After twenty days of scorching heat, it rained heavily for a full day and night.

Everyone was overjoyed.

But no one expected the rain to last for a whole year.

01

“Finally, it’s raining! How refreshing!”

In front of the supermarket, the crowd taking shelter from the rain was jubilant; some even plunged headfirst into the rainwater, relishing the rare respite.

I walked out of the supermarket with a bag of pork, furrowing my brow at the increasingly heavy rain outside.

It’s not that I dislike rain; after so many days of intense heat, I was almost roasted alive.

Rain was good.

However, I had developed a psychological aversion to rain.

Three years ago, on a rainy night, I drove my car into a lake and nearly drowned.

If the car window hadn’t shattered, I wouldn’t have survived.

Since then, I’ve felt anxious even at the sight of rain.

I pulled out my phone to check the weather forecast.

Starting today, temperatures would gradually decrease, and the sweltering 43.5°C heat would be replaced by a mild temperature around 33°C.

This was a relief, yet it also brought about continuous rainfall.

There would be continuous rain for the next week, sometimes in the morning, sometimes in the evening, mostly light to moderate rain.

I let out a sigh and returned to the supermarket to stockpile.

During the previous heatwave, I hadn’t stocked up much, but now with the continuous rain, I had no desire to venture out.

So, I decided to stockpile enough food to last me a week without stepping outside.

Ten packs of steak, twelve pounds of frozen chicken wings, three packs of dumplings, four packs of glutinous rice balls…

these were all among my favorites.

In addition, I bought a large bag of tomatoes and sweet potatoes, as well as a box of eight-treasure porridge and a box of instant noodles.

With these, I could last for a week, or even a month if I conserved them carefully.

After buying the supplies, I hopped in a cab and returned home.

I lived in a mid-range residential complex, with a modest 90-square-meter apartment on the third story.

After moving the supplies home, the rain intensified, beating against the windows as if it could shatter them at any moment.

Outside, everything was gray and white.

The people who had been celebrating the rain probably went home to take cover.

I drew the curtains and called my parents.

They lived in the mountains back home, and heavy rain could affect them significantly.

“Ava, be careful.

This rain is really fierce and keeps getting heavier.

It has quite the momentum,” my father warned me over the phone.

He hadn’t seen such heavy rain in many years.”Dad, you need to be careful too.

I’ll be okay here and won’t be going out anytime soon, so you shouldn’t go out to the fields either.”

I turned the tables and gave my father some advice.

My dad agreed repeatedly and then instructed me that if there’s flooding, I should head to higher ground, up to the roof.

My dad knew I was scared of rain, so he was overly prepared.

I nodded to show I understood.

After hanging up, I took a hot shower and fell into a deep sleep.

When I woke up, it was already dawn the next day, and outside the window, the storm continued with raindrops pummeling the glass like pebbles.

It was still raining and it was still a heavy downpour.

Normally, a heavy rainstorm wouldn’t last long; many would only last for half an hour.

The weather forecast had said that today’s rainfall would start in the evening, so why was there a heavy downpour early in the morning?

02

I pulled back the curtains and looked out, finding that I couldn’t see the shape of our community due to too much mist and haze.

The lights from the opposite building were hazy and indistinct.

What a heavy rain!

At this moment, the property management posted an announcement in the group: “Dear residents, the meteorological bureau has issued a red warning for heavy rain.

Please try not to go out and make sure your windows and doors are closed to avoid unnecessary losses.”

A red warning for heavy rain means that the rainfall will reach over 100 millimeters in three hours.

This amount of rainfall is quite extreme, and the government must now prepare for emergency flood control and rescue operations; all outdoor work must be stopped.

The group was lively, but no one was panicking.

Some people even joked about how they wished it would rain for a few more days, as it would be cooler.

But by the second day, when the rain continued, the residents were no longer happy.

“This is outrageous! It’s been raining since the day before yesterday, and it’s still pouring!”

“The third level of the garage is almost flooded.

If your car is on the third level, move it quickly!”

“I couldn’t buy groceries today.

If it doesn’t stop raining, we’ll run out of food at home.”

I didn’t join the discussion.

I just checked the windows and felt relieved after confirming they were locked.

Since I had stocked up on supplies, I wasn’t worried about food for the time being.

I didn’t believe it would rain for a whole week.

However, it really did rain for a whole week!

Every morning, I found that the rain hadn’t stopped, and the intensity hadn’t decreased; it remained at the highest red warning level.

My windows were shaking, and a lot of rainwater seeped through the gaps.

