Chapter 169: Who Else Wants to Eat the Chicken? (Seeking Monthly Votes)

One of the miseries of being a reborn person:

Knowing full well that the flood wouldn’t reach their neighborhood, Jing Shu still had to pretend to be scared and follow everyone to the evacuation shelter. She couldn’t just confidently say, "I know the water won't reach here," and force the family to stay behind, only to face potential regret and fear at the last minute, right?

Despite the high ground of Jing Shu's neighborhood, the events of last night—where the highest buildings in the center of Wucheng were submerged, over 10,000 people disappeared from the upper floors, and island nations were entirely swallowed by the sea—had left everyone terrified. Hearing that the floodwaters were approaching their community, they hurriedly decided to escape to the even higher ground of Red Mountain Ecological Park.

Wu Youai had gathered everyone for departure. As the neighborhood coordinator, her job was relatively easy. Only 70 or so people remained in the community now, though once the floodwaters didn’t recede and the government started cramming people into the neighborhood, tens of thousands might end up living there. The overcrowding would be horrific...

Jing Shu's family quickly packed up for the evacuation. Jing Shu woke her dad, who went to release the water from the villa’s storage tanks.

The most expensive tents they had bought in the past were proving their worth—lightweight, easy to use, and quick to pack. Within minutes, the family's tents were neatly stored away. Jing Shu loaded all the luggage, bedding, and supplies onto the rooftop storage rack of the family car.

Thanks to Jing Shu’s foresight and preparation, they were leaving in an orderly fashion, rather than in a panicked rush.

They had pre-packed down jackets, everyday essentials, portable cooking gear, a gas stove, soup pots, multi-purpose kettles, a large barrel of bottled water, ready-made food, cured meat, spicy dried meat, pickles, portable toilets, various dry towels, hand warmers, herbal oil, and more.

The family watched in awe as Jing Shu stuffed everything into the trunk. When that was full, she loaded the clothes and daily necessities onto the car's roof rack, covering everything with plastic. Finally, she secured wooden planks on top of it all, wrapping them tightly. The BYD Song SUV looked twice its normal height.

To a casual observer, it would have looked like they were moving house.

Everyone was left speechless. Something about the situation felt off, but they couldn’t quite put their finger on it. After a while, Jing Dad finally spoke up, “Aren’t we evacuating? Should we really be bringing this much stuff? Looks more like we’re going on a vacation…”

Jing Shu couldn’t tell them they’d only be gone for a few days, so she said, “Don’t worry, I’ve secured all the food in sealed containers in the basement. Even if the villa gets flooded, I have the submarine and diving suits to retrieve it. Bringing too much food will just attract unwanted attention. What if dozens of people try to rob us?”

Jing Shu’s reasoning made sense. They were already bringing plenty of food, enough to last half a month...right?

Jing Lai delivered a zinger: “But what you’re carrying already screams ‘come rob us.’”

No, no. Jing Shu was sure she’d see people with far flashier setups later on. Just wait and see.

Jing Nai had initially wanted to bring all the livestock along. In the end, she had to settle for tying them up and giving them life jackets, with Jing Shu promising to check on them daily. However, Jing Nai insisted on bringing the prized chicken, saying, “This chicken lays 20 eggs a day. It must survive, no matter what!”

The whole family donned their rain boots and full-body rain gear and finally headed out.

Jing Dad drove the car, while Jing Nai, Jing Grandpa, Jing Mom, and Jing Lai filled the seats. Two more spots were taken up by supplies. The chicken, cradled in Jing Nai’s lap, enjoyed special treatment.

Jing Shu rode the shark submarine with Wu Youai for its greater mobility and to keep an eye on the main group from the neighborhood.

Wu Youai gathered everyone in just ten minutes. The rest of the neighborhood had little to pack, mostly just wearing extra clothes and wrapping themselves in plastic bags. The more fortunate ones had raincoats to wear over the bags.

But it was all useless. Based on Jing Shu’s experience, unless it was a full-body raincoat, they were better off not wearing anything. The red worms loved to crawl into small gaps, and the consequences...well, not good.

Everyone rode bicycles, and they set off in a noisy procession. Jing Shu spotted Zhang Bing Bing, heavily pregnant, looking surprisingly well. She and the others eyed the shark submarine with envy.

“Of course the villa people have something like this,” they murmured.

Four consecutive days of heavy rain had caused even the higher areas to flood. Jing Dad's BYD Song struggled through the water, and the family had breakfast as they drove—Jing Nai’s handmade flatbread with pickles and dried meat, washed down with hot tea.

Jing Shu and Wu Youai ate the same breakfast aboard the shark submarine, but once Jing Shu started eating, she couldn’t stop. She polished off an entire jar of spicy beef jerky, causing Wu Youai to blink in surprise. She couldn’t help but wonder if the food they’d brought would last them a few days.

Jing Dad’s car soon disappeared from view.

The rest of the group faced a series of uphill climbs. Some areas were too steep to ride the bikes, so they had to push them. This slowed them down, and it took over two hours to reach the Red Mountain Ecological Park. Jing Shu couldn’t help feeling conflicted as she arrived at this place once again.

At the entrance to the park, a chaotic mix of police officers and evacuees were gathered. Loudspeakers blared instructions, and clusters of people waited for their turn to enter. It was chaotic, but at least the weather wasn’t too bad. People had gotten used to being soaked and weren’t particularly hungry or thirsty.

Wu Youai handled the situation like a tour guide purchasing tickets. She registered everyone in the group and led them through the gate under the guidance of the park staff.

The park was massive. After walking for another ten minutes, they arrived at the entrance to the Red Mountain caves, known as the “Thousand Caves.” The staff looked strangely at the two figures in raincoats, likely thinking they were some kind of VIPs, and pointed them to an area.

“The entire Z5 section is reserved for your community. Everything’s clearly marked. If you need anything, just use the Big Data app to contact me,” the staff member said before walking away.

The caves were divided into 26 lettered sections, each with dozens of numbered caves, typically ranging from 1 to 50. The larger caves were at the front.

“Z5 is a prime spot,” Jing Shu muttered. It seemed like Li Yutian had really come through for them.

Jing Lai had called earlier to say they had been stuck at the entrance until Li Yutian arranged for them to go in.

Each cave had a number. Jing Shu navigated the shark submarine through the labyrinth, and soon they found Z5—only to hear screams coming from inside.

“Murder! Help, someone’s killing people!”

At the same time, the blood-curdling cry of the family chicken echoed through the air.

“Who else wants to eat the chicken?!” someone shouted.

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Author’s Note:

Please consider voting for the novel! Your support is really important for new books. We’re getting close to another vote-based bonus chapter!