Chapter 8

Irene stood outside the door of her unit and went back in upon seeing the coal-black ground that was covered in dust. She had been preparing herself for the disasters the past few days, and there were enough supplies in the space to deal with the disasters too. She even bought some psychology books to perform psychological interventions on herself, so Irene was confident that she could survive the disasters once again. After entering her home, she locked the doors and windows and took out a warm macaroni and cheese to have while watching the news. The headline news was still the sudden volcanic eruption in the Danver Islands, and the plume of smoke from this morning went from 4,000 meters to 7,000 meters. The highly-developed country had been uncontactable for eight hours! The rest of the world could only gauge the severity of the disaster in the Danver Islands through satellite positioning. Netizens who were still gloating in the comments this morning started to express sadness over the news too. Irene skipped to the next news article. [Many regions in the country have issued a code red high-temperature alert with the highest temperature at 58 degrees. Please take the necessary precautions.] Countless people began to analyze the reason for the abnormal weather, and many of them pointed their fingers at the volcanic eruption in the Danver Islands. They were optimistic that the weather would return to normal once the lava eruption in Red Rock Volcano was over. Irene did not laugh at their naivety as she was one of them in her previous life. After eating, Irene wiped her mouth and threw the container into the trash before taking out a bottle of soda and gulping it down. It helped soothe her anxiousness. Her original plan was to exchange some more gold bars today, but the sudden disaster disrupted her plans, so she had no choice but to turn into a couch potato. She was lying on the sofa with her phone in hand, but she did not pay attention to the endless breaking news. Instead, she opened her messages to ask Paulette about the situation on her side. They were more than just best friends. She felt that Paulette and her shared the same mind. Just as Irene was thinking of sending Paulette a message, she received a message notification from Paulette. Paulette: [Nene, the weather today is outrageous. Our boss gave us an off day because of the high temperature, and he asked us to wait for the heat wave to pass before going back to work. You should stay at home too. Don’t go out.] Irene smiled and typed: [Okay, you tell your parents to stay at home too so that they don’t get sunburnt.] Paulette: [I want to thank you for what you told me last night. I went to the supermarket with my parents last night to stock up on supplies, and we piled them up in a room, so they’re busy organizing it right now.] Irene was relieved to find out that Paulette had bought supplies. Irene ended the conversation after a brief chat with Paulette. She opened Celestial Garden’s group chat to read the hundreds of messages, starting from this morning’s news. As she expected, many people were complaining about the volcanic eruption in the Danver Islands, as well as the off days caused by the sudden heat wave. Celestial Gardens was a high-end residence, so no one was worried about money. At the same time, the downsides of being rich were revealed too. Most young people did not have the habit of cooking, let alone having kitchen supplies. Those who relied on takeout every day had realized the effects the disaster would have on them. After the commotion, someone noticed that food delivery platforms were closed due to the extreme temperature. Seine Lover: [These delivery platforms are unbelievable. They’re all closed. I might starve to death. Is there anyone out there kind enough to sell a packet of instant noodles to me?] Bean Bean: [I’m also looking for a good samaritan to buy instant noodles from. I worked overtime last night, so I didn’t have time to eat a proper meal. I’m going to faint from starvation.] Tall Jenny: [(laugh) It’s your fault for not storing some food at home. I have instant noodles at my place, so you can come to my place to get some. I won’t charge you. I live in Building 6, Unit 702.] Irene paused before clicking on her profile. Her profile picture looked like a selfie, and she looked like a pretty young woman. The reason why Irene clicked on her profile was because she lived in Building 6 too. Seine Lover: [What a coincidence, I live in Building 6 too. Thank you so much, I’ll come and get it now!] Bean Bean: [Ah, I live in Building 3. I can’t go out in this damn weather. I wanted to go to the supermarket to buy something to eat, but my arms started peeling after just two minutes outside. It hurts so bad.] Tall Jenny: [That’s too bad, then. You can try asking other people.] There was a good amount of people who responded. Some were asking for supplies while others were spreading some kindness. After scrolling a bit, Irene got bored, so she exited. Then, she went to the gym and put on boxing gloves to start boxing again. The closer to the apocalypse they were, the more she wanted to boost her physical fitness. After all, the cannibalism era was coming soon! After more than two hours of training, Irene went to take a shower right away after being covered in sweat. Irene was blow-drying her hair after exiting the bathroom when someone knocked on the door. She drew her eyebrows together. Edric and Lina had no idea where she lived now, and she was so excited about meeting Paulette last night that she had forgotten to tell her about her move. Besides them, who else would be knocking on her door at this time of day? She took out a switchblade from the space and put it in her pocket before walking over to open the door. Dan’s wrinkly smiling face appeared before her eyes. The moment she opened the door, he put his hand against it. “Hey, gorgeous. I don’t mean any harm. I just want to borrow some food from you. It’s too hot today, so I can’t go out.” He was afraid that Irene would refuse, so he quickly raised his arms to show her. Both of his arms were red and peeling from the sun, and he looked like a mess. Irene glanced at the sight and was a little taken aback. It was only the first day of the apocalypse, yet the sun was already this scorching? In her previous life… Just as he brought up the topic, Irene interrupted by not answering him. From the moment the volcano erupted in the Danver Islands, events had unfolded differently from what she remembered, so she should not be comparing now with her previous life. When Dan saw her staring blankly at his arms, he was reminded of her skills, which made him feel a bit apprehensive. However, he was really hungry. A big guy like him did not have the habit of keeping snacks at home, so he had been starving the entire day. He could not stand it anymore, so he put aside his immoral thoughts to find something to eat. Irene came back to her senses, and with her cold gaze, she quickly rejected, “No!” While she was speaking, the vicious Dan picked up a scent with his keen sense of smell. When he smelled the macaroni and cheese, his expression immediately turned sinister. He yelled, “I can even smell the macaroni and cheese. Do you have to be this selfish? I’ll even pay you!” Although he was cursing, he was still scared of confronting Irene directly. He was going to let this woman have her way for a few days. Once the heat wave was over, he would call his friends to have this b*tch wrapped around his finger. Irene had dealt with some people like him in her previous life. She knew that the bigger of a brute she was, the lesser he would dare to offend her. She lifted her foot and kicked him hard on the knee. “I said no. Now, get the hell out of here!”