Chapter 22: Oh No, The Boat Hit A Corpse

Chapter 22: Oh No, The Boat Hit A Corpse

"Who's there?"

After the man's medicinal herbs vanished, he knew he would have nothing to eat and was doomed to die.

Defeated, he slumped into a corner, falling into a state of confusion.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of glass shattering and jolted upright.

With his only flashlight emitting a faint light, the man stumbled over with weak steps.

"This..."

The man was astonished by what he saw on the ground and began frantically searching the room.

Finding no one, he fell to his knees before the broken glass, bowing repeatedly.

"Savior, save me!"

"Please, take me with you!"

"Please, I don't need food; I just want to leave this place..."

"Save me!"

After pleading for five or six minutes, the man still only heard his own voice and collapsed onto the floor in despair.

"What use is this? What use is any of it!"

He waved his hands, knocking over the two items in front of him, his eyes bloodshot.

After a moment of calming down, he dejectedly righted the items and then crawled on the ground, feeding himself with what was on the floor.

It turned out that when Meng Ci left, he had placed a warm tomato and egg rice bowl and a box of instant noodles on the ground.

It wasn't out of kindness but rather because he felt guilty about taking away the man's means of survival.

Leaving some food behind was a way to ease his conscience.

Whether the man could be rescued or find a way to save himself before running out of food was not something Meng Ci considered.

Due to his earlier actions, the man had knocked over the lunchbox and now awkwardly lay on the ground eating it.

The lunchbox was still warm.

Could it be that a deity from heaven took pity on him and sent him some food?

The man knelt on the ground, bowing repeatedly and muttering.

Jade Emperor, Empress of Heaven, Laozi...

All the compassionate deities, please save me!

I don't want to stay here anymore!

Meng Ci had checked that there were no cameras in the factory, and the man hadn't seen his face, so he wasn't worried about being discovered.

Leaving the industrial park, Meng Ci switched to a speedboat and headed toward Jin Shang Jia Yuan.

"Thud."

Midway through, Meng Ci felt the speedboat hit something.

After stabilizing the boat, he looked back and nearly crashed into a fallen tree, shocked.

Oh damn.

Meng Ci quickly regained his composure, accelerated the engine, and sped away.

But the scene he had just witnessed lingered in his mind.

A long-haired girl in a red dress floated in the floodwaters, her eyes closed, her face pale, and her body swollen.

Although he knew that death was common in the apocalypse, seeing it for the first time was unbearable for Meng Ci.

In the end, he stopped the speedboat, leaned over the side, and vomited.

After a while, Meng Ci rinsed his mouth with a bottle of mineral water and continued on his way.

It's okay, it's okay, it's not a big deal!

Consider it as getting used to it; he might see more dead bodies in the future.

Switching from the speedboat to a kayak, then stowing the kayak and carrying an oxygen tank, Meng Ci swam back to his apartment building.

By then, it was already past three o'clock. Due to the power outage, residents had gone to bed early, and the only sound was the rain.

After returning home, Meng Ci took a shower, set an alarm for eight o'clock, and threw himself onto the bed, quickly falling asleep.

However, the next day, Meng Ci was awakened not by the alarm but by the commotion of the residents downstairs.

"Why did you only give me this little bit of food? Who can survive on this!"

"There are five people on my household registration, why did you only provide for four? Is there any law left!"

"I'm going to file a complaint."

"Silence."

A powerful male voice boomed through the loudspeaker.

"Those who feel it's unfair can choose not to take it, and those who want to complain, go right ahead."

After the man spoke, people were even more unwilling.

"Is this how you serve the people? Do you feel any shame wearing that uniform?"

"I want to file a complaint! I want to expose you!"

...

Meng Ci had just risen and stood by the window when he saw the area below filled with various boats, each manned by soldiers in military uniforms!

What was going on here?

Meng Ci was thoroughly confused.

The book clearly stated that due to heavy rainstorms a month later, some volunteers accidentally fell into the floods and lost their lives, which led to the army taking over the task of delivering supplies.

So what did this mean now? Why were the soldiers already involved so soon?

Had he somehow ended up in the wrong book, or was his memory faulty?

"Bang!"

A gunshot echoed, silencing everyone present.

"Plop."

Since the water had already flooded half of the first floor, the army had placed an elevator on the boats, extending it all the way to the second-floor window, using it to deliver supplies to the people.

One man, dissatisfied with the amount of food, climbed onto the windowsill, intending to jump onto the elevator and snatch the food from the soldier's hands.

But the gunshot startled him, causing him to lose balance and fall into the water.

Two soldiers quickly jumped into the water, each grabbing one of his arms and bringing him back into the building. Moments later, the two soldiers swam out again.

After climbing back onto the boat, they stood straight, ignoring their wet clothes.

"This is the first time, so we won't hold it against you, but if there's a next time, you won't be getting any food."

This time, the man didn't dare speak up, and neither did anyone else.

"Continue."

This time, the distribution went smoothly, with no one daring to question anything, silently accepting the food.

Already awakened by the commotion, Meng Ci turned off the alarm, changed his clothes, and took his ID card, preparing to go downstairs for food.

Although he had stored plenty of food in his space, people on the seventeenth floor already knew he existed.

If he didn't go down for food, they might assume he had a lot of supplies and could gang up on him, which would be troublesome.

"Going down for food?"

As soon as Meng Ci closed his door, Shen Que's door opened, and his voice came out.

"Yes."

Meng Ci nodded, although he was annoyed that this guy had delivered food twice, causing others to notice him and bring unnecessary trouble.

But Meng Ci let it go, knowing the guy meant well.

"We'll go together," Shen Que said.

"Alright."

Meng Ci suspected that this guy had been watching him, otherwise, how could he know exactly when he came out?

The elevator had long since malfunctioned, so the two of them had to walk down the stairs one after the other.

Shen Que, walking in front, wore a white short-sleeved shirt, revealing his strong and muscular arms.

Meng Ci thought it was good to go down for food with this guy.

At least he could use his presence to deter others, making it clear that they weren't easy targets.

"Did 1701 come to see you yesterday?" Shen Que suddenly asked.

With such a large surveillance camera at Shen Que's door, it was no surprise that he knew about the trouble Meng Ci faced yesterday.

Of course, this was also why Meng Ci chose to go out for a zero-yuan purchase after the power outage last night.

"Yes," Meng Ci nodded, not denying it.

Since it was his fault, he should know about it.

Shen Que didn't hesitate, saying assertively, "If they cause trouble for you again, call me directly."

"Since it's because of me, I should take responsibility."

Given his attitude, Meng Ci had no reason to refuse, so he agreed directly.