Chapter 5
Day two, heavy rain.
It was no longer yesterday’s gentle drizzle but a torrential downpour.
Water quickly accumulated in the city’s low-lying areas.
The balcony of my 20th-floor apartment had become like a grotto with a cascading waterfall.
I walked barefoot to the balcony door, greedily soaking up the water molecules.
My whole body surged with power!
I reinforced the balcony door and carved out the bottom of the railing to create a simple drainage system. Unless the balcony’s weight bearing capacity failed and it collapsed, the rainwater wouldn’t get into the house.
The class group chat had already exploded.
“Damn it, the rain’s too heavy! All the seeds we just sowed are ruined! The water’s almost flooding into the house!”
“Help! The island’s tide is rising! Our high ground is almost submerged, and a lot of our food has been washed away!”
“My ability is even water generation, completely useless now!”
“@Chloe! Didn’t you say this ability was life-saving? What do we do now?!”
With their interests jeopardized, many people turned their anger towards Chloe, who had been everyone’s darling just yesterday.
Chloe looked aggrieved: “?? My fault?”
“Did I hold a knife to your throats and force you to choose fresh water resources? You were all fawning over me, scrambling to pick it just to show off to me! And now you’re blaming me?”
Finn tried to maintain order, his voice betraying a hint of imperceptible anxiety.
“Everyone calm down!”
“Chloe, this isn’t the time to argue. You have so many resources stored in your space, quick, take them out for everyone in this emergency!”
Chloe’s voice rose even higher, laced with a tearful, spoiled tone.
“Why should I?!”
“I worked hard to collect those! I haven’t even finished registering them! And you want me to take them out now when the situation is unclear? What if the sun comes out tomorrow? Fifty-degree heat! That water will be life-saving!”
Her words were like cold water splashed into a hot oil pan.
“Chloe, are you still thinking about your registration at a time like this! Still thinking about high temperatures tomorrow? Does this rain look like it’s going to stop?”
“You hoarded so many resources in your own space, aren’t you just trying to hold us hostage?”
“Vice President, say something!”
The group chat erupted into chaos, full of accusations and dissatisfaction directed at Chloe.
Finn, overwhelmed trying to mediate, seemed to suddenly have an idea and @-ed me.
“@Iris, aren’t you in a high-rise? It must be safe! Quick, tell us your address, I’ll teleport the people from the island over there to take shelter!”
This move, however, triggered Chloe again.
“Vice President, why are you always thinking of being with Iris! Do you like her?!”
“I forbid it! Anyone who dares to go find her, I’ll never give them resources!”
Finn said helplessly: “Chloe, stop messing around, lives are at stake!”
“Who’s messing around? Don’t people need my space? Whoever swears not to go suck up to Iris, I’ll let them into my space for shelter!”
With Chloe’s interference, I, who had just regained some attention, was once again forgotten by everyone. They went back to begging her for resources.
She was once again the center of attention.
I put down my phone and walked to a corner of the living room, where several unassuming cardboard boxes were stacked.
Opening one, inside were neatly arranged power banks, laptops, and tablets, their indicator lights showing full charge.
Another box held several thick physical books, a few board games, and even a small projector.
These were the supplies I had quickly gathered in the few minutes when the system announced the rules, and everyone else was busy snatching cash bonuses and mocking me—some of the most useless items in a high-temperature apocalypse, but essential for maintaining sanity in a confined environment, “non-survival necessities.”
I picked up a fully charged power bank, plugged it into my phone, and watched the heated arguments in the group chat.
Day three, precipitation doubled again.
If yesterday’s downpour was somewhat normal, today was a hurricane-level storm.