Chapter 10

Although the government distributed a small amount of supplies, if used sparingly, it was enough for one person to survive for three days.

Tong Shu had never neglected her taste buds since she was a child, but now she could only listlessly break open the tasteless military-grade compressed biscuits and numbly stuff them into her mouth.

That officer, I don't know who he is, but judging from his shoulder insignia he seems to be a high-ranking officer.

Tong Shu glanced furtively in Wen Shaocheng's direction; he was listening to Zhu Cheng report on the residents' situation in the community. As if sensing something, Wen Shaocheng turned his head and looked directly at Tong Shu.

Tong Shu was startled and quickly looked away.

Seriously? That's incredibly perceptive.

Tong Shuxin felt a pang of sympathy and unscrewed the mineral water bottle, taking a big gulp.

The temperature rebounded again the following day. The soldiers transporting supplies did not leave; instead, they left the air-raid shelter and began inspecting the underground parking garage.

"Director Zhu, aren't these soldiers leaving?" Tong Shu asked, sidling up to Zhu Cheng.

"Yes, Major Wen and his team will be in charge of our area from now on. They will drive out to search and rescue at night. Our area is relatively large and can accommodate quite a few survivors. The government's idea is that it's easier to manage people if they are concentrated in one place, and it's also more convenient to distribute supplies and provide assistance."

Tong Shu nodded in agreement.

Sending a major to such a small community seems like overkill, doesn't it? Tong Shu scratched her head in confusion. Never mind, he doesn't look like someone to mess with; just stay away from him.

That evening, several soldiers indeed drove away from the residential area in military off-road vehicles.

Tong Shu felt uneasy, and hiding in the air-raid shelter made her feel like she was waiting to die. She thought of the little fox's crystal ball from her past life and decided to find an opportunity to return to the island.

There was a young soldier guarding the air-raid shelter, so it was safe for her family to stay there. Tong Shu said a few words to her parents and then left the air-raid shelter to go home.

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On the island, in Nini's little cabin.

"Hmm...hmm..." Nini's two furry little paws hovered over the crystal ball, and her dog eyes, visible beneath the mask, were tightly closed.

After a long while, the little fox seemed to sense something and cried out, "Ah!"

Immediately afterwards, it made a "gurgling" sound, as if it were being soaked in water.

After struggling for a long time, Nini finally managed to put her two paws down and sat on the ground as if exhausted.

"Water, so much water—" Nini weakly waded, "Island Master, so much water, endless, for so long."

Water, water that lasts for a long time?

Tong Shu's pupils contracted.

So, this disaster wasn't the end, but rather the beginning?

"Thank you, Nini." Tong Shu helped the little fox up and handed her a fruit. "If the crystal ball makes any new prophecies in the future, you must tell me!"

Nini nodded blankly while holding the fruit, only to see Tong Shu run away in a flash.

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At home.

Tong Shu stood at the window, looking down.

Tong Songming bought her apartment in this complex because it was marketed as "Z City's most beautiful mountain view apartment." The complex is located in the northernmost part of Z City, at the highest point in the city. Her apartment is on the 12th floor, and from her small duplex terrace, she can see the entire city in the distance.

If the next event is flooding, whether it's torrential rain or a major flood, returning home is the safest option.

At this moment, Tong Shu couldn't help but admire his father's foresight. In addition to renovating every part of the house, he also bought a lot of flood prevention and control equipment. Even if they didn't encounter any groundwater surge, his family would have a way to deal with subsequent natural disasters.

After checking all the doors and windows to make sure they were all locked, Tong Shu picked up a baseball bat and walked out of the room. Just as she was about to turn around after carefully locking the door, she heard a voice behind her.

"Is this your home?"

Tong Shu was startled and swung the baseball bat forward, but the person in front of her was obviously much more skilled than her. He grabbed the bat with one hand and squeezed Tong Shu's wrist hard with the other. Tong Shu felt pain and quickly let go, and the baseball bat fell into the person's hand.

"You!" Tong Shu finally recognized him by the dim moonlight. Wasn't this Major Wen? "What are you doing here?"

"Patrol." Wen Shao Cheng weighed the baseball bat in his hand; it was quite heavy. "What are you doing here so late?"

"As you can see, this is my home," Tong Shu replied irritably, flicking her wrist.

