He noticed that the door to 3502 was different from the others in the community — it looked more upscale than their door at 3501. That told him the people across the hall were more capable than them.
Thinking about neighbors helping each other in the future, he politely went to knock on 3502’s door.
Yan Yuansi glanced back at Li Yao. She hadn’t said or done anything, but her calm gaze just looking at him made him feel scared.
Yan Yuansi said lightly, “I understand.”
Chen Zixiao’s face was unpleasant. Seeing that the door across wasn’t opening, he could only go back home.
“How was it? Did you find out what kind of family they are?” Chen Zixiao’s wife came over as soon as he returned. They had carefully chosen the 35th floor — it was high, and above the 30th floor there were fewer residents. They had a child and didn’t dare to live in crowded places.
“That family is very cautious. They didn’t open the door, so I didn’t see their home, let alone if they have food. The person across is a man; we should be careful.”
They had seen once before that the person overseeing renovations on the 35th floor was a beautiful young woman.
He knew this because she was so pretty that he was mesmerized and missed his stop on the elevator. He saw her go to the 35th floor — now there was a man there too.
Li Yao withdrew her gaze and continued cooking, pot after pot. She carefully packed the food so it would be convenient to eat later.
When the first year of the severe cold came, a human base would be built above. She planned to go to the base after all the natural disasters passed and before the zombie outbreak. An individual alone couldn’t survive once the zombies appeared.
Li Yao kept cooking because it would be inconvenient to cook on the way to the base later.
The little boy across sniffed the air.
“Mom, I smell braised pork.”
Yue Yawen rolled her eyes.
“There’s no meat left nowadays. We still have rice at home. It’s good enough not to starve.”
Chen Baoxiang was relentless.
“I don’t care, I smell meat, I want to eat meat.”
Chen Zixiao was annoyed by his crying and slapped him.
“Cry, cry, cry. All you know is crying.”
Chen Baoxiang, spoiled, cried loudly. Chen Zixiao threw him outside.
“Come back in when you’re done crying.”
He wanted to use his son to test the situation across the hall.
Li Yao had decorated her place nicely; no matter how much Chen Baoxiang cried, the three people across didn’t hear it.
In the hallway, Chen Baoxiang smelled the faint aroma of meat and cried even harder. He was sure he smelled meat — his nose was sharp. His mom used to praise him for having a dog’s nose.
Wah wah wah — couldn’t eat meat and got hit by Dad. He was really upset.
Yue Yawen secretly pulled her son inside and whispered,
“No more crying, okay? Otherwise your dad will hit you again.”
Chen Baoxiang had never been so wronged before. He raised his little fists and punched Yue Yawen.
Each punch landed solidly and made Yue Yawen hurt.
Li Yao didn’t know what was happening across the hall. Her days were full. Today she stewed tomato beef brisket. At lunch, Ning Xinyue ate two bowls, while Yan Yuansi hid in his room.
At 2 PM, Li Yao felt something was wrong. She suddenly ran to the window. Ning Xinyue followed. Li Yao looked outside.
“The rain outside is heavier.”
Earlier, they could still see the building, but now the rain was so heavy that visibility was nearly gone.
“The residents downstairs will come up one by one. Just be careful and don’t have too much contact with neighbors. We look healthy and rosy; they are pale and thin. Just one glance and they’ll know we have food.”
Li Yao now only worried about Yan Yuansi. He relied on his nutrient solution and had a soft heart. She really feared he might end up supporting the whole building alone.
Their side was still living peacefully, but Bai Shuya’s luck wasn’t so good.
They lived in the eastern coastal area. Bai Shuya wanted a peaceful life by the sea, but after over twenty days of rain, her delicate little villa was already submerged in water.
When the water flooded the first floor, they realized something was wrong and hurriedly left the villa. When the rescue team arrived, they were among the first to be evacuated.
Fortunately, they were transferred together and placed in a shelter mixed with all kinds of people, but Liang Xuetong protected the remaining two.
“Brother Liang, thank goodness for you. Otherwise, Yi Jia and I would be doomed.”
She looked at Liang Xuetong with watery, admiring eyes. Her delicate appearance made Liang Xuetong’s heart flutter — Bai Shuran was much prettier and gentler than the yellow-faced woman at his home.
【Brother Liang is truly Bai Bai’s flower guardian.】
【What to do? I’m starting to ship Liang and Bai.】
【Better not, Brother Liang has a wife.】
Hearing this, fans of the Liang-Bai ship quieted down and only shipped privately.
They were placed on the 20th floor of a community building. After leaving some supplies, no one paid attention to them.
According to predictions, the water level wouldn’t rise above the 8th floor, so from the 8th floor up were people. Bai Shuya was clean and beautiful; many wanted to approach her. If it weren’t for Liang Xuetong, she wouldn’t be living so comfortably.
“Shuya, Yi Jia, we’ll have to go out later to find food.” Liang Xuetong went out to collect rainwater. He seemed to hear people gossiping about how the three of them always stayed home yet had food.
They didn’t have food; they were just surviving on nutrient solution. They could stay put, but if others got suspicious, it would bring trouble.
“Alright, we’ll listen to Brother Liang.” Bai Shuya and Yue Yijia wouldn’t argue — what he said was true.
Yue Yijia looked at the vast water outside.
“Brother Liang, it’s all water outside. How do we go find supplies?”
“Wait a bit. No one can go out now. The wind and rain are too strong. Let’s avoid contact with others as much as possible.”
Liang Xuetong looked at the heavy rain outside. He hadn’t expected things to be worse than imagined.
They had only solved the food problem. The show producers gave them money for daily life, but when disaster struck, even star system money was useless.
Their daily life was inconvenient. They rotated a few sets of clothes. He didn’t remember much about the Earth apocalypse but recalled there was a long, harsh cold period.
They used to have winter clothes, now soaked by floodwater. They couldn’t bring much besides essentials. The rescue team wouldn’t carry everything.
Liang Xuetong looked at the rain and said,
“When we can go out and secure housing, we’ll look for winter clothes.” He didn’t remember when the severe cold would come, but they needed to prepare.
“Okay.” Bai Shuya and Yue Yijia agreed. The shelter was crowded with bad smells. Both were refined people and couldn’t tolerate the stench.
Yue Yijia suggested,
“When the flood recedes, should we look for Cheng Kailan and the others? We know them, and it’s safer with more people.”
“We’ll wait for the rain to stop,” Liang Xuetong said, not knowing when it would end.