Chapter 81: The Rain Has Stopped—Time to Set Out!

For the past few days, Jiang Yan, Sun Jingtao, and the others had barely left the upper floors, so they didn’t know much about what was happening downstairs.

But that didn’t mean the people downstairs hadn’t been keeping tabs on them.

In fact, quite a few things had gone missing from He Chunmei’s home.

Most of it was stolen late at night over the past couple of days, quietly taken by people from the lower floors.

Those people did it so stealthily that no one noticed a thing.

“I’m actually a little curious. Even if the residents downstairs teamed up, there are more of them than that gang, right? Look at those people who blocked us on the 17th floor, using kids and old folks as human shields—they were vicious! They even smashed Tian Jiliang’s glasses to pieces! So why did they suddenly chicken out?”

Su Dai couldn’t understand it.

She really couldn’t.

Ye Qing glanced at her and hit the nail on the head:

“Bullying the weak and fearing the strong is human nature. In their eyes, we’re just neighbors they can negotiate with or guilt-trip. But that gang—they’re organized, ruthless thugs who kill without batting an eye. There’s no comparison.”

Su Dai: “…”

“So does that mean someone might move up to the 32nd floor? Should we lock the door?” She caught on immediately, a hint of worry and doubt in her eyes.

“I don’t think it’s necessary for now. If the rain really does stop in a couple of days like Xiao Ye said, and we lock the door, it’ll be inconvenient for both our families to go in and out,” Sun Jingtao replied, glancing sidelong at Jiang Yan, only to see her calm and expressionless.

Suddenly, something occurred to him. He looked at Jiang Yan and asked, “By the way, Jiang Yan, did you just go down to the 15th and 16th floors?”

Jiang Yan nodded.

At this point, there was nothing to hide.

“Looks like you and Xiao Ye are really on the same wavelength,” Sun Jingtao chuckled, then continued,

“If the rain stops and we’re able, it’d be best if we all go down together. Breaking the glass in the stairwell will make a lot of noise—we don’t know what that might attract. Having an extra pair of hands means more safety. What do you think?”

It was as if Sun Jingtao had guessed Jiang Yan’s plan and was sounding her out.

He actually wanted to say that he and Ye Qing, being stronger, would be better at breaking the metal frames on the windows than she would, but he left it unsaid.

Earlier, his wife had invited Jiang Yan to go out scavenging together, but Jiang Yan had refused, so Sun Jingtao didn’t push it, just changed the subject.

Through the door of 3202, Jiang Yan glanced at the gloomy sky outside and said, “Sounds good.”

They chatted a bit more. Jiang Yan told them about the mutated leeches she’d found, then picked up her speargun and headed home.

Once inside, she did as usual—activated the anti-intrusion system and set it to 500 volts.

Suddenly, she realized a problem: every time she left the house, the anti-intrusion system had to be turned off.

If she was gone for a long time, what if Ma Longbiao’s gang broke in?

Supposedly, they and the people on the 32nd floor had an unspoken truce.

But that was probably just a stalling tactic.

She wondered if she should leave the man-eating flower at home to guard the place when she went out.

But the downside was that it might expose the flower.

Forget it. If it really came to it, she could just stash all her supplies in her space before leaving.

As for the things she couldn’t take—the walls, the fireplace—even if someone broke in, she could always take them back.

She glanced at the thermometer in the living room. The temperature outside had dropped to 8°C, and the water was probably even colder.

For ordinary people, that wasn’t good news.

After all, if they went out scavenging, they’d probably have to use a swim ring or something.

But that wasn’t Jiang Yan’s concern.

She walked around the house, checked that the roof and walls weren’t leaking, then entered her space.

As soon as she stepped in, she felt a warm, restless sensation in her palm.

Jiang Yan knew—the flower baby was itching to come out. She raised her palm and said softly,

“Come on out, Flower Baby~”

The man-eating flower couldn’t wait. With a “whoosh,” a green vine shot out from her palm and stood upright beside her.

It grew larger and larger until it was as tall as Jiang Yan.

Its shiny black eyes darted around, and its crimson tongue licked its fangs in annoyance:

“Jie jie jie!” (Mom, you should’ve let me out earlier to eat that bad guy who bullied you! Hmph!)

As it spoke, the two leaves on its vine even crossed like arms on its “hips,” just like a person.

Looking at the fertile black soil behind it, Jiang Yan suddenly felt like she’d stepped into a round of Plants vs. Zombies.

She couldn’t help but laugh.

“I could handle it myself. Besides, you’re my trump card—I can’t just use you whenever I want.”

After all, she could only use it once a month. She had to save it for a critical moment.

“Jie jie jie?” (Mom, what’s a trump card? Like a backup?)

Jiang Yan: “…”

What on earth has this kid been watching all day?

She nearly burst out laughing at Flower Baby’s words.

These days, while Jiang Yan was drawing her “treasure maps,” the man-eating flower had been cramming all kinds of knowledge.

Its learning style was a bit like the sci-fi movie “Lucy” she’d seen ages ago, where the heroine could instantly absorb knowledge.

The man-eating flower was the same.

As long as its leaves touched a book or computer, it could absorb all the knowledge inside.

And it absorbed it fast—even faster than 8G internet.

All the encyclopedias Jiang Yan had downloaded onto her computer were sucked up by it.

The books she’d bought from the bookstore were torn apart and devoured, too.

Even all the movies, TV shows, and anime she’d downloaded were gulped down in one go.

Its speed was jaw-dropping.

How much it actually remembered, Jiang Yan didn’t know.

She’d been busy with the “treasure hunt” lately and hadn’t tested it.

*

The next day.

Jiang Yan woke up naturally at 7:30.

The first thing she did was leave her space to check the water level outside.

Sure enough, the water had risen to the edge of the 15th floor.

The rain outside was visibly lighter.

At this rate, she’d be able to go out soon.

She felt a bit excited—she’d been cooped up at home long enough.

If today’s trip went well and she came back loaded, both her space and the man-eating flower might level up!

She decided to head out early to avoid running into other people in the building.

With the rain finally letting up, people from other floors would definitely be trying to get out, too.

The difference was, they’d be looking for food and drinking water—she was after gold and jewelry.

With that in mind, Jiang Yan got up, washed up quickly, then took out a bowl of signature beef noodles from Taiwan and ate it, washing it down with a big cup of caramel macchiato.

A strange combo, but plenty of calories and energy.

She’d already prepared her compass, sextant, diving gear, and other essentials from her [Inventory].

After a quick warm-up at home and stashing all the supplies she could into her space, she grabbed a nondescript inflatable kayak and headed out."