"Going home? Aren't you short of supplies? Aren't you afraid, coming back alone so late by yourself as a girl?"

Tong Shu felt uneasy under his suspicious gaze: "I... I'll go home to use the restroom, is that okay?"

Wen Shaocheng stared at Tong Shu for a long time until the person in front of him started nervously picking at his fingers before he finally spoke up: "Okay."

Tong Shu breathed a sigh of relief.

"So, shall we go back now?"

Tong Shu nodded haphazardly and quickly slipped away from him, saying, "Let's go... let's go."

Wen Shaocheng walked calmly behind Tong Shu.

In fact, he did not go out with the car to search and rescue. Instead, after leaving the community, he re-entered the community through another garage entrance.

Many people did leave the air-raid shelters at night and return to their apartment buildings to search for supplies. These people were probably not looking for more food, but rather for clothing, candles, batteries, and other items not provided in the relief kits, which is perfectly normal.

Wen Shaocheng waited a long time before Tong Shu finally appeared. The moment he saw her, he felt something was off about her. Beyond her overly composed demeanor, it was mostly an intuition.

Major Wen had great faith in his intuition, after all, he had relied on it to escape many deadly crises in previous classified missions.

He had already gotten the exact address of Tong Shu's house from Zhu Cheng. After Tong Shu went upstairs, he quietly followed her and waited outside her house for about half an hour.

Sure enough, when Tong Shu went out again, she didn't take any supplies. She still carried that flat, empty backpack, but now she had a baseball bat in her hand. In Wen Shaocheng's view, making such a long trip just for a baseball bat was extremely wasteful. Of course, Tong Shu's later claim about traveling all that way just to use the restroom was also incredibly wasteful. He didn't believe a word of it.

"Your house is quite lucky; it looks completely undamaged." Compared to the panting Tong Shu, Wen Shaocheng followed behind her with an almost leisurely pace.

He saw all of this; this man has incredibly sharp eyesight. Tong Shu thought resentfully.

“Our whole family went out to escape the heat on the 12th. We originally planned to stay for ten days or half a month. We checked everything, including the water and electricity at home.” Tong Shu answered without turning her head.

This was not much different from what Zhu Cheng had heard. Wen Shaocheng stared at the back of Tong Shu's head, trying to determine how much of it was true.

Tong Shu was getting annoyed to death.

While anxiously wanting to tell her family about Nini's prophecy, she also had to deal with Wen Shaocheng's questioning.

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Upon returning to the air-raid shelter, Wen Shaocheng continued to follow Tong Shu closely, arriving at the Tong family's residence.

"Shushu, what's this...?" The two uncles on night duty were a little puzzled as they looked at Wen Shaocheng, who had returned with Tong Shu.

“The young girl was wandering around outside alone late at night, so I’ll walk her home,” Wen Shaocheng said without changing his expression.

"Oh, I see." Second Aunt's husband, Qin Jiaqiang, nodded honestly. "Thank you so much."

"Major!" a soldier ran over. "What brings you here? Would you like to rest in the vehicle for a while? You've been working all day."

Wen Shaocheng thought for a moment, shook his head, and turned to Tong Shu, saying, "Lend me a sleeping bag?"

Tong Shu was extremely unwilling. If Wen Shaocheng were here, how could she keep in touch with her family?

"...They're all dirty."

"It doesn't matter."

"Here, boss, use mine!" Wang Jianye enthusiastically offered his sleeping bag, then plopped down next to Qin Jiaqiang.

"Thank you." Wen Shaocheng picked up the sleeping bag, placed it next to Tong Shu, sat down, and leaned against the wall to close his eyes and rest.

Tong Shu was caught in a dilemma, unsure whether to leave or stay. His two uncles were still there, grinning and whispering among themselves. No matter how much Tong Shu tried to signal them, they maintained their gossipy expressions, which infuriated Tong Shu.

Never mind. I'll think of something tomorrow.

Tong Shu sulked, slung her backpack over her shoulder, secretly moved her sleeping bag a little further away, and closed her eyes with her back to Wen Shaocheng.

Wen Shaocheng, with his keen senses, listened intently as the rustling sounds that had been going on for a while finally stopped, and found it amusing. He knew that Tong Shu must have some secret that she couldn't tell her family because he was around, but he insisted on staying there to see how she could find a way to bypass him and communicate with her family.