There was no signal in the elevator, and she couldn't access the news. From what she remembered, there hadn't been a citywide lockdown before the typhoon hit in Deer City. Could it be different now?
When the elevator doors opened, a bright, blinding light poured in. She instinctively raised her hand to shield her face and took two steps back.
"mingyue, do you have any candles at home?"
A couple emerged from the apartment. The girl was wearing a spaghetti strap dress, snuggling in the muscular arm of her boyfriend with tattoos. She turned off the flashlight and looked at Gu Mingyue, saying, "The property management said there was a power line maintenance, and the power won't be back until midnight."
The power was out?
No wonder the old lady was sitting in the basement.
Gu Mingyue lowered her hands, her expression indifferent. "No."
During the typhoon and storm, several floors downstairs got flooded. A few strangers barged into her home to steal things. She screamed for help, but the neighbors acted as if they were dead. Even when she tried to call the police, no one helped. Later, she started coughing and was reported for possibly being infected with a virus, leading to her being forcibly taken away for quarantine.
A few days ago, there were still some supplies in the quarantine building, but eventually, the only thing left to eat was rats. For a piece of rat, she fought and struggled with the infected people, who eventually threw her down the stairs to drown to death. No one understands how it feels.
She glanced at the tattoos on the man's arm holding the cigarette and walked away without turning her head.
The girl furrowed her brows and complained, "She wouldn't lend it? No need to act so aloof. I don't know what Wu Yibo sees in her..."
"Isn't it just candles? We can go buy some at the store..."
"Her candles are a luxury brand set sponsored by a company, only available on their online flagship store," she said. "I saw Wu Yibo post about those candles on Weibo. There were thousands of comments below asking for the link. They cost a few thousand."
"Then let's buy it online."
After a bit more affectionate conversation, they went back to their apartment. Gu Mingyue locked the door, plugged in her power bank to charge her phone, and began searching for the list of medicines she needed to buy.
Anti-inflammatory and detoxifying medicine were a must. Painkillers and fever reducers couldn't be missed. Gu Jianguo and the others were getting old, so she also needed to stock up on medicine for injuries.
The price of amoxicillin and cephalosporins was still affordable. In the end times, one pill could be exchanged for four or five kilograms of food.
There was a pharmacy in the group, so she went through each one. The amoxicillin, 40 tablets per box, had a limit of 100 boxes per person. She selected 500 boxes from five different pharmacies and saved them.
The cephalosporin, 8 tablets per box, she saved 500 boxes.
Next were the 24-tablet packs of Fenbid, 800 boxes; Chinese herbal painkillers, 100-tablet packs, 500 boxes; antiviral granules, 20 bags per pack, 1600 large bags; compound paracetamol, 1000 boxes; ibuprofen suspension liquid, 3-bottle packs, 300 sets; LianhuaQingwen capsules, 800 boxes; injury medicines; iodine tincture, gauze, and bandages, all bought in the maximum amount allowed by the pharmacy.
She also bought children's paracetamol granules, 1000 boxes, and other remedies for injuries, blood circulation, pain relief, calcium tablets, and vitamins A, B, C, and D.
In the apocalypse, animals were mutated, and one careless bite could be deadly. She also needed to buy tetanus and rabies vaccines.
Vaccines required injections, and injection sites were prone to infection. Gu Mingyue decided to buy oral vaccines instead. They were less effective but much safer.
The total cost for the medications came to over 330,000. Due to the overweight package, the delivery fee was just a few hundred. When paying, she noticed an option for a high-temperature subsidy for the delivery driver and paid an additional 500.
As soon as the order was placed, the delivery call came through.
"Is this Mr. Gu? Let me confirm the address. Is it Yun'anRoad, Section 4, Building 15 of Feiyue Community?"
"Yes."
"Okay, I'll call you when it arrives."
"Alright."
The apocalypse hadn't arrived yet, and Deer City was still calm. Late-night food deliveries were common, but she still felt uneasy. Glancing at the estimated delivery time, she figured they must be preparing the goods. The earliest delivery would arrive at 9 PM, the latest by 10:30 PM.
There were 45 pharmacies around her, and she had placed an order at every one.
She sent a message to the property management saying the drain in her apartment was clogged and that they'd need to fix it by 10 PM. She also mentioned she would be leaving now and wouldn't return until 10 PM.
The property management replied, "Got it."
Gu Mingyue moved the sofa and coffee table in the living room, then shifted the dining table to the side to clear space for the medicines. Afterward, she entered her space to organize the items she had stuffed inside earlier.
The space was about three meters high, without shelves. Stacking everything upwards made it difficult to search and inventory the items.
She needed to buy some shelves, but those would be too conspicuous. To quietly store them in the space, she would need to find a warehouse, preferably one without surveillance cameras.
She decided to visit Deer City's largest market in the morning since she still needed to buy vegetables and meat.
At 7:30 PM, the sun had set, but the thermometer still showed 40 degrees. She stayed in the winter space for a while until she felt cool enough to go out.
