Along the way, they encountered many others out gathering supplies just like them. The torrential rain continued unabated. One family's assault boat had capsized, throwing everyone on board into the water. Evelyn Ford, piloting their boat, was just passing by. Seeing the elderly and children in the water, the neighbors sitting in the back all reached out to help.
The filthy water soaked their clothes. A child, shivering violently from the cold, cried timidly. An elderly person appeared to be in very bad shape, their face swollen and pale.
"Thank you all for your help! The wind is so strong, it's hard to steer these boats. Are you heading to The Daxon Mall? We just came from there. It's packed with people, but there's a security team maintaining order. You should hurry over." The family thanked them profusely. With the adults holding the child and the elderly person leaning in a corner, they started their boat and headed off in the opposite direction.
"What a curse, this hellish weather."
"Where could they be going? With the whole family along, it doesn't look like they were out for supplies."
"Probably to a shelter. I live on the fourth floor. If the water level keeps rising, my family will have to go, too."
The others chatted in the back, while Evelyn Ford and Lauren Keller sat in silence at the front.
Upon arriving at The Daxon Mall, they were greeted by a massive swarm of assault boats and people, and looks of despair washed over everyone's faces. The mall had five floors, and the goods from the bottom two had already been moved upstairs. It seemed their stock was still relatively plentiful.
The air was filled with a chorus of complaints. Some people shivered violently from the cold, while others cried out in desperation. Members of the security team, holding electric batons, scanned the crowd with stern expressions.
"No shouting! No pushing! Park your boats here! We'll put a tag on them, and you'll need to match it when you leave!" Someone had tried to be clever and steal an assault boat, but they were quickly tased unconscious by the security team and dragged away. The swift, harsh measure instantly intimidated the entire crowd.
In front of the mall was an overpass, and many people were crowded onto it.
Lauren Keller and Evelyn Ford parked their assault boat, paid a five-hundred-dollar parking fee, had a tag number sprayed onto their wrists, and were then allowed into the mall.
Inside, the mall was so packed it was difficult to even turn around. Evelyn glanced around and saw that a small bottle of mineral water was now thirty dollars, and a large one was sixty. Everyone was complaining and cursing the prices, but that didn't slow down their hands as they grabbed items from the shelves.
The sounds of arguments erupted intermittently. The moment a fight broke out, the security team would immediately arrive to subdue the culprits and drag them away.
Evelyn snatched a large jug of mineral water, a five-pound bag of rice, a large head of Napa cabbage, three large potatoes, three packs of sanitary pads, and a multipack of tissues.
'I feel like my organs are being squeezed out of place.' Someone who hadn't managed to grab anything from the shelves tried to snatch her items. Evelyn pulled out the dagger hidden in her sleeve and slashed the person across their lower back. The man clutched his wound, cursing loudly, but the crowd was too dense and Evelyn had been too quick. He had no idea who'd cut him. By then, Evelyn had already squeezed past, managing to grab a jar of bean paste along the way.
Lauren Keller followed close behind her. Someone had stepped on her feet a few times, and she was grimacing in pain.
Seeing that Lauren's shopping basket only held a bag of flour and three bundles of noodles, Evelyn led her as they squeezed past a group of middle-aged men, snatching three bottles of water for her.
"Lauren, food is life." This was no time to be sentimental.
Lauren blushed. She wasn't tall, and if Evelyn hadn't been clearing a path for her, she probably wouldn't have even made it into the mall. At the thought of her elderly grandparents with dementia back home, her expression hardened with resolve.
Half an hour later, they finally squeezed their way to a checkout counter. The items, which would normally cost one or two hundred dollars, came out to over a thousand. The rice was especially outrageous; a five-kilogram bag of plain rice that usually cost seventy dollars was now priced at six hundred.
Evelyn packed her items into a waterproof burlap sack. Lauren hadn't brought her own bags and had to buy two from the store, but the price was horrifying—one hundred dollars each.
Instead of leaving, they headed to the adjacent pharmacy. The pharmacy hadn't inflated its prices much, but it was incredibly crowded. Furthermore, medicine was being rationed; you could only buy one box of each type. Most people were after things like cold medicine and fever reducers. Evelyn only bought a box of painkillers, a box of fever reducers, and a box of gauze.
Their luck held, and they even managed to buy an assault boat. However, only the smallest model was left—one that could only seat three people—and the price was outrageous.
Only fifty minutes of their three-hour rental window remained. With people waiting in line behind them to use the boat, the two had to return on time. They retrieved their assault boat from the security team, loaded their supplies, and Evelyn prepared to head back.
"What about them?"
"Didn't you say they were on their own for the return trip?" Evelyn wasn't being sarcastic. She was genuinely curious. 'How does Lauren still have the capacity to worry about other people at a time like this?'
"What if they didn't manage to buy a boat? If we leave, they'll be stranded here."
Evelyn glanced at Lauren and said seriously, "They have families. If they get stranded, their family members will come looking for them."
"But…"
But there was no need for any buts. Just then, the six neighbors emerged, looking grimy and dejected. Each of them was clutching a pitifully small amount of supplies. The look of despair on their faces only receded when they saw Evelyn and Lauren.
"Ford! Lauren! We thought you'd already gone back. The mall is just too crowded, and they've jacked up the prices on everything. What a ripoff."
"That's amazing, you actually managed to get a boat! We went to look, but the owner said they were sold out for the day. Besides, the price was insane—it's gone up twentyfold."
"And you got a good amount of supplies, too. Impressive. You two young women are more capable than us grown men."
Seeing the carrying bags for the new assault boat and the waterproof sacks filled with supplies in the corner, the men looked at Evelyn and Lauren with envy.
Evelyn ignored him, and the man fell silent, looking resentful. The others chattered noisily as they squeezed onto the assault boat. Before starting the engine, Evelyn turned to look at them.
"This boat belongs to the resident on the eighth floor. The rental was three thousand dollars for three hours. There are eight of us, so split evenly, that comes to 375 dollars a person."
After Evelyn spoke, everyone, including Lauren, stared at her. Lauren was the first to snap out of it. "Come on, everyone, let's pay up."
Finally, a middle-aged man from the fifth floor broke the awkward silence, promising to pay as soon as they got home.
Only then did Evelyn start the engine. The six passengers exchanged uneasy glances. Someone rolled their eyes at Evelyn's back, while another muttered a few sarcastic comments. Evelyn ignored them all. 'In any case, I bought my own boat right under their noses today. From now on, I can go out by myself,' she thought.
The return trip was quick. Even with gloves on, Evelyn's hands were numb from the cold. As they neared their apartment complex, a sudden clap of thunder boomed, making several people in the back cry out in fear.
The floating corpse of a large dog drifted toward them, and a foul stench hit them like a physical blow. Holding her breath, Evelyn gunned the engine and sped into the complex.
After they returned the boat to its owner and the six passengers paid their share of the rental fee, Evelyn hurried upstairs, carrying her supplies in one hand and the bag with her new assault boat in the other.
"Evelyn."
As they reached the ninth floor, Lauren suddenly called out to her.
"Thank you for today. This trip wouldn't have gone so smoothly without you."
Evelyn shook her head. "You should hurry home."
The two of them went to their respective apartments. Inside 901, Leo Jennings pulled his eye away from the peephole and turned excitedly to Miss Lowell. "Evelyn Ford and Lauren Keller came back with food and a new assault boat. Go ask to borrow it. We should go out and get some things, too."