10

Having made up my mind, my will to survive is stronger than ever.

I also realize that I can’t hide alone anymore.

Hiding would only mean waiting to die; I’d only prolong my inevitable demise.

Now, I need to rely on the strength of the group.

I gazed toward the southeast, where everything was hazy and had been swallowed by the floodwaters.

But over there were my parents, and there was a mountain more than two thousand meters high.

“Does anyone have fever-reducing medicine? My child has had a high fever for two days, and it’s getting worse now.”

Desperate sobs suddenly came from outside the door; someone was knocking on doors from house to house, seeking medicine.

The thirty-first floor became noisy, with many people rushing out to check.

“I’m a doctor, I have medicine at home, but my place is on the fifteenth floor, which is already submerged.”

“Cough, cough… I drank several mouthfuls of floodwater and feel a severe stomachache, does anyone have painkillers?”

“I still have some rice, everyone can have a bite.”

They gathered together, still thinking about helping each other, but their capabilities were too limited.

Many people also came up from downstairs, seeking food or medicine.

A rotten smell permeated the building, which could be a sign of an epidemic.

The floodwaters carried too many bacteria, and too many people had died in our building; how many corpses were soaked in the houses below the twentieth floor?

I walked to the door and listened to everyone’s voices, feeling deeply for them.

In the face of such a disaster, how insignificant the strength of one person is.

When the heavy rain comes again, all talk of the darker aspects of human nature would be pointless.

We must all die.

We must unite to save ourselves!

“I have some medicine.”

I opened the door and stepped out, and the crowd looked over, surprised to find someone in the room.

“How come there’s someone in this room?”

I didn’t answer, instead opening the leather suitcase containing the medicine, revealing many common drugs.

Because they had been well-preserved, most of them were still usable.

“Thank you so much, thank you!”

The woman who held the child was overjoyed and weeping, her hands shaking.

A tall man stepped forward: “It’s good that we have the medicine, I’ll give the child the ibuprofen.”

I looked at him.

He was covered in muddy water and looked quite disheveled, but he had a handsome face.

He smiled at me and said, “I’m Lucas, a doctor at the People’s Hospital.

Hello.”

I nodded in greeting and introduced myself as Ava.

An old man nearby handed me a dirty-looking bag of bread.

“Young lady, eat this, your medicine came just in time.”

“A little sister, give me some alcohol to clean my wound, I’ll give you a apple.”

A big man handed me a rotten apple.

I couldn’t help laughing through tears, but I wasn’t repulsed in my heart.

At a time like this, whether we’re selfish or noble, it all boils down to wanting to survive.

We must also live.

I chimed in, “We need to leave here.

The torrential rain will definitely come again, and we can’t bet on it stopping.”

Their faces fell; I could sense that many had guessed the rain would return, but no one was willing to say it out loud.

Lucas gave the kid fever-reducing medicine and said solemnly, “We can’t take that risk. Ava, what do you suggest?”

“Find a boat and head for Mount Sky in the southeast suburb. While the heavy rain has paused and the floodwaters have calmed, we have a chance to reach Mount Sky.”

I shared my idea.

The group exchanged glances, their spirits lifting, though some were hesitant: “It’s over twenty kilometers away, and there are so many obstacles along the way.

Although the floodwaters have calmed somewhat, they’re not like a river…

Besides, what if it rains heavily again halfway through?”

These concerns were understandable, and I had considered them.

However, staying here meant certain death! “The building is already leaning.

If another torrential rain comes, and the floodwaters surge, the building will definitely collapse,” Lucas said.

“Furthermore, we’re out of food.

Even if we can hide in the building, we’ll eventually starve to death.

We might as well take a chance.”

11

Lucas made clear the risks and benefits, sharing my thoughts.

The group looked at each other, pondering the situation.

At this moment, a pair of twin brothers stepped forward: “We are city rowing athletes.

As long as we have a boat, we can steer it.”

The group was overjoyed and immediately felt more confident.

So the only problem left was finding a boat.

“There’s a shipyard upstream on the Saint River, and there are also many fishing boats.

The floodwaters came from that direction, so some boats should have been washed downstream.

Let’s head to the north side of the building to see if we can find a boat,” suggested a man wearing glasses.

“Tyler works at the shipyard. Since he says there are boats, there must be some!”

Someone recognized Tyler and thought it made sense.

A few guys went to the window to check.

They leaned out of the broken windows and could see the situation to the north.

Soon after, someone exclaimed happily, “There really is a boat, lying there…

It could be on the 21st floor?”

I also looked and saw the broken boat.

It was a fishing boat, no more than ten meters long, and it was in poor condition, but it hadn’t sunk, indicating that its main structure was still relatively stable.

“One boat won’t cut it.

Let’s look around to see if any more boats have been washed down,” Lucas took charge, waving his hand.

“Guys, follow me downstairs.

We need to secure the boat and make some repairs.”

“Alright!”

Over ten men responded and followed Lucas downstairs.

We stayed on the 31st floor to wait.

