CHAPTER 166: ANYONE ELSE WANTS TO EAT CHICKEN? (SEEKING MONTHLY TICKET)

One of the sorrows of being a reincarnator: Knowing full well that the flood wouldn’t reach our neighborhood, I still had to pretend to be very scared and evacuate with everyone else. It’s not like I could just announce that we wouldn’t be flooded and forcefully keep my family behind—only to be terrified at the last moment, right?

The terrain of Jingshu District was already quite high. If the events from the middle of the night—Wu City Center’s tallest buildings being submerged, tens of thousands disappearing from high-rises, and Japan being completely flooded—hadn’t occurred, everyone would have simply stayed on the top floors of their residential buildings.

Unfortunately, these events happened yesterday, and everyone was panicking. Hearing that the floodwaters were spreading in their direction, they were frightened into hastily fleeing to the higher grounds of Red Mountain Ecological Garden.

Wu You’ai had gone to gather people to set off. As the district’s visiting specialist, she was still relatively free. At that point, only about seventy people remained in Jingshu District. However, once the floodwaters refused to recede and the government began seeking new residences, they would likely start stuffing people into the area. This huge district will probably have to accommodate tens of thousands of people then, Jing Shu mused.

That crowded, terrifying scene...

Jing Shu’s family quickly packed their evacuation belongings. Mrs. Jing woke up Mr. Jing to empty the water collection tank of the villa.

The benefits of buying the most expensive tent were apparent now—lightweight, quick, and with a foolproof one-pull setup. The family’s tent was packed up in minutes. Jing Shu took all the luggage and bedding, stuffing it into the luggage rack on the car’s roof.

Luckily, Jing Shu had prepared early; otherwise, they would have been rushing off in a hurry.

Packed in advance were down jackets, daily necessities, portable cooking appliances, gas stoves, previously cooked soup, multi-functional kettles, a large barrel of mineral water, ready-made portable food, braised meat, spicy dried meat, pickles, a stack of portable toilets, various dry towels, hand warmers, Wind Oil Essence, and more.

The family watched as these bags of items were quickly stuffed into the back of the car. After that space was filled, clothes and daily necessities were packed into the extra-large luggage rack on the car’s roof.

Finally, they securely tied plastic-wrapped wooden planks on top of the luggage rack, making the whole BYD Song appear two layers taller.

To the unaware, it looked like they were moving.

The whole family was stunned, feeling that something wasn’t quite right but unable to pinpoint what it was. It took a while before Mr. Jing realized, "Aren’t we evacuating? Shouldn’t we take all the food? Carrying all this, it’s as if we’re going on a holiday..."

Could I tell them we’d be back in a few days? Jing Shu could only respond, "Don’t worry, I’ve secured all the food in sealed boxes in the basement. Even if the villa floods, I still have the Shark Submarine and a diving suit. We can retrieve things later. Taking too much food would be too conspicuous. What if dozens of people decided to rob us?"

Jing Shu’s words made sense. The food she had packed was already plentiful, enough to last for half a month... maybe?

Jinglai added a piercing comment, "But the stuff you’ve packed is also quite eye-catching. It’s like you’re asking for trouble."

No, no, when it comes to attracting trouble, I’m not nearly as bad as some others. When the time comes, it will truly be a case of ’each to their own, showcasing their abilities.’ We’ll just have to wait and see, Jing Shu thought.

Grandma Jing originally wanted to take all the Domestic Poultry with them but ultimately couldn’t. After Jing Shu promised she’d come back to check on them every day, they were reluctantly tied up one by one and fitted with life vests. Only the fat chicken was brought along. Her reasoning was:

"It lays twenty eggs a day. It cannot die, no matter who else does."

Everyone put on rain boots and sealed raincoats. The Jing family was finally ready to set out, looking neat and orderly.

Mr. Jing drove. Grandma Jing, Grandpa Jing, Mrs. Jing, and Third Aunt were the passengers. Two other seats in the car were occupied by various supplies.

The fat chicken was cradled in Grandma Jing’s arms, enjoying exceptional treatment.

Jing Shu took Wu You’ai on the Shark Submarine. It was highly maneuverable, and they needed to keep an eye on the main group from the district.

Wu You’ai managed to assemble everyone from the district in ten minutes. There was little for them to bring. Their only preparation was to put on extra layers of clothing and then wrap themselves tightly in plastic bags of various colors. Those who were better off wore a raincoat on top.

However, it was all for naught. Based on her experience, Jing Shu knew that unless it was a sealed raincoat, it was better not to wear one at all. Red earthworms especially liked to burrow into openings. They would squirm in through any gaps... and the consequences? Heh.

Each person had a bicycle, and so they set out with a great commotion. Jing Shu even saw the heavily pregnant Zhang Bingbing in the crowd, looking to be in good spirits. When Zhang Bingbing and the others saw the Shark Submarine, their expressions were tinged with envy.

The people from the villas are really something, acquiring another such toy!

Four consecutive days of torrential rain had caused significant water accumulation, even in elevated areas. The overloaded BYD Song plowed through the wind and rain. Inside, the family took the opportunity to eat breakfast: Grandma Jing’s nang with pickles and dried meat, washed down with a pot of warm milk tea.

Jing Shu circled around the main group in the Shark Submarine, having the same breakfast with Wu You’ai. The difference was that once Jing Shu started eating, she couldn’t stop. She eventually polished off an entire can of spicy beef jerky. Even Wu You’ai’s eyelid twitched a few times as she wondered if they had brought enough food for the trip.

The car driven by Mr. Jing disappeared from view after a short while.

The route was all uphill. Some places were too steep to ride bicycles, so people had to push them. This delay meant the main group took over two hours to reach Red Mountain Ecological Garden. Jing Shu felt extremely mixed emotions about returning to this place.

The entrance of the Ecological Garden was packed with police and people. Some were yelling through megaphones, while others waited in groups to be assigned their places. Despite the chaos, the weather was relatively calm, and people had grown accustomed to the rain. There were no urgent issues of hunger or thirst.

At this point, Wu You’ai acted like a tour guide buying tickets. She first registered the number of people, and then a local staff member led the entire group into the garden.

The Ecological Garden was indeed huge. It took another ten minutes of walking to reach the actual entrance of Red Mountain Cave, also known as Thousand Cave Cave. The staff member gave the two people covered in raincoats a somewhat strange look. They must have connections, he thought, then pointed to an area and said,

"The entirety of Area Z, Cave 5, belongs to your district. There are signs inside. If you have any problems, just contact me through the central system."

With that, he walked away.

The entrance of Red Mountain Cave was divided into 26 alphabetical areas. Each area, in turn, was subdivided into several dozen numbered caves, generally from 1 to 50. The caves closer to the front, with lower numbers, offered more space.

"Cave 5 in Area Z is a prime spot," Jing Shu narrowed her eyes. I didn’t expect Li Yuetian to be so adept at networking.

Third Aunt had just called to say they were stuck at the entrance and couldn’t get in until Li Yuetian arranged for them to go first.

There were markers at each cave entrance. Jing Shu, driving the Shark Submarine with the group, quickly found Cave 5 in Area Z. Before she could take it all in, she saw that the cave was already crowded with people, and she heard several screams.

"Murder! Murder! Help!"

At the same time, there were chilling clucks from the fat chicken.

"Who else damn well wants to eat my chicken?"