Bab 20: Dominant Brother
Arnold felt uneasy about leaving the inflatable boat here; he was afraid that by the time they returned, it might be gone without a trace. He took out a black bag from the stern and revealed its contents, smiling in the clear moonlight. "I forgot to tell you, I brought the inflation equipment for the rubber boat."
This way, they could release the air from the inflatable boat now and reinflate it when they returned. Alice also had inflatable equipment in her space, but it was inconvenient to bring out. She nodded, "Let's go up together."
Arnold folded the deflated rubber boat and carried it upstairs. On the second floor, they found several people trying to pry open doors. Some had already brought out dozens of bags of rice, along with a small cart filled with winter melons, pumpkins, and potatoes.
Those who came here didn't act alone; they either brought their whole families or formed teams with relatives and friends. Groups ranged from five or six people to over a dozen. It was rare to see just two people like Alice and Arnold, so their presence attracted attention.
"The second floor is already occupied. Let's go to the top floor," Alice wasted no time.
While not many people had arrived yet, they were currently scavenging on the lower floors. Going directly to the top floor might yield some overlooked items. The previous two days of rain had led many shops to stock up, and now everything was available at a bargain due to the chaotic human order.
In the face of a natural disaster, with no use of stored resources in their space, Alice and Arnold had to venture out to find food. Human order had collapsed, and morality had become less significant.
They climbed the stairs, passing the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth floors where people were already busy. Upon reaching the seventh floor, they realized that no one had ascended yet.
"Big brother, you go to the eighth floor," Alice suggested as they split up.
Aware of the urgency of time, Arnold nodded and rushed towards the eighth floor. Alice's gaze focused on the supermarket at the end of the seventh floor, and she walked briskly, effortlessly picking the lock.
There were three bags of rice left, five bags of flour, various types of flatbreads filling the shelves, dozens of bottles of peanut oil and sunflower seed oil, and a shelf full of canned snacks.
Cleaning supplies like dishwashing liquid, laundry detergent, soap, etc., lined a whole cabinet. Towels, toothbrushes, basins, buckets, and mops were neatly arranged. Pots, bowls, ladles, cutting boards, knives, and utensils of all sizes were also available.
Cigarettes, beer, chewing gum, lollipops... Alice stored everything in her space without hesitation. After clearing out the items outside, she entered the warehouse. Inside, shelves were fully stocked with several large boxes of cooking oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea. There were five or six boxes of various snacks, eight or nine boxes of seasonings, and over twenty boxes of carbonated beverages. Alice unapologetically took everything.
Having emptied the supermarket, Alice noticed a few people coming up from downstairs. They spotted the supermarket and excitedly rushed over, only to be disappointed in the next moment.
"It seems like this place has already been visited. Let's check elsewhere."
"We got excited for nothing. It would've been great if there was a 'zero-cost shopping spree' at the supermarket."
Alice glanced at them, then turned and walked into a bubble tea shop. She stored all the ingredients for making bubble tea in her space for future use.
Next, she visited a noodle shop, found five bags of dry rice noodles, a bag of dried bean curd sticks, and a tub of pickled vegetables, along with various seasonings. All these items were swiftly stored in her space. Unable to carry too much with her hands to avoid drawing attention, Alice made sure to keep them empty.
After searching the seventh floor for over twenty minutes, with her hands empty, Alice ascended to the eighth floor. No one had arrived on the eighth floor yet, but those from the seventh floor were likely on their way up soon.
Passing by a cosmetics store, Alice hesitated for a moment but eventually stepped inside. She didn't enjoy makeup; the original owner of this face was naturally beautiful and didn't need these products either. However, since she came across them, she decided to take them.
Five minutes later, Alice emerged from the cosmetics store, leaving it empty. Finding it troublesome, she even stored the display cabinets in her space.
In a liquor store, she found Arnold. "Big brother, did you find anything?"
Arnold pulled out two bags to show her. "These are from the restaurants. I don't know if the business here is bad, but there weren't many kitchen supplies."
There was no rice, but he found several packs of instant noodles and some dried shiitake mushrooms and dried daylilies. Alice noticed his gaze and coughed lightly. "Not much on the seventh floor."
Arnold replied, "I just took two bottles of red wine."
With over a hundred bottles of wine here, it was a pity they couldn't take it all. They still needed to find food later. Arnold, true to his word, only took two bags of supplies and suggested, "I'll carry these bags downstairs, and you bring the rubber boat with you."
Alice agreed, "You go down first; I'll use the restroom."
Once Arnold left, Alice quickly stored all the red wine on the shelves. Even if she didn't want it, those downstairs would come up and take it.
Shortly after Alice left, a group of men who came up from the seventh floor rushed into the liquor store. A minute later, a furious roar echoed through the entire eighth floor, "Who took all the wine!"
Alice and Arnold searched the commercial street in various places. Two hours later, they left with a boat full of supplies. When they paddled the rubber boat to the entrance of the commercial street, they found over a dozen boats gathered there. Nearby, boats stacked with supplies made it impossible to pass.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone