Chapter 10
More than ten days after the blizzard began, the temperature slowly dropped to minus fifteen degrees Celsius. For a city in the south, this was already very cold. Yet, the heavy snow continued to fall relentlessly. In places where no one went, the snow layer was over two meters high, almost completely covering the first floor of buildings.
Ji Yang’s biological clock woke her up on time at just past eight.
With the air conditioning on and heat from the fireplace, the temperature in the entire house was around twenty degrees, extremely warm.
She lazed in bed for a while longer, finally getting up around nine.
The weather had turned colder again. The thermometer she had stuck on the outside of her balcony showed a noticeable drop of three degrees from yesterday. Although Ji Yang wasn’t cold, just looking at the temperature made her shiver.
On such a cold day, I should eat something hot.
Ji Yang thought for five seconds, then took out a portion of multi-grain fish noodles. Carrying the bowl, she went to the small table on the balcony to eat. At the same time, she took out some of the meat she had cooked for Xixi earlier and put it in the dog bowl.
Xixi immediately trotted over happily, rubbed against her, and then buried its head to eat.
Ji Yang’s lips curved. She also took a small sip of the hot fish soup. As she looked up, her gaze fell upon the community entrance outside.
The buildings seemed to have shrunk a little more.
Several figures were moving in the vast white snow.
Upon closer inspection, people from several surrounding buildings had gathered at the community entrance, stomping their feet and shivering. One person accidentally stepped on the soft snow beside them, fell backward into a snowdrift, and was then frantically pulled up by their companions.
Ji Yang had just taken out her binoculars to look and happened to see the person who was pulled up, their mouth trembling.
The others were slightly better off, but not by much.
However, one thing was worth mentioning: these people were all wearing sunglasses. Not everyone would have snow goggles at home, but staying in the heavy snow for a long time could easily cause snow blindness. Sunglasses could also protect one’s eyes well in the snow.
Ji Yang had been terrified of the cold in her past life. Although it wasn’t the coldest time yet, she still didn’t want to go out. So, she just watched, curious to see how many supplies they could bring back.
This would also allow her to estimate the current situation in the major supermarkets and outside.
With this thought, Ji Yang put down her binoculars and was about to continue eating.
Suddenly, Xixi stopped eating its meat and instead ran warily to the main door, its limbs tense, as if it were looking at someone through the door.
—
A few seconds later, a knock sounded on the door.
It wasn’t a time of chaos yet, so Ji Yang opened the door without worry. She saw Li Yi’s warm and bright smile. “Hello, I was wondering if you wanted to go buy some food to stock up. It seems this snow disaster won’t stop anytime soon, and who knows how long we’ll be cooped up.”
Ji Yang was taken aback and shook her head. “Not for now, thank you.”
“No problem, no problem,” Li Yi quickly waved her hand and turned to go to the elevator.
Ji Yang glanced over. It seemed that everyone from the apartment across the hall, except for the two elderly people, had gone out. They were all bundled up tightly, wearing gloves, and carrying plastic bags.
That’s good. The more my neighbors hoard, the safer it is for me.
Ji Yang closed the door and squatted down to rub Xixi’s head. “Good boy!”
Worthy of its four-thousand-plus price tag. It already knows how to guard the door at such a young age.
“Woof!” Xixi barked in a high-pitched, childish voice, then strutted back to its food, its tail wagging furiously.
Ji Yang had heard that some dogs had broken their tails from wagging them too hard. She hoped that wouldn’t happen to Xixi.
Two minutes later, Ji Yang saw the three members of the Li family at the exit of her building. It was much easier to walk following the tracks left by others.
But if one accidentally fell, they would still be buried in the snow.
However, with the family of three working together, they could quickly get up even if they were buried.
Ji Yang watched for a moment, then put down her binoculars and began her daily workout.
—
Li Yi was pulled up from the snow by her parents, looking disheveled. She patted off the snowflakes and said in exasperation, “My god, this is the first time I’ve realized how powerful snow can be! It’s so thick, yet so soft. You could just disappear if you’re not careful.”
The Li parents carefully cleared a path for their daughter in front, their voices unsteady. But when they spoke of the past, there was a hint of pride. “Back when we were kids, in the one-story house we lived in, you’d open the door in the morning, and the snow would just pour into the house. It was just as scary.”
Li Yi clicked her tongue. She had never seen anything like that. In her memory, she had never encountered such heavy snow.
The snow in Changnan City was usually mixed with a bit of rain, turning hard and icy as soon as it fell—the kind that could hurt someone in a snowball fight.
Therefore, the biggest lesson from snowy days was that the roads were slippery and difficult to walk on.
It was nothing like now, where you could be buried with ease.
She began to worry. “We should have come out a few days earlier. With so much snow, I doubt the supermarkets can restock even if they sell out.”
The Li parents fell silent.
They had thought the snow would pass quickly, and the family would leave once it was over, leaving the two elders at home to eat leftovers for a long time. So, they hadn’t approved of hoarding.
If it weren’t for their daughter’s persistence, ordering takeout a few times and stocking up on some staple foods and a gas canister, they would probably be starving by now.
Who would have thought the snow would last this long?!
And it was getting thicker and thicker!
On the way, the three of them ran into many other residents from the surrounding area. Everyone had the same goal: the supermarket one kilometer away. When they finally arrived, out of breath, they were shocked by the crowded scene inside.
