Chapter 167: Sorry for the Interruption (Extra Chapter for Monthly Votes)

Li Yitian swore he wasn’t even this excited on his wedding night. Grabbing the bald man’s shoulder, his face lit up with joy. “Get a move on, you dog! Help drag the people up here!”

The shark boat was fighting against the floodwaters but couldn’t quite reach the shore. Thankfully, Li Yitian had brought a dozen police officers who helped pull everyone to safety.

As Li Yitian was pulling up the bald man, he enthusiastically shook Jing Shu’s hand.

“Really, Jing Shu, I don’t know how to thank you! You’ve done something incredible! You’re my lifesaver now! If you ever need anything, just let me know. Also, I’ll make sure you get the recognition you deserve for this rescue!”

Li Yitian could hardly describe his shock and joy when his nephew, Li Bailong, had suddenly reported that Jing Shu had managed to transfer all the people from the supermarket to the temporary shelter. It was a surprise even greater than winning five million in the lottery. He had never expected such an extraordinary ability from someone who seemed so ordinary.

People really are full of surprises.

“Well, thank you in advance, Officer Li.”

Jing Lai, standing nearby, was surprised. “Director? What are you doing here?”

Li Yitian pushed the bald-headed man forward. “This guy calls himself a director? He just pushes all the work onto others. Well, now, the number of deaths in the supermarket will be counted against him. By the way, I heard your aunt was one of the key figures in organizing the rescue?”

Jing Shu squinted slightly. Li Yitian was quick to offer his goodwill—her aunt’s promotion and fortune were just around the corner.

“Yes, my aunt did a lot. She was the one who organized people to gather planks and basins and directed everyone to higher floors. She also personally oversaw the evacuation until the very last group was transferred.”

“I helped a lot too!” Suddenly, Weiwei jumped in, desperate to get credit.

With a slap, Jing Lai hit her again. “You? You were just a hindrance! Don’t think I didn’t notice you secretly tying yourself to two ropes. I just didn’t have time to deal with you.”

Jing Lai had given up caring about decorum. With so many deaths and such a huge disaster, she figured her position might not survive the fallout.

Li Yitian waved his hand. “Cuff him.” Li Bailong swiftly handcuffed the bald director.

After making his stance clear, Li Yitian continued, “Your aunt did an outstanding job. I’ll make sure she gets promoted to director of the supermarket, and I’ll recommend her for a second-class merit award.”

Weiwei held her face, her mouth agape. Only now did she realize what was happening—they were dividing the spoils! Officer Li was deliberately paying back a favor to Jing Lai’s niece!

“I—I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt,” Weiwei sobbed as she ran off. She felt like a fool, having jumped in before fully understanding the situation. From today onward, her former peer Jing Lai would likely jump three levels to become the top of the Aijia Supermarket!

Jing Shu smiled in satisfaction and led the still-stunned Jing Lai home. Even after they arrived, Jing Lai was still in shock. She had thought it would take her another six months to become a full-time employee, three years to aim for a manager position, and five years to try for a director role.

But now, with just a few words, it was all hers?

As she watched Jing Shu drive off in the shark boat, Li Yitian waved his hand, signaling his nephew. “Tell me again, in detail, about the time you went to her house.”

Scratching his head, Li Bailong began recounting the story, “...And then she helped us catch Wang Zhong, gave us a bag of wood ear mushrooms, and when you told us to deal with Wang Zhong harshly, she gave us a bag of soybeans. I think this girl is generous, tough on her enemies but good to her allies. Today, she proved that she has a good heart…”

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“You two finally came home, huh? If it weren’t for your father letting it slip, I wouldn’t have known the supermarket was flooded! You’ve got some guts, taking that boat out like that. Weren’t you worried about not finding your way back?”

“You really scared me to death! Don’t ever do something like this again!”

“It's fine, as long as you’re safe.”

“Mom, Jing Shu, come eat!”

Jing Nai and Jing Ma, having been worried, had called several times to check on them. They finally felt relieved when they heard that Jing Shu had safely rescued everyone. The whole family was waiting at the door.

Jing Shu and Jing Lai took off their raincoats, washed their hands, and sat down for dinner. The family quickly devoured the entire meal.

Jing Dad brought home four or five chickens and a whole pig from the farm, saying that the livestock facility was on break.

“Our agriculture bureau is closed too. The city is completely submerged. From the looks of the flooding and the heavy rain, it’s not going to subside anytime soon. It might even get worse.”

After finishing a bowl of soup, Jing Dad added, “I’m not sleeping tonight. I’ll keep watch outside. No one knows if the water will reach us.”

Wu Youai said, “I’ve already told everyone in the group that they’ll need to take care of their own meals for the next few days. Tonight, I’ll give out the keys to the higher floors. Maybe we should all sleep on the top floor, just in case?”

Although Jing Shu knew the flood wouldn’t reach them, she didn’t object. After all, peace of mind is priceless. Besides, if things didn’t go the way she remembered and the water did rise, the consequences could be devastating.

The whole family quickly agreed to sleep on the top floor of Building 25. Wu You’ai also arranged for dozens of other households to do the same.

“The tents I bought two years ago will come in handy. We’ll take them and sleep in the tents tonight—it’s still pretty cold at night.”

They didn’t need to take much with them, just the tents and some essentials. Anything else they needed could be fetched later. The only downside was the long climb up eighteen floors.

Just then, the television—white noise crackling on the screen—suddenly came to life. It was 7:00 p.m., and the news broadcast had started.

As expected, the news covered the widespread flooding and then delivered some grim information:

The sea level was still rising rapidly, meaning today’s flood was just the beginning.

Experts came forward to say, “I told you so! My predictions were spot on! The sea level will rise enough to submerge 30% of the world’s inland areas. Everyone, prepare yourselves!”

“As of 6:00 p.m. today, Hainan Island has been completely submerged. Thankfully, there were no casualties. The entire population was successfully evacuated in December last year. This is the first time in the history of China that an island evacuation was completed with zero casualties!”

The news was both shocking and inspiring. Though many had opposed the initial mass evacuation and the two rounds of relocations last year, it had ultimately saved countless lives. The policy had been proven correct!

Meanwhile, reports indicated that Japan and Indonesia were on the brink of being submerged, with massive casualties already. Despite the urgent evacuations that had begun when the rains started, countless lives had been lost to the rising waters.