In the command center of the military base, Feng Ran looked at his friend that abandoned him on the last night. "Brother Lin, how could you cancel our dinner plans? Don't you love me anymore?"
Lin Weihao didn't even lift his head to give him a glance. He was busy sorting out the stuff Nanzhi had given him.
Feng Ran was crestfallen. Brother had changed!
The boxes contained assault suit, warm cotton clothes, water proof clothes, electrical blankets, cold-proof clothes, tents, sleeping bags, and water-proof ankle boots.
Under the clothes, were vacuum packaged grains, flour, dried vegetables and fruits, boxes of noodles, canned goods, biscuits and bread and milk and snacks for children as well as bottles of cooking oil, five traditional stoves, two portable stoves, bags of coal and briquettes, dozens of butane canisters.
There were also water purification tablets, boxes of purified water, fire starters, hand-crack flashlights, and walkie-talkies with spare batteries.
Other than that, Lin Weihao also found a large medicine box wrapped inside the bundle of clothes.
The light in his eyes became much warmer.
Pei Qian was also in the room along with other Lin Family's loyal subordinates.
Seeing the items on the boxes, Pei Qian thought Weihao had acquired them to be distributed. He reached for the black ankle boots to inspect it but before he can touch it, a hand clasped his wrist.
"They're mine." Lin Weihao uttered.
Pei Qian was stunned and so were the others.
There was nothing out of ordinary of the goods. The military supplies was even impressive than them. Therefore, there was no reason for Lin Weihao to value them too much but his response was very weird.
….
When Nanzhi opened the door, she saw a middle-aged woman in her late 40s wearing a white turtleneck, a pair of brown trousers with a light blue apron tied on her waist.
Her face showed a mix of hesitation and worry.
Upon closer look, Nanzhi recognized her as the mother that had chased her son in the rain. If she recalled it correctly her son's nickname was Dan Dan.
"What is it?" Nanzhi asked.
"Hello, I'm from Unit 2101. I wanted to ask if the gas stove in your unit is working fine. I was cooking breakfast for my son fifteen minutes ago when the fire was suddenly extinguished."
"I heard from someone that the natural gas pipeline was shut off this morning due to reports of gas leaks. It must be because of that." Nanzhi responded.
A hint of realization flashed in the woman's face. She checked out her phone and opened the QQ chat group.
Unit 1103: My Mother! The gas was cut off and the braised beef I'm cooking are undercooked! Is there something wrong with the gas?
Unit 304: Upstairs, the same thing happen to me! I'm squatting to here to know what is happening.
Unit 1501: I thought I'm the only one that experienced the same thing that's why I ordered takeout! Does anyone know?
Unit 2005: This is the Homeowner's Association Secretary. We've received information that not only Empire Building is experiencing it. The neighboring buildings are also trying to contact the Natural Gas Company and trying to determine the cause.
Unit 2005: Update: There are numerous calls about gas leaks in Pearl City. That's why the company shut down the valves because it's dangerous.
Unit 1501: Wait! Did they say when they will turn on the valves again?
Dan Dan Mother's looked at Nanzhi and asked, "Excuse me, Miss. Where did you get the news?"
Usually, the Homeowner's Association will be the one who first received the latest news but somehow Unit 2103 was faster. Dan Dan's Mother was slightly amazed.
"I contacted the Natural Gas Company earlier and got the answer." Because the woman across her was holding her phone rather low, Nanzhi had a fleeting glimpse of the conversation in their chat group.
So that's it. Since her question had been answered, Dan Dan's mother had no reason to bother Nanzhi any longer. "Thank you for sparing a bit of your time. If you also need some help in the future, you can come to Unit 2101."
Nanzhi nodded. "It's alright." It was just a small matter.
The one in 2105 didn't answer her knock, the one in 2102 had not returned and 2104 is empty too. 2103 is the only available. She was glad Nanzhi didn't ignore her.
Before she returned to her unit, Nanzhi said, "Wait, could you add me to the chat group?"
She wanted to see how many residents are in this building and the exact demographics.
Right now, the order is still present but after the disasters when supplies are scarce and people realized that they cannot rely on the government to save them, people will reveal their true nature and do anything to survive.
It's better to know that potential dangers beforehand.
….
Nanzhi had created a fake account and edited her name in the group chat as 'Unit 2103'.
But the code name was actually taken and she couldn't register the same name.
Her guess that it must be the previous tenant of 2103 hadn't left the group. Nanzhi changed it into 2103 (2) instead.
With the new addition, the chat group became very noisy again. Nanzhi didn't bother to read the irrelevant messages and scrolled, only noting the important ones.
Unit 1305: Auntie Yang, who is this person you've added?
Unit 2101: It's the new tenant of 2103.
Unit 1305: Oh! Hi! Welcome!
Nanzhi's profile image is all black. They couldn't determine her gender.
Normally, it was the Homeowner's association that adds new members but this time it was Auntie Yang.
The Homeowner's Association had been vocal about the noises coming from Unit 2103 since last month, so the residents could deduct what was going on.
The HOA's secretary didn't bother to greet the newcomer and only said please follow the rules and…
Unit 2005: Unit 2103, last month the renovation on your unit disturbed a lot of people from sleeping and rest. Can you at least apologize for the trouble you've caused?