Chapter 23
That was true, after yesterday''s turmoil, the military department promptly adjusted their strategy and
decided to deploy the troops to maintain stability. Unlike the police, the military wouldn''t hesitate to
fire their guns. Their mission was to safeguard the nation''s stability.
Ste recalled that in her past life, the military had also been deployed and dealt with a bunch of
troublemakers with an iron fist, which finally stabilized the situation. She observed the outside
through her binocrs, and sure enough, she saw soldiers in their military uniforms patrolling on
motorboats with live ammunition.
Intermittent gunshots had been going off all morning, making the world seem a lot quieter.
Lukas spent a good while disassembling and reassembling a portable gas stove. After changing
several parts, he finally managed to fix it. Feeling a sense of aplishment, he dly offered to
repair the stoves for Ste and Jasper.
Ang and Lukas invited Ste for dinner as a token of gratitude for offering them shelter. They
cooked a pot of stewed vegetables and a dish of spicy potatoes. Ste had brought the potatoes,
and they had already started to sprout. They had to be cut off and then nched in hot water.
Although the meal was simple, both Ang and Lukas almost teared up. For the past twenty days,
this was the first time they had eaten hot dish and had aforting hot bath. The feeling of having
a full stomach was truly wonderful, it made them feel alive again.
"Ste, without you, we might have still been crammed in a shelter." Ang toasted with a ss of
water, her face serious. "Today was a bit simple, but once things get back to normal, I''ll treat you to
a feast in a five-star hotel."
"That sounds great, if we get the chance."
As they were eating and chatting, Lukas spoke up, "With the military present, it''s a lot more stable
outside. I heard the government is moving supplies to the department store. Citizens can purchase
on a limited basis ording to need. Shall we go tomorrow?"
"Yes, but we have to go early."
"Also, a lot of people have been diving underwater to salvage supplies today."
Lukas continued, "The biggest supermarket near us was packed with people, but it was too deep.
Ordinary people didn''t have the equipment, and there were rumors of several people being swept
away. Some skilled divers managed to salvage some stuff, but most of it was damaged. Even so,
they couldn''t bear to throw it away."
Ang sighed, "If it wasn''t for Ste''s reminder, we would be starving right now."
The department store opened at eight, so they set rms for six. After a bit of tidying up, they left at
six thirty. Jasper stayed behind to watch the house.
It was still dark at six thirty, but there were already quite a few people out and about. It took them an
hour to reach the department store. They entered directly from the fourth floor, the waterlogged
world was damp all over. Looking up, the three saw a sea of heads.
The store was on the sixth floor, but the line had already reached the fourth floor. There were even
people who hade the night before to queue, just to get a chance to enter. There were soldiers
with live ammunition patrolling the area. Given yesterday''s forceful measures, the ce was
bustling, but no one dared to cause trouble.
The three of them quickly got in line.
As time went on, more and more people were pouring in. The doors opened on time at eight. They
let in 50 people each time, giving them only five minutes. They cleared the ce on time. The
restrictions were very strict. Each person was only allowed to purchase 2 pounds of grains, payable
by cash with their ID.
Three hours of queuing, five minutes of shopping.
It was a spacious store, so you had to not only be fast with your hands but also swift on your feet.
The three of them had agreed that rice and flour were the most filling. Don''t touch things like instant
noodles and snacks.
Ste chose rice, while Ang and Lukas each got 2 pounds of both.
100 dors a pound! It’s not the time toin about the price though.
The quality of the rice was very average, but it was good to have. It would only get more expensive
in the future, andter on, when the paper money became worthless, it would be too hard to even
use as toilet paper.
Griffith had arge poption, and the grain would soon be snatched up. The government would
continue to release more, but they would be salvaged from the water and dried. Even though it
would go bad and be harmful to the body, you wouldn''t be able to get it even if you wanted to.
Ste decided to spend the 2000 dors she had.
Ang was afraid that the rubber boat would get damaged, so she thought about buying a spare
one, but it was priced at 10,000 dors. Prices of sauce, dried vegetables, and other groceries had
also skyrocketed several tens of times. The cost and risk of going out were too high. The three of
them chipped in a few items and spent the 2000 dors, but what they managed to stuff into their
bags wasn''t much.
More and more people were queuing outside, and there wasn''t much stuff left in the store.
As they were descending the stairs, they happened to spot Hector and Sadie in line. The two were
very intimate, holding hands, while the girl from 1202 was standing behind them. She was so thin
that her eyes were sunken in, and she lookedpletely listless. Looking at her, Ste couldn''t help
but think of her past self.
Spotting Ste, Hector instinctively let go of Sadie''s hand and smiled, trying to greet her. Ste
averted her gaze coldly, pretending she hadn''t seen him. They left the store and got on the rubber
boat to leave.
Seeing that it was still early, Lukas suggested, "Cody lives quite close to here. Why don''t we go and
check on him?"
They had been in contact with him the day after the typhoon hit, but there had been no news since
then. Ste thought for a moment and agreed. Other than his poor choice in women, as a friend,
Cody didn''t have many ws.
Ste had received help from Ang in her past life, and she only had two friends from childhood to
adulthood, Lukas and Cody. If conditions allowed, she still wanted to lend a hand.
It took them an hour to reach the neighborhood where Cody lived, and based on her memory, they
found his apartment on the 8th floor. They knocked for a long time, and a woman''s voice came from
inside, "Who is it?"
"We''re looking for Cody."
"There''s no one here by that name. You''ve got the wrong ce."
When Cody moved, the three of them had helped, so it was impossible for them to have gotten to
the wrong ce.
The woman''s voice didn''t sound young; it probably belonged to a middle-aged woman.
"Mom, who is it?" A boy''s voice came from inside.
"Strangers, they got the wrong door."
Ste frowned, feeling that something was off. But no matter how much they knocked, the people
inside just ignored them. They ended up disturbing their neighbors, instead.
Ste saw an olddy open her door, and quickly went over to ask, "Ma''am, does Cody live next
door?"
The olddy had a pained expression on her face, and shook her head, unwilling to say anything.
Lukas had a bad feeling and took out a few ounces of rice from his bag.
Belonging to N?velDrama.Org.
The olddy hesitated for a while, before letting the three of them in. "You''re looking for the polite
young man who speaks very amusingly, right?"
Lukas quickly nodded.
"He''s a nice young man, but he''s quite naive. He brought a fierce woman into his home and got
kicked out."
The olddy shook her head as she spoke. "When the typhoon first hit, that woman came over with
her parents and two children. It was the young man who risked danger to go and pick them up. At
the time, I thought they were siblings, but I never expected him to get kicked out after a few days."
Lukas was shocked. Ste was in disbelief. Ang, who was clenching her fists, couldn’t utter a
word.
"He banged on the door multiple times, but thedy inside refused to open it. In the end, helpless,
he had to stay in the hallway until the day of the rescue came."
Refuge areas were divided by district, and the stranded residents from this neighborhood were
relocated to the Griffith Hotel.
Lukas couldn''t possibly fathom how Cody had managed to survive these past few days.
How could there have been... such a detestable woman!
"Now, what do we do?" He was so infuriated it felt like his liver was aching.