Apocalyptic Disaster: Stockpile Supplies for Free and Make a Comeback

Chapter 72 Collapse
It was the second year of the apocalypse, and the melting snow on the mountain brought forth torrents of water that rushed through the mountains.

The continuous rainy weather is even more difficult than snowy days, as it makes it impossible to go out to find supplies and damaged facilities cannot be repaired in time.

In the early hours of the morning, several deafening roars suddenly echoed from the mountain, causing the ground and houses to tremble.

It was too far away; after the fleeting flash of lightning, it was pitch black outside, and it was impossible to tell whether it was thunder or some other sound from the mountains.

That day, Uncle Li held a meeting to take stock of supplies. The grain in the warehouse could only last for half a month. Even if everyone had their own, they could only last for a little over a month if they were careful.

The water flowed rapidly down the mountain and the river widened, washing away the fishing nets they had painstakingly secured.

Bamboo shoots can be found in bamboo forests, but they cannot be a long-term food source.

“We’ve been to all these places.” Cheng Yan pointed to the circled locations on the map. “So much time has passed, there’s no point in going back. We can only take this road into the eastern part of the city.”

Looting densely populated neighborhoods is very difficult. First, the security doors are hard to open, and second, there are zombies inside.

They abandoned those places from the start and looked instead for hotels with storage rooms, convenience stores, and the like.

The other survivors were the same; nobody was stupid, and everyone would go to places where it was easy to loot.

As time goes on, the only solution is to search in more distant places.

"Let's go take a look when the weather gets better," Song Jinhe said, resting her chin on her hand. "If all else fails, maybe we can try our luck at the freight station and the highway exit?"

This is the only thing we can do now. The wind and rain are strong outside, and sometimes it's so bad that we can't even stand up straight.

If you go into the city in this weather and are unlucky, a piece of glass or sheet metal might fall on your head and you'll be instantly killed.

Taking advantage of the light rain, everyone bid farewell to Uncle Li and hurried home. A cold wind swept through the ink-black clouds, the branches in the forest rustled and shook, and the icy rain hit them in the face. Even with umbrellas, their shoulders and trouser legs were wet.

Song Jinhe put down her umbrella and went to the kitchen to serve herself a bowl of brown sugar glutinous rice balls and a cake made in a rice cooker.

Sitting by the window on a rainy day, eating some dessert, and feeling the cool breeze is much more comfortable than walking around outside.

After the harsh winter ended, she prepared a lot of things as backup, since she wasn't going out to look for supplies anyway, and she had nothing better to do.

I have a whole tub of shampoo made by boiling Chinese herbs such as arborvitae leaves and Polygonum multiflorum together with tea seed cake.

We have all the other materials, but the main problem is tea seed cake. We only found one piece at the wooden cabin last time, so we can't make too many.

I was originally planning to go to the mountains to pick tea seeds when the season came, and use the residue left over from pressing the oil to make tea cake.

If this shortage of supplies cannot be resolved, even basic survival in the villa area will be in jeopardy.

Thinking of this, Song Jinhe took out several bright green bamboo tubes, washed them clean, and placed them by the fire to dry along with the bamboo shoots on the rack.

The crisp sound of rain continued. In the study behind the French windows, Jiang Shi'an put down a heavy book of original texts and quietly gazed at the slender figure below.

He actually wondered what circumstances they would meet if there had been no apocalypse. He had never made such pointless assumptions before.

A cool, fresh scent of grass and trees filled the courtyard, and newly sprouted buds swayed in the rain—mint that had been dug up last year.

Song Jinhe mixes wood ash with hot water and then filters it; this is plant-based alkaline water.

Then disassemble the seashell wind chime, burn it over a fire, grind it into powder with a mortar and pestle, and add it to alkaline water.

Mix it with olive oil until it becomes a white paste, put it into a bamboo tube, seal it, and place it on a chest of drawers in the house.

After half a month, take it out, cut it into pieces, and you have soap. One batch is enough for more than half a year.

Don't worry if you can't find cleaning supplies outside, there's plenty of Chinese medicine in the space.

Putting everything else aside, this all-natural shampoo is really effective; it genuinely helps with hair loss and has a subtle herbal scent.

A week later, the wind and rain finally started to subside. The team decided on the time and route for their outing and began preparations.

Refuel the car, and bring portable food and water.

Zhuang Ting still arranged for three people to stay behind to guard the house. After learning how to use a gun, Dai Jia was also given a pistol.

As for Song Jinhe's side, there were only four of them in total. Uncle Li had recently caught a cold, so Cheng Yan and Zhang Yi stayed behind to help.

Zhao Yanzhou and Kang Feng followed them out.

After everyone finished preparing, they set off promptly at 7:30 the next morning. Knowing that they would have to eat and sleep outdoors for the next few meals, Song Jinhe ate a bowl of noodles and also had a sandwich.

The three cars slowly drove away from the main gate of the villa area and onto the city road. Fine raindrops fell on the windshields, and the wipers moved slowly.

As the unfinished buildings submerged in water drew closer, the moss growing on the cement walls appeared even more gloomy in the cold wind.

The car in front suddenly stopped.

"What's going on?" Song Jinhe opened the window to look outside and also turned on the walkie-talkie.

"The road ahead has collapsed, it looks like it'll be over in the next day or two," Zhuang Ting said. "We'll have to take that side road."

The path he described wasn't a path at all; it was just muddy ground overgrown with weeds. It wouldn't be a problem for an off-road vehicle, but the concern was that the small truck at the back might not be able to get through.

"We'll go ahead and scout ahead, you guys wait here."

“Okay.” Song Jinhe didn’t close the window, but simply put on the hood of her clothes.

Watching Zhuang Ting's car turn around and plunge into the muddy ground, where there was standing water, it seemed like it wouldn't be easy to drive.

"I just left early this morning, I wonder if today is an inauspicious day for going out." Song Jinhe sighed softly, then suddenly turned to Jiang Shi'an and asked with a hint of curiosity, "You researchers probably don't believe in this, right?"

Jiang Shi'an smiled slightly. "Not necessarily. Some of my colleagues used to consult the almanac and keep money trees on their desks."

Song Jinhe smiled, her eyes shining brightly when she met his gaze. Hearing the sound of the accelerator being pressed on the other end of the walkie-talkie, she asked, "How is it?"

"If you can walk, then you must."

Before I could finish speaking, a loud bang exploded in my ears, followed by a prolonged ringing in my ears.

Song Jinhe instinctively covered her ears, frowned, and looked ahead.

Something happened at the unfinished building site!
It's unclear what happened beneath the floodwaters, but the two connected buildings suddenly collapsed.

The remaining steel frame and moss-covered cement slabs crashed down with a thunderous roar, splashing water several meters high.

No, it wasn't the house that collapsed, but rather the area that was constantly flooded that collapsed underneath.

Song Jinhe watched as the water on the ground leaked down.

They were too close!
A sudden, intense unease welled up inside her.

"What just happened?" Zhuang Ting's voice, crackling with static, came through the walkie-talkie.

Another building collapsed due to a broken foundation. Amid the roar, Song Jinhe raised his voice, "The ground at the unfinished building site has collapsed, and the situation is very serious."

(End of this chapter)