A few more days passed, and the rain had been falling for a whole month. Li Yao got off the treadmill feeling a bit lethargic. The training now was a breeze for her body.
Her muscles were warmed up, but she wanted to exercise more intensely—yet she couldn’t. If she pushed herself too hard during the live stream, people watching would be shocked. Ning Xinyue was always chasing to keep up with her speed.
She looked at the rain outside.
“I want to go look for supplies tonight. Do you want to come with me?”
Whatever Li Yao decided to do, Ning Xinyue would do the same. When Li Yao said she was going, Ning Xinyue naturally wanted to go too. Yan Yuansi could stay or not, but seeing the kitten, he said,
“I’m coming too. Mimi needs cat food.”
Since everyone was going, Li Yao began preparing for the night’s outing.
She pulled a handgun out from her space storage.
Ning Xinyue and Yan Yuansi both gathered around.
Yan Yuansi asked,
“Li Yao, you actually have something like this?”
“In China, buying and selling guns and ammunition is illegal, so I went abroad to get these.” She handed Ning Xinyue a pistol. “Now that order is broken down, don’t hesitate if you encounter danger.”
Then Li Yao looked at Yan Yuansi.
“Brother Yan, if you run into danger, run quickly.”
Yan Yuansi was frustrated.
【Haha, I can tell Li Yao really looks down on Yan Yuansi.】
【Yan Yuansi is the weakest of the three, always holding them back.】
【Don’t forget, Yan Yuansi is known as a “pretty boy” in his circle.】
【I’m already looking forward to tonight’s supply search.】
Zhou Chengxing watched the comments and thought for a moment.
“Old Jiang, have the programmers work overtime. If there’s any bloody or violent scenes in the stream, switch the feed and mute it immediately.”
He should have noticed this earlier, but was too busy and overlooked it.
Since Li Yao and the others were living in the apocalypse on Earth, conflict was inevitable. Avoiding bloody and violent scenes was very important for the live show.
The guns were for emergencies; the rest of the time they relied on nail guns.
Each of the three had a nail gun. Yan Yuansi muttered quietly,
“Isn’t this being too cautious? We’re only going out for one night. As long as it’s not like last time, it should be fine, right?”
“You’re thinking too optimistically. It’s rained for a whole month. Most people have eaten up their supplies, so naturally, more people will sneak out at night to find food. This time, we will encounter more people than last time. Do you think if you avoid danger, danger won’t come looking for you?”
She pointed at herself and Ning Xinyue.
“You’re a grown man out with two beautiful women looking for supplies. You’re the most likely to get into trouble.”
She wasn’t trying to scare Yan Yuansi.
Yan Yuansi hoped Li Yao was joking, but in her eyes, he only saw seriousness. He curled up pitifully on the sofa.
After Yan Yuansi obediently accepted this, Li Yao packed some compressed biscuits and chocolates. Nighttime operations were draining, and to find more supplies, they had to visit more places.
Having adapted to the weather, Li Yao planned to go out more often. Her mind and body were used to the apocalypse life, but Yan Yuansi and Ning Xinyue were not.
She didn’t like Yan Yuansi—he was passionate and pure but also a bit of a saint. If it weren’t for fearing a 500 billion debt, the first time they went out for supplies, Yan Yuansi would’ve been stabbed to death.
When darkness fell outside, Li Yao said to Ning Xinyue and Yan Yuansi,
“We can go out now.”
They put on raincoats. Though it wouldn’t stop the heavy rain, it was better than nothing.
As they stepped outside, someone at 3501 across the hall opened their door.
Three people came out from across, all wrapped tightly in raincoats.
Chen Zixiao and Yue Yawen looked at the assault boat Yan Yuansi was carrying. Their eyes lit up.
Ning Xinyue felt uneasy—they were being watched.
The three ignored the couple across. Time was money.
Now the water level had risen to the seventh floor. Li Yao thought about how in her previous life, the flood never went above the tenth floor. The first two months had heavy rain; the last two months were lighter.
Li Yao threw the assault boat down, jumped on first, then Ning Xinyue and Yan Yuansi followed.
The engine roared through the community. Some cautious people came out to see—the same three from last time, still carrying backpacks.
“Hey, can you take us with you?”
“We want to go out for food too. We’re from the same community. Please take us with you.”
Calls from the community rose one after another.
“Damn, I’m talking to you!” Someone aggressive even threw something. Li Yao quickly dodged. Before it hit the water, she caught that it was a crystal ball.
She turned the assault boat abruptly and stopped in front of building 28, startling Ning Xinyue and Yan Yuansi.
On the balcony of the 12th floor stood a man, looking at Li Yao smugly.
“If you take me out, I’ll pay you whatever you want.”
Li Yao asked,
“Which hand did you just throw that with?”
After such a long blackout, people had adapted to the dark. The man noticed the woman talking to him was pretty.
“Oh, so you’re a pretty little sister.”
Li Yao continued,
“Which hand did you throw that with?”
The man teased,
“Of course my right hand. Pretty sister, are you coming to deal with me personally?”
He had been boxing for ten years. The three on the assault boat—a man and two women—looked weak. The two women could be left behind to play with, and the man could be killed for reserve food.
Li Yao leisurely pulled out her handgun, raised it, casually aimed, and fired.
The loud gunshot echoed throughout the community.
“Ah!” The man was startled, then screamed in pain.
Li Yao said coldly,
“This time it’s your hand. Next time you provoke me, it’ll be your life.”
Her voice was pleasant, but the two on the assault boat shivered—Li Yao’s tone was colder than the rain.
After speaking, Li Yao drove the assault boat away from the community. She could sense many people near building 28 and the surrounding area secretly watching, hoping they knew that these three with the assault boat were not to be trifled with.
“Whoo!” Zhou Chengxing gasped after seeing the shot. He watched clearly—Li Yao hadn’t even aimed carefully, just casually, and yet hit the man’s shoulder.
He saw the bullet didn’t lodge in the bone. He knew a bit about this—if the bullet made a blood hole, it only hit flesh or an artery; if it didn’t exit and stayed inside, it probably lodged in a bone.
Judging from the man’s cries, his shoulder blade was probably shattered. With the heavy rain, hospitals were crowded and lacking medicine; plus the man couldn’t leave the community.
On the way out, Yan Yuansi quietly scooped out water accumulated in the assault boat, while Ning Xinyue admired Li Yao—she really was so cool.