If the area of Nadia's space could have a couple more digits, she would enthusiastically empty the city instead of watching important supplies be submerged while humans engaged in brutal fights for sustenance and stabbed one another for stale bread. However, that was the harshness of life and she should put herself first. She refocused and pressed on against the rising flood—milk, yogurt, milk powder, goat's milk, soymilk powder, oatmeal, cocoa powder, instant porridge, white sugar, rock sugar, brown sugar…the water was already thigh-level and did not allow time for reading labels or favoritism. Her hands swept across the shelves as she snatched all she could see without caring about tastes. This was better than letting the flood consume them all anyway. Tinned food, fruit preserves, snacks, chocolates, energy bars, biscuits, cheese, smoked chicken drumstick, smoked chicken wing, smoked duck, beef jerky, lamb jerky, soy jerky, rice cakes, chips, and the rest took up the space. She also loaded up on instant noodles at the instant food section filled with instant ramen, macaroni and cheese, spaghetti bolognese, and carbonara. Her choices were limited as the only ramen flavor left was pickle, but she took it shamelessly anyway regardless of the weird taste. After all, she had to chomp on bark and clay for sustenance in her previous reincarnation before eventually digging a hole with a stick to relieve herself. At the seasoning section, she did not hesitate in loading up any essential goods, disregarding the peanut, corn, olive, camellia, and blended oils due to lack of space—soya sauce, oyster sauce, vinegar, cooking wine, all in space-saving enormous bottles; hot sauce, pickles, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, tinned mackerel of different brands. She even retrieved her favorites even if they were already drenched. Various seasoning packets followed—beef stock, vegetable stock, chili powder, allspice, chicken stock—most of which she could not check as she swept them all off the shelves. As the water climbed to waist-level, she couldn't help feeling the chill despite her raincoat. Given that it was her final opportunity for a thorough clearance, collecting more supplies now was better than fighting over supplies, wasn't it? What a pity that the ground level was submerged since rare supplies could have been salvaged. When the water level climbed to her chest, she felt as if floating as the products were drenched or bobbed along on the water. Her task was now more difficult, but her space was overflowing. Even the bathroom was close to bursting. Just as she reached for the crispy snacks bobbing on the surface, a light beam moved nearby, taking her aback. Might there be other victims gathering supplies too? She did not know their number thanks to the flood, plus it would be hard to fight at full strength in the water which left her at a disadvantage. She had already monopolised most of the important essentials on that floor, so if her space was found… Nadia couldn't not endanger herself and got her portable diving mask from storage to put it on before going underwater toward the fire escape. The floodwater seeped into her raincoat and weighed her down a lot, so she struggled to get it off while holding her breath. She only surfaced when she could not take it anymore and got her mask off to catch her breath. It sounded like only one person was there, making Nadia sigh relievedly and push the fire escape door open with difficulty before heading to the topmost level. She did not switch on her torch and took a breather along with a bar of chocolate to get some energy back. Once her faintness was gone, she wandered barefoot up to the empty top level. Before heading out, Nadia noticed a Hummer in the parking lot that had caught her eye earlier. It was the same model as the one owned by the resident in unit 1801, with a high chassis and powerful horsepower. Its imposing appearance made it look like a true post-apocalyptic war machine, easily capable of overpowering a regular SUV. Unfortunately, her space couldn't accommodate it, so she opted for the more comfortable and versatile RV instead. She patted the hood regretfully, realizing that all these vehicles would soon be submerged and washed away by the rising floodwaters. The water level was rising rapidly, and the current was becoming more turbulent, which could easily carry away her rubber dinghy. Forced to use the speedboat, Nadia navigated carefully through the underwater obstacles, making sure not to puncture it. Phoenix City was enveloped in darkness but her waterproof headlamp provided limited visibility, allowing her to move slowly through the water. The speedboat was easy to operate, but the engine noise could easily attract attention. Fortunately, the government was eagerly carrying out rescue operations after the typhoon was gone, so any residents who detected it would probably think it was part of it. Instead of going home, Nadia rushed to another location three kilometers away. the boat's slow movement made traversing the dark surroundings thirty minutes. By the time she reached a six-story office building, the water level had climbed to the third floor. She used a window cutter to break the glass on the fourth and clambered inside, heading straight to a solar technology's retail store that she remembered from a promotional flyer she had received before the typhoon regarding the newest solar generator. She had visited the store earlier to get more details about it—off-grid power generation, flexible grid frequency inverters that could generate electricity efficiently under concentrated sunlight, high-efficiency solar panels, and fast-charging capabilities with mains power. The standout feature was the battery with a capacity of up to 100 kilowatt-hours which could fuel multiple air conditioners or heaters all at once! However, the exorbitant price tag of 680 grand was well beyond her means, so she had made a mental note of the store's location since nothing else came close to its specs. Making sure the mall had no one, she used a pry bar to pry the rolling shutter door open. The storefront was tiny, with the new generator and inverter prominently displayed. She quickly checked the storeroom for its accessories and discovered another generator of the same model, which she took instantly but had to put the solar panels and brackets on the balcony. Besides collecting the remaining accessories in case of damage, she also gathered several portable battery boxes despite their lower storage capacity. There were still many costly electricals in the mall, but she did not have enough space. With it being past 5:00AM, she had to go back before sunrise. Nadia navigated the storm as she drove the speedboat back towards the SOHO community, switching off the motor and paddling to a calmer area beneath the building before moving on to the rubber dinghy. She could now discern her environment better in the rising sun and spotted another rubber dinghy—or was it a speedboat? Somebody was there loading something something through the window, who she realized was a man from his body shape. He turned to see her without giving her time to hide, alerting her.