Wu You'ai hurried off after breakfast.
Fortunately, before the family left the villa yesterday morning, Jing Shu thought that since they'd be returning once a day anyway, she might as well leave some poison bees by the gate. She never expected they'd be put to use so soon: that very night, intruders tried to break in.
The poison bees made up for the trap's lack of killing power. While some intruders were immobilized and others smashed at the door, those stung collapsed and died as the venom took effect.
It was a sharp reminder: she couldn't afford to let her guard down, not ever. Her greatest vulnerability now was the lack of counter-sniping measures. As her family's assets grew, they might draw the attention of gunmen. The probability was small, but still worth preparing for.
This mess started because Zhou Dafu had tried to rob her chicken. When she seized his pistol, she already expected retaliation. She thought he would simply send people after her.
What she didn't expect was that, after helping Qin Feifei extract snake venom and offering some advice, she accidentally stumbled into a trap that got he arrested. That in turn gave his brother Zhou Dasheng, who had slipped the net, a chance to strike.
Looking deeper, why was Zhou Dafu catching snakes in the first place? Jing Shu's instinct told her it had been aimed at her.
Why did these people act so arrogantly?
Because she looked like a fat sheep.
A fat sheep, harmless and easy to fleece!
But things had changed. With their supplies now secure, Jing Shu decided she'd arm her family until they looked like wolves—ferocious wolves no one would dare provoke.
Raising two Spirit Spring snakes might serve as perfect deterrents. Their offspring, their venom, their meat, snake wine, their skins—every part was valuable. And imagine this: walking outside with snakes coiled around her waist, tongues flicking in and out. Wouldn't that terrify anyone who saw?
Zhou Daheng's folding light-steel container was still with Li Yuetian. When the floods receded, she would go retrieve it.
This morning, Li Yuetian even had two snakes delivered, caged and covered with black cloth. Since they came through official roads, Jing Shu decided to wait until she returned to the villa to stash them in her Rubik's Cube Space for training. She planned to ripen some with the Spirit Spring first and brew snake wine.
According to the information she'd found, snakes bred depending on humidity and temperature. Last year had been too dry, but this year's rainfall made the climate perfect. With the Spirit Spring's help, she believed she'd soon have baby snakes.
As she watched the two five-step snakes flicking their tongues, Jing Shu grew more and more fond of them.
Xiao Dou drooled as he circled the snakes. To him, they were just oversized bugs. They might be nearly two meters long, but with bodies no thicker than a wrist, they were no challenge for him.
Her family, however, balked when she announced she'd bought snakes from the auction and planned to raise them for wine.
"They must be locked up tight. One bite and it's over."
"These things are too dangerous. Can't we just kill them now?"
Jing Shu downed two bowls of milk made from powdered formula and stuffed seven or eight sandwich slices into her mouth. Muffled, she said, "Relax. I'll keep them upstairs on the second floor. They'll never get out. Besides, once trained, they'll guard the house and keep intruders away."
Su Lanzhi forced a smile. For once, she didn't object to her daughter.
Jing An, smoking in silence, broke into a violent cough. He wanted to speak but swallowed the words. In the end, he just left the house. He was too honest to lie in support of his daughter's dangerous ideas, so better not to say anything at all.
Meanwhile, Wu City's main force had retreated into the safe zones. Hongshan Ecological Park alone now held over a hundred thousand people. Feeding, housing, and sanitation were headaches, though at least its facilities were decent. Public toilets outside the caves helped, and with water available, they could maintain basic hygiene.
The worry was the rain. It still poured endlessly, and the city center of Wu City lay underwater with no sign of relief. Over a million residents had been displaced, homes swallowed by the flood. All they could do was huddle in caves.
Within a single day, everyone's phones had gone dead. That made management even harder. The park hurriedly opened free charging stations.
The government called emergency meetings.
"All the shelters are full. We can hold out for a few more days, but if the rains don't stop and the city center stays submerged, what then? We can't keep people in shelters forever."
"The city center is flooded, but it's filled with resources. With no sunlight, at least the next five years won't produce replacements for much of that equipment. What do we do?"
"We can't just sit and wait."
So while citizens idled in caves, the Wu City government issued emergency orders and policies.
"The rainfall forecast is in. This is the peak. Areas not flooded now are unlikely to be. The old town of Xishan, the development district, and the north outer ring look safe. Starting tomorrow, we'll move three million people there.
If the flood doesn't recede, we'll designate the development district as the new Wu City."
"Housing is scarce, but each home can hold more than a dozen. Basements, underground garages, warehouses—all can be used. We'll allocate based on personal assets. Those who already own property get priority. And anyone still paying mortgages will continue to be charged interest. Otherwise, their homes will be reassigned."
"Next, the city center holds vast resources that must be salvaged. When the waters drop slightly in a few days, we'll release virtual currency and hire new salvage workers."
"The people must be mobilized. First, bring out anything useful from their homes. Second, gather all salvageable items into reserve warehouses to cut losses."
"We must prepare for the floods to last long-term, organize the people, rescue whatever we can, and release some grain to boost morale. This disaster might not be as simple as it seems."
…
By noon, each shelter's Consolation and Counseling Specialists had finished collecting statistics. News spread quickly: people were being relocated. The caves buzzed with debate.
Some were anxious, others delighted. And when families heard that seven or eight strangers might be crammed into their homes, many were furious.
Even Jing Shu's high school classmates' group chat exploded.
"@Everyone, I heard our zone is moving to the development district. Where's everyone else going? Maybe we'll all end up together. Wouldn't that be great?"
[Mu Xiaoxuan]: "I don't know about being placed together. I only know this: Zhang Lingling once swore that if she ever tricked us, her house would be drowned in a flood. And now? Not just her house, the entire city of Wu City is underwater. Zhang Lingling, your oath has come true."