Two seconds later, the three of them braced themselves and plunged into the crowd. A glance at the shelves made their hearts sink. Eight or nine out of ten were empty!
Countless doomsday novel scenarios immediately popped into Li Yi’s mind. Isn’t this a classic pre-apocalypse scene?! She immediately grabbed her parents and said seriously, “Mom, Dad, from now on, grab whatever you see—food, drinks, necessities, you understand?!”
Her tone startled them. “Is it really that serious?”
Li Yi said firmly, “Trust me.”
“Okay!” they nodded. Li Yi immediately took the lead in the shopping spree. The pickled vegetables and instant noodles that no one wanted, she took. The packs of pickled mustard greens that no one took, she took. There were also cloyingly sweet biscuits and lollipops. Sweeping through the aisles, she filled one bag and was lucky enough to find two rice bricks.
The Li parents listened to their daughter. Seeing soy sauce, they took it! Seeing Sichuan peppercorns, they took it! Seeing their least favorite Wang Lao Xiang herbal tea, they took it. Soon, their bags began to bulge.
The other people weren’t as indiscriminate as them. They crowded around the shopping guide. “Why are there no instant noodles?”
“Why is all the rice gone?!”
“My god, even the brown sugar is gone?”
The shopping guide was squeezed in the middle, trying to shout, “It’s all gone, all gone! The warehouse stock is sold out. With the roads like this, there’s no way to get deliveries. You can try the supermarkets further away…”
“Damn it, my family didn’t hoard anything before. Who bought everything?!”
Some complained, some cursed, and some were quick to act, immediately turning left out the door and heading to the next supermarket.
When Li Yi and her parents regrouped, they each had two bags filled with all sorts of miscellaneous items. Seeing this, she felt a little more at ease, but her heart ached a little when it was time to pay.
Six large bags of supplies, which would have cost just over a thousand on a normal day, now cost twelve thousand.
The pain made the Li parents regret buying so much again.
They almost put some of it back.
Fortunately, Li Yi stopped them.
When they got home, she said, “Mom, Dad, let’s go buy some more!”
She was also planning to get medicine in addition to food. The daily blood pressure medication and health supplements for her grandparents, as well as vitamins, all needed to be prepared.
If possible, she should also buy more warm clothes. Unfortunately, there were no coal sellers nearby; otherwise, she would have bought some.
Li Yi started to get anxious. “Mom, Dad, quickly think, what other supermarkets and pharmacies are there around here?”
The Li parents: “!”
Just how big of a scene is she trying to make?!
—
After half a month of training, Ji Yang’s stamina had soared. She could now barely hold out for two hours.
After two hours, she would collapse with weak legs and feet.
She was drenched in sweat, but her fair face had a healthy flush. The final stretch had rolled up part of her clothes, revealing the lines of her abs.
After recovering, Ji Yang wiped her sweat and, once the heat had dissipated from her body, went into the bathroom to take a shower. While still drying her hair, she saw the familiar family of three going out again.
The Li family is quite perceptive.
Because the fireplace was always burning and the air conditioning was on, the house was very dry. Ji Yang decided not to blow-dry her hair. She lay down on the sofa, and with a wave of her hand, Xixi trotted over to warm her feet.
Ji Yang fed it a piece of meat and opened her phone to check the situation online.
As soon as she did, she found that the internet speed had slowed down considerably.
It took a while for the social media app to open. She saw the property management group chat complaining that the large supermarket one kilometer away was also out of stock, completely cleaned out.
[I’m seriously impressed. Are they bandits? Not a blade of grass left where they pass!]
[Oh my god, my husband just went out. I have to tell him not to go there.]
[It’s terrifying. I’m at the supermarket, completely stunned. [Image][Image]…]
Ji Yang clicked to see. The images also took several seconds to load. What appeared was a scene of a crowd frantically buying things, like a zombie invasion.
Everywhere was empty, with the remaining few items scattered in corners, ignored.
The shopping guide was on the verge of tears, repeatedly explaining the situation to the customers. The door leading from the supermarket to the warehouse was also open, and it was equally empty inside.
[Hiss! I’m starting to panic.]
[My legs are weak. Oh my god, I can’t sit still. I’m going to hoard some too.]
[Let’s go together. I know where there’s another supermarket.]
[Great, come down quickly. We’re gathering at the entrance of Building 10.]
A short while later, Ji Yang glanced at her balcony and saw another group of people moving forward in the wind and snow. This time, the group was a bit larger, about twenty-something people. They should be able to get a lot of supplies.
—
While the outside world was busy hoarding, three days later, the electricity, which had been holding on, also went out.
When the water pipes first burst, everyone could still remain calm. There was snow everywhere outside. At worst, they could go out and dig up some snow to heat into water, which was still drinkable.
But electricity was different.
Ever since Xia Country had embarked on the path to becoming a strong nation, power outages had been rare. In all the disasters over the years, a power outage of three days was considered long. But this time, after the power went out, there was no sign of it coming back on.
The power supply bureau’s phone lines were flooded with calls. The reply they got was: [The blizzard has caused many things to collapse. These things, in turn, have damaged many power lines, high-voltage lines, and so on. The situation is quite serious, and power may not be restored in the short term, unless the snow stops.]
This was unbelievable!
This reaction stemmed from their confidence in their own country.
But now, this confidence was shattered. More and more people were realizing with a creeping horror just how severe this disaster was—so severe that even the country couldn’t handle it