Chapter 7 Biting off more than you can chew
Rafting in the city is not an easy task.
There are many drainage outlets under the city, and each drainage outlet forms a small vortex.
It was Xia Xiaoman and her friends’ first time paddling a raft, and it was difficult for them to keep the direction. If they weren’t careful, they would be swept away by the whirlpool and spin in place.
They paddled for more than four hours, stumbling and bumping, and met several rescue teams along the way. Every rescue team member came to them enthusiastically and asked them where they were going and if they needed help.
Xia Xiaoman and the others did not dare to say that they were going to Xinbai Shopping Mall to get supplies. They made the excuse that there was no gas at home and they wanted to get some wood or something to bring home for burning.
Xinbai Shopping Mall stands in the city center, in a low-lying area and by the river.
When Xia Xiaoman and her friends arrived at Xinbai Shopping Mall, the mall had already been flooded to the third floor.
The third floor of Xinbai Shopping Mall is different from the third floor of a building. Each floor of Xinbai Shopping Mall is 4.5 meters high, which is 1.5 meters higher than the floors of commercial housing.
The mall was flooded up to the 3rd floor, and the surrounding residents are expected to be flooded to the 4th and 5th floors.
Xia Xiaoman and his companions walked around the mall for most of the way and found a floor-to-ceiling window near the roadside, which contained a restaurant.
Xia Xiaoman raised the axe and swung his arm to smash it hard.
The glass made in the country is different. After being smashed twice in a row, a winding crack appeared on the floor-to-ceiling window.
After knocking down the glass, Xia Xiaoman climbed in first, "Come in quickly, the residents across the street from the mall may have seen us smashing the glass, and they may come over to steal things later."
Upon hearing this, Sun Qing quickly quickened her pace, pulled Ye Xiaojie and quickly climbed into the window, tied the rope tied to the raft under the corner of the table, and followed Xia Xiaoman out.
The restaurant door was locked. Xia Xiaoman wanted to break the door down by force, but Sun Qing stopped him and took out two pieces of wire from her backpack. After fiddling with the door a few times, the door opened.
Xia Xiaoman looked at her skilled lock-picking skills, and her expression changed. "You can pick the lock, why did you violently break open the door of Room 704?"
Sun Qing chuckled and said, "I only know a little bit. I can open any door that is not locked. There are three locks on 704. I can't open it without a key."
Xia Xiaoman: “…”
When she got home, she locked the door.
They are currently on the fourth floor of the mall, and the outdoor goods store that Sun Qing mentioned is on the second floor.
Among the three, Xia Xiaoman is the best at swimming.
Ye Xiaojie tied the rope she brought from home around Xia Xiaoman's waist, and Xia Xiaoman jumped into the water wearing goggles and a waterproof spotlight.
After going into the water several times, Xia Xiaoman finally found the outdoor goods store.
The first floor of the mall was flooded, damaging many stores. The second floor was submerged little by little by the accumulated water, so the stores above the second floor were not damaged.
Xia Xiaoman broke into the room violently, not caring what was inside, and took everything into the space.
When she was about to lose her breath, she pulled the rope around her waist and asked Sun Qing and Ye Xiaojie to pull her up. When she was about to be pulled out of the water, she took out a few items similar to diving equipment from the space and gave them to Sun Qing for identification.
After realizing that it was not diving equipment, Xia Xiaoman dived into the water again and collected the remaining items from the outdoor goods store.
This outdoor goods store is indeed the one with the most comprehensive range of goods. Xia Xiaoman dived back and forth eight times before he was able to store all the items in the store.
During the first dive, Xia Xiaoman brought out several bundles of climbing ropes and buttons, and asked Sun Qing and Ye Xiaojie to string the buttons on the climbing ropes.
During the second dive, she brought down a climbing rope full of buttons, fastened some things from the store to the rope, and asked Sun Qing and Ye Xiaojie to pull it up.
When they came up from the last dive, Sun Qing and her team were already piled high with supplies.
Xia Xiaoman took off her goggles and panted, "Sun Qing, find the kayak. Let's leave quickly."
Sun Qing, immersed in joy, looked puzzled, "Leaving now? There are still many shops here. Wouldn't it be a pity to leave like this?"
"You can't chew too much."
While collecting the materials that had been salvaged, Xia Xiaoman said, "There are only three of us. We are lucky to be able to transport these things back. We won't be able to bring back any other things."
"Besides, it has been almost an hour since we arrived at this mall. An hour is enough time for the residents across the street to find something to make a boat and row over here."
"If we delay any longer, we might not be able to take even this little bit with us."
After hearing what Xia Xiaoman said, Sun Qing remembered that there was a group of residents across the shopping mall staring at them covetously. She immediately dug out her kayak and inflated it.
They had salvaged so much that a two-person kayak wasn't enough.
After getting three kayaks ready, Xia Xiaoman and his colleagues quickly moved the supplies onto the boat.
While moving the supplies, Sun Qing saw someone paddling a weird raft in the distance. She was so anxious that she didn't even want the raft anymore. After moving the supplies, she urged Xia Xiaoman and Ye Xiaojie to leave quickly.
After paddling for a distance, Sun Qing looked back and saw that her raft had been seized by someone, which made her feel a little sad. But when she turned around and saw the kayak was full of supplies, she was instantly healed.
…
The kayak was easier to control than the raft, and the return trip took only more than two hours for several people.
When we arrived downstairs in the community, I didn’t know if the people in the building were waiting for rescue supplies, but they were all waiting at the stairs.
Xia Xiaoman squinted and looked at it. "Don't row so close, just wait outside the building. I'll go inside to find Zhou Qiuyang to come down and help."
Sun Qing and Ye Xiaojie nodded and told Xia Xiaoman to be careful.
Xia Xiaoman swam into the building alone. As soon as she climbed the stairs, an old lady in the building quickly said, "Little girl, you are here to help the rescue team deliver supplies! Why don't you bring the things over?"
He was playing dumb, but the greed in his eyes could hardly be hidden.
Xia Xiaoman ignored her and went straight past her upstairs.
The old lady reached out and pulled her, "Hey, little girl, don't go! Hurry up and ask your companions to bring the relief supplies over to share. We have been hungry all day."
Xia Xiaoman was almost pulled down by her, her face turned black instantly, and she pushed the old lady away, "If you are not smart, shut up, don't let people know that you are a moron with cerebellar atrophy!"
"The rescue team wore red vests and carried boxes of instant noodles."
"Did my companion and I wear vests or bring instant noodles?"
"You still want to share our supplies, why don't you take out your family's gold and share it?"
The old lady was almost thrown to the ground by her. Her husband was immediately unhappy and took advantage of his age to lecture her, "You stupid girl, why are you talking so harshly and hitting people? You don't respect the elderly or the young at all."
"If you're not a rescue team, just say so. Would we steal something from a dead girl like you?"
Other residents also accused you, "They just misunderstood you as a rescue team, you just need to explain it, is it necessary to use force?"
A group of people were righteous and stood on the moral high ground to accuse Xia Xiaoman, as if Xia Xiaoman had done something unforgivable.
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