The heat was unbearable. By the time Chu Yian arrived downtown, her clothes were completely soaked through. She had finished off both remaining bottles of mineral water, yet her head still felt woozy.
She might be getting heatstroke.
Realizing this, Chu Yian quickly looked for a nearby store.
"Boss, do you have Huoxiang Zhengqi Shui?"
"You mean Huoxiang Zhengqi Oral Solution?"
The boss casually handed her a boxed set in a delicate glass vial.
Chu Yian took one look—yup, it was the classic overpriced Huoxiang Zhengqi assassin. Ten yuan per box.
"Just the regular Huoxiang Zhengqi Shui, please," she replied meekly.
Both versions had the same formula. The oral solution had a slightly sweet additive, while the regular shui version used ethanol—disgusting, yes, but only four yuan!
With the price of two boxes of the oral version, she could buy five whole boxes of the standard 10-vial packs.
She left the store carrying a bag full of herbal meds. Before heading out, she chugged a dose.
It tasted absolutely foul—enough to trigger a gag reflex. She forced it down, rolled her eyes dramatically, and ran over to a nearby snack stand to buy an iced drink and rinse her mouth.
Then it was time to buy lights.
She had already checked the basement. Aside from the single ceiling wire, there was nowhere else to install fixed lighting. She explained this to the store clerk, and he quickly brought over a few portable lights.
"These run on D batteries. Really bright. One battery can last a whole month."
Perfect!
Estimating the size of the basement, Chu Yian bought three lamps, four D-cell batteries, and shamelessly asked for two more as freebies.
Besides the lights, she also couldn't get that watermelon off her mind!
Since she was buying fruit anyway, getting just one watermelon didn't feel right. So she bought:
4 large watermelons
5 pineapples
20 apples
30 coconuts
2 pomelos
10 pears
Her preferences were obvious.
And then drinks—so many drinks.
In this kind of heat, she wanted both the fridge and the well packed with ice-cold beverages. After craving an icy Sprite all the way here, she ended up buying 30 bottles of soda in various flavors.
By the time she got home, she was loaded to the brim.
Along the way, she passed by the construction site. Even though they'd only met once, the workers recognized her and exchanged friendly waves.
Back at the house, Chu Yian filled a giant bucket with well water to chill the watermelons.
Next, she installed the lights in the basement.
As the lamps flicked on, the room lit up instantly—making the empty basement look even larger.
Chu Yian stood in the middle, already planning how to divide the space.
An air conditioner was a must. It could be installed upstairs, with the external unit mounted above. She'd only run it when the heat became truly unbearable.
As for a bed, that was beyond her strength to move, but a mattress was doable.
And definitely a mat—only then could she sleep cool and comfy.
As for the rest of the space, she hadn't quite figured it out yet. After fixing a quick bowl of noodles in the kitchen and resting for a while, she was just about to head back down when—
Darkness.
A sudden blackout.
Chu Yian hadn't expected that, but luckily, the new battery-powered lights proved useful.
She brought the three lamps upstairs and set them up in her bedroom.
Without the AC running, the room quickly turned hot and stifling.
Her phone buzzed with a power outage alert:
"Dear customer: At 22:36 on 3022-8-17, an unexpected fault caused a power outage. Repair efforts are underway. Affected areas: XXX, XXX, XX. Estimated restoration: 05:00 on 3022-8-18."
So it was a repair issue.
Chu Yian saw the expected recovery time and figured the meat in her fridge would be fine.
Wait a minute—what if blackouts became common?
The thought jolted her upright.
In this kind of heat, a power outage was no joke. No AC, no lights—and worst of all, the fridge could stop working, spoiling all the food.
She suddenly felt like only stocking regular food items was a dumb strategy.
Instant noodles and compressed biscuits weren't just for bug-out scenarios—they were perfect for hunkering down at home too.
She opened her phone and began taking notes.
Besides food, there was also power.
Battery-operated lights were cheap—she should get a few more. And definitely stock up on D batteries.
But what about the fridge and AC if the power went out?
Chu Yian was already preparing for problems that hadn't even happened yet.
She needed a generator.
A household diesel generator.
She remembered seeing them in hardware stores before, and after some quick research online, she found that a decent one cost about 1,000 yuan.
Perfect. That was her next mission.
Chu Yian finalized her shopping list for tomorrow and lay back down.
…So hot!
She had just taken a shower and was already sweating again.
Climbing out of bed to rinse off with cold water, she suddenly remembered:
The well-chilled watermelon!
She bolted up, excitement charging her steps.
Watermelon! Sweet, icy watermelon!
She pulled one from the icy bucket, sliced it in half—one went into the fridge, and the other she dug into with a spoon.
The crisp, sweet chill flooded her body with cool relief.
After another rinse and a belly full of watermelon, the heat finally eased.
She lay down once more and fell into a deep sleep.
Game: Day 3 — 5:00 a.m.
Her phone alarm buzzed.
The sky was still dark, and the air held a whisper of morning coolness.
Electricity had been restored. After a simple breakfast, Chu Yian headed out again.
Her first stop: the generator.
The shop owner eagerly showed her all sorts of flashy products, but Chu Yian had already made up her mind: diesel only.
She had done her homework the night before—diesel generators were the most practical for her needs. Rechargeable batteries were too weak, and solar panels, while promising, required installation and maintenance, and they were expensive.
"How about this 3-kilowatt household generator?"
Seeing she couldn't be swayed, the owner finally brought out the model she wanted.
"It holds 10 jin of diesel and can power three 1.5-horsepower AC units at once. Occasional small appliances? No problem at all."
Chu Yian listened to the pitch and nodded approvingly.
"Yes. This is the one I want!"