The shutter door was suddenly opened, revealing a silhouette in the storm.
Jhiang Yuan was in full combat readiness, already clutching a dagger in her hand.
"Song Yi..."
"Jhiang Yuan..."
Both were stunned, not expecting to meet each other here.
"How come you're here?"
"How come you're here?"
Both asked simultaneously, staring into each other's eyes.
"I saw some light and just came in."
Knowing someone was inside and still not knocking, what was the logic in that?
"Come in first."
Although this person was dangerous, they couldn't let others see that someone was here; otherwise, the trouble would be even greater.
Song Yi agreed and turned to pull down the shutter door.
"Did you manage to buy your stuff?"
She looked at his bulging backpack, knowing this guy must have scored something.
"Didn't buy supplies, bought some medicine..."
Bought?
With no pharmacies open, Jhiang Yuan was suspicious; this guy was also a fellow practitioner of "Zero-Dollar Purchase."
"And you?"
"The maternity store wasn't open, so I came here to knock. The door was unlocked, so I came in.
I asked around for a while, no one answered, and then you came in."
She was calm; after all, everything was already stowed away in her space, and even if she lied, he couldn't tell since she was carrying nothing in her hands.
"Hmm!"
Song Yi looked around, there wasn't much left here.
There were only a few cabbages and some potatoes, and those were in short supply too.
Then at the entrance, there were some beverages.
This place wasn't a main sale point; the people who came before had taken a lot, leaving only a little.
"No one else should be coming now, let's split these up."
Jhiang Yuan feigned a bit of surprise and quickly retorted, "Isn't that not very appropriate?"
"There's nothing inappropriate about it, these veggies won't last long anyway.
And with the door open, if we don't take them, others will come and take them later.
Maybe when the weather clears up, we can come back and leave some money."
"Okay!"
The two quickly agreed and began "dividing the spoils!"
Jhiang Yuan packed two cabbages, two wrapper cabbages, and a bag of potatoes.
She took two large bottles of Sprite, two bottles of green tea, and some orange juice for beverages.
The popular items were basically gone, only tea and soda water remained.
She didn't stop there; based on a fifty-fifty split, she also packed several bottles of soda water and mineral water.
Song Yi was quick too, each taking three large bags, using the biggest bags they could find.
After finishing, he didn't stop either.
He went to the counter and cleaned out everything usable.
Jhiang Yuan secretly cursed, realizing she had been outmaneuvered.
Thus, with quick hands and sharp eyes, she gathered up all the hanging food bags around her.
"With all this stuff, how are we going to get back?"
"There's a treasure here..."
Song Yi said, as he picked up a basin he had seen earlier.
It was meant for carrying dishes, not particularly large; it was a struggle to fit all their items, but it would do.
Jhiang Yuan cursed internally, lamenting the necessity of hauling items by basin when space could not be used. Who would understand this feeling?
Song Yi was quick, turned off the light, and covered the items with a water-resistant cloth to also prevent rainwater from seeping in.
Then, using a rope, he tied one end of the basin, pulled down the shutter door, and acted as if nothing had happened.
"I'll pull from the front, and you watch, don't let the basin tip over."
"Okay."
The two cooperated with each other, stumbling along, but they managed to reach the apartment building smoothly.
They were very careful, but it stirred some attention nonetheless.
When they reached the fifth floor, someone was already waiting and asked hurriedly when he saw them coming, "You guys went out, what's it like outside? What did you buy?"
It was a guy, likely from room 0502.
Song Yi was holding the basin, while Jhiang Yuan led the way, helping pull it and sharing some of the weight.
"The water isn't deep, you can go out."
She didn't want to engage, only wishing to move along quickly.
"What did you manage to buy? Which supermarket is open, and is there much left?"
A string of questions showed he was very eager to know.
"The supermarket above the complex is still open, there's not much left though, but still some. You can check it out."
The supermarket up above wasn't far from here, but because it was situated on higher ground, the road was difficult to navigate.
Plus, going uphill would take even more effort.
Under normal circumstances, it's just a bus ride, a five-minute deal.
"Really? Are there any purchase limits there?"
Jhiang Yuan and her companion had reached the sixth floor's staircase by now, but the guy kept following and asking.
"No limits, not many people. The owner said if there aren't many shoppers, he might close in a couple of days. You should hurry."
She wasn't making it up, from her past life, that place lasted a long time precisely because of its high elevation.
The reason she knew was because they took advantage of the situation to raise prices, which led to public condemnation.
However, that was of no use, people who needed to buy still bought.
Back then, she was utterly annoyed by Xia Chaoyang and Bai Mengmeng, and even thought about taking advantage of that period to sue.
She also seized the opportunity to buy quite a few things and locked them in her room.
Mrs. Xia also bought quite a bit, but it still wasn't enough, which eventually led to trading her for food.
She did it for Xiao Nuan; adults could withstand hunger, but children couldn't.
"Okay, I'll go first thing tomorrow morning, thanks!"
Jhiang Yuan paused her steps, surprised by the politeness at such a time.
Even during the extremely hot period, some semblance of social order still existed, but the civilization built up over two thousand years by humans was about to be destroyed.
"You're welcome!"
She said faintly, savoring the last bit of niceness.
Going up, they encountered another person on the thirteenth floor, also a night owl, waiting to ask them upon seeing them go out.
She maintained the same story, directing everyone to the supermarket above.
No matter the cost, being able to buy was akin to saving a life.
By the twentieth floor, annoying people appeared again.
The woman, with her arms crossed and curled hair, looked down on them with disdain.
"Bought so much stuff, huh? What all did you get, can you share some with me?"
Jhiang Yuan glanced at her, slender and delicate, a compass under the hand of a surveyor.
"The supermarket up top is open, you better hurry and buy. We didn't buy much, can't share."
Having hit a wall a few times with her before, the woman knew Jhiang Yuan was no easy pushover.
"Don't be so stingy, I have kids at home and can't get out."
As they spoke, Jhiang Yuan and the other had reached the staircase of the twentieth floor.
"You're not dead, so you're not immobile. From now on, don't talk to me, it's disgusting."
By the apocalypse, this person must be dealt with early, or she would definitely be troublesome.
"What do you mean? Going outside is something special, huh? Who cares."
"It stopped raining earlier, didn't your family buy a lot of stuff? Now playing poor, if you've got the guts, go buy it yourself.
Always wanting a piece of someone else's pie without looking at what you're worth.
I'm not a man, I don't fall for that."
The woman was somewhat angry, baring her teeth, ready to curse.
Song Yi suddenly came closer, his tone menacing, "Excuse us..."