Sure enough, it wasn't long before the shouting started echoing through the building.
"I thought the air smelled clean, figured the acid rain was gone, but turns out it's still the same stuff. My whole bucket got corroded."
"Whose dumb idea was that just now? Even if it's not acid rain, why would you use a bucket to catch it? It hasn't rained in forever, who knows how filthy this rain is? Once it touches the bucket, how are you supposed to go get drinking water with it?"
"But I only have one bucket at home. If I don't use it, how am I supposed to test the rain?"
"You threw out all the old plastic water bottles we used to drink from? Those are plastic too. Just leave one outside, then you'd know. Why use the only bucket you have?"
"Losing the bucket is still lucky. When I tossed out a bottle just now, a drop of rain hit my hand. It hurts like hell. Luckily, it's just a small patch. What do I do? Does anyone have any medicine?"
"Who has medicine these days? You're dreaming."
...
Right now, none of the residents had any working devices for communication. If they wanted to talk, they had to yell. But as long as they could be heard, it worked. And from all that shouting, Lan Jin pieced together the truth: today's rain was still acid rain.
After a light drizzle continued for two more days, the rain slowly began to pick up. The residents, who had already sealed their doors and windows tight, didn't dare open them again.
Then, three days later, the rain shifted from moderate to heavy.
At that point, two pieces of news started making the rounds. One good, one bad.
The good news: now that it had turned into heavy rain, the acidity was gone. No more corrosion.
The bad news: the past few days of acid rain had already done damage. Some of the building's exterior walls were showing signs of corrosion. On the top floor, the slanted skylight window in Huang Jinghe's attic room had recently been reinforced with fresh cement, but even that now showed signs of melting.
Still, the end of the acid rain was welcome news.
Huang Jinghe still had leftover sealing materials from when he had boarded up the windows. He didn't overthink it. He patched everything up and laid plastic sheeting over the repairs, to stop the water from loosening the seal.
He used the rest of the supplies to help patch up holes for their three households.
Other residents weren't so lucky.
Though this heavy rain wasn't as brutal as the previous storm season, it still came with gusty winds. The downpour seeped through every crack and crevice it could find.
Simply put, every household had leaks. Worse still, they had no materials left to fix them.
In the end, people resorted to stuffing the gaps with torn clothing and rags. As long as the rain wasn't acidic, contact with it wouldn't hurt them. That was the only silver lining.
The rain started in the year 2121 and carried into 2122.
But it wasn't over yet.
The downpour continued, and after just one more day, the drains clogged again. Within twenty-four hours, the entire first floor was underwater.
With memories of the last flood still fresh, no one dared live on the lower floors now, even if there was no power in the water. After some discussion, everyone agreed: head to the top floors.
The first thing they did was look for people who lived alone. If two people moved in together, at least they'd have company, and someone to consult if anything happened.
But in reality, it was because the vacant homes couldn't be accessed. Breaking in would destroy the locks, making it even more dangerous to stay there later.
Not long after, someone knocked on Lan Jin's door.
It was the woman from Unit 701.
Lan Jin remembered that unit clearly. She and Huang Jinghe had thrown that woman and her two companions from Unit 1404 out of the building back in the early days. The woman had a son, but he'd already moved to the base. She had refused to give up her apartment and decided to stay here alone.
Lan Jin could understand why someone living alone might want company, but she had no interest in being that companion. The woman's attitude was at least polite when she knocked, so Lan Jin stayed behind the security door and listened.
"Hello, I live in Unit 701 downstairs. With all this rain lately, the water's flooded the lower floors. I know you live alone, and I thought maybe we could share the space. It'd be safer, and you wouldn't feel so alone."
Look at her, speaking like she belonged here already.
But Lan Jin didn't care what her angle was. Even if she hadn't killed that woman's man, there was still no way she'd let her in. And especially not when she had a spatial storage ability. If someone stumbled on that secret, it would be disastrous.
"I can't help you," Lan Jin said flatly. "Try someone else."
With that, she shut the door without giving the woman any room to argue.
The woman wasn't surprised it wouldn't be easy to get in, but she clearly hadn't expected Lan Jin to be so direct. She stood outside swearing under her breath for quite a while before she finally left.
The yelling downstairs quickly caught Huang Jinghe's attention. As soon as Lan Jin had shut her door, the intercom on her coffee table lit up.
Huang Jinghe's voice came through. "Sister Lan, what happened just now?"
"Someone knocked on the door, wanted to move in," Lan Jin replied. "No idea what she was thinking. Just remember, no matter who it is, don't open your door. We've got too many supplies in our apartments. Anyone moving in would be a huge risk. If they find out what we have, we'll become targets for everyone."
"I get it, Sister Lan. I won't let anyone in."
But keeping people out was just the start. The flooding downstairs had trapped everyone inside the building for more than a week now. Who still had food left?
People were going to start thinking dangerous thoughts.
"Just stay alert," Lan Jin warned. "It's been eight or nine days. Even if someone had stocked up, most of it's gone by now. Right now, people only want shelter. Give it a couple more days, and they'll start thinking about food."
Huang Jinghe sighed. "Yeah, I've been thinking the same. But honestly, I'm still kind of relieved. Look outside at all that water. If this rain keeps up, who knows how high it'll rise? If we were on our way to the Capital city right now, we'd probably be caught halfway and drowned. No matter how bad things get, at least we're in our own homes."
"You're right," Lan Jin said. "Good thing we didn't leave..."
Before she could finish, another knock came at her door.
Lan Jin was speechless. "Again? Do I look that easy to push around? Why does everyone come to me first? This knock sounds like someone else though."
Huang Jinghe offered quickly, "Sister Lan, are you going to answer it? Don't hang up the intercom. If anything happens, I'll come down right away."
"Alright."
She had no problem opening the door. She didn't like being vague with people. If she was going to refuse, she'd do it clearly, so they wouldn't keep hoping and bothering her again.
Lan Jin walked to the front door and opened it.
Standing outside was the girl from the twelfth floor who also lived alone.