On the return journey, Lin Xia was completely exhausted, so Chi Zheng carried him back to the warehouse on his back.
Lin Xia felt a little embarrassed. After all, Chi Xiaozheng had stood with him for six hours, and now he had to be carried back. He was truly useless.
He felt especially self-conscious when they ran into Chen Mei in the second-floor stairwell, who was carrying supplies upstairs.
Chen Mei had come alone, both her hands clutching bags stuffed with food. Her pants and shoes were completely soaked through, and she was panting heavily from climbing the stairs. It was obvious she had made more than one trip.
None of the other members of Chen Song’s team were anywhere to be seen.
At first, Chen Mei became highly alert upon hearing the footsteps, but once she saw it was Lin Xia and Chi Zheng, she noticeably breathed a sigh of relief.
“Oh, it’s you guys.”
Seeing Lin Xia being carried on Chi Zheng’s back, she knit her brows slightly. “Are you injured?”
Lin Xia had felt awkward the moment he saw her, and now he scrambled to make Chi Zheng put him down.
Chi Zheng completely ignored his struggles. He gave Lin Xia’s rear a light swat, and Lin Xia immediately behaved himself.
But his small face flushed completely red.
“He sprained his ankle,” Chi Zheng fabricated an excuse for him.
“Oh, a sprained ankle.” Chen Mei nodded. Thinking about the current state of her team, she sighed and spoke up to warn them, “The cold storage room is flooding.”
“The water is pouring in through the external refrigeration units. The basement water has already risen past the shins. Since his ankle is sprained, don’t go down there. Gather whatever edible food you can find and move it up quickly. The third floor is still safe for now.”
Lin Xia was startled and poked his head out from behind Chi Zheng’s back. “Thank you for the warning.”
After a brief thought, he decided to return the goodwill. “Why are you the only one moving things? Where are the others from your team? Do you need some help?”
The moment he asked this, a bitter ache swelled in Chen Mei’s heart.
How did things turn out like this?!
Not long ago, her brother Chen Song had been perfectly fine when he took Yellow-hair out to look for medicine for Monkey. Although Yellow-hair had sustained some injuries, he was a physical enhancement ability user. His body’s resistance and recovery rate were far superior to ordinary people, so by all accounts, a minor injury like that shouldn’t have brought him down.
Strangely enough, in just a few short hours, both Chen Song and Yellow-hair had collapsed one after the other. Counting Monkey, who already had a high fever, three people in the team were now burning with high fevers. Only she and Chang Xinxin were left capable of moving freely.
But just now, Chang Xinxin claimed she wasn’t feeling well either and refused to use her spatial ability, leaving Chen Mei to carry the supplies up from the cold storage all by herself.
Chen Mei couldn’t really fault her for anything; she was just sick with worry over her brother’s condition, having absolutely no idea how to make everyone get better.
“Medicine, do you want some?”
“Huh?”
“Medicine.” Chi Zheng had always possessed very little patience for outsiders, but Lin Xia gave him a nudge, forcing him to patiently repeat himself. “Do you need fever reducers?”
Hearing this, Chen Mei’s eyes lit up. “You guys have some?”
Chi Zheng’s patience was completely tapped out. He fished out two boxes of antibiotics and tossed them to Chen Mei.
Chen Mei caught them instinctively. When she discovered they were actually broad-spectrum antibody bio-agents manufactured by Zenith from the First District, she was instantly overjoyed.
“Are you really giving these to me?” She paused. “What do I need to trade for them?”
“No need.” Chi Zheng was already carrying Lin Xia down the stairs, showing no intention of wasting more time on Chen Mei.
Lin Xia turned his head to explain to Chen Mei, “It’s not a trade; this is our return to you.”
“Your captain warned us before, and now you’ve told us about the basement flooding. These two boxes of medicine are given as our thanks. I hope your companions recover soon.”
By the time he uttered the final words, Lin Xia was already out of sight, leaving only his voice echoing through the corridor.
Clutching the two boxes of medicine, Chen Mei felt a sliver of warmth in her heart.
Although those two looked difficult to approach, they were unexpectedly kind-hearted. They had handed over top-tier specific medications from Zenith—items that only circulated in the First District before the cataclysm—just like that?
What on earth was the background of these two!
She hurriedly tucked the medicine carefully into her bosom, then picked up the two large bags of food to continue climbing the stairs.
Although her brother and Yellow-hair had brought back fever reducers, the medicine had noticeably deteriorated due to the rain and was completely unusable. With her brother fallen ill, none of them could go out to gather medicine anymore. This gift was truly a saving grace in their hour of need!
“Where did you get broad-spectrum antibodies?”
Leaning against Chi Zheng’s shoulder, Lin Xia curiously asked about the source of the medicine. “They looked like supplies exclusive to the First District.”
“They are exclusive supplies,” Chi Zheng nodded. “…Black market…”
“Oh, so you bought them from the black market,” Lin Xia followed up naturally. “Then they must have been expensive, right? Items from the First District are virtually non-existent on the black market even if you have the money. You must have spent a lot of credit points.”
“It… wasn’t that expensive…” Chi Zheng lowered his head, carrying Lin Xia up the stairs in silence. If one wasn’t paying close attention, it would be impossible to notice that he was currently so flustered his silhouette practically blurred.
He didn’t dare tell Lin Xia that he had hijacked a cargo spaceship belonging to the largest gang in the Third District to obtain these two boxes of medicine, giving them a taste of their own medicine by plundering all the good things on their ship.
At that time, Lin Xia’s fever had been so bad he was nearly gone. How could Chi Zheng care about being a law-abiding citizen? His mind went blank, and he just went for it, grabbing whatever was available.
