After an entire afternoon had passed.
Lin Jianguo tightened the final expansion bolt, the web between his thumb and index finger already rubbed red from the work.
“Good grief, this looks just like a bank vault!” Old Zhang knocked his knuckles against the window reinforced with three layers of steel plates. A dull sound echoed out. “It’s just so ugly it hurts the eyes.”
The other two old friends were struggling to drag the newly welded iron bar behind the door to serve as a door brace. Panting heavily, they laughed and cursed jokingly, “Compared to those doomsday bosses’ fortresses on TV, ours is practically the beggar version.”
Lin Jianguo suddenly grabbed Old Li, who was packing up his tools. Sweat dripped down his jawline onto the cement floor, leaving dark round spots.
He looked at the three old friends in front of him.
“Old Li, Old Wang, Old Zhang, go back and fill up the water tower on the roof of your buildings. The places you live are all relatively high, so you don’t need to move.” His Adam’s apple bobbed before he continued, “Also hide more food at home. Or stash some compressed biscuits somewhere else. Or other foods that store easily—ones with long shelf lives.”
Old Wang removed his glasses and wiped them. “Spreading panic again? The weather station already said that this year’s El Niño—”
“They said the same thing during the great drought of ’38!” Lin Jianguo suddenly slammed his fist against the steel plate. The loud bang exploded through the empty stairwell. “But right after that came a torrential rain that drowned who knows how many people! The weather this year is way too abnormal.”
Old Li suddenly leaned closer. “Old man, did you learn something?” His wrinkled face moved very close, and the smell of cheap tobacco could be sensed from him.
Lin Jianguo stared at the gray, dull sky outside the window.
“If you go back now, you can still buy some things. If torrential rain really comes… at least you won’t starve. Even if the rain doesn’t come, it won’t go to waste. You can just eat it slowly.”
Lin Jianguo did not say anything more. If they did not believe him, saying more would not help.
Old Li and the others had not eaten. It was too hot, and there was nothing in the new house yet. Lin Jianguo said he would treat them to a meal another day. After resting for a while, the three of them left.
The sky gradually darkened.
Lin Yang drove back in a rattling, battered cargo truck that he had rented from somewhere. The truck was filled with the diesel generator, diesel barrels, medicines, and hardware tools they had bought that day.
“Sis! Where should I unload?” Lin Yang was so tired he was nearly collapsing, leaning against the doorframe while gasping for breath.
“Just move everything inside first!” The new house had nothing in it anyway—it was very empty.
Lin Yang, Lin Jianguo, and the driver made seven or eight trips before finally carrying everything into the house.
After the driver left—
“Sis, hurry and store it away. There’s almost no place to step in the living room,” Lin Yang whispered as he approached Lin Wan.
With a single thought from Lin Wan, the living room instantly became completely empty.
Inside her Space Dimension, however, there was now a large pile of crucial supplies.
After a while, Li Shulan also returned. She had taken a taxi back, clearly because she had bought too many things to carry.
She directed the taxi driver to unload several large bags from the trunk, mainly various condiments, daily necessities, and several large packs of sanitary pads and toilet paper.
Although there were quite a lot of things, it was not an outrageous amount. After all, people usually had many items when moving house, so it did not attract much attention.
“The wholesale market closed. There are still many things we need to buy tomorrow! I only bought some small items first,” Li Shulan said. Her voice had grown hoarse, but her eyes shone astonishingly bright. “Wanwan, store these away first! I also ordered a lot of things and rented a warehouse. Tomorrow they’ll deliver directly to the warehouse instead of bringing them here, otherwise it would attract too much attention!”
Lin Wan waved her hand again, storing everything her mother had purchased into the Space Dimension.
Looking at the empty house, then at the completely dark sky outside the window, and finally at Lin Jianguo inside the house still tinkering and checking the reinforcements with clanging noises, Li Shulan collapsed onto a cardboard box placed on the floor.
“Good heavens…” she muttered. “Today really exhausted me to death. My legs are sore from walking.”
Lin Wan and Lin Yang exchanged glances. Both saw endless exhaustion on the other’s face, and deep beneath that exhaustion was a trace of ruthless determination to survive.
The apocalypse was really coming soon.
And their battle had only just begun.
Lin Wan walked to the window and looked outside.
The city lights had just come on. Neon lights flickered, traffic flowed endlessly, and everything looked peaceful and prosperous.
Who could imagine that before long, this place would turn into a vast ocean of hell?
She clenched her fists.
This time, we must survive!
The room carried the faint burnt smell of metal cutting and the lingering scent of sweat left by the men.
The family of four either sat or stood, crowded together in the empty living room where furniture had not yet been arranged. Only a few old newspapers were spread out in the middle.
In the brief silence, only soft breathing could be heard. This single day seemed to have drained the strength of an entire lifetime.
