Ch 136: Apocalypse Star House Hoarding

Outside, torrential rain poured relentlessly. The downpour was so heavy that it severely impaired visibility. When Chen Lei and his son realized the nearby hills were gone, they initially thought it was a trick of the rain obscuring their vision.

“They’re definitely gone,” Yu Xi and Ya Tong confirmed.

The hills, which had never been particularly tall, had their highest points only five to six meters above the waterline when they first arrived. Yesterday, those points were still three to four meters above water.

Now, the highest part of the hills had vanished, leaving only scattered trees standing in the water. In lower-lying areas, even the tree trunks were submerged, with only branches and leaves extending out into the water.

The relentless typhoon and rainstorm had plagued Lushan Peninsula for 25 or 26 days. Every time anyone looked at the sky, it seemed as though the heavens had sprung a leak, with rain falling incessantly. Yet even the worst of those earlier downpours couldn’t compare to the current deluge—it was as though the sky itself had truly shattered.

“Everyone, come look at the map,” Ya Tong said, pulling out a laptop. She opened a file showing the topographical map of the entire Lushan Peninsula, highlighting the terrain and elevation with distinct colors. The map also featured a 3D mode, allowing for detailed views of the area’s terrain.

“This is how Lushan Peninsula originally looked.”

With a few clicks, the flat map transformed into a 3D rendering, vividly displaying the region’s hills and basins. “The peninsula has many hills and basins. The coastal areas are generally low-lying, with the eastern coast being the lowest. Compared to most of the peninsula, the eastern coastal area is essentially a basin.”

She continued, “After the tsunami, combined with other unknown factors, this basin topography is one reason why the water hasn’t receded. On the western side of the peninsula, the hills have so far blocked the invading seawater. Plus, the land west of the hills is at a higher elevation, so the impact of the rain and floods there hasn’t been as severe.

“But now, the water level has surpassed the height of the hills. Look here—this range of hills near us is the highest in the area, and even it has been submerged.”

Chen Lei suddenly understood what she was implying. “If the seawater has already covered all the nearby hills, then the cities west of the hills must have…”

Ya Tong nodded gravely. “They’ve likely been flooded.”

Although the terrain of the hills was uneven and capable of retaining some water, the western slope of the hills was distinctly downward. Once the water spilled over these hills, it would inevitably flow toward the cities on the western side.

Initially, the water would spread out and flow in separate streams, so the people on the western side might not even notice the incoming flood.

But with the highest points of the hills now submerged, the water from the east was continuously pouring into the west. As long as the rain continued, the backflow wouldn’t stop.

She adjusted the 3D map, inputting several parameters. A blue waterline began to rise steadily from the original sea level, advancing across the map. Depending on the terrain, the waterline would either halt or flow further.

Eventually, the blue line passed over the eastern hills, gradually engulfing four western cities, dozens of towns, large expanses of farmland, and highways.

The chilling visualization left everyone with an eerie sense of foreboding.

Those submerged and soon-to-be-submerged areas were home to countless people, buildings, and communities. It was where people lived their lives. For them, the flood would feel like an apocalyptic nightmare, striking without warning.

One could only hope those towns and cities had received evacuation notices before the waters arrived. But even with warnings, it was almost impossible for all residents to evacuate safely before the flood hit.

So many people, so many families—elderly, children, and those with limited mobility—would struggle to leave quickly. Some would cling to their homes, reluctant to abandon their belongings. Others might have bedridden loved ones in hospitals, unable to move.

When faced with the decision to evacuate, how many would stay behind to accompany their family, and how many would make the agonizing choice to save themselves?

During such chaos, roads would inevitably clog with vehicles, leading to massive traffic jams. How many would have the resolve to abandon their cars—often their most valuable possessions—along with the bulk of their belongings, and set off on foot with their families?

Just imagining such scenes sent a shiver down one’s spine, leaving an overwhelming sense of helplessness and despair.

Outside, the rain continued pouring relentlessly, as if determined to drown the entire Lushan Peninsula.

“What do we do now?” Chen Lei finally broke the silence after a long pause.

Yu Xi lowered her gaze.

