Shen Hanyin and the others had done fairly well on their scavenging trip.
Their haul included toilet paper, disposable paper cups, instant coffee, coffee beans, flashlights, dozens of packs of instant noodles, plenty of bottled water, snack cakes, spicy strips, and rubbing alcohol, all common office supplies.
Li Yuan looked at Shen Hanyin.
“What’d you find?”
Shen Hanyin pointed at her plastic bag, indicating that he should look for himself.
Since she had barely spoken all day, the other three grew curious.
They opened the bag.
Silence.
The three exchanged glances.
Luo Qi immediately turned around.
“Let’s get everything upstairs.”
“I’ll row the second boat. Li Yuan, come with me.”
Li Yuan nodded, then suddenly asked:
“Should we wait until dark before going back? I have a good sense of direction and can guide us. If people see us in daylight, everyone will know we looted this place.”
Xu Chengyi shook his head.
“No.”
“Plenty of people already saw us come here.”
“In daylight, people still have some restraint when taking things.”
“If we wait until night, we might not even make it back ourselves.”
“Then let’s hurry,” Li Yuan said immediately.
He was extremely good at taking advice.
Shen Hanyin took out the spiked clubs she’d found earlier and handed one each to Xu Chengyi, Luo Qi, and Li Yuan.
She already had her baseball bat and didn’t need another weapon.
After loading everything onto the boats, the four slowly made their way back.
…
Along the way, they encountered a group traveling in an assault boat.
The four exchanged nervous glances.
Fortunately, the assault boat didn’t stop.
Considering the mountain of supplies piled behind it, there was no reason for them to.
A few people attempted to approach and trade for food.
They were ignored outright.
Four armed men carrying clubs, floating on the water, were not easy targets.
Without suitable equipment, nobody could rob them by force.
…
By the time they returned to Building Nine, dusk had fallen.
A crowd had already gathered in the stairwell, hoping to get a share of whatever they had found.
Some even offered money.
The requests were rejected immediately.
At a time like this, nobody in their right mind would sell food.
The supplies were moved to the tenth floor and divided equally.
Shen Hanyin carried her share home.
The moment she entered, Suisui looked up at her pitifully.
The little cat hadn’t eaten all day.
Shen Hanyin softly apologized and rewarded her with an extra dried fish treat.
Now I can stay home for a while, she thought.
No more acting.
…
The next day, the temperature dropped another two degrees.
The apartment felt chilly, though still tolerable.
After breakfast, Shen Hanyin sat on the balcony sketching to pass the time.
Before long, she heard a light knock on the door.
She quickly darkened her complexion with makeup, put on a down jacket, and zipped it up to just below her nose.
She skipped the mask.
Wearing one merely to answer the door would look suspicious.
Passing the entryway mirror, she checked her reflection.
The clothes looked right.
The buzz cut looked right.
Everything seemed fine.
After passing through all three doors, she found Luo Qi and Xu Chengyi waiting in the hallway.
Xu Chengyi pointed at the reinforced door she’d installed over the fire escape.
“Man, you’ve got serious security awareness.”
“Need something?”
“Yeah.”
“You planning to go out again?”
“The temperature’s dropping. The water will probably freeze completely soon.”
“When that happens, everyone will be able to travel.”
“And food will become even scarcer.”
He paused before continuing.
“Today we heard that government offices and police stations have already been abandoned.”
“Just in case, we want to gather more supplies.”
He didn’t need to explain further.
Shen Hanyin already understood why they’d come to find her.
“I’m not going.”
“You can borrow the boat.”
Luo Qi looked surprised that she wasn’t joining them, but he didn’t ask questions.
“Alright.”
“If we find anything, we’ll give you a share.”
“Okay.”
Although she didn’t actually need food, refusing would seem suspicious.
She returned to her apartment, brought out the inflatable boat, and lent it to them.
Then she locked the door and went back to painting.
…
That evening, Luo Qi and Xu Chengyi returned.
They handed her a bag.
Inside were:
Several bags of mixed nuts
Three self-heating rice meals
Potato chips
Beef jerky
Various snacks
Then Luo Qi handed her another bag.
“This rice got soaked. Want it?”
Shen Hanyin shook her head.