“Dad, Uncle Zhang and the others…” Lin Wan hesitated. Since her father had brought people to reinforce the house, could word leak out?
Lin Jianguo wiped the sweat and grime from his face, turning it into muddy streaks. He waved his hand. His voice was hoarse but carried unquestionable certainty.
“Don’t worry. They’re brothers who have gone through life-and-death situations with me. They’re trustworthy. I only said the neighborhood hasn’t been very peaceful recently and that I was worried about safety hazards. I paid them well. They just worked and didn’t ask questions.”
He paused and looked around the empty yet fortress-like house, a ruthless determination flashing in his eyes.
“When that day really comes… this little secret won’t matter anymore.”
Yes. Once the torrential rain arrived, who would care why someone had welded their door like an iron barrel?
Living was the only truth.
Li Shulan slumped on the cardboard box, rubbing her sore legs while staring at the text message from her mobile banking app showing the house sale money deposited. The string of numbers made her dizzy and uneasy.
“The money… 1.18 million. Adding the family’s savings, it’s about 1.3 million in total. Just today alone—buying medicine, the generator, those metal things, and paying the rent deposit… we’ve already spent nearly two hundred thousand!”
Her voice trembled. She had lived frugally all her life and had never imagined money could be spent like flowing water. Her heart ached.
“Mom, money can be earned again later. If life is gone, then nothing remains.”
Lin Wan crouched down and held her mother’s cold hand.
“This is only the beginning. We haven’t even bought one-fifth of the items on our list.”
Lin Yang plopped onto the floor, leaning against the cold wall as he spoke weakly.
“Sis is right… Mom… if you had seen the scene at the hardware wholesale market today… Dad asked for prices, the bosses quoted something, then Dad named a price. They said they couldn’t go any lower, and Dad just turned and walked away. Man, that presence was incredible…”
“You brat! What nonsense are you talking about!” Lin Jianguo’s old face flushed red as he glared at his son, then sighed. “Well… saving even a little bit matters! Besides, your dad has been a mechanical worker his whole life. I understand a lot of those things.”
“Exactly,” Lin Wan immediately added.
“That’s right! Tomorrow we still have to continue buying supplies,” Li Shulan said, immediately regaining her energy.
Seeing her mother’s renewed fighting spirit, Lin Wan felt both warmth and bitterness in her heart. These were her family members. They might have small quarrels normally, but when disaster truly came, they could unite as one and unleash astonishing strength.
“Alright, stop resting,” Lin Jianguo said, taking a deep breath as he stood up. He was the true pillar of this family—he could not collapse even for a moment. “Shulan, how is the warehouse you contacted?”
“It’s settled! It’s near the wholesale market—a small storage room separated from an old factory building. I rented it for a month. I’ve already paid the money and got the key!” Li Shulan quickly took out a keyring from her bag and shook it proudly. “Tomorrow I’ll have them deliver everything directly to the warehouse! Wanwan, you can go collect it at night without anyone noticing!”
“Alright.” Lin Jianguo nodded, then looked at his daughter. “Wanwan, what about your side? Besides the house, do you have any other ideas?”
Lin Wan immediately explained the plan she had come up with that afternoon.
“Dad, Mom, the wholesale market alone isn’t enough. Tomorrow I want to go to the countryside! Farmers there grow their own sweet potatoes and potatoes. They’re fresher and we can stockpile more. We might even be able to buy live chickens and ducks! Eggs too! And maybe collect some water from reservoirs! Country people are honest, their goods are cheap, and they won’t ask too many questions!”
“The countryside?” Li Shulan hesitated. “You’re going alone? That doesn’t sound safe.”
“I’ll go with Sis!” Lin Yang struggled to stand up. “At least I’m a man. I can carry things! Dad still has to stay here to check the reinforcements and buy more hardware and medicine. Mom has to stay at the wholesale market. Only Sis and I are free!”
Lin Jianguo thought for a moment, then made the decision.
“Alright. Little Yang will go with you. Rent a van and drive carefully. Wanwan, you’ve thought it through well. The countryside has good supplies. Collect more vegetables that store well, and seeds. Make sure to get seeds—get as many as possible.”
He seemed to recall something, and his expression grew more serious.
“Wanwan, you said earlier that after the extreme heat comes torrential rain… and after that there will be extreme cold?”
“Yes!” Lin Wan nodded heavily. “After the torrential rain floods, the temperature will drop suddenly, freezing everything for thousands of miles! So thick clothing, warming supplies, and fuel for heating must also be prepared! Also, during the extreme heat period there will be widespread water and power outages. Ice! We also need to store a lot of ice! It can be used for cooling and melting into water!”
“Ice?” Lin Yang stared blankly. “How do we store that stuff? We don’t have a cold storage facility. Won’t it melt?”
“No need to worry. My Space Dimension is in a static state. No matter what is placed inside, it will remain exactly the same,” Lin Wan said.