Chapter 142: Chapter 142: Food Crisis
"If anyone is still harboring such a foolish thought, they’re welcome to come and test me."
Three sharp Metal Spikes suddenly materialized in midair, nearly shooting Zhong Shichong, Zhong Yaying, and Wang Cui in the face.
The crowd gathered at Number 85’s entrance yelped and scrambled backward. No one dared to get any closer.
Someone in the crowd muttered, "Can Superpower Users just bully people like this?" instantly drawing a chorus of agreement.
But these people only dared to mutter from a distance, standing by the flowerbeds, not daring to approach Xie Ning’s front door again.
Song You’ai was so angry she wanted to confront them, but Xie Ning pulled her back. "Mom, save your energy."
Village Chief Song Yufu sighed. "I know you’re very capable now, but we’ve all been neighbors for years. We see each other all the time. Sometimes, it’s best to quit while you’re ahead."
"Third Uncle, how can you blame our Xiao Ning for this? They saw that my daughter and I were easy targets and came to our door to steal our house. The nerve of them to even think of something like that!"
"But you’ve both seen the situation in the village. People just think your house is safer, so they want to come take refuge for a couple of days."
"Third Uncle, that’s... quite the moral high ground you’re on." Song You’ai was speechless. "Just because everyone thinks our house is good, we have to let them in? By that logic, if everyone decided we smelled tasty, would we have to carve off our own flesh to feed the wolves? We aren’t Buddha, Third Uncle."
Song Yufu was left speechless by Song You’ai’s words. He shook his head, clasped his hands behind his back, and turned away.
"Wait, Third Uncle." Song You’ai couldn’t resist giving a word of advice. "Your house is sturdy and you have plenty of food. I know you’re an honest and generous man, but you have to think about Third Auntie and your family, too."
The old man didn’t answer. He lit a cigarette and walked away, puffing on it with his hands clasped behind his back.
"Mom, it’s useless to say any more." Xie Ning pulled her mother back, closing and locking the iron gate.
She whispered to her mother, "For now, don’t tell anyone about your Water Ability."
’In the early days of the apocalypse, when water was scarce, depraved individuals were everywhere. They’d kidnap Water Ability users, drag them away, and force them into slave labor, making them produce water day and night.’
Song You’ai shot her a look. "Your mom isn’t stupid. It’s already a struggle for me to produce half a bucket of water. If I told every aunt and uncle we have, and they all came asking your mom for water, wouldn’t I just exhaust myself to death?"
Xie Ning suppressed a smile and nodded. "You need to keep an eye on your Abnormal Energy. Since it’s safe now, you should practice more. When danger comes, you have to conserve your strength at all times."
The mother and daughter made two more buckets of soup—mung bean soup and a red bean and pearl barley soup—and stored them in the villa’s dining room.
After a simple lunch, they both went to their separate rooms to practice their superpowers.
Following her daughter’s instructions, Song You’ai repeatedly exhausted her superpower, rested, and then did it all over again. After several hours of grueling practice, she found that the stream of water she could produce was a tiny bit thicker than before.
Now, she could fill over half a bucket with water in one go without much effort—a clear result of her practice.
That evening, Xie Ning saw that her mother had managed to fill three or four buckets with water and was happily carrying them to her room to wash her hair and take a bath.
Worried, Song You’ai followed her daughter, calling out, "That’s cold water! Heat it up before you wash with it. You’re a young lady; washing your hair with cold water is bad for you."
’Even though it’s hot out, it’s still not good for you!’
"I know, Mom." Xie Ning wasn’t actually that fussy. ’In her past life, she would’ve been grateful for a simple, cold bath.’
But since her mother had said so, she took two large cups of scalding water from the dispenser in her Space’s living room and mixed it into the bucket.
On the tenth day of the apocalypse, Ningning enjoyed a wonderfully warm bath, washed her hair, and tumbled into bed, feeling fresh and clean.
She slept wonderfully that night. Just before dawn, however, the sound of two or three buildings collapsing with a RUMBLE came from the east.
Soon after, cries and shouts shattered the pre-dawn peace.
Someone by the small flowerbeds howled, "Murder! They’re robbing us!" but the voice was quickly silenced.
Xie Ning sat up and rubbed her eyes.
Song You’ai knocked and walked in. "Ningning, I’m going to go down and see what’s happening. It sounds like there’s trouble."
Xie Ning glanced at her phone. It was 4:55 AM on September 18th.
"I’ll go with you." Xie Ning hastily wiped her face, then went downstairs and out the door with her mother.
The mother and daughter followed the flowerbeds toward the source of the noise. The previously well-kept green belts were now littered with dead rats.
They rounded a corner and found themselves near Building 98.
Building 94 beside it and Building 92 behind it had both collapsed. Rumor was that the rats had swarmed in through the underground pipes—just as they had with Building 86—and wiped out buildings 94 and 92 overnight.
Many people were scavenging in the ruins of buildings 94 and 92, grabbing anything they could find. Fights would break out over the slightest disagreement.
Granny Zhu Huizhen from Building 98, her face pale as a sheet, was kneeling before the flowerbed at her entrance. Like a devout believer, she bowed to the heavens and the earth, over and over again.
Building 98 was practically caught in a pincer, with the buildings beside and behind it both collapsed, yet they had been incredibly lucky to survive.
Auntie Chen Juan from Building 96 was copying Granny Zhu Huizhen, clasping her hands in prayer and muttering, "We blocked all our pipes. They have to be blocked. If they’re blocked, they can’t get in."
Xie Ning looked up to see the girl in the long white dress helping a weak-kneed Miss Zhong out of Building 98’s entrance.
Miss Zhong’s face was deathly pale as she ceaselessly blamed her older brother, Zhong Shichong. "This is all your fault! If you hadn’t overslept on the fourteenth, we would have already reached the safe zone with the military!"
Zhong Shichong retorted furiously, "And wasn’t it because *you* insisted on putting on a full face of makeup before we left?"
Zhong Yaying stomped her foot, bit her lip, and shot her brother a resentful glare.
Song Yufu approached with his eldest son, Song Guang, trying to reassure the crowd. "Everyone from buildings 96 and 98, if you feel unsafe, you can come stay with us at Number 59 for the time being. It’ll just be making do for a day. The army should be here tomorrow, right?"
Xie Ning and Song You’ai exchanged a look, stunned. They never expected their Third Great-Uncle would willingly invite such trouble.
"Third Brother, you can’t play favorites!" Song Dagong and his wife, Wang Cui, yelled as they ran over. "We’re family! It’s dangerous in Building 97 too! You should take us in first. Only when there’s extra room should you arrange for others."
Song Yufu gave his second older brother an awkward glance. "Well... let’s talk it over."
"Brother Liang, you can come stay at our house!" Li Xiang fluttered over like a social butterfly, shooting a coquettish look at the young man.
The man, however, turned his head and smiled at Xie Ning.
Li Xiang followed his gaze and, upon seeing Xie Ning and Song You’ai by the flowerbed, couldn’t stop herself from shooting Xie Ning a vicious glare.
Baffled, Xie Ning pulled her mother forward to wander around the collapsed Building 94.
Two grown men were already fighting over a pack of soda crackers amidst the rubble. Many people were trying to pull them apart, but it looked like they were failing.
Xie Ning’s gaze suddenly froze. She thought she saw a furry hand twitch beneath the debris.