“Then take two more self-heating meals.”
He stuffed two additional boxes into her hands.
She accepted them.
“You can keep using the boat.”
“I’m not going anywhere for the next few days.”
“Thanks.”
The following day, they brought over several fish.
“Fish are everywhere now.”
“Want to come catch some?”
“No.”
“I can’t swim. The water’s too deep.”
“Fair enough.”
Neither pressed the issue.
After several more days of bringing food as repayment, they finally returned the inflatable boat.
..
One morning, Shen Hanyin woke and checked the thermometer.
−10°C.
Suisui had curled into a tiny ball inside her bed.
Originally, Shen Hanyin had intended to acclimate herself to the cold.
Unfortunately, Suisui couldn’t handle it.
The outdoor unit of the air conditioner was too loud and could attract attention.
Instead, Shen Hanyin dragged two electric heaters out of her space and connected them to her solar panels.
Opening the curtains, she saw ice covering the water outside.
Its thickness was impossible to judge visually.
Dressing warmly, she headed downstairs.
…
As usual, a group of residents had gathered in the stairwell.
Everyone wanted to see whether they could finally travel outside.
People struck the ice with sticks and tools.
Shen Hanyin tested it with her baseball bat as well.
Too thin.
It probably couldn’t support a person’s weight.
After a brief look, she returned home.
At this rate, the entire surface would soon freeze solid.
If the government still failed to appear by then…
the collapse of social order would begin.
…
Back in her apartment, Suisui immediately settled beside one of the heaters.
Shen Hanyin entered her space and prepared breakfast.
Beef, tomato, and potato noodle soup.
Steaming hot.
Just looking at it was enough to stimulate her appetite.
After eating, she picked up Suisui and began training.
She wasn’t an expert, but she’d spent recent weeks teaching the cat simple commands.
As long as Suisui didn’t wander off recklessly, Shen Hanyin was confident she could keep her safe.
…
Two days later:
−12°C.
The ice remained relatively thin.
Several days passed.
The temperature continued dropping.
−16°C.
The frozen surface could now easily support human weight.
…
Shen Hanyin equipped herself thoroughly:
Down jacket
Scarf
Gloves
Wool hat
Only her eyes remained visible.
She tucked a baseball bat under one arm and stuffed a black plastic bag into her pocket before leaving.
For once, nobody occupied the stairwell.
Everyone had likely gone out early.
Food hunting had finally begun in earnest.
…
The ice wasn’t especially slippery because so much debris had frozen into its surface.
After leaving the residential complex and walking only a short distance, Shen Hanyin heard a woman scream.
She immediately quickened her pace.
Ahead, she saw:
A bag of potato chips.
Two sprouted potatoes.
All scattered across the ice.
A man stood holding a kitchen knife.
A woman clutched a cloth bag behind him.
Three other men faced them from several meters away.
None of the three carried weapons.
Around them stood scattered onlookers.
Nobody stepped forward.
Nobody intervened.
Nobody spoke.
The man with the knife stared at the woman.
“Pick them up.”
The woman was terrified.
She sobbed uncontrollably.
The man shouted again:
“I said pick them up!”
Shaking from head to toe, she crouched down and gathered each item from the ice before stuffing everything back into the bag.
When she finished, she hurried back to the man’s side and grabbed his sleeve tightly.
The man raised his knife and stepped forward.
“If you follow us, I’ll kill you.”
The three men exchanged glances.
None moved.
They were probably opportunistic thieves.
Unable to find food themselves, they’d tried targeting someone weaker.
If robbery had been their original intention, they would have brought weapons from the start.
…
Shen Hanyin continued walking.
On the first days after the freeze, most conflicts were still small-scale disputes over food.
Few people carried weapons.
Before the disaster, the country had maintained strict control over both firearms and bladed weapons.
As a result, social order had remained stable for a long time.
Most ordinary households didn’t even own clubs or similar weapons.
The only thing many people could bring outside was a kitchen knife.
Even when robberies occurred, they relied mostly on threats and intimidation.
Nobody knew for certain what had happened to the government.
Despite the lack of rescue efforts, few dared openly challenge the law.
At least for now, actual knife attacks remained rare.