"As for food, Boss Lü, you have two hundred people stationed in the New World Tower. Can you provide some food for us?" Jun Jia asked directly. His voice echoed through the vast space, drawing every eye upward.
Boss Lü was half reclining in a glass-walled room on the second floor. The reflective walls caught the flickering light of the makeshift fires below, partially obscuring his face. Hearing his name, he rose lazily, his silk bathrobe swirling around his ankles. He picked up a microphone, his movements slow and deliberate.
"Sure, no problem at all," Boss Lü said, his voice smooth and disinterested. "We still have a big restaurant on the second floor. We can provide all kinds of food. But I'm a businessman, so every portion will be sold at market price. No internet? That's fine; we will just keep a tab. In times like this, not raising prices already counts as charity."
"Alright, market price it's. How much water do you have left?"
Boss Lü shook his head, a look of mock regret crossing his face. "I just got word that the pipes burst. We saved some, but not much. The filtration equipment is all broken too."
Jun Jia nodded, his expression unreadable. He turned back to the crowd. "I know some of you are temporary workers. If you don't have virtual currency to buy food, don't panic. There's payment for that work. If you have money, stay inside. If you don't, you can work. Our people will keep records."
A lot of people in the hall quietly let out a breath, their shoulders dropping with relief. In times like these, food was a luxury few could afford to lose. As long as there was work and something to eat, it was enough to keep the panic at bay for now.
"Alright, now let's arrange accommodations," Jun Jia continued. He paced the edge of the platform. "It's obvious we might be stuck here for several days. To be honest, this is a commercial building, and we have over two thousand people trapped inside. But there are only about fifty empty rooms with beds. Who gets them, and who doesn't?"
He paused, letting the weight of the question settle. "To keep it fair, we will auction them. The highest bidder wins. The money will go toward paying for labor like digging and filtering. Boss Lü, do you have any objections?"
Boss Lü waved a hand dismissively. The building was supposed to be auctioned today anyway, but now that the mudslide had carried it off, its value was a different matter entirely. The truth was that he was already buried in debt and bankrupt. Technically, the building wasn't even his anymore.
The question hung over the crowd: did they want a room with a bed, or were they willing to sleep on the cold, hard, dirty floor in a crowded hall where the air was thick with the smell of damp concrete and unwashed bodies?
The few hundred elites who had come for the auction started shouting bids immediately. They fought for those fifty rooms with a desperation that bordered on violence, their voices clashing in the high-ceilinged room.
Jin Baba clearly had no intention of roughing it. He raised the price right away, cutting through the other bids. "I will get a room for you girls," he said, looking at his classmates. "You can share it. It's still better than sleeping on the floor."
"Ba Ge is amazing!" one girl squealed.
"Ba Ge, you are the best!" another added, clutching her coat tighter.
"Ba Ge, you are my idol!"
Jin Baba looked even more pleased with himself, basking in the sudden glow of their admiration.
Xiao Liu leaned over toward Jing Shu and asked softly, "Boss, should we bid?"
Jing Shu shook her head, her gaze fixed on the display models on the far side of the hall. "We already have a ready-made villa."
She hadn't expected that the mobile mansion she bought just in case would come in handy on the very first day, but the sight of the crowded hall made her thankful for her foresight.
Xiao Liu immediately gave a thumbs up. Her boss really thought ahead.
The fifty rooms were quickly auctioned off to the highest spenders. Right then, someone in the crowd shouted, "What about those three villas? They can house a lot of people too. There are dozens of rooms inside. Can those be auctioned as well?"
Jun Jia frowned. He looked over at the three luxury villas sitting on their display platforms. It was true; they were spacious and far more comfortable than the counters or store backrooms.
"The ten villas have all been sold and handed over already," Jun Jia said, his voice firm. "They won't be auctioned again."
"But there are only three villas here," someone else protested. "How do we divide them?"
"Yeah, if only three parties get them, isn't that unfair to everyone else?"
Only three villas were on-site for display. The rest were still with the development company, likely buried under miles of mud.
Jun Jia waved his hand to silence the grumbling. "We will assign them based on total spending from today's auction. First place goes to Jing Shu, who spent 3.6 million on three villas. Second place goes to…"
This method was relatively fair. After all, Jing Shu had bought three villas by herself, so she naturally had the right to occupy one of them. The other two went to another high spender and a family of three whom Jing Shu didn't recognize.
At least during these trapped days, she finally had a large, private space to stay in. There would be no sleeping on the floor for her.
Even Jin Baba couldn't help glancing over in envy. A whole villa, two floors, multiple rooms, and beautifully decorated—and she had it all to herself. Compared to the single room he had just fought for, that was pure luxury.
After settling the villas, Jun Jia started assigning living spaces for everyone else.
The New World Tower was laid out like a large shopping mall. There weren't many actual rooms, but open counters, clothing stores, and other partitioned spaces could be used for sleeping. Bigger shops held more people, while smaller ones held fewer. Wang Miao and the logistics director took a list and began carefully assigning and recording everything, their pens scratching loudly in the quiet moments.
Everyone's place was fixed. If anyone wanted to switch, they had to report it in advance. There would be no crossing boundaries and no wandering around. Each floor and area had government managers to keep things in order, officially called "life instructors."
"During these days we are trapped here, to ensure everyone's safety, we will hold a daily roll call meeting right here," Jun Jia announced. "We will report the current situation and any changes."
He looked across the sea of faces. "You will also need to report daily information to your life instructor. Food, clothing, shelter, and movement will all be managed by them. Each floor will have a military instructor. If there's any danger, contact them immediately. Fighting is strictly prohibited. Violators will be punished under the new laws."
Before long, everyone in the building found themselves under a kind of militarized management. The atmosphere shifted from chaotic survival to a rigid, forced order.
Of course, with thousands of people, dividing living spaces was never going to satisfy everyone easily.
Jun Jia handed the remaining issues over to Wang Miao. "That's it for now. If you need to switch rooms or have other requests, go to Wang Miao."
The hall instantly grew noisy again as people rushed over to the logistics table. Some wanted to change their sleeping spots, some wanted work to earn food, and others had all sorts of frantic requests.
Lan Shao stood up at that moment. "Jing Shu, you have so many rooms in your villa. How about letting some of the girls from our class stay there? We can give Ba Ge's auctioned room to the principal instead. I just saw the list; our principal is here too. He didn't get a room and was assigned to the communal sleeping area."
The private room fell quiet, everyone turning to look at Jing Shu. Jun Jia had grouped people by teams to minimize conflict, so the hundred volunteers Lan Shao brought were all assigned together.
Xiao Liu frowned, her mouth opening to speak, but Jing Shu opened her eyes and said calmly, "Sorry, I have a cleanliness issue. I don't like other people touching my things."
Lan Shao's expression darkened slightly. He tightened his grip on the back of his chair and tried again. "The old principal is a good man. He is already old, and sleeping in a communal area could make him sick. Can you really stand seeing him suffer? You have so many rooms; just give him one?"
"I will say it again, I don't like other people touching my things. If you are so eager to be a good person, go find him a place yourself," Jing Shu replied casually. She didn't even look at him, her attention returning to the data her bugs were streaming back to her.
"But your villa's rooms are empty, it's such a waste…"
"We will pass, but the old principal really is a good man…"