I went back to my apartment to gather edible food, along with the supplies in another suitcase I had, which would allow everyone to have a decent meal.

Everyone hurried to eat.

The old man who gave me the bread reminded us, “Don’t finish it all; leave more for the young men, they’re very tired from fixing the boat.”

Everyone nodded, leaving more for Lucas and the others.

We continued waiting, able to hear the commotion from the 21st floor where the men were shouting—it wasn’t easy to secure a boat in the floodwaters.

More residents from higher floors appeared.

After hearing our plan, some joined our group while others retreated back into hiding.

Clearly, not everyone dared to go to Sky Mountain, and the cessation of the heavy rain gave many people a false sense of security, thinking they were safe.

I kept an eye on the sky and noticed that apart from being hazy white, there was no change.

I remembered the last time the rain paused, it stopped for a day.

How long would it stop this time?

12

After nightfall, the temperature dropped sharply, and everyone became drowsy.

Some elderly people curled up in corners, almost unconscious.

I hugged my suitcase and made my way to the 21st floor.

It was pitch black here, but there were many figures around.

Lucas and the others were on the balcony of apartment 2105, securing the outside fishing boat with ropes.

The fishing boat was rusty, and its engine was already broken, but fortunately, it wasn’t a small wooden boat, or it would have fallen apart long ago.

I brought the food over, and the men gobbled it down.

Lucas ate half a pack of jerky, and his weary spirit revived.

“We must set out at dawn; I’m afraid the heavy rain will start again,” I said.

The shadows in the darkness immediately became anxious.

Lucas, in a hoarse voice, said, “Leaving tomorrow morning is fine, but one boat can’t carry many people, and we couldn’t find a second boat.”

There were more than thirty survivors just on the 31st floor, not to mention the entire building’s living occupants.

Those willing to go to Sky Mountain would certainly be more than thirty.

And a powerless fishing boat, navigating through the floodwaters, would be very dangerous even with just ten people on board.

I frowned in thought, but Lucas proposed a solution: “We’ll send a batch out tomorrow morning. Ava, you take the women and children with you, and Abu will steer the boat. About fifteen people should be manageable.”

If it were women and children, fifteen people would be manageable.

Abu must be one of the twins, a rower.

Tyler spoke up: “We saw at least five boats drift past today, but they were too far away to retrieve.

Once another one comes our way, we can send another group.”

“Right, the boats should get bigger as time goes on, since the smaller ones have already capsized.”

They had all discussed it.

I had no objection, but I told Lucas to be cautious.

He wiped some muddy water off his face and gave me a bright smile.

“I’m a doctor, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

A difficult night ensued.

I felt uneasy, constantly glancing at the sky, dreading the sudden onset of heavy rain.

Fortunately, after dawn, the heavy rain did not arrive.

Even more surprisingly, a ray of light appeared in the east, piercing through the white, lifeless haze.

The sun? Everyone cheered and jumped for joy.

Though they didn’t see the sun clearly, they knew it was sunlight! “The rain has really stopped, and the sun is out!”

People were overjoyed, crying tears of happiness.

Lucas gazed for a moment and asked me, “Ava, does it look like it won’t rain anymore?”

I shook my head.

“I don’t know, but I think it will still rain.

The sunlight can’t penetrate the cloud cover.

The sky seems to be shrouded in a veil, which is very unusual.”

Seeing a ray of light was something to be happy about, but we couldn’t be careless.

Since the sunlight couldn’t reach us directly, I suspected that the Earth was surrounded by a layer of clouds, rendering that sliver of sunlight insignificant.

Lucas concurred, waving his hand.

“In accordance with the original plan, we’ll send a group to Sky Mountain this morning.

Those notified last night should go down to the 21st floor.”

Lucas had good leadership skills and arranged everything.

However, many people were unwilling to take risks.

“The sun is out, so it’s impossible for it to rain.

That boat is in poor condition; how can we go to Sky Mountain with it?”

“Yeah, we should wait for the floodwaters to recede. There’s no need to take risks.”

“I’m staying put. I’ll eat raw rice here.”

Surprisingly, most people refused to leave.

Their thoughts were understandable, as the sun represented hope, and with hope, who would willingly go to “certain death”? Some of the men who had helped repair the boat yesterday wavered, discussing among themselves.

“I’m leaving.

Anyone who wants to come with me, follow suit.”

I didn’t hesitate, deciding to take those who were willing to go.

Everyone looked at each other, extremely conflicted.

“I’ll go with you to Sky Mountain,” Lucas supported me, scanning the crowd.

“Time is pressing. Is anyone else willing to go?”

“I’ll come too.”

The woman whose child had a fever yesterday stepped forward, still holding her now-awakened daughter.

“As a geologist, I should mention that this rain will probably return,” said the old man who had given me bread, coming over to join us as well.

In the end, thirteen people in total were willing to go to Sky Mountain.

Including the two rower brothers.

I felt the boat would be just enough for us.

I’m not some great person, so I didn’t try to persuade anyone else to come with us.

I left the food behind and set out with Lucas and the group.