Ch34 Setting Out to Find Food in the Mall
"Here!"
Meng Ci took the helmet Shen Que handed him, his eyes filled with confusion.
Shen Que explained, "It's raining hard outside. It'll be safer with this on."
"Oh! Thanks."
Meng Ci obediently took it. He had a helmet in his spatial pocket, but he'd been afraid to pull it out and risk a long explanation. Since Shen Que was offering it now, Meng Ci gladly accepted.
Those raindrops hitting his head stung like hell.
Seeing Shen Que carrying a suitcase in each hand and a storage bag for the inflatable boat in the other, Meng Ci reached out to help.
"Let me help you with that!"
"No need!" Shen Que carried his own belongings downstairs.
Meng Ci shrugged. Fine, if he didn't want help, Meng Ci was happy to be free.
Meng Ci held the helmet Shen Que had given him in one hand and a thick storage bag for quilts in the other. The bag was about five feet long, big enough to hold a lot.
Since the third floor was already flooded, they both took off their shoes and socks, rolled up their pant legs, and waded through the water into a room that had once been lived in.
They placed their shoes and socks in a plastic bag and set it on the table.
Shen Que, wearing a headlamp, pulled out the inflatable boat and began manually inflating it.
It took about half an hour for the raft to reach full inflation.
Shen Que opened a nearby suitcase, pulling out a life jacket for Meng Ci to put on.
He grabbed two raincoats, one for each of them.
As Meng Ci pulled the helmet over his head, he couldn't help but marvel inwardly once more.
Shen Que was truly a great guy.
Great physique, thoughtful, and handsome too!
If the two of them survived the apocalypse, Meng Ci would stop at nothing to win him over.
Once everything was ready, they lowered the inflatable boat out the window.
Shen Que sat in front, taking the paddle and starting to row, while Meng Ci sat behind, leisurely doing nothing.
Tsk tsk tsk.
Having a partner was great-there was no need to exert yourself or strain your brain figuring out directions.
"We're here!"
It took nearly an hour to reach their destination.
This area was elevated, and the buildings were taller than average residential structures, so the floodwaters only reached halfway up the second floor.
Luck was on their side-the dinghy finally came to rest right before a floor-to-ceiling window.
The suction cups gripped the glass firmly. Shen Que secured the boat's ropes to them to prevent it from drifting away, then pulled out a safety hammer.
"Stay safe!"
The downpour drowned out his words, and Meng Ci couldn't make out what Shen Que had said.
Seeing Meng Ci hadn't moved, Shen Que adjusted the raft.
Finally, he secured the suction cups to the wall tiles and re-tied the boat.
Only after instructing Meng Ci to stay away from the glass did Shen Que begin striking the window's edge.
From behind, Meng Ci watched Shen Que's muscles tense with each powerful, defined stroke.
Meng Ci almost reached out to touch those muscles-if the situation weren't so dire.
Then, frustrated, he pinched his own arm. He'd been working out for over a month now-why hadn't he gained a single ounce of muscle?
"CRASH!"
With a thunderous bang, the glass shattered!
The water inside was too deep; swimming in might be dangerous for two people.
Shen Que kept hammering away with the safety hammer, stopping only when the hole was large enough for the dinghy to pass through.
He piloted the raft into the mall.
The escalators had stopped running, so Shen Que steered the raft to one.
He disembarked first, secured the raft to the escalator with a rope, then pulled Meng Ci down.
"You're not hurt, right?"
Once off the escalator, Shen Que didn't rush to tidy himself up. Instead, he scanned Meng Ci from head to toe.
Meng Ci took off his helmet and placed it on the steps. He shook his hair loose, stripping off his raincoat as he said, "I'm fine."
Knowing Meng Ci was unharmed, Shen Que relaxed.
Their feet were already soaked, so neither bothered with shoes.
Hanging the raincoats on the handrails, Shen Que grabbed the suitcase from the raft and Meng Ci's storage bag, leading the way forward.
With clear purpose, they climbed to the fifth floor.
After prying open the
supermarket door, they headed straight for the ready-to-eat section.
Canned goods, instant noodles, baked goods...
They didn't bother checking expiration dates, stuffing everything into their box indiscriminately.
After filling half a bag, Meng Ci made an excuse to look elsewhere for more edible items and began wandering around.
Latiao? Hmm, gotta take those.
Sunflower seeds? Grabbing those too.
Coke, drinks, bottled water-all had expiration dates and wouldn't fill their stomachs, so Meng Ci didn't hesitate to stash them into his spatial pocket.
Then there were two shelves of baijiu. Since his space didn't hold alcohol, he pulled the entire shelf into it.
Though Meng Ci didn't drink, he figured a little warmth would be nice when the heavy snow hit later.
He then stumbled upon an elevator of some sort. Opening a door revealed a small storage room.
Meng Ci shoved everything into his spatial pocket.
Pots, knives, bowls, chopsticks-all went in.
Now he wouldn't have to worry about running out of knives for chopping vegetables.
Electric woks and hot plates were useless, so he left them behind.
But clay pots? Those went into the storage space-those would be useful.
The whole process took only about ten minutes.
Meng Ci kept a close eye on his surroundings, making sure Shen Que didn't spot him. When he returned, his hands were full of Latiao and melon seeds.
"I don't eat much at a sitting, so I grabbed some Latiao," Meng Ci explained, then stowed the snacks into his storage bag.
"Latiao aren't good for you in large quantities! You should eat more rice." Shen Que advised.
Meng Ci gave a perfunctory nod. He had plenty of staple food stockpiled, and he could always grow more in his spatial pocket later.
But snacks were a non-renewable resource right now-of course he'd stock up.
Seeing Meng Ci didn't respond, Shen Que, perhaps realizing his tone had been a bit harsh, cleared his throat.
"Is this amount of Latiao enough? You can take more and put them in the rubber boat."
Meng Ci shook his head. "Enough, enough!"
He'd already cleaned out the Latiao-there was no way he could go back.
Getting here hadn't been easy, and who knew if others would take them in a couple days? So the two grabbed several large plastic bags, filled them up, and stuffed everything onto the rubber boat.
Before leaving, they made one
last stop at the clothing store on the third or fourth floor, picking out a few items before heading out.
They had already scouted the outdoor camping store mentioned earlier during their arrival.
The storefront was submerged, and there was no suitable spot nearby to dock the raft. They decisively abandoned the idea of searching for a gas stove by water.
It was now past 4 a.m. Though residents were still asleep, they feared their belongings might be taken. Shen Que suggested Meng Ci stay behind to guard the items while he carried them upstairs first.
There was quite a lot to carry, and Shen Que made three trips in a row. During one of them, Meng Ci offered to take a trip himself, but Shen Que flatly refused.
On the final trip, only two large plastic bags and the kayak remained.
After deflating the kayak and packing everything neatly, the two headed upstairs.
Considering the kayak was heavy and Shen Que had already made two trips, Meng Ci thought he'd carry the two plastic bags.
But Shen Que didn't give him a chance to prove himself. Grabbing one plastic bag, he strode off at breakneck speed.
Meng Ci huffed and puffed behind him. Seems his workouts haven't been doing much good!
Maybe he should find time to ask Shen Que for some tips.
Shen Que placed all the items in his room. Taking advantage of the night, the two planned to sort everything out, so Shen Que headed for his door.
"Wait!" Shen Que suddenly called out after opening the door.
"What is it?" Meng Ci asked, puzzled.