This was enough to cause panic.

My parents called several times to ask about my safety, and I could only say that everything was fine.

In reality, I felt terrible.

For seven straight days, whether it was daytime or night, the rain never stopped!

Our city has been trending on the hot search lists, but other cities are also trending due to the rain—it’s not just our city experiencing this.

Yucheng was merely among the first batch of “lucky” ones.

I specifically looked up related information and found that Europe, Southeast Asia, and other regions have also started experiencing continuous rainfall.

This is far from ordinary! When I was studying in school, I once researched the history of mass extinctions and clearly remember that the Earth experienced two million years of rain, after which the ecosystem changed drastically and dinosaurs emerged.

I’m naturally afraid of rain, and my mind tends to wander, involuntarily linking this rain with the two-million-year downpour.

Looking at the group chat, the residents have already begun to help each other; those who have potatoes can trade for instant noodles, and those who have pork can exchange for vegetables…

I still have plenty of supplies, as I haven’t eaten much these past few days and haven’t cooked much either, so there’s quite a bit of meat in the fridge.

I could easily last another week without any problems.

But if the rain continues for another week, wouldn’t our city be paralyzed? I went back to the window to look outside, but it was still unclear, and I couldn’t even see the artificial pond.

In the group chat, the property management issued another notice: “Urgent notification: All owners on the first floor of each building, please promptly move your furniture and belongings.

Currently, large areas of the community are submerged, and the rainwater may rise to the first floor.”

Once this notice was posted, everyone was shocked.

If the first floor is going to be flooded, then the underground garage must already be a reservoir.

Although our community isn’t located very high, it shouldn’t be flooded, right? “Impossible, right? The whole community is flooded?”

“After a week of torrential rain, anywhere could be flooded.

I tried calling the fire department just now, but the line was busy; everything is in chaos!”

“I heard that the eastern suburbs have turned into a sea.

It might be that the Long River is about to break its banks!”

Everyone was in a panic.

I was also anxious; my fear of water is unlike anyone else’s.

I was afraid that the rain would flood the first floor, trapping me like a turtle in a jar and making me relive the terror of the water.

03

After the urgent notification from the property management, I couldn’t find peace.

The food could last for some time, but I was genuinely terrified of the water reaching the third floor.

I remembered what my father had said: when there’s flooding, run to the roof.

Perhaps the psychological trauma from before had been too deep, and I actually went up to the roof.

Our building has a total of 31 floors, and I took the elevator to the top, glancing around at the six apartments there.

Five of the six apartments had been sold, leaving only one vacant, though the iron door had already been installed, and no renovation permit was posted on it.

I tried to open it, but of course, it didn’t budge.

Reluctantly, I returned to the third floor, hoping the rain would stop soon.

That night, I didn’t sleep well, drifting in and out of a hazy state where I kept reliving the scene of being submerged in water inside my car, which eventually turned into being swallowed by a flood.

I jolted awake at seven, surprised to hear no rain.

Outside was still gray, but it wasn’t raining! Elated, I rushed to open the window and could vaguely see that the entire neighborhood was flooded, with the artificial pond completely full.

Many owners on the first floor were bailing out water to prevent their homes from being inundated, and complaints filled the air.

The group chat was lively too, with people feeling like they had survived a disaster, some even planning to go shopping.

Was the disaster over? I didn’t go downstairs because I feared water.

I focused on the local meteorological bureau’s notice, which said the heavy rain had stopped and that the government was engaged in rescue and disaster relief efforts.

It advised everyone to pay attention to post-disaster safety measures and to keep clear of power poles and similar areas.

I should have been relieved, but when I went online, I found that many places across the country were still experiencing rain, including areas that usually received very little rainfall.

Looking at international news, my heart sank.

“Hardness City’s capital experiences its heaviest downpour in a century, flooding large swaths of shantytowns.”

“New York subway flooded, causing the deadliest accident in thirty years.”

“British Antarctic research station reports hailstorms in Wilkes Land lasting three days!”

These news stories carried strong apocalyptic undertones.

I knitted my brow and looked outside at the sky, which was nothing but white; I couldn’t see anything else.

Had the rain really stopped? Or was it just a temporary lull? By evening, our neighborhood had regained some order, and the supermarket inside the complex reopened.

There was no more rain, but the sky remained oppressive.

My fear of rain made me think more about the two-million-year-long rainstorm.

After a moment’s thought, I put on my rain boots and quickly ran to the supermarket.

There were quite a few people in the supermarket, mostly children.

