After buying the generator, D-cell batteries, and lamps, the only thing left was stocking up on instant food.
She picked up a box of biscuits, three boxes of bagged instant noodles, two boxes of self-heating hotpot, two boxes of self-heating rice, three boxes of chocolate, four boxes of milk, and five large bags of cereal.
That should be enough.
Chu Yian loaded everything onto her tricycle and hauled it all home, sweating buckets by the time she got into the kitchen.
Midday in the kitchen felt like stepping into a steamer basket.
The moment she turned on the gas stove, the temperature surged even more.
It was so hot she completely lost her appetite and didn't even want to cook. In the end, she just boiled two packs of instant noodles and forced down a simple meal.
The heat was truly unbearable.
She really did need another air conditioner.
While planning her next steps, she tallied up her remaining funds:
Meat and vegetables yesterday: 1,938 yuan
Fruits: 536 yuan
Lamps: 86 yuan
Huoxiang Zhengqi Shui: 20 yuan
Soda: 90 yuan
Generator: 1,350 yuan
Instant food: 876 yuan
Electronics and batteries: 120 yuan
Total spent: 5,049 yuan
Remaining: 20,341 yuan
Still quite a bit left. Chu Yian planned to spend as much as possible in the early stages of the game, then spend the last ten days holed up at home treating it like a vacation.
With that in mind, at 4 p.m.—while the sun was still scorching—she headed out again.
Lately, air conditioners had become both expensive and hard to find. She visited several stores before finally scoring one: a 3P floor-standing AC unit, priced at 5,000 yuan!
Just like that, 5,000 yuan was gone in one swipe—her heart twinged with pain.
But when she thought about the small 1.5P unit in the bedroom, which wouldn't do much for the large basement, she let it go.
No big deal. She'd already bought most of what she needed—spending a bit more was fine.
After dragging the AC unit home under the brutal sun, she didn't rush to install it. Instead, she headed right back into the city.
Her first stop was the mall.
The basement had no bed, so she needed at least a mattress. And she definitely needed a bamboo mat for summer.
She remembered the kind from childhood—pure bamboo strips woven together. They were rough and pokey when new, but after wearing in, they felt incredibly cool and comfy. Sure, they'd leave weird patterns all over your skin if you slept too long, but they were the best!
Too bad she couldn't find them anywhere in the city.
At least not in the mall.
She ended up buying a modern-looking cooling mat that seemed decent and tossed it onto the trike. By the time she came out, the sky had already turned dark.
8:12 p.m.
Streetlights had started to flicker on.
This was the first time Chu Yian had driven her tricycle this late, but she still had to stop by the gas station.
After three days of constant use, her trike was almost out of fuel. And don't forget that diesel generator she just bought—that thing was going to be a fuel guzzler.
She filled up the trike's tank, then bought 1,000 liters (1 cubic meter) of bulk diesel.
By the time she was done, night had fully fallen.
As she rode farther away from the city center, the roads got darker, and streetlights became fewer and farther between.
The coolness of the night was a relief, but the emptiness was unsettling. With only one trike riding alone down a dim road, the whole scene felt a bit eerie.
Suddenly, at a corner, she saw a man standing by the roadside, waving at her.
This stretch was far from both the suburbs and the city. He was probably stranded here after failing to catch a ride.
Chu Yian saw him—but instead of slowing down, she slammed the gas and sped right past him.
She might be kind-hearted now and then, but she wasn't stupid enough to stop for a grown man in the middle of nowhere at night with not another soul in sight.
The man hadn't expected her to zoom past so fast. Frustrated, he cursed.
"Damn it!"
"Missed another one, Old Li?"
A voice came from the woods nearby.
Apparently, he wasn't alone.
Old Li grunted. "Yeah. Can't believe how hard it is to catch a fat sheep this late at night."
"Chill, we've still got time."
The other man in the trees said, "This game's twenty days long. Between the two of us, we've only got 4,000 yuan. A couple nights at a hotel and we're broke. If we don't earn some extra cash, what are we gonna do when things get rough?"
He checked his phone. "Only an hour and a half left before my turn."
"Ugh, still that long?"
Old Li grumbled. "I told you to get some bug repellent. These mosquitoes are vicious—I'm covered in welts."
Chu Yian had no idea about that little detour. She drove quickly and even got home ten minutes earlier than usual.
Her first move was to shut the gate and lock it tight.
Then she turned on the floodlight in the yard and began unloading the fuel—ten barrels of gasoline, carried one by one into the basement.
Instant food, vegetables, fruit, lamps, gasoline, a bamboo mat, a mattress…
The basement she had just cleaned was now a chaotic mess.
Looking at the cluttered room, Chu Yian realized she'd need to organize it.
But while the temperature was still manageable, she wanted to tackle the air conditioner first.
The AC technician wouldn't arrive until the same time next week. Since she planned to relocate the unit anyway, she figured she might as well install it herself for now.
Chu Yian's handyman skills were… poor.
She nearly broke her brand-new air conditioner.
From 9 p.m. until the early morning hours, she worked nonstop, and finally managed to get it installed.
She was exhausted and sleepy. There was no energy left for organizing the basement.
After a quick shower, she collapsed onto the bed and fell fast asleep.
Game: Day 4
Thanks to last night's overtime, Chu Yian didn't wake up until 8 a.m. the next day.
By the time she got up, the sun was already high in the sky.
The orange-red sun hung in the east, and the temperature was steadily rising.
She didn't even have time to make breakfast—after a quick wash, she hurriedly rode into the city.
Today's task: visit furniture factories.
The basement was still a big open space, and there wasn't a great way to organize the items inside. If she wanted to make her rest days more comfortable, she needed to section the space off using room dividers to create a mini storage area.
The problem? Room dividers—
The wooden ones cost four figures. Even the cheapest were five or six hundred each!
And a single divider wasn't enough. She'd need at least four. That kind of expense would burn through her funds fast, and honestly, it didn't feel worth it.
Chu Yian shook her head. Not every purchase was necessary.
She had rushed over full of hope and left disappointed by the prices.
As soon as she stepped outside the furniture market, the heat hit her like a wall. Without AC, her body was instantly covered in a layer of sweat. She just wanted to dive into a cooled room.
She spotted a small snack shop up ahead. Convenient—she hadn't eaten breakfast yet.
Lifting the door curtain, she ran inside, glanced at the menu, and called out,
"Boss, two liang of beef rice noodles, please!"
As soon as she said it, a loud crackling noise burst from the utility pole across the street—