pots of scallions, ginger, and garlic on the balcony looked sickly and wilted.
Su Yun immediately moistened the soil in her spatial space and transplanted the scallions, ginger, garlic, and chives into it.
After standing on the balcony for a short while, sweat began to pour out. Su Yun went back inside and walked toward the freezer at home. There were popsicles inside, but only five left.
She took one and leaned against the sofa while eating it, letting her consciousness enter the spatial space. She remembered that last night, while collecting supplies at the supermarket, she had picked up ice cube molds and popsicle molds. However, the ingredients she had on hand were limited. If she wanted to make popsicles, she would have to wait until the fruits in the spatial space ripened.
Ice cubes, on the other hand, could be frozen in advance. After the city lost power, there would be a sandstorm lasting as long as half a year, during which the temperature would still hover around forty degrees Celsius.
She could freeze a large amount of ice and store it in the spatial space. When the time came, she could even use the ice to soak water and drink it. Once she had the idea, she acted on it—she wouldn’t fall asleep right away anyway, even lying on the sofa.
She took out all the ice cube molds from the spatial space. There were actually more than a hundred molds. Su Yun filled them all with water from the well.
After covering them, she put them into the freezer to freeze. She then took out all the miscellaneous items cluttering the freezer and cleared it completely for freezing ice cubes.
Most of the things she removed were cosmetics. She didn’t know where Lu Xiumei had read that bit of “scientific knowledge,” claiming that putting cosmetics in the freezer would make them last longer and keep them fresh.
But a refrigerator for cosmetics and a freezer for food were completely different things.
After all the ice cubes were frozen, Su Yun finally felt tired. She lay down on the sofa and fell asleep.
At three in the morning, Su Yun heard movement in the stairwell and opened her eyes, looking toward the front door. She quietly got up.
Although the people in the stairwell slowed their footsteps, Su Yun still heard them when they came close to her door.
This environment was unsafe in her subconscious. Even the slightest noise made her alert.
The people outside her door stood there for a while and tried to push the door. When they found it wouldn’t open, they left.
Su Yun went to the window and pulled aside the curtains. A few minutes later, she saw six people walk out of the unit entrance of her building.
All six carried backpacks and held clubs or blades in their hands. They headed toward the main gate of the residential complex, clearly intending to leave through the front entrance.
Several zombies caught the scent of living humans and chased after them. Facing this situation for the first time, the six scattered and fled in different directions.
Su Yun didn’t keep watching them. Instead, she leaned back on the sofa and opened her phone. Yesterday, she had only glanced briefly at the property owners’ group chat.
Why were they suddenly going out to look for food today?
She opened the chat. It showed 99+ unread messages. Scrolling up to the earliest one, she found the reason: the food at home had run out, and they were starving.
So they decided to go out together to look for food. As soon as the idea of going out for supplies was mentioned, many people who had been silently lurking in the group appeared.
They organized their own manpower, created a smaller group chat, and then stopped talking in the main group.
Suddenly, a scream pierced the night sky, coming from the direction of the residential complex’s main gate. Su Yun thought of the few people who had scattered earlier—something had probably gone wrong.
Thinking of the low wall she had climbed over during her outings these past two days, Su Yun recalled her previous life. The first time she went out to look for supplies back then, she had foolishly headed straight for the main gate as well.
After all, she was used to going in and out through that entrance.
That low wall was a safe spot she had discovered only after narrowly escaping zombie pursuits several times.
That scream scared off some of the people in the complex who had been itching to go out.
Su Yun turned off her phone. This time, she wasn’t disturbed by the sounds outside and fell back asleep.
In the morning, the first thing she did was check the property group chat. Sure enough, those who had gone out the previous night had gained something.
Two people posted photos of the supplies they had found—some water and grain.
Building 10, 3rd Floor:
“This is the food my husband found last night. I want to ask if anyone has meat. I’d like to trade for some meat. The kids at home keep asking for it. If you have meat, please message me privately.”
Building 10, 9th Floor.
“This is the food I found last night. I want to trade for noodles, or instant noodles are fine too.”
Building 10, 14th Floor:
“I don’t have what you’re looking for, but I can buy what you have at a high price. The price is negotiable—name your price, and I won’t bargain. Anyone with food can message me privately; I’m willing to buy at a high price. You all heard the gunfire last night, right? The authorities are probably clearing zombies from the city. I believe it won’t take long before things return to normal. Once the city starts operating again, it’ll be hard to make money like this. I’m willing to pay well above market price right now for what you have. Think about it—once the city returns to normal, won’t this kind of money-making opportunity disappear? A chance to get rich overnight is right in front of you.”