On the eighteenth floor.
The group that had just been scared so badly they nearly wet themselves were now huddled in the corners, trembling from head to toe.
Once the initial shock wore off, Qian Jun frowned. Something felt wrong. "How did the people in 3202 get a gun? You can't just pick one of those up anywhere."
"Yeah, and she didn't look like the kind of person who'd play with that sort of thing."
"What's the point of overthinking this? Maybe the people upstairs gave it to her. I told you all not to go upstairs, but you wouldn't listen. We didn't get any food, and now we've offended someone. What if they wait until we're asleep to get rid of us?"
"Stop acting like you knew it all along. When I said we should go upstairs, none of you objected. So don't dump all the blame on me now."
After speaking, Qian Jun glared at the circle of people around him. After all, when he had first suggested going upstairs, everyone had agreed. There was no way this could be pinned solely on him.
Still, since those people had let them leave, they probably wouldn't seek revenge. "If they wanted to deal with us, they would have done it already. Since they let us go, they won't sneak back later to finish the job."
Even as he said that, Qian Jun had no real confidence in his words. And after today's incident, none of them dared set foot on the thirty-second or thirty-third floor for the time being.
Whoever said women were easy to bully had clearly never met the woman in 3203. She alone could take on several men—no, dozens.
In a daze, Qian Jun recalled that some young man had mentioned before that the woman in 3203 was terrifyingly capable. They just hadn't believed him.
Looks like that young man hadn't been lying.
…
The moderate rain outside lasted only three days before turning heavy again. The water below kept rising, and within a few days it had reached the eighteenth floor.
For Lan Jin, the eighteenth floor had always been the highest water level she had known in her previous life. But compared to the three-month rainy season back then, this year's rain had only lasted a month and a half so far. No one could guarantee that it would stop here. If it poured for another month and a half, even the thirty-third floor might not be safe.
Still, there was nothing Lan Jin could do. With the sheer volume of rain and the depth of the floodwaters outside, she couldn't relocate even if she wanted to.
…
The endless rain made the air so damp that her child and the dog were uncomfortable no matter where they sat outside the space. Eventually, Lan Jin had enough. She simply put both the child and the dog into her storage space.
She could solve her family's problem thanks to her ability, but Grandma Ling next door wasn't so lucky.
First, the old woman developed patches of damp rash, leading to skin problems. Unable to expel the moisture from her body, her condition worsened into a fever. At her age, such suffering was unbearable. Within two days she was bedridden.
The only medicine in her home was banlangen granules, which were far too mild for her illness—and possibly not even the right treatment. Even after finishing an entire bag, her symptoms didn't improve.
Ling Jiang was in a panic, pacing at home with no way to help.
After several days without hearing any sound from next door, Lan Jin went to check and found out Grandma Ling was too ill to get out of bed. She quickly said, "Why didn't you tell me? I have medicine at home. It's not much, but enough for us. Wait here, I'll get it."
She hurried back, found the medicine, and brought it to Ling Jiang.
The medicine had already been opened: six tablets for cold and fever left, and two strips of antibiotics, though one strip was missing four pills. Nobody minded that they were partly used.
Ling Jiang took the medicine, unsure what to say. "I'll remember all this. I'll return it to you someday, and I won't forget what you've done for us."
"Alright, just give it to Grandma Ling quickly. After all this delay, I don't know if it'll be enough."
With the medicine, Grandma Ling's symptoms eased noticeably. By the next day she could sit up, and by the third day she was walking again.
Though she still wasn't fully recovered, she refused to take more medicine. Helpless, Ling Jiang returned the remaining pills to Lan Jin.
Two fever tablets were left after two days of treatment—one in the morning and one at night—and one full strip of antibiotics remained. Lan Jin didn't take them back. "If her fever is gone, then skip those. But she should still take the antibiotics. At her age, inflammation doesn't clear easily. You'll feel safer if she keeps taking them. I still have another unopened box. Take it."
After confirming that Lan Jin truly had a spare, Ling Jiang thick-skinnedly took the antibiotics home.
During the days Grandma Ling was sick, the outdoor temperature had held steady at around five degrees for quite some time without dropping further. It wasn't exactly freezing, but it was still cold enough indoors that everyone dressed in thick clothing, making every movement feel heavy and clumsy.
That was when Lan Jin remembered the high-priced set of temperature-regulating clothes she'd once bought at the mall.
By the year 2122, clothing that could heat or cool itself was nothing new. Affordable versions were widely available.
Lan Jin had tried many types—pre-charged garments you could turn on anywhere, ones that ran on a power bank, even solar-powered versions. But all had one major flaw: they were too dependent on electricity.
If the power went out or the power bank died, they were useless. Solar-powered ones could charge and store electricity during the day for night use, but their battery life was terrible, running out too quickly to be practical.
The set she had was different. It didn't need any device at all—the fabric itself regulated temperature. Made from newly developed material, it generated heat and maintained warmth just by being worn close to the skin.
The advertisements had been so exaggerated that she had hesitated for a long time before finally making the purchase.
In the end, she bought not only the set but also extra fabric to make clothes for Qiao Qiao. Children grow fast, so fixed sizes wouldn't last long, but making clothes herself would allow her to adjust the fit.
Now, she took the set out of her storage space. It was still as pristine as the day she bought it, neatly packed in its original box. She eagerly lifted the lid—only to find a manual for the temperature-regulating clothes lying on top instead of the garment itself.