This suggested that no one was seriously stockpiling supplies; everyone still wanted to buy vegetables at the market, believing the rain had ceased permanently.

Without hesitation, I began serious stockpiling.

Hundreds of packages of chicken wings and drumsticks, fifty packs of sausages, thirty boxes of cookies, twenty bags of bread, and two cases of bottled water.

In addition, I bought flashlights, batteries, power banks, and other items to prepare for possible blackouts.

The supermarket staff were stunned.

I ignored them and made several trips, moving everything back to my apartment.

With this, I could survive for two or three months on a tight budget without any issues.

I still had a large bag of rice at home, which would last a long time if there was no power outage.

Later, I went to the pharmacy and bought medicines like ibuprofen, aspirin, iodine tincture, cetirizine, and smecta, so that whether I had a fever or diarrhea, I could treat it.

Of course, even so, I still didn’t feel secure enough.

What I feared most was still being flooded.

The third floor was too low! I had already had an idea and messaged someone in the owners’ group privately.

He had bought a place in this building but lived out of town and only came back once every two or three years.

His apartment was on the 31st floor, room 3102, and was usually rented out.

He himself had posted rental advertisements in the group multiple times, asking us to help find tenants.

I told him directly that I had found a tenant for him and that he could give me a 200 dollars red packet as a commission.

He was pleased with this arrangement, saying that the rent was 3,500 dollars per month with a minimum lease of three months, and that the property management would hand over the keys to me.

We exchanged cash for keys, and the property management indeed sent someone to deliver the keys to me.

I began moving my supplies, going up and down the stairs repeatedly to transfer all my supplies to room 3102.

04

Along the way, I ran into several owners who asked me what I was doing.

I told them I was trading supplies with my upstairs neighbor for cash, and they didn’t ask further.

Finally, at nine o’clock in the evening, I finished moving everything.

I was almost exhausted, but I still managed to ensure that the doors and windows were tightly sealed.

This way, I was hiding on the 31st floor, with a whole house full of supplies, feeling incredibly safe.

Just as I let out a sigh of relief, there was a continuous pattering sound, as if raindrops were pounding against the windows like marbles.

My heart sank as I looked out the window and saw the rain pouring down, reaching out like the tentacles of a demon toward the earth!

It started raining again! An even more intense downpour! Despite my thorough preparations, I still felt a chill in my heart for no apparent reason.

The entire neighborhood descended into chaos; those who had been walking around downstairs rushed home, people scurrying like ants in the torrential rain.

The property management issued an announcement immediately, telling everyone to stay inside and ensure their doors and windows were closed.

The owners in the group were swearing.

“It’s raining again, didn’t the weather bureau say it wouldn’t rain anymore?”

“I finally managed to grab some meat, and now I don’t know where I left it when I hurried home!”

“The water in the garage hasn’t receded yet, and it’s raining again. We’re doomed!”

Our neighborhood’s garage had been severely flooded.

Today, the rain had stopped, and the property management was working overtime to drain the water, but then it rained heavily again.

Such a downpour, even if it only lasted for a day, would likely flood the first floor.

Just as I had expected, by two o’clock in the morning, amidst the noisy rain, there were muffled sounds of people cursing faint but not drowned out by the rain.

It was coming from the first floor, indicating that many residents were cursing.

The first floor was surely flooded! Sounds in the stairwell were also chaotic, clearly showing that the first-floor residents were running upstairs.

Voices increased on all floors, and residents on the 31st floor went out one after another.

I heard a neighbor urging, “Hurry down to help, we don’t want anyone to drown.”

They were clearly well-intentioned.

However, I couldn’t do it, because I was afraid of water and didn’t want to come into contact with it.

Rescue efforts began in our building, with residents on higher floors taking the initiative to help.

Some helped save valuable furniture, while others allowed residents from lower floors to warm up in their homes.

The group chat was lively, with a spirit of mutual assistance prevailing.

However, I focused on news from across the country.

Weibo was already abuzz, as most cities across the country were experiencing heavy rain, similar to our city, where the rain had stopped and then resumed.

The top trending topic was an expert’s forecast: #Nationwide Heavy Rain Could Cause the Worst Flood in a Century in the Middle and Lower Reaches of the Long River#.

The situation in the capital was similarly dire, with the drainage system having completely failed, and half the city submerged in water…

These reports sent chills down my spine.

Initially, our city had been the top trending topic, but now it was no longer significant.

What did this signify? It signified that the downpour was too intense; major economic cities across the country were being flooded, and the authorities had no capacity to address our city.