For Lan Jin, this trip felt like she had crossed mountains and rivers. The journey was anything but easy, but she never once thought of giving up. Supplies were the key to survival. If she wanted peace of mind in the days ahead, she needed to put in the work now, especially when it came to food.
After reading through the latest updates on her phone, Lan Jin finished breakfast. She carefully put Qiao Qiao and Nana into the spatial storage, then, just like yesterday, suited up in her protective gear and gas mask before heading out.
Yesterday, she had exited through the basement level. Today, she went straight through the front door. In her high-rise complex, the first floors weren't occupied, so as long as she stayed cautious, no one would notice her coming or going.
Following the same route as the day before, Lan Jin moved slowly and carefully. She would rather take longer than risk a mistake. Maybe the fog had stabilized a bit, because visibility seemed better than it had been yesterday. She could now see clearly within a one-meter radius.
She passed the MuMart, then the Walmart, and crossed the overpass. The whole walk was clumsy and tense, but eventually, Lan Jin arrived at the front of the Co store. Unlike MuMart, which was part of a mall, the Co store was a large, standalone supermarket that carried nearly everything.
There was no side entrance to sneak into. Lan Jin made her way to the staff entrance, only to find that the door here wasn't a rolling shutter, but a pair of thick glass doors secured with a heavy iron padlock across the handles.
This time, she had to bring out the chainsaw.
She took the chainsaw from her spatial storage and pulled the cord several times until it roared to life. With a loud grinding sound, the padlock was cut cleanly in half.
Lan Jin slipped inside quickly and shut the door behind her. To her surprise, aside from the little bit of fog that had drifted in when she opened the door, the supermarket was untouched. There was no trace of poisonous fog inside.
She didn't waste time wondering why. Pulling out a flashlight, she clicked it on and headed deeper into the store.
She wound her way through several hallways, passing by the staff changing room and a long corridor before finally reaching the main store floor.
The Co store lived up to its reputation as a bulk-buy haven. Everything inside was large-sized, even oversized. Like MuMart, every product category had four full shelves, and every shelf was stacked to the brim.
Just like before, Lan Jin took everything in a "take three, leave one" pattern. The store was massive, and even moving quickly, it took her more than four hours to collect everything. She was exhausted by the end, but completely satisfied.
After loading up, Lan Jin left the store the same way she came in, navigating the winding hallways back out.
Since she was already out, it felt like a waste to just go home after raiding one supermarket. She had a vehicle in her spatial storage, which meant it was time to think about fuel. Morning was for supplies. Afternoon would be for gasoline.
The closest gas station to her home was usually a five-minute drive. But driving through thick fog wasn't safe, and walking wasn't much better. So Lan Jin pulled out the old-fashioned solar-powered tricycle from her storage. With visibility now reaching a full meter, it was manageable.
What normally took five minutes ended up taking fifteen, but she finally arrived at the gas station.
It was completely deserted, as expected. Lan Jin checked every pump one by one to see if they still had fuel. After confirming there was gas, she brought out her empty barrels from storage and started filling them up.
Poisonous fog surrounded her, but with no one around, she could use the storage space freely. She poured fuel with efficiency and focus. However, one gas station wasn't enough to fill her 200 barrels. After filling 80, the station ran dry.
Lan Jin packed up the barrels and got back on her tricycle, heading to the next station.
She wasn't winging it. She had already planned to collect fuel and had pre-marked several locations. The roads might be fogged up, but GPS still worked. It wasn't easy, but she made it.
Following the same routine, she visited three more gas stations and finally filled all 200 medium-sized fuel barrels. When she saw that the last station still had fuel left, she took out some oversized trash bins and filled six and a half more barrels before the pumps ran completely dry.
Only then did she call it a day and head home.
Another full day gone. She hadn't eaten or drunk anything the entire time. By the time she made it back, it was pitch black outside. She peeled off her protective gear and gas mask, downed a large bottle of spiritual spring water, and finally felt her energy return. After tending to Qiao Qiao and Nana, she was finally able to lie down and rest.
She had been going nonstop for two days straight. Combined with the three days she'd spent at home earlier, five days had passed in a blink. That meant only two days remained before the people in charge might have results about the poisonous fog.
Her spatial storage was stocked with everything she needed. There was no reason to go out again.
Lan Jin had been so busy she had completely forgotten about her ex-husband and his mistress. But the two of them hadn't forgotten anything. In fact, they were both in a complete panic.
Ren Xing and Meng Ying were both lazy and spoiled. As long as they had money, they ordered takeout for every meal. When the poisonous fog came so suddenly, they hadn't stocked up at all. There wasn't a single staple food in the house.
For five days, they had survived entirely on Meng Ying's stash of snacks. But five days of nothing but chips and cookies had taken a toll. And now, there wasn't much left.
Ren Xing looked at the nearly empty snack bag and grumbled, "Hey, eat slower. We don't know how long we'll be stuck. What are we gonna do when the snacks are gone?"
Meng Ying didn't even respond. She kept eating.
Annoyed, Ren Xing grabbed the bag from her lap. Meng Ying's face darkened. "What are you doing? I haven't even eaten that much. You've been stuffing your face all day."
"I'm hungry. I'm a man. I need more food," Ren Xing replied as if it were obvious.
That did it. Meng Ying snapped, "I bought these snacks! Who cares if you're a man or a woman? They're mine. I want to eat them."
Ren Xing knew she had bought the snacks. But in his mind, he was the one paying rent, which meant everything in the apartment should be his. Whether she bought it or not didn't matter.
Meng Ying stared at him, speechless. "What kind of logic is that? I don't care. I bought them, I'm hungry, and I'm eating them."
The two of them started arguing, their voices growing louder as they fought over the last few bags of snacks.