Her aunt sent a message: [If it's sold, then it's sold. Keep the money for now, and buy again when the market improves. Mingyue, I saw the news about a mall fire in Deer City that killed several people. Be careful, stay home as much as possible.]
Her aunt and uncle worked in construction, moving wherever there was work. They've been at this construction site for over two years. Gu Mingyue asked if they would be coming home.
Gu Jianying: [Are you getting married?]
Since they worked away from home, they could only reunite during the holidays unless something major happened.
Gu Mingyue: [Next month is my dad's birthday.]
Gu Jianying: [I'll come back during the New Year to celebrate.]
It was expected that, no matter the disaster, as long asthey weren't starving, workers wouldn't abandon their jobs. If there were no space, Gu Mingyue wouldn't have given up Deer City and returned to her hometown.
Gu Mingyue tried to use the reasoning of an expert they trusted: [The weather is abnormal this year, and experts say there might be an earthquake.]
Gu Jianying: [Whatever.]
"..."
Gu Mingyue: [What if a disaster bigger than an earthquake happens?]
Gu Jianying: [Your uncle also said there might be a war with Country A. If it happens, so be it. We're all going to die eventually.]
"..."
Gu Mingyue couldn't convince her aunt to believe her, so she just said: [You and Uncle buy more medicine and stock up. The border near you is close; if something feels off, just come home.]
Gu Jianying: [Alright, if you're getting married, let Aunt know in advance so she can prepare.]
Gu Mingyue: [Okay.]
Her aunt's situation was like that. Her younger aunt had to support two students, so she wasn't going home either. Gu Mingyue reminded them to stock up on supplies.
After the high temperatures, flooding would follow. The city would gradually be submerged, but with money and supplies, there should be time to evacuate.
Worried that her aunt might be reluctant to spend money on medicines, Gu Mingyue bought two boxes of commonly used medicines, plus two more boxes of compressed biscuits and two first aid kits. Her younger aunt also bought supplies worth 2,000 yuan.
With the medicine almost taken care of, it was time to focus on rice and flour.
The Gu family loved rice. During the New Year visits to relatives, even 50 kilograms of rice wouldn't last them half a month. So, she decided to stockpile 10,000 kilograms of rice.
She skipped the expensive imported rice and bought 200 bags of 20 kg fragrant rice, 200 bags of jasmine rice, 100 bags of local new rice, 100 bags of 5 kg multi-colored brown rice, and 2,000 kilograms of aged rice at 1.6 yuan per kilogram. There was a summer coupon, offering 300 yuan off purchases over 5,000 yuan.
The total came to 35,000 yuan, with a 2,100 yuan refund.
She used the 2,100 yuan to buy more aged rice and arranged for separate shipments.
Having bought so much lately, it was sure to attract attention. To divert the attention of those in her building, she decided to make a donation. She also ordered 500 boxes of milk from the delivery platform.
After closing a shopping app, the delivery call came in.
The driver said he was at the basement door, but the security guard wouldn't let him in. He needed to go downstairs to meet the delivery.
The delivery was by a truck driver. His vehicle was stuck at the door, with cars behind honking continuously. People were leaning out and cursing.
The security guard, with a good temper, patiently explained, "You need to go this way..."
There were two doors, and the line had to form at the back.
By the time Gu Mingyue arrived, the SUV leading the line had already entered the basement, but the cursing was still loud.
She rushed to the security office and apologetically said, "I want to donate some supplies to the children in the mountains. I bought them online..."
The security guard, a young man in his twenties and her fan, smiled shyly. "I guessed it was you when I saw all the goods. But rules are rules, and I can't let him in."
If something went wrong, he'd be held responsible.
"I understand," Gu Mingyue said. "Sorry for the trouble. I have more deliveries coming. Could I call you later to let you know?"
That way, she wouldn't have to go downstairs.
The security guard grinned, "Sure."
He pressed the button, and the gate slowly rose. Gu Mingyue directed the driver and waved to the guard. The guard blushed.
"Mingyue, are you sharing tonight?" he asked.
"Afraid not, no power," she replied.
Right, no power.
The security guard scratched his head, about to ask about tomorrow.
But Mingyue had already turned the corner and was out of sight.
He quickly sent a message to his buddy: [Mingyue is donating supplies to the mountains. I knew she's different from those regular influencers!]
[If I could make that much money, I'd donate too.]
Thinking about it, he realized that these days, only wealthy people could afford to donate.
The driver finished unloading the medicines and left. The second batch of goods came a little late, and the property management still hadn't come to fix the drainage. Gu Mingyue called twice to hurry them. The pharmacy said some medicines were out of stock and would refund her money.
Gu Mingyue told them to ship whatever was available and refund the rest.
After receiving the refund, she immediately reordered from another platform: 100 bottles of 5L disinfectant, 100 bottles of 5L sterilizing liquid, spray bottles, and gas masks—everything she hadn't bought before.
She stuffed all the medicines into the space and stacked the milk into large boxes that filled the living room.
Finally, everything was arranged, and the phone rang.