Chapter 191: Acid Rain

There was no sound of helicopters today, so An Nan guessed he must have come by car.

Although Gu Zhiyu didn’t know why she suddenly asked, he quickly replied, “It’s in the underground garage of the complex.”

An Nan nodded. Good.

There’s no way a natural disaster would just end like that.

In her memory, during the extreme heat, it only rained once.

And it was acid rain.

At this moment, the commotion outside was growing louder and louder. The residents of the complex, having seen the rain through their windows, were all rushing out in excitement.

Although the rain wasn’t heavy, it was enough to make these people, who had suffered from the heat and water shortages for so long, feel reborn.

Chu Peipei from next door also dashed out carrying two large basins, calling out excitedly, “Pause the romance! Come downstairs with me to collect water!”

An Nan grabbed her. “Wait.”

Chu Peipei looked puzzled. “What’s wrong?”

Then, a bit anxiously, she added, “The rain isn’t heavy. It might stop soon, so we need to hurry!”

Even though they had some water stored at home, living off reserves wasn’t a long-term solution. Water is essential for human survival—no amount is ever enough.

An Nan understood Chu Peipei’s urgency, but she couldn’t just come out and say, “This rain will soon turn into acid rain.”

And it wasn’t just ordinary acid rain—it was practically sulfuric acid!

In her previous life, if she hadn’t just recovered from a serious illness and moved a bit slower, she might not have survived to see the extreme cold. Like many neighbors, she would have died from the burning and corrosion of the acid rain.

But she couldn’t tell Chu Peipei that she could foresee the future.

So she clutched her chest and said, “Peipei-jie, I feel anxious.”

Hearing this, Chu Peipei immediately forgot about collecting water and grabbed An Nan’s hand, checking her pulse. “What’s wrong?”

Gu Zhiyu also came over, looking worried.

An Nan shook her head, signaling them to relax. “I’m fine. I just feel uneasy.”

Chu Peipei nodded after checking her pulse. “There’s nothing wrong with your body.”

Gu Zhiyu breathed a sigh of relief and then asked Chu Peipei, “Are you a Chinese medicine doctor?”

Chu Peipei shook her head. “I’m a surgeon, but I taught myself some Chinese medicine.”

Gu Zhiyu nodded.

Seeing that An Nan was physically fine, Chu Peipei remembered the water collection again.

But An Nan held onto her hand. “Peipei-jie, let’s wait a bit before going out. I just have a bad feeling. Do you remember when the extreme heat first started?”

Chu Peipei nodded. “I remember. Back then, everyone thought the disaster was over, but then the extreme heat hit suddenly, and a lot of people died outside…”

At that, she understood what An Nan meant and stopped being anxious. “Nannan, you’re right. Let’s wait and see.”

After all, the weather had been unpredictable these past two years.

Who knew when the heavens would suddenly turn cruel again and claim more lives?

Standing to the side, Gu Zhiyu couldn’t help but smile slightly when they mentioned the day the extreme heat arrived.

That was the second time he’d met An Nan.

She’d been killing people while making up stories that he was a fifty-eight-year-old man. Before leaving, she’d even teased his car like a female hooligan.

An Nan noticed Gu Zhiyu’s smirk and immediately remembered that day, glaring at him.

This guy was definitely laughing at her in his head.

She was about to say something when Zhao Ping’an came rushing down the stairs.

He was startled to see Gu Zhiyu, then greeted him, “You must be President Gu, right?”

Gu Zhiyu shook his hand. “Hello, Gu Zhiyu. We’ve met before.”

Zhao Ping’an nodded, about to say more, but then he noticed the big basins in Chu Peipei’s hands.

He immediately said, “Peipei, Idol, don’t go downstairs yet!”

Chu Peipei saw how anxious he looked and quickly asked, “What’s wrong?”

Zhao Ping’an said, “I just collected a few drops of rain outside and did a quick test. The acidity level is off the charts!”

He had rushed up to the 14th floor to warn them. Luckily, he made it in time.

Chu Peipei was shocked. “Is this… acid rain?”

She ran to the window in the hallway and looked down.

The other three joined her.

By now, a crowd had already gathered below. Countless basins, big buckets, and other containers were scattered on the ground.

People were placing containers at their feet to collect water, while stretching out their arms to embrace the rain with joy.

“Rain after a long drought! Rain after a long drought!”

“We made it! We survived! Hahahahaha!”

“It’s raining—cooler weather can’t be far behind! The disaster is finally over!!”

“Hahahaha! So refreshing! How long has it been since I had a shower? This feels amazing!”

“Hurry! Bring the kids out too!”

Everyone was overjoyed, tears of happiness mixing with the rain on their faces, crying and opening their mouths wide to drink the rainwater.

Zhao Ping’an opened the window a crack and shouted, “Hey! Something’s wrong with this rain! Get back inside!”

Someone below glanced up at him, but no one responded. They kept celebrating in the rain.

Chu Peipei joined in, shouting with Zhao Ping’an, “It’s acid rain! Don’t drink it!”

An Nan stayed silent.

Warnings were useless—no one would listen.

It had been the same in her previous life. Zhao Ping’an had shouted from upstairs, but not only did no one appreciate it, they even cursed him out.

Everyone had been hot and thirsty for too long. To them, this rainwater was more precious than gold. How could they possibly listen and go back inside?

The outcome, of course, was tragic. Not long after, Zhao Ping’an moved out of the complex—no one knew where he went.

Zhao Ping’an and Chu Peipei shouted a few more times.

This time, someone finally responded.

“Go back home? Easy for you to say! You people eat and drink well every day in your apartments—how could you understand our suffering?”

“Yeah! So what if it’s acid rain? Haven’t we all been breathing PM2.5 these years? Still alive, aren’t we?”

“Exactly! Even if this was vinegar, I could drink a whole tub right now!”

“Those demon women live in luxury—they don’t even want free water.”

“If you don’t want us to drink rainwater, are you going to support us?”

Maybe the sudden rain had made everyone overly excited. Normally, these neighbors would avoid the three of them, but now, in their excitement, they dared to speak their minds.

After hearing their words, Zhao Ping’an and Chu Peipei stopped trying, closing the window again.

An Nan comforted them, “You can’t save those who are doomed. Everyone has their own fate—don’t think too much about it.”

Chu Peipei nodded, about to say, “Let’s go home,” when a sudden downpour outside startled her.

It had only been a drizzle before, but now the rain was pouring down.

Immediately, screams and cries of pain rose from below.

“Ahhhhhh!”

“It hurts! It hurts!”

The group looked downstairs again.

All they saw was chaos."