Chapter 13: Sui City

Chapter 13: Sui City

Zheng Feifei messaged Shu Fu around 9 PM, complaining that she might have to sleep at the company tonight. At that time, Shu Fu had already drawn the bedroom curtains and was lying in her soft, warm bed.

As the usage time of the Drift Island House was about to end, she left the raft in place and waited quietly for the countdown to finish.

When the countdown behind the wooden house door hit zero, she felt a sudden emptiness beneath her feet, and she fell from the house on the raft into her own living room.

So, once the usage time ends, the raft is forcibly retracted regardless of whether someone is inside the house. If the raft had been on the water, she would have fallen into the water.

Shu Fu sighed, got up, and first flipped the electrical switch in the house. Then she drew the curtains of the balcony’s sliding door, turned on a warm yellow floor lamp in the living room, and placed the cookware and tableware temporarily on the small bar counter into the bathroom. She turned on the small light above the kitchen range hood and quickly washed the dinner dishes and cookware.

Afterward, she took a quick hot shower in the bathroom.

The water pressure in such old buildings is usually low, but the gas water heater’s pipe had a pressure booster installed, heating the water quickly with a strong flow, and the warm water felt extremely comfortable against her body.

After her shower, Shu Fu sighed again. The weather had clearly worsened today, and she didn’t know how long she could continue to enjoy the days with electricity, gas, and hot water readily available.

She dried her hair, turned off all the lights, double-checked the doors and windows, and then snuggled into bed to scroll through her phone.

The internet was flooded with exclamations and lamentations. Several short video sites were overwhelmed with keywords like "thunderstorm" and "large hailstones."

In addition to Sui City and several large and small counties nearby, a few cities in the southeastern region of China experienced once-in-a-century thunderstorms and hail that night. Some coastal cities, though spared from the hail and thunderstorms, were still hammered by typhoon rains. The destruction of buildings and glass windows was no less severe than in Sui City.

When the thunderstorm disaster warning was issued for Sui City, it was during the after-work and after-school hours. Many people were trapped in the buildings where they were.

For nearly three hours, thunderstorms and massive hailstones pummeled Sui City, causing widespread damage. The windows of many cars parked on the streets were smashed, various objects fell from heights, and with the strong winds and heavy rain outside, the transportation system had long ceased operations. Many people simply couldn’t go home under such circumstances.

Zheng Feifei messaged: My parents told me not to go back. Although it’s uncomfortable staying in the company for the night, it’s safer. Outside, it’s pitch black, and there are still falling debris from buildings...

Zheng Feifei is a local. Her home isn’t far from the company; normally, it takes her twenty minutes by subway and another ten minutes to walk from the subway station. But now, the subway has stopped running, and walking doesn’t sound safe. Reluctantly, she had to accept reality.

She complained to Shu Fu that her dinner was just a bowl of instant noodles, and now she was munching on biscuits, feeling hungry and sleepy. Other colleagues in the company were discussing where to spend the night since many people were stranded, and there were limited sofas in the break room and meeting rooms. Most people would have to sleep on the floor or huddle in their seats.

She regretted not taking Shu Fu’s advice to take leave earlier. If I had known the weather was going to be this bad, I would’ve taken the day off, even if it meant getting a black mark from my boss!

Her neighborhood is relatively new and sturdy, and since she lives on the second floor, her home remained unharmed by the hail.

She was initially worried about her parents, but now she was more concerned about herself.

If she had listened to Shu Fu and taken leave a day earlier, buying various types of takeout to enjoy at home, she would be comfortably nestled on the sofa, gnawing on duck wings, watching dramas on her tablet, browsing the internet on her phone, and munching on fruits peeled by her mom, oblivious to the wind and rain outside.

Shu Fu messaged: You can check downstairs. Our building actually has a variety of shops, including a nail salon and a beauty salon. Usually, these places have beauty beds you can sleep on. If the staff are also stranded, you can pay a bit to spend the night.

Zheng Feifei: How didn’t I think of that!!

She sent Shu Fu a series of flying kisses. Shu Fu smiled and reminded her to bring one or two female colleagues, bring your phone and power bank, and avoid taking the elevator.

Your phone can serve as a flashlight, and the portable charger will keep it powered. Taking the stairs is safer in this kind of weather.

While messaging Zheng Feifei, Wu Shaoshan also sent a message in the roommate group chat. Shortly after, Zhang Tian posted a message too, accompanied by a "smiling" emoji.

Both sent videos.

Wu Shaoshan and Chen Fa weren’t so lucky. Although the apartment complex they rented was better than Shu Fu’s, their unit was on the fourth floor, and the windows had regular glass, which couldn’t withstand the hail. Two panes of glass in the south-facing living room window had shattered, leaving the living room in a messy and miserable state with water leaking everywhere.

