20: nightmare

"Folks, please quiet down, everyone quiet down, don't worry, there's plenty of water," a lean young man in his thirties said with a smile, loudly stopping the commotion.

In the distance, Ai Yue and the two others, carrying the water provided by the government, exchanged glances and joined the back of the crowd.

Just then, someone shouted anxiously, "I want water! I'll buy a ton!"

Immediately, more people shouted, "I want ten tons!"

"Give me a ton!"

"Me too! I want twenty tons!"

...Everyone was shouting at once.

The lean man stood on higher ground and pressed his hands down to quiet them. "As you all know, times are different now, so the price will definitely be a bit higher."

"It's just buying water. Name your price; money is no object." A pot-bellied, balding middle-aged man wiped away sweat and tapped his phone, speaking impatiently.

"Haha, you're straightforward, brother! You should know, this water wasn't easy to get, and we've delivered it right to your doorstep, so... one hundred domestic currency per catty!"

"What? A hundred per catty? Are you robbing us?"

"Exactly! Usually, a ton only costs a few bucks. This is way too outrageous."

The crowd exploded upon hearing the price, shouting angrily.

Ai Yue, however, knew these people were no good; they had appeared in her previous neighborhood during her past life as well.

Back then, a sturdy young man had refused to let them profit from the national disaster and was dragged aside by the group, who broke one of his legs. Seeing such violence over a disagreement, no one else dared to cause trouble.

Sure enough, three burly, tattooed men stepped out from behind the vehicle, standing beside the lean man with menacing expressions.

Seeing the three burly men who clearly looked like trouble, the agitated crowd didn't dare to shout anymore, only whispering their complaints.

The lean man kept wiping away beads of sweat with a tissue, saying with a fake smile, "Hmph, is your life more important or your money? Who knows how long this heatwave will last? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You'd better think carefully about whether you want to buy or not!"

The balding middle-aged man who had initially said money was no object pushed through the crowd, his face now full of smiles, showing none of his previous impatience. "Little brother, I want some. Give me a ton of water; I'll transfer two hundred thousand to you."

Seeing someone take the lead, the others rushed forward to buy water.

The residents here were either wealthy or influential, so money was no issue. Soon, the water was sold out, and the lean man drove away, disappearing into the night.

Ai Yue didn't join the commotion. The water she had hoarded was more than enough. She was secretly giving a thumbs-up to those buying water; in a while, money would be useless, nothing more than scrap paper.

Ai Yue took her parents' arms and went back to continue their painfully happy life.

After several days of intensive practice, Ai Yue had recovered thirty percent of her strength from her past life. At this point, average martial artists were no match for her, and she could easily handle five or six ordinary people.

Ai Guosheng and his wife had also made great progress through Ai Yue's special training. Their gazes had become much sharper, and defeating an ordinary person was no longer a problem.

Although Ai Guosheng was middle-aged, as Ai Yue trained him, something clicked, and he learned the killing techniques she taught exceptionally fast.

In a full-out fight, it took Ai Yue a whole minute to defeat him. Don't underestimate that minute; at high speeds, they could exchange forty or fifty moves.

Besides, being able to last that long against someone like Ai Yue, for whom killing was as easy as drinking water, was very impressive.

One could only say he was naturally gifted.

As the days passed, there was still no sign of the heatwave ending.

Watching their food stores dwindle day by day with no fresh meat or vegetables to replenish them, some people finally couldn't take it anymore and began to riot. Every evening, a large crowd gathered at the government gates to protest the power and water outages, claiming their right to survival was under threat.

They hoped the relevant departments would prioritize ensuring the people's right to survival in this harsh environment.

They hoped the government would provide vegetables and meat daily, but the authorities were also in a difficult position. The sudden disaster had caught them off guard; even weather forecasts hadn't detected it, leaving them with no preparation or precautions.

Within a day of the extreme heat's arrival, a vast amount of meat and vegetables had spoiled due to improper storage.

The entire city was paralyzed. As the heatwave continued, all the food in markets and supermarkets was snatched up.

Seeing that the heat showed no signs of ending, those who had finished their hoarded supplies had no choice but to find other ways.

The government was also actively seeking help and solutions, but the situation was essentially the same across the country, and they couldn't spare any extra resources for the time being.

That night, the air was muggy and still, without a trace of a breeze.

"Ah..."

Ai Yue woke up from her dream drenched in sweat. Her body was tense as she sat up in bed, not yet fully conscious. In an instant, she pulled a Swiss military knife from her space and lunged forward. Only then did she become fully awake.

She had a nightmare again. She dreamed of escaping with her parents, only to be caught by Han Xiao. She had begged Han Xiao to let her parents go.

Just then, a blood-covered Liu Shuang suddenly stepped out from behind Han Xiao. She ripped open Ai Yue's clothes, took a knife, and stabbed it fiercely into the spot on her chest where the space had disappeared. She carved out Ai Yue's heart and swallowed it, muttering incessantly, "This is my space, this is mine! You bitch, how dare you steal my space? I'll make sure you die a miserable death."

Ai Yue watched in horror as Liu Shuang, having finished the heart, stood with hands on hips and laughed loudly. After she finished laughing, two groups of people jumped out from behind her. One group went straight for her parents, kicking and punching them to death.

The other group, holding knives, laughed terrifyingly and said, "Little darling, no matter how you run, you can't escape my grasp. Come into my mouth obediently, haha..."

Fully awake now, Ai Yue retracted the military knife and collapsed weakly onto the bed.

She understood that the events of her past life had become her inner demon, reminding her of her previous end every moment.

Just then, a blood-curdling scream suddenly echoed from Villa No. 5 near the foot of the mountain, piercing the silent night sky.

Ai Yue, who was dazed, was startled by the notification sound of her phone.

She picked up her phone and saw that it was a community notification about a home invasion robbery, reminding everyone to stay safe and not panic too much, as the police were on their way.

With a grave expression, Ai Yue opened the homeowners' group chat with 99+ messages to find out exactly what had happened.

It turned out three men had broken into Villa No. 5. Not only were all the supplies stolen, but the family of five who owned the villa had all been brutally murdered in their home.

This caused an immediate uproar in the neighborhood, and dim yellow lights flickered on in all the villas.

Although things had been a bit chaotic outside lately, with occasional break-ins and robberies, no lives had been lost until now.

The tragic deaths of the family of five was like opening Pandora's box; in just three days, six more murders occurred.

Ai Yue was surprised by the news reports. It had only been a few days, less than a month, and people were already starting to die.

She remembered that in her past life, the descent into chaos and deaths had only gradually begun after three months. In the first three months, the government was always able to capture criminals and suppress riots immediately.

But what was going on? In less than a month, so many people had already died, yet the police response was very weak. This wasn't normal!

Ai Yue racked her brain but couldn't find an answer from her memories of the previous life.

Realizing something was wrong, Ai Yue put on a heat-insulating suit after sunset and drove out onto the streets, only to find people openly snatching the free water given to pedestrians.

Furthermore, the number of police officers on duty was pitifully small.

Abnormal! It was far too abnormal!