As it turned out, Zenith was nothing but a corporation of frauds. The therapeutic effects were entirely overhyped. Lin Xiaxia had taken three boxes to absolutely no effect, and in the end, he had to rely on him…
Cough, anyway, things like ‘takes effect with a single dose’ were all false advertising!
“They’re knock-offs.” Tsk, knock-offs.
Lin Xia understood instantly. Knock-offs and pirated medicine were definitely much cheaper than the genuine articles from Zenith.
Brands like Carro-Cola and Lei-Bi Juice were very common knock-off brands in the Fourth District. Because the residents of the Fourth District generally couldn’t earn the Alliance’s minimum wage, no one could afford the genuine products, making the high-quality, low-priced knock-offs wildly popular instead.
Wait, that’s not right.
Lin Xia suddenly patted Chi Zheng’s shoulder. “Chi Xiaozheng, where did you get the money?”
“When we rented the cart, I checked our family account. The Alliance credit points haven’t decreased at all. Did you buy the medicine without spending money?”
“I spent it!” Chi Zheng answered immediately, shouting exceptionally loud. Then, as if trying to cover up a blunder, he added another sentence, “How could I not spend money? Lin Xiaxia, are you stupid? Does the black market run a charity?”
“The shipping costs are so high. If you don’t give money, it’s robbery. But who could rob the black market? Hahaha, they’re all organized crime syndicates!”
Lin Xia: … Why are you suddenly talking so much?
Nevertheless, he agreed with Chi Zheng’s logic.
Exactly, how could it be possible without paying? Those people in the black market all carried guns. They were cold-blooded, ruthless thugs, and a good number of them had taken lives. Anyone trying to rob high-priced goods from the black market would have to be tired of living.
“So how exactly did you pay the bill?” Lin Xia suddenly thought of certain social news stories and panicked. “Did you sell an organ?!”
His face changed color as he spoke, his hands reaching out to grope all over Chi Zheng’s chest and back. Initially, Chi Zheng became extremely tense under his touch, his muscles turning as hard as stone. Later, who knows what he thought of, but he quickly relaxed with a shy yet obedient air, letting Lin Xia inspect him.
It looks like… nothing’s wrong?!
He let out a long sigh of relief, but the doubt in his heart deepened. Just how exactly did he buy it…
“Chi Xiaozheng, so did you spend your secret savings?”
Chi Zheng, who had been laughing a moment ago, instantly stiffened. His instinct was to open his mouth to defend his innocence, but the words reached his lips only for him to recall the process of obtaining the medicine, forcing him to grit his teeth and nod.
“Ah… yeah, a little bit.”
“Just a little bit.”
In truth, where would he get any secret savings? Every single penny of his earnings from odd jobs went directly into the family account, leaving his pockets cleaner than his face whenever he went out daily. But if he didn’t say so today, there seemed to be no way to cover up the robbery. Lin Xiaxia possessed a very strict moral code, so Chi Zheng had no choice but to nod in grievance, accepting the blame for these non-existent secret savings.
Regarding this, Lin Xia actually didn’t mind. He and Chi Zheng grew up together, and though they pooled their earnings, they were both adults now, so it was normal to have a little nest egg. Although he didn’t actually have one himself, he wouldn’t restrict Chi Xiaozheng’s use of money, so he asked considerately if they should replenish his depleted nest egg.
“No, no need,” Chi Zheng shook his head firmly, desperately trying to salvage the situation. “Why should we replenish it? It shouldn’t have existed in the first place! Why should we spend money separately? My money is your money, Xiaxia! It has always been this way for so many years, and there’s no need to change it now!”
“Besides, Alliance points are pretty useless now, aren’t they? We’re already in the cataclysm era anyway. Who knows if those lords of the Alliance are even still alive! The essential services in the Fourth District have been cut, so maybe the currency will be abolished too. The existence of a nest egg has absolutely no value…”
Lin Xia: … So he really is flustered, isn’t he?! He usually never says this many words in one breath!
However, one thing Chi Zheng said made a lot of sense. The Alliance government had halted public services, so Alliance points were essentially useless now, leaving them as nothing more than a pile of waste paper.
Perhaps they would still circulate at the survivor base?
Speaking of the survivor base, Lin Xia finally remembered the main business. “Right, hurry up and put me down!”
“The cold storage room is leaking. The two of us need to get down there quickly to gather some usable ingredients. Once the water rises higher, we won’t have a chance!”
Thus, the two ran down to the basement level one after the other, and indeed found that the water had risen past their knees. Frozen ingredients that had been swept loose floated everywhere on the water’s surface, and if one wasn’t careful, getting bumped by them would hurt immensely.
During this time, Lin Xia also caught several piranhas that had drifted in with the current. He was now highly adept at dealing with these creatures, turning them into topped-up energy in just a few moves.
“Let’s just take these for now. Any more won’t fit in the refrigerator anyway,” Lin Xia selected a portion of premium goods that hadn’t been submerged. “With the refrigerator, we can preserve them for a while longer. Hopefully, the rain will stop tomorrow; otherwise, the room-temperature section on the first floor won’t hold up either.”
Will the rain stop?
Chi Zheng tilted his head back, his gaze piercing through the reinforced concrete structure toward an unknown horizon. “The rain won’t stop.”
“Huh?”
“The dark clouds are too thick, and there’s water vapor everywhere. The rain is going to fall for a very long time.”
“Ah?!”
Meeting Lin Xia’s puzzled gaze, Chi Zheng pointed toward the ceiling. “When we were on the ramp earlier, didn’t you notice the rain coming down harder and harder?”
“If it keeps falling like this, it’s bound to trigger a massive flood. When that time comes, the entire warehouse won’t hold out. We need to find a way to evacuate early.”
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