Seeing that Jiang Zhi was indifferent, Liu Donghua decided not to make a fool of himself.
Jiang Zhi lost interest in playing the game after being distracted by Liu Donghua. Just then, someone shouted through a megaphone.
"Attention everyone, attention everyone, now there is a control over supplies. Each household can purchase supplies with their ID card or household registration book. There is no longer any selection of supplies. The government will control and distribute them uniformly. Each set of supplies costs 680 yuan. Currently, electronic money and cash are accepted."
In her previous life, it was the same. At the end of June, supplies were completely controlled. She was very weak from heatstroke and dragged herself around like a walking corpse, and didn't even make it home.
In July, a solar event caused a complete collapse of the power system, resulting in widespread blackouts, making electronic currency unusable, and banks unable to withdraw cash.
Thinking of this, Jiang Zhi felt she would need to withdraw some cash later for emergencies.
The monetary system will not collapse for at least the next two or three months. A new monetary system—a points system—will be adopted once the base is established.
Jiang Zhi lives alone, and she received a set of supplies for 680 yuan. The supplies included ten bottles of mineral water, five packs of compressed biscuits, a serving of hot pot base, a serving of shiitake mushrooms and enoki mushrooms, half a pound of frozen pork, two apples, five pounds of rice, a handful of noodles, and a bag of salt.
Five pounds of rice and a handful of noodles, if one person eats sparingly, can get by for a month.
As soon as Jiang Zhi stepped out of the supply shed, she armed herself from head to toe. The air was dry and the sun was blazing; many people get sunburned easily. In this kind of weather, sunscreen is completely ineffective; physical sun protection is much better.
The car had been baking in the sun for over an hour, and the eggs Jiang Zhi had placed inside were already cooked. She turned on the air conditioning and waited for the temperature inside the car to drop before daring to get in.
Although she wasn't afraid of the heat, the seat was as hot as a hot plate, and she didn't want to become a hot plate as soon as she went in.
Driving to the nearest bank, Jiang Zhi found a large crowd gathered there. The bank's air conditioning was on, but people's faces were still covered in sweat, showing how anxious they were.
"For customers withdrawing cash, please note the new bank regulations: each person may not withdraw more than 10,000 yuan per week. Please comply with these regulations. The ATM has now been repaired. Customers who have received a number, please pay attention. I will call one number now, so please follow me."
Jiang Zhi also took a number and found a corner to wait, holding a small fan.
Seeing everyone around me sweating profusely, the 26-degree air conditioning was completely ineffective.
It's also her fault for not thinking of withdrawing cash beforehand.
Withdrawing money now is just a formality, because who knows how many eyes are watching her from the shadows.
To avoid being too unconventional, she posted a comment on a survival forum, talking about the importance of cash.
Online transactions are incredibly developed now, and there's no need for scanning codes at all; it's all about facial recognition. But electronic payments require electricity.
Clearly, the survivalists are more professional than Jiang Zhi.
The importance of cash has been recognized for some time. At least until the situation spirals out of control, cash can play a significant role.
A sharp decline in purchasing power is much better than being unable to buy anything at all.
After withdrawing 10,000 yuan, Jiang Zhi drove home. She felt that she wouldn't need to go out for the next few months; the pretense was over.
After driving the car into the yard, Jiang Zhi glimpsed through the ventilation holes in the corrugated steel roof that a pair of eyes were watching her from the second floor of the neighboring villa.
Just as she expected, it really did have eyes.
Jiang Zhi closed the curtain over the ventilation vents, put the car into the storage compartment, and then entered the underground parking garage.
She left an ice cube inside when she left, and with the help of the air conditioning, it's quite cool inside now.
Jiang Zhi took out a serving of cold shrimp salad, a box of self-heating hot pot, and a large cup of fruit tea.
Soon, the self-heating hot pot emitted a spicy aroma, tempting Jiang Zhi to eat.
She no longer rejects these delicious foods; she simply enjoys them.
Although the self-heating hot pot doesn't taste as fresh as cooked food, it's still so delicious that Jiang Zhi couldn't help but swallow her tongue. Paired with two steamed buns, it's especially flavorful.
The cold shrimp salad was refreshing and cooling, and the fruit tea was iced. Jiang Zhi drank half a cup in one go.
After eating, Jiang Zhi took a short rest before resuming her daily physical training.
In martial arts, speed is the ultimate weapon, and Jiang Zhi's skill with the kitchen knife grew ever more adept. As for marksmanship, although she had a silencer, bullets were becoming increasingly scarce, so she only practiced aiming every day and never fired a shot.
To simulate shooting accuracy, Jiang Zhi added darts training to her daily practice.
She turned the entire first-floor living room into a training ground.
"Several more people have died from the heat. I heard that one person from the property management company also died."
"When will this ever end?"
"I'm out of grain at home. Does anyone have rice? I have meat, we can trade."
"My family has run out of ammunition and food."
"This damned world, the company is completely finished."
"There's meat? Hasn't the meat gone bad in this weather? Power rationing, power rationing, my refrigerator is ruined. Now even if you have money, you can't buy a refrigerator."
"Rumor has it that the underground base the government is building will be put into use soon. Should we go together?"
As Jiang Zhi scrolled through the messages in the owners' group, she suddenly felt a burst of bright light outside, which quickly dimmed, and the sky displayed a variety of colors.
This is……
Jiang Zhi checked the time: July 8th.
Upon noticing solar activity, Jiang Zhi immediately stored the solar cells and the indoor and outdoor units of the air conditioner into her space.
The outside temperature rose instantly, and Jiang Zhi, not wanting to miss the change in the outside world, had no choice but to take out more ice cubes.
The thermometer on the wall has reached 60 degrees Celsius.
Humans struggle to survive in 50-degree Celsius air; 60 degrees Celsius would be even more unbearable. Last month, the government opened all the air-raid shelters, but even so, most people still couldn't get in because there were too many people and the shelters couldn't hold them all.
Large numbers of people fled to remote mountains and forests because of weather-related killings.
The water levels of major lakes are dropping rapidly.
The water levels of the two vital rivers have also dropped significantly.
The crops in the fields were completely destroyed.
Those city dwellers who have no place to call home in the countryside, or those who would find it difficult to survive without modernization, are basically confined to their small plots of land, waiting to die.
However, this is only the beginning.
Jiang Zhi watched as the ice beside her melted rapidly, and then added some more to the basin.
Looking at the sky from the courtyard, all she could see were some vibrant colors. She had seen these colors in her past life, when she was on the verge of death. She hadn't realized it was her evolving supernatural abilities; she had thought it was the path leading her to heaven.
Little did I know that this was just the beginning of the abyss.
From that moment on, the power system completely collapsed. All because of that damned solar activity.
"Why is there another power outage?"
Has anyone heard any strange noises?
"Like the sound of a walkie-talkie rubbing together."
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