Apocalypse Star House Hoarding-Chapter 38

The apartment was on the fifteenth floor, but since the floors above the tenth had high ceilings of over five meters, the actual height was equivalent to around twenty stories. The higher the floor, the more significant the sway felt during strong winds.
Yu Feng was extremely grateful that his workplace was close by, so he usually came home for lunch. Even luckier, his daughter had come home in the middle of the night, so the whole family was together, preventing panic in such a sudden situation.
Prompted by Yu Xi, Yu Feng quickly reacted, taking the multifunctional escape pack from his daughter. He couldn’t help but feel thankful that she had the foresight to buy it. Fan Qi also sprang into action. Seeing her husband and daughter each with a large backpack, she quickly found a small travel bag and rolled two thin blankets from the sofa into it.
She hurried to the kitchen, opened the food storage cabinet, and took out six bottles of 550ml mineral water, a box of twelve meal replacement energy bars, two boxes of spicy beef and one box of tomato beef self-heating hotpot, a bag of sausages, and a large unopened bag of pork jerky. She then opened the fridge and took out two chicken sandwiches and four sea salt rolls to add to the bag.
Next, Fan Qi opened a hidden compartment in the living room TV cabinet, revealing a drawer with a combination lock. She took out her rarely used wallet, the household registration book, and placed them in the zipper compartment of the travel bag. The wallet contained her and Yu Feng’s IDs, their bank cards, and the household registration book, covering all the important documents.
Fan Qi efficiently zipped up the travel bag, tossed it by the front door, and put on a thick sweater before heading to the entryway to change shoes. As she looked up, she noticed her daughter gazing at her with an appreciative expression.
“What? Aren’t we leaving?” Fan Qi asked.
Yu Feng was trying to call Grandpa Yu to check if Yu Hai and the others were home and to tell them to seek shelter in the underground parking garage of their residential area. However, the line was busy, and he couldn’t get through.
Yu Xi reassured her father, patting his shoulder, then rushed to the door to change shoes.
In fact, most of the food and water Fan Qi had packed was abundantly available in her Star House storage. Despite spending three years in the apocalyptic world, she had restocked multiple times, leaving her with a significant surplus of various supplies.
Her storage was still stocked with a wide variety of vegetables, fish, meat, eggs, dairy products, frozen foods, and a plethora of takeout meals. She had only significantly depleted her stores of pure water, convenience foods, some snacks, and hard-to-find river and sea foods.
She had also increased her supplies of gasoline, firearms, ammunition, a RV, a Tang sword, and a box of gold, diamonds, and jade.
Her gasoline reserves included 6 thirty-liter and 5 fifty-liter portable fuel containers, and 3 two-hundred-liter diesel drums. She had replenished these to ten each after excluding those given to her parents, bringing her total gasoline reserves to 2,800 liters, sufficient for around 50 refuels and 30,000 kilometers of driving.
Her firearms included two semi-automatic handguns, an automatic handgun (submachine gun), and an AK-47, all gifted to her by the military. However, ammunition was limited, and replenishing it in the peaceful world would be impossible, even in another apocalyptic world.
Nonetheless, she still had ample points, and in many situations, purchasing items like [High-Temperature Perfume] and [Air Hair Dryer] from the Star House would be more convenient.
Overall, she had enough supplies to enter the next apocalyptic world without restocking. However, she couldn’t tell Fan Qi not to bring anything, and seeing her mother’s quick and organized actions filled her with pride.
At least, she cut off that thought herself. Shaking her head, Yu Xi realized that her prolonged stay in the apocalyptic world had led to imagining Fan Qi’s reactions to an apocalypse.
The family of three left the apartment, the electronic door lock securing itself automatically. They bypassed the elevator and headed straight for the fire escape. This building had two fire escapes, one in the center and another at the northern middle part. The walls of the second fire escape were made of clear glass, allowing plenty of light in. When they entered the stairwell, they saw other residents descending from different floors.
It was work time, so there were few young people in the residential building—mostly semi-retired individuals and some children who were home for various reasons. Most had come down due to notifications from the property management, while others, like Yu Feng and Fan Qi, had seen the distant tornado themselves.
People were chatting nervously as they descended the stairs. Everyone was anxious and fearful. They were frightened because this city in Jiangnan was considered a safe haven, never before experiencing natural disasters like tornadoes, let alone last month’s earthquake. The anxiety stemmed from concerns for their young family members and children at school or work. Despite schools and workplaces having emergency protocols, the uncertainty of the tornado’s severity and its impact caused unease.
Yu Xi, carrying her backpack, followed behind Fan Qi down the stairs. The wind outside the stairwell’s glass wall was still howling, but it was nowhere near as destructive as the tornado at the city’s edge—this wind was at most a level eight or nine gale, not comparable in force.
The group quickly reached the apartment lobby on the first floor. The building was U-shaped, with a spacious square lobby. To the north were several glass doors, with mailboxes and parcel lockers on one side and two iron doors on the other, leading to the bicycle garage. Nearby, a small staircase went down to the underground car park. Since people usually took the elevator directly from the underground parking to their apartments, this staircase was rarely used.
The security guards were trying to calm the anxious residents, explaining they had just received a notice that everyone should temporarily seek shelter in the basement and wait for further instructions. However, the residents were uneasy and reluctant to evacuate immediately.
If this were in the southern coastal area, where typhoons were common, being advised to shelter in a sturdy building would be routine. But in Jiangnan, even typhoons were rare, and a tornado seemed almost unbelievable.
Several security guards were surrounded by residents refusing to follow instructions, causing a commotion.
Fan Qi and Yu Feng exchanged glances. She stepped in, suggesting that everyone should head to the basement first for safety and then ask questions. Recognizing neighbors followed their lead toward the garage, but most remained around the security guards, unwilling to move without more information.
