By the riverbank, people held basins and buckets of all sizes, rushing toward the water.
There was no order, only chaos.
In the pitch-black darkness, no one knew who was standing beside them, who suddenly shoved them, or who started a fight.
Everyone just wanted to rush into the river, draw water, and get away as fast as possible.
This river was once used for flood drainage, with depths reaching dozens of meters. Large boats used to pass through it, and locals affectionately called it the Mother River.
But now, the water level had dropped, exposing riverbeds in many places; in many areas, the water barely reached ankle height.
Most of the city's population crowded into the river to scramble for water—people pressing, trampling, and pushing one another.
Yesterday, a few bodies already floated in the river—victims of stampedes and drowning. After tonight, there would be more floating corpses.
...
Li Yunqiang and Liu Yong were two players.
Also extremely unlucky ones.
At the start of the game, to prepare for the later stages, they risked everything and robbed a lone girl at night. Though chased for miles, they managed to grab over 10,000 yuan.
Together with the initial game funds, they had 14,000 yuan.
With that much money, they could easily afford hotel stays for the remaining ten days.
They went directly to a three-star hotel, chose a pretty good room, and paid 8,000 yuan upfront for 17 days.
Power outages started on Day 4 of the game, but the hotel wasn't affected much.
Days 5, 6, 7, 8… the hotel's generator kept running, the air conditioning never stopped.
Li Yunqiang and Liu Yong spent days lying in bed, bored watching TV and their phones, looking at those ordinary people outside suffering in the heat without electricity.
When hungry, they ordered delivery, ate well, drank well, and hotel staff came to clean.
Those days were simply blissful, making them proud of their robbery and hotel living.
However, the city-wide long-term water, gas, and power outages finally wore down even the hotel.
First came the water shortage.
No water to shower, wash clothes, or clean. Most importantly, the toilets reeked horribly, making people sick.
Then breakfast was no longer served.
No lunch delivery was available either. The two were starving, pressing their chests, seeing stars. But at least there was electricity and air conditioning.
They stayed inside all day, going out at night to find food, managing to hold on for another day.
Until yesterday, daytime, the hotel suddenly lost power.
Most staff had fled; only one receptionist remained in the lobby.
Power outages were not isolated; all tenants in the hotel came out to demand explanations.
"Sorry, due to the extreme heat, the hotel can no longer meet guest needs. Please line up; we will refund your payments starting today."
Yes, even hotels began refunding guests.
Li Yunqiang and Liu Yong's good times ended after just a few days.
They, along with others evicted, set up camp in the hotel's basement.
Compared to the sweltering upper floors, the basement was definitely cooler.
But they hadn't prepared for the heat and faced increasing problems.
The first big problem: no water!
Mineral water in supermarkets and shops had been long looted; even soft drinks were gone. Buying from others cost 100 yuan per bottle—or simply unavailable.
The two spent a third of their money and bought only three bottles of mineral water and one bottle of cola.
Under extreme heat, the water ran out fast.
To survive, they followed others to scramble for water in the river.
Even though the river water was muddy, smelling strange, and filled with terrifying, harmful parasites, they had to pinch their noses and drink!
Now, even drawing water from the river was difficult.
Both men, being strong, pushed and shoved, finally managing to fill one bucket.
At that moment, lights flashed on the bridge above, and a car left the large bridge.
Not only them—many people under the bridge noticed.
"Having a car is great; you can leave the city." Someone watched the distance enviously.
Many had left the city these past days.
"It's so hot everywhere, where can you even go?"
"Someone said even glaciers have melted."
"Go to the countryside."
Another voice said, "Lots of rural homes have wells with clean water—no smell, no parasites. That alone beats the city by miles. Plus, every household has land, rice in warehouses, vegetables in fields, and firewood for cooking. They're self-sufficient.
Ah… suddenly I envy the countryside people."
"You sure know a lot."
Li Yunqiang and Liu Yong were tempted. "Then why don't you go there?"
Though cars were rare, they still existed.
At worst, get a bike and travel by night.
"No place to stay. No connections in the countryside—who'd let you freeload?"
The speaker clicked his tongue. "Shouldn't have sold my village house two years ago. Now I can't go home. What a pain."
"I'm from the countryside too, no relatives there. Otherwise, I'd have gone back long ago."
Another sighed, "If the city's unbearable, you'll have to pack up and live like cavemen deep in the mountains or in caves."
...
The car passing over the bridge was Lu Qingyuan and Chu Yian.
They didn't know their departure sparked discussion.
Because gasoline was precious, they even brought some building materials back on the way.
Game Day 12, night
Though there was little valuable left outside besides building materials, they decided to go out once more.
However, many vehicles were on the road tonight.
Over a dozen cars passed by, all heading out of the city.
"So many people."
Chu Yian looked at the passing cars. "Where are they going?"
"Don't know. Let's go back."
Teacher Lu suddenly turned the car sharply.
They didn't continue out but drove home.
Home, lock doors, bolt windows.
They returned just in time, as cars passed their house.
Chu Yian immediately turned off all lights and the generator powering the fridge.
Though the food inside was precious, she worried the generator's noise would attract attention to their small courtyard.
The place was now as silent as if no one lived there.
Chu Yian and Teacher Lu sat outside, waiting for the cars to pass.