17: rainstorm

They lived in the two villas immediately to the left and right of Lin Wan's villa.

The villas had all been reinforced, so aside from some fine cracks on the walls, nothing else was seriously damaged.

Lin Wan certainly knew Xie Ji Chuan.

Besides Uncle Wang, Xie Ji Chuan was the person Shen Mo Chi trusted most closely.

In the previous life, after Shen Mo Chi established the base, he and Uncle Wang were his right-hand men.

Although Lin Wan possessed a Spatial dimension and vast amounts of supplies, she never intended for Shen Mo Chi to sever all connections and just stay with her; that would be too selfish.

Moreover, establishing a base later on was inevitable.

When the zombie virus rampaged and Ability Users emerged, having a Spatial dimension wouldn't mean much. If a powerful Ability User sensed it, controlled her consciousness, her death would be instantaneous.

In her previous life, Lin Wan never awakened her abilities, and this life was still an unknown.

Therefore, those tens of thousands of containers in the Spatial dimension would all prove useful then.

To live comfortably in the Apocalypse, first and foremost, one had to be powerful.

Relying on the supplies in her Spatial dimension, she could certainly live out her life fed and warm in some deserted corner.

But that wasn't what she wanted, nor did she like being alone.

She liked liveliness; she wanted to enjoy her supplies openly, to live as she pleased in the Apocalypse, and do whatever she wanted.

Xia Yue was Xie Ji Chuan's wife; the two had been dating for eight years and married two years prior.

In the previous life, Xia Yue of the First Base and Xie Ji Chuan were deeply devoted to each other. No matter where they were, they were always together, a loving couple—many people knew this.

Lin Wan still remembered that Xia Yue had nearly died saving a severely injured Xie Ji Chuan. In short, the two were extremely good to each other.

Xia Yue intentionally came early, wanting to help, but found a table full of prepared dishes.

Chicken, duck, fish, shrimp, meat dishes, and vegetarian dishes—they had everything.

"Sister Wanwan, your cooking skills are amazing!"

Actually, all of this came ready-made from the Spatial dimension.

Lin Wan smiled sheepishly.

"It's alright, it's alright."

Although they had only spent a few days together, the two got along very well and had endless topics to discuss.

Xia Yue was lively and generous in nature, and pure and beautiful in appearance.

Lin Wan was also clear about love and hate and treated people exceptionally well.

Thus, they quickly became good friends.

After the two chatted and laughed for a while, Uncle Wang and Xie Ji Chuan also arrived.

At the dinner table, Xie Ji Chuan looked at the intimate pair across from him and smiled in a roguish manner.

"Lin Wan, our AChi finally got his wish. He doesn't have to be a lovesick fool waiting for his wife every day anymore. This is good too, so when my Yue Yue and I show affection, we don't have to consider his feelings."

Although their time together wasn't long—just these few days—Lin Wan knew that although he enjoyed joking around, he was a man of deep affection, loyalty, and extreme devotion.

Lin Wan poured him a glass of wine and smiled, "That's natural. Our Mo Chi can show off his affection in front of you two from now on."

Xia Yue glared at her husband, not pleased.

"Xie Ji Chuan, stop your nonsense!"

"Sister Wan, don't pay attention to him."

Shen Mo Chi's eyes held a smile.

"Xia Yue is right, Wanwan, ignore him."

Xie Ji Chuan froze. Not daring to confront his wife, he shot Shen Mo Chi an annoyed look and said with a bitter smile, "Alright, alright. You two are truly on the same side. My wife has defected too. I'll just drink."

Uncle Wang watched the young people bicker with amusement, burying his head in his food. Thinking of his young daughter who died years ago, happiness mixed with a surge of loss.

If she were still alive, she would be 13 this year. Unfortunately, there are no 'ifs'...

Shen Mo Chi handed Lin Wan a piece of steak that he had cut.

The couple, Xia Yue and Xie Ji Chuan, looked at this scene and exchanged a knowing smile.

So good!

Regardless of the chaos outside, they ate their fill, talked about supplies, and discussed the general direction for the future.

In short, the five of them were definitely companions in the Apocalypse.

Shen Mo Chi had loved Lin Wan for many years, and those close to him all knew it. Lin Wan also had an excellent personality, so they all liked her very much.

Previously, when Shen Mo Chi made such a huge fuss over a dream that sounded absurd, they secretly thought that such a calm and wise person could be quite terrifying when love-struck.

However, Shen Mo Chi had always been their leader. Whatever he said to do, they followed.

But unexpectedly, the dreams came true one by one.

Because of this, while they liked Lin Wan, they also held a subtle sense of reverence for her.

However, regarding the dream, they never asked too many questions, nor did they ever mention a single word of it to anyone else.

Not only because Mo Chi had solemnly instructed them, but also because they knew that this secret could not be casually spoken; it had to be buried deep within them.

After the dinner concluded, a light rain began to fall outside again.

After they left, Lin Wan lay on Shen Mo Chi's lap, thinking of Lin Zhiyuan's death.

"Wanwan, are you feeling sad?"

"No, I just feel... he probably deserved what he got."

Lin Wan didn't want to mention him again and instead asked, "Mo Chi, how did you and Xie Ji Chuan meet?"

"He was brought to that assassin organization just like me. When I got out, I brought him out too. While inside, he helped me, and I helped him. We are brothers who have been through life and death together."

"His parents divorced when he was young and both remarried. Neither wanted to take him in, only sending him money regularly each month. From childhood, A Chuan lived alone. Later, when he was captured by those people, he suffered a lot."

"In the first year after getting out, he met Xia Yue, who was sponsored to study abroad due to her excellent character and academic performance. They quickly started dating."

"After returning to the country, he accompanied me, helping me a lot until I took over the Shen Corporation and stabilized it, and only then did they get married."

"It's been eight years, a long journey of love. It's quite good. It's rare to meet someone on the same wavelength; by holding hands like this, neither of them will be too lonely."

Shen Mo Chi lowered his head, examining her fair little face.

"Mhm, we will also last a long, long time."

"Mhm, we will, Mo Chi."

Lin Wan woke up amidst thunder and lightning.

She checked the time; it was six o'clock.

Lin Wan couldn't sleep anymore. She went to the living room and found Shen Mo Chi was also there.

"Mo Chi?"

"Mhm, Wanwan, were you woken up by the thunder?"

Lin Wan nodded and looked outside with him.

The sky, not yet fully bright, was somewhat gloomy.

Raindrops the size of beans continuously fell, forming a blurry curtain of rain.

In a short while, the sound of the rain hitting the ground grew heavier. Hailstones the size of eggs began to fall.

A chill swept over them. Shen Mo Chi closed the window and handed her a cup of hot water.

Lin Wan thought of this merciless natural disaster and sighed.

"Humans are so insignificant in the face of nature. Earthquakes yesterday, torrential rain today—this is the end of the world."

The rain lasted for a full seven days before stopping.

Because the terrain was high, the villa suffered no significant impact.

They were fully stocked with supplies and lacked nothing.

During these few days of heavy rain, they stayed cooped up at home and hardly went out.

There was no need to.

But the outside world had already descended into chaos.

People hadn't even caught their breath after the earthquake, and many were still trapped under the rubble when the torrential rain arrived.

The temperature plummeted, and some people froze to death.

Others were beaten to death by hailstones!

Different disasters were occurring worldwide. Rescue personnel could only focus on their own provinces, but manpower was inherently limited.

Therefore, a large group of survivors who lost their homes in the earthquake had not yet been properly settled before another group of homeless survivors appeared, their houses destroyed by the downpour.

More seriously, due to the continuous heavy rain, the entire city was submerged in water. The power had been out before, and now even water was gone.

With a large population in a big city, there were always places that couldn't be attended to.

Those without stockpiles had no choice but to brave the wind and rain, risking danger to find food in nearby malls, supermarkets, and restaurants.

Floating corpses occasionally drifted on the water surface, mixed with the debris and trash left over from the earthquake cleanup, creating a foul odor.

Some of those corpses died in the earthquake, some drowned in the heavy rain, and others were killed fighting over resources.

Conflicts erupted constantly; order was on the verge of collapse.

It was only when the army was deployed that things were slightly brought under control, but the effect was minimal.

After the rain stopped, a group of homeless survivors gradually started heading in this direction.

Many of the villas in this area had been empty before. These people were searching everywhere for unoccupied houses.

The villa district was naturally targeted.

Lin Wan and the others lived in the villas at the very end.

Looking through binoculars, the villas in front were already densely packed with people.

For some villas, when the original owners returned to check, they found their homes already crowded with nearly a hundred people.

After a homeowner who was shouting was beaten to death by those people, the struggle for even a small piece of ground instantly became white-hot.

Lin Wan's three villas clearly looked occupied and were extremely well-fortified.

Many latecomers started getting restless.

The day after the rain stopped, more than a dozen tall, strong men gathered at Lin Wan's door.

"We never see anyone entering or leaving this place; maybe no one lives here!"

"That might not be true. At night, I occasionally see the light of a flashlight inside."

"Then it's even more suspicious. We've been up here for six days, and they never come out to look for food. So, if someone is really inside, they must have hoarded a lot of stuff!"

The leading man with a scar had a greedy glint in his eyes. They had found shelter here, but they had no food. This whole area didn't even have a supermarket, so they couldn't even engage in 'zero-yuan shopping' (looting).

"Why don't we go in and see if anyone actually lives here?"

The main gate was tall and sturdy, and it was definitely locked.

That meant they could only climb the wall, but there was that layer of electric fencing on top...

"What are you afraid of? The whole city is out of power now, it's probably just a bluff! With such good defenses, there must be good things inside!"

At his instigation, two men rolled up their sleeves.

"Brother, I'll go! These damned capitalists! We are suffering out here, and they are living lavishly inside. How is that fair!"

"Yeah! Their money should have a share for us too. Besides, we are all Chinese. It's only right for them to help us out!"

The wall was very high. The two found a ladder and, after much effort, managed to climb up. They exchanged a look and prepared to cross the electric fence.

But the electric fence was also high. The smaller one inevitably touched it.

Zzzzt... Zzzzt... Zzzzt...

The sound of electricity crackled. That person instantly went rigid and fell straight down, dying on the spot.

The other person saw this, his hair stood on end, and he was scared witless. He hurriedly climbed down, but accidentally touched the electric fence. He lost his footing and fell, crashing to his death.

"Heavens, it really has electricity!"

A crowd gasped in shock. Onlookers in the distance saw this scene and dispersed, temporarily not daring to target the three villas again.