Fan Qi sighed, told Yu Feng and Yu Xi to follow her, and headed to the iron door leading to the basement stairs. The small staircase was equipped with motion-sensor lights that lit up with footsteps. The two neighbors ahead had already reached the bottom, so the stairwell was fully illuminated.
They made their way down, turning three times. The dim lights brightened the steps, and after the first turn, they heard a loud crash and a series of startled cries from above. Yu Xi hurried her parents along, reaching the next landing corner to let the others pass.
Within seconds, the residents, now panicking, flooded the stairwell. The confined space led to pushing and shoving, causing several people to bump into walls or railings and a few nearly falling and being trampled. It was chaotic, with everyone jostled. Yu Xi’s quick thinking allowed her family to avoid the worst of it by moving to the side.
They were among the last to reach the basement, where a security guard was inspecting a damaged flashlight. Yu Feng approached him to inquire about the situation.
Thanks to Fan Qi’s earlier intervention, the guard recognized him as her husband and provided a detailed explanation. Just after they began their descent, a large tree outside was uprooted by the wind and crashed into the building’s glass doors, shattering all eight panels. Wind, leaves, and glass shards rushed into the lobby, causing a terrifying scene. Everyone retreated in fear, and those who reacted quickly made for the garage doors, with others following in a frantic rush.
Without the glass doors, the entire lobby was exposed to the strong winds. Branches, planks, plastic signs, and other debris were being blown around outside and were now being funneled into the lobby. Even the electric bike garage, which had no door at the entrance and was only half-enclosed by a few concrete columns, saw many bikes toppled over.
Everywhere, the sounds of collisions and breaking glass filled the air, causing alarm and fear among the residents. As a result, everyone rushed to the stairwell, eager to reach safety, which led to the chaotic scene.
Yu Xi walked over and asked, “Has the wind gotten stronger?”
“Yes, it’s a bit stronger now, but it hasn’t reached tornado levels yet. It’s hard to say how long that tornado will last or if it will come our way,” replied the security guard.
Although the basement provided temporary safety, it was difficult to get updates on the situation outside. “Everyone, please stay calm and wait. We’ll check the stairwell again in a while,” the guard added.
Yu Xi noticed a long but shallow cut on the back of the guard’s hand. She offered to treat his wound, saying she had a first aid kit.
Yu Xi and Yu Feng returned to Fan Qi, who had already set up a ground sheet in an empty parking space against the wall. The two emegency backpacks each contained a lightweight aluminum ground sheet, which together covered most of the parking space.
Yu Xi bent down to take out a small medical kit and returned to the guard to treat his wound. The guard was extremely grateful, thanking her repeatedly. Seeing the guard’s sincere face, Yu Xi couldn’t help but think of the security guards from the last apocalyptic world. She smiled at him without saying much and noticed that some other residents were also injured. She handed him the small medical kit, telling him to use it for others as well.
The guard thanked her again, promising to return the kit once they were done. Yu Xi didn’t mind; among her supplies, medical items were plentiful.
When Yu Xi returned to their parking spot, she saw that Fan Qi had taken off her shoes and was kneeling on the ground sheet, unpacking things from the backpack. As Yu Xi approached, Fan Qi started giving her a lesson on emergency preparedness, emphasizing the importance of staying calm and organized during sudden situations.
“Take out the thin blankets; we can use them to sit on or cover ourselves. If you’re still sleepy, you can take a nap,” Fan Qi instructed.
“…” Yu Xi responded.
“Take out the durable candles and lighter in case the power goes out,” Fan Qi continued.
“…” Yu Xi remained silent.
“The flashlight can be used before lighting the candles to avoid accidentally burning anything,” Fan Qi added.
“Here’s some chocolate, energy bars, pork jerky, sandwiches, and water. Your dad and I had lunch, but you haven’t eaten anything since you woke up. Come over and eat something,” Fan Qi said.
Yu Xi clapped her hands, impressed. “I’m convinced!”
“Enough joking, come over,” Fan Qi said, finishing unpacking and placing the three backpacks in the center of the ground sheet, leaving room for them to sit and lean back.
Yu Xi felt like she was being taken care of by a pro. Having spent three years leading others in the apocalyptic world, she now enjoyed being taken care of by her own mother. She grabbed some water and went to a secluded spot without surveillance to rinse her mouth (using mouthwash from her storage space). Then, she sat on the ground sheet, following Fan Qi’s directions and began eating.
The underground parking lot was one and a half levels below ground, and the stairwell doors were automatic closing doors, providing good sound insulation. From their location, it was difficult for an average person to hear the noise above.
Fan Qi and Yu Feng could hear the howling wind and the sounds of objects being blown around and hitting things, but they had no idea how strong the wind was or if the tornado was approaching. However, Yu Xi could hear everything clearly, including cries for help amidst the wind. She heard windows shattering, giant signs being lifted by the wind and crashing onto empty streets, branches breaking, and even trees being uprooted and sweeping through the streets.
An hour later, the power went out, plunging the garage into darkness. Some people used their phones for light, while others, who had forgotten their phones, huddled near those with light.
In these circumstances, the residents were quite united, all being neighbors in the same building. Apologies were exchanged for bumps and shoves during the rush downstairs, leading to conversations in the darkness. People shared their worries about family members they couldn’t reach and offered mutual comfort.
Fan Qi turned on her flashlight, lit a candle, and secured it with melted wax about ten centimeters from the ground sheet, drawing envious glances from others. However, they quickly looked away. Most residents were well-off, and candles weren’t rare; they assumed they’d be able to return home once the storm passed and could stock up on candles if needed.
Everyone expected the strong wind to subside soon, but it persisted from noon into the afternoon.