Chapter 16


    Ang invited Ste toe downstairs and check out the situation. The flour was all gone, and


    though there was still a bag of rice, the gas had run out. All they had left was a few pieces of alcohol


    briquettes.


    To conserve energy, they''d soak rice first, pour boiling water into a thermos, let the rice sit until it


    was cooked, and then eat it.


    If they could, Ang and Lukas would go to the emergency shelter. The conditions wouldn''t be


    great, but at least there would be enough to eat and hot water.


    "The storm surge was worse than predicted," Ste said. "If we''re flooded up to the third floor,


    imagine what it''s like elsewhere."


    She continued, "All the food is soaked. Who knows what''s left on the surface? And with the water


    level this high, gyms and libraries are probably underwater, too. The government will probably have


    tomandeer hotels or office buildings as shelters."


    Crowding into a shelter was a problem in itself; feeding and housing everyone would be a


    nightmare. Even after the hurricane had passed, the torrential rain continued. The flood couldst


    for months.


    In her previous life, many people from lower floors had moved to the shelter, but returned after a


    few days, saying that the conditions were overcrowded and unbearable. There was looting, theft,


    fights - it was chaos.


    The government had to provide disaster relief but also had to find food. In the end, they had to fish


    for food underwater, but after soaking for so long, the food was spoiled.


    Ang felt a heavy weight in her heart but decided to go check things out anyway. Who knew, there


    might have been good news.


    N?velD(ram)a.?rg owns this content.


    Ste didn''t go. She went to check on Rosie next door. Rosie was improving, which was a relief for


    her, an amateur doctor.


    An hourter, Ang returned, looking defeated. The fire department was only rescuing people


    whose homes had been flooded, and they had no information aboutrge-scale relief efforts. Ste


    tried to cheer her up. "It''s okay, we''ll just have to rely on ourselves."


    Ang agreed, trying to rekindle her hope. "The hurricane has passed, maybe the heavy rain will


    stop soon."


    Living required hope, didn''t it?


    But the rain didn''t stop - instead, it got worse. The sky was ominously dark. By five in the evening, it


    was dark, and the hurricane had mostly passed. The city was eerily silent, save for the sound of


    rescue boats.


    Ste ate an early dinner, then set an rm every hour from ten in the evening.


    Around one o’clock in the morning, the fire department finished evacuating those with no shelter.


    Sunrise Sanctuary was eerily silent, save for the sound of rain.


    Ste put on her stab-resistant suit and felt the material. It felt simr to a thermal shirt. She took a


    knife and tried to cut the sample fabric - it didn''t tear. The quality was top-notch.


    Ste left her apartment quietly, navigating the empty, trash-filled hallways and the unbearable


    smell. She climbed out of a third-floor window onto a narrow tform and, in the darkness, pulled


    out an intable boat. She put on waterproof goggles and a lithium battery heamp and began to


    paddle into the distance.


    The rain was heavy, and the current strong. The city was unrecognizable; only the tall buildings


    remained above the water, creating an unfamiliar sight.


    Ste was prepared. She had been observing the water flow and had memorized thendmarks


    along the way. Despite this, she struggled to navigate in the rain. It took her nearly two hours to


    reach therge supermarket she had visited before the hurricane.


    The supermarket had only two floors, but it was on higher ground, so the floors were higher than


    those in residential buildings. The floodwaters barely reached the second floor.


    She managed to beach the intable boat on the driveway. After securing the boat, she followed the


    driveway to the rooftop parking lot. The parking lot was filled with luxury cars - Mercedes, BMW,


    Ferrari, Lamborghini...


    She guessed that the wealthy locals had parked their cars on the rooftop to protect them from the


    flood.


    Ste took out her shlight and swept it over the rows of cars. Her eyesnded on arge RV. The


    emblem indicated that it was an expensive, top-of-the-line model. The body and windows were


    bulletproof, the tires were explosion-resistant and wear-resistant, and it could run on both gas and


    electricity. It even had foldable sr panels on the roof.


    In a post-apocalyptic world where fuel was scarce, this RV was a godsend.


    Ste took out an electronic jammer from her bag. She had bought it on the ck market for a high


    price. She ced the jammer on the door of the RV and pressed the button. After a few minutes,


    the lock clicked open.


    The RV was luxurious,plete with a kitchen, living room, bathroom, two bedrooms, and even a


    washing machine. Except for some decorations, the RV was empty. It looked like it had been


    recently purchased and hadn''t been used much before the disaster struck.


    Ste was satisfied. She took advantage of the darkness and stowed the RV in Arcadia. She didn''t


    rush to the supermarket. Instead, she took out an oil extractor and a barrel and drained the fuel


    from the other cars.


    The fire exit on the roof was locked, but she broke it open with arge pair of pliers and made her


    way down the stairs. She emerged in the clothing section on the second floor. The water was


    almost up to her knees, and many of the clothes were soaked.


    Ste picked up some women''s clothing and moved on to the other areas. She found discount items


    such as tissues, soda, cookies, chips, nuts, and bath products. She also found home appliances,


    small kitchen appliances, high-endforters and duvets, sheet sets, pillows, sports shoes, and


    boots. She also picked up various brands of skincare products like masks, eye creams, and


    serums.


    At the liquor and tea counter, she found Mo?t, Hennessy, XO, Martell, red wine, beer, cocktails, and


    countless other brands. All of these items would be valuable in a post-apocalyptic world.


    After collecting everything she could from the surface, Ste used a window breaker to smash the


    ss of the disy cases and cleared out the high-end cigarettes and teas that were soaking in the


    water. Everything was a non-renewable resource, so she didn''t leave anything behind.


    Just this section alone almost filled up ten cubic meters of Arcadia. But it was no big deal. Before


    she left, she had made a thorough sweep, moving the nters from the balcony, the indoor


    vegetable garden and fruit trees from the living room, and the firewood from the kitchen to her


    apartment, freeing up about 150 cubic meters of space.


    The floodwaters were rising rapidly, and by dawn, all these things would be submerged.