Not long after Chen Fa called about the subway situation, Shu Fu had mentioned in the group chat that she had someone reinforce her windows. Without being able to mention the disaster, she shared a video of her small balcony, indicating that the upper part was all glass and felt fragile, so she had called a technician to measure and install reinforced laminated glass.

Since everyone had just gone through the underground parking lot incident and hadn’t fully recovered, Shu Fu’s mention of this served as a kind of psychological suggestion. When everyone looked at their own windows, they felt just as uneasy.

The next day, Chen Fa and Wu Shaoshan found someone to come over and measure for reinforcements.

Zhang Tian lived in a high-end community, a small high-rise building, and her apartment was on the 20th floor. The building used tempered glass, which was very sturdy, and after discussing it with her parents, they all agreed that reinforcement wasn’t necessary.

However, what no one expected was that the extreme weather would arrive so quickly, and this time the hailstones were as big as eggs, some even reaching eight or nine centimeters in diameter, causing fatal damage to buildings, especially the glass.

Zhang Tian had two apartments. The new one was in the same community as her parents' home, and she had been renovating it with the intention of moving in herself. Later, because of her plans to marry a scumbag, it was going to be used as a marriage apartment, but now that the scumbag had cheated on her, those plans were canceled.

The glass in the high-end community was tempered, and her new apartment was fine, but for some reason, whether it was because her parents' home was on a high floor or another issue, the sliding windows in their home leaked rain. Even with towels stuffed in, the water flowed like a gushing faucet, turning the master bedroom into a disaster area.

The video Wu Shaoshan posted was meant to express how unlucky she and Chen Fa were. They had already arranged for reinforcements, but the bad weather arrived before the work could be done.

Zhang Tian, on the other hand, was being self-deprecating, saying that even though her glass was strong, she was still unlucky.

The one silver lining was that when the thunderstorm warning was issued in Sui City, Chen Fa and Wu Shaoshan had already returned home from work, and Zhang Tian hadn’t gone to the bubble tea shop. It was an unfortunate situation, but they were all safe.

Due to the recent continuous thunderstorms, hail, and heavy rain, a large number of out-of-town travelers were stranded at the stations and airports in Sui City. The travelers stranded by the previous Sunday’s thunderstorm hadn’t all been rescheduled yet, and now a new wave of people were stuck, including many locals from Sui City who had planned to travel elsewhere.

There had been a lot of news about the chaos at the airport and stations over the past two days, and there were many people in worse situations than them.

And after today’s disaster, most companies and schools in Sui City issued emergency notices for work and school closures, so they wouldn’t have to go to work for the next few days and could focus on dealing with the mess at home.

Shu Fu considered this and sent a message: "If the rain slows down tomorrow and it's safe outside, go to a nearby supermarket and stock up on food and water."

It seemed normal to mention this kind of preparation given the circumstances. After all, bad weather and supplies always went hand in hand.

**

The next morning, the rain did indeed slow down a bit.

The sky was overcast, and from the window, Sui City looked like it had been ravaged overnight. Trees and shrubs were stripped of their branches and leaves, and the streets were littered with debris and building remnants.

Some lower-lying areas in the city had started to accumulate water, around 20 centimeters deep. Although the area wasn’t vast, the muddy water mixed with broken glass and metal fragments made it difficult for some people to travel.

Virtually all the vehicles parked outside were damaged. Either the windows were shattered, or the roofs were dented.

Some people couldn’t see the condition of their own buildings but could see the devastation across the way in the opposite building, which startled them.

Only the lower floors, like the first or second floors, had some intact windows. In the higher floors, almost every household’s windows were shattered, and some windows were completely knocked out, leaving just a gaping hole that people had to block with furniture.

Of course, not all lower-floor residents were lucky. Some had trees near their windows, and broken branches, due to strong winds, pierced the windows of lower-floor apartments, leaving glass shards and branches all over the floor.

The residents of Sui City, who had no experience dealing with hail, were stunned by the destruction. Where should they even begin to clean up this mess?

In just one week, some people were already starting to miss the previous heatwave.

While the daily temperatures of 35 to 40 degrees Celsius were unbearable, most people had cars, and whether it was private or public transportation, as long as you were inside a vehicle, there was air conditioning.

Offices, schools, and commercial places all kept the air conditioning low, so as long as you didn’t deliberately run into the outside heat, the weather didn’t affect you much.

But now, everything had come to a halt. Work and school were suspended.

"This damn weather is too scary! When will this cursed rain end!" some people said as they cleaned up the wreckage at home and watched the local news to stay updated on the situation outside.

Some people felt anxious and turned to social media to vent their frustrations and seek comfort, only to be frightened by even worse pictures and videos of the disaster.

It’s important to note that thunderstorms, hail, strong winds, and heavy rain could bring about many associated disasters. In the city, most high-rise buildings were relatively sturdy, but most of the damage involved shattered glass windows or temporary structures.

In the suburban counties, many houses were self-built, and some homes had half-collapsed, with issues in the water pipes and electrical wires.

Mudslides, blocked mountain roads, and stalled traffic were common. Worse off were the farmlands and vegetable greenhouses. The crops were damaged by the hail, the greenhouses were destroyed, and the farmers suffered heavy losses.

While some people online are actually cheering for the work and school closures. They believe the disaster will eventually pass, and only a small number of people will be unlucky, which won't affect them, but the time off is real.

These people usually live in buildings where the windows haven't been seriously damaged. They still have the leisure to post photos or videos of the thunderstorms and hail they captured the day before on social media and their friends' circles, appearing in various groups, viewing and forwarding all kinds of messages.

Of course, there are also some people who are still relatively clear-headed. After viewing the various disaster scene images and videos from Sui City and the surrounding counties, they start to feel uneasy.

Although Sui City is not a first-tier metropolis, it is still a modern urban area, and its drainage system has always been excellent. In previous years, despite several severe storms, there were never any issues with water accumulation.

But now, not only have some areas seen over 20 centimeters of water accumulation, but someone also captured images of several underpasses and subway stations flooded with water.

The situation in the subway station is a bit frightening. The ground on the lowest level of the station has disappeared. From the stairs, it looks like a vast expanse of water below, and rainwater from above continues to flow down the steps, threatening to flood the entire station.

Although the rain has lessened, experts have analyzed that this wave of precipitation is far from over, with heavy rain expected to continue for the next 48 hours.

——Is it possible that we'll end up with a flood here like we did in August?

——Could Sui City really flood? I don't remember it ever happening!

——Exactly, this place is kind of a blessed spot. No earthquakes, no floods, no typhoons, and hardly any hail.

——It feels like we've experienced everything but earthquakes this week...

——Not all of them. At most, it's just hail. A typhoon wouldn't be this gentle, and the floods are only in a few low-lying areas. Most places are still fine!

——I can't sit around anymore. I think I need to make a trip to the supermarket to stock up on food and drinks, just in case something really happens, at least we won't panic!

——Is the supermarket open today? Isn't everything closed because of the work and school closures?

——Supermarkets are essential services. Even if some small private grocery stores are closed, the medium and large ones will definitely be open. People need daily necessities. If they close now, where would everyone buy groceries? I saw many riders delivering food and supermarket orders on the road!

——“Photos”“Photos”“Photos” I'm at the supermarket right now. The glass is holding up, and the building looks okay. It's super crowded inside, with many people pushing carts full of stuff. Some shelves are already empty, and they haven't had time to restock. Luckily, I came with my parents. I'm tall, so I can reach items from the higher shelves!

——What's up with this? It's barely even open. How are there so many people?

——I'm at the supermarket too! Everyone is grabbing stuff like it's free…

——Didn't you receive the notice? There will still be heavy rain in Sui City and surrounding areas for the next 48 hours. An orange flood warning has been issued. It's expected that the rainfall within 24 hours could reach up to 200 millimeters! People are being advised to stock up on essentials and stay home for the next few days. Evacuation efforts have already begun in some low-lying areas!

——Why didn't I receive the notice? Also, how's your signal? My internet has been spotty. Did yesterday's hail damage some of the cell towers?

——Same here! My signal's been bad too, just managed to get online!

——If you didn't get an evacuation notice, consider yourself lucky. My area started accumulating water last night, and we were all evacuated this morning!

——200 millimeters of rainfall!? If I remember correctly, what was the rainfall like a few days ago? 60 or 70 millimeters?

——I remember, the highest daily rainfall was 58 millimeters.

——Wow, then what will 200 millimeters be like? I need to tell my parents to go to the supermarket immediately!

……

Shu Fu has not joined the panic buying crowd.

She has already stocked up on most of the essentials, and space is limited. There's no way she can store all the rice and vegetables she'd need for a lifetime. The food and water supplies she has now are enough to last for a long time. Plus, she still has her special ability to draw prizes.

She will definitely work on the raft upgrade progress bar tasks, and there will be more chances to draw prizes, which will help supplement her supplies.

So, at this time, she doesn't plan to go out and compete with others for supplies. She's just a bit worried about the upcoming progress bar tasks, worried that she might get a task that requires her to go outside during the heavy rain and strong winds.

Sure enough, twenty minutes later, her wristband vibrated, signaling a new raft progress task.