Currently, they were blocked on the eastern side by the hills. Even if she and Ya Tong had cars and revealed them to Chen Lei and his son, driving over the hills was impossible.

If they continued navigating forward with the yacht, they would soon run aground. The terrain of the hilly region was too uneven, with water and land blending chaotically, making smooth passage for the yacht impossible.

Even if they alternated between the inflatable boat and the yacht, painstakingly switching back and forth under the protection of Ya Tong’s weapon-generated barrier to cross the hills, what then?

The yacht could only accommodate so many people. With vast swathes of land flooded, affecting four cities and more than ten towns, there were likely hundreds of thousands of people affected. At this stage, there was little they could do.

People would have to save themselves, racing against the floods. Yu Xi could only hope that most had evacuated to the central highlands before their homes were submerged.

“There’s nothing we can do right now. But if the rain keeps falling and the water level keeps rising, the entire Lushan Peninsula, except for the central region, might end up completely underwater.”

In truth, she didn’t have a clear plan for what to do next. She wasn’t omniscient. She was here in this world to complete a personal task—to ensure that she and her family could survive.

In these apocalyptic worlds, most of the details of disasters were unknown, and she couldn’t handle everything. She wasn’t even certain if every decision she made was correct.

In the Acid Rain World, she had regretted not being more vigilant when she was on the brink of death. Yet, after surviving and returning to her original world, she was overwhelmed with gratitude for the risky decision she made—to take that leap instead of cowardly retreating at the first sign of change.

Who could have predicted that, by sheer coincidence, an alien civilization’s spaceship would end up saving her life?

She wasn’t a god, and this wasn’t a game where you could save and restart. She could only do what she was capable of and leave the rest to the world itself.

Yu Xi pulled over Ya Tong’s laptop and brought up another map of the Lushan Peninsula. This was an electronic navigation map she had downloaded earlier, capable of zooming in to show every street and building in each city.

She typed a few words into the search bar and hit enter. Soon, the map zoomed in to display the locations she was looking for.

“Shipyards?” Ya Tong glanced at the screen.

Yu Xi nodded. “I researched shipyards here earlier. Most of the Lushan Peninsula’s cargo ports are along the southern coast. That area has many ports and shipyards. If the rain continues, we need to factor in the issue of water. This yacht is too small. If we could secure a large cargo ship, at least we wouldn’t be as vulnerable on the water.”

The southern coast hadn’t experienced tsunamis, and while it had endured typhoons, torrential rain, and thunderstorms, it was unlikely that every shipyard had been destroyed.

Ya Tong had also considered water as a critical factor. Her initial plan was to return to the central highlands to establish a shelter. However, with seawater backflowing and floods ravaging large swathes of land, the central highlands were likely overrun with refugees.

Once they returned, the situation there would probably be chaotic. Establishing an initial shelter in such a place would pose countless challenges.

On the other hand, a large ship would simplify management significantly. And if the rain continued indefinitely, a giant vessel would provide much greater safety.

She had thought of this possibility, but acquiring a ship large enough to serve as a floating shelter seemed like an impossible task. Even moving such a vessel was a logistical nightmare—navigating a giant cargo ship into the flooded interior of the peninsula was pure fantasy.

A realization struck Ya Tong. She looked up sharply at Yu Xi. “Wait, do you mean… you can—?”

Yu Xi had just finished her mental conversation with the Star House system.

Yu Xi: System baby, is it doable?

[… The transportation storage warehouse restricts quantity, not volume.]

Yu Xi: So, it’s possible?
[Yes.]
Yu Xi: So, if I place a car on a giant cargo ship, when I try to store it, I can only choose to store either the car or the ship. But if I fill the cargo ship with supplies, just like with the yacht earlier, I can store it all together?
[Yes, the cargo will be treated as part of the transportation unit.]
Yu Xi: !!

…

Yu Xi’s group stayed anchored near the hills for another day.

This day was mainly used for rest and route planning, specifically how to navigate from the eastern coast to the southern coast.

However, from Chen Lei and Chen Shengxin’s perspective, it felt more like a vacation. If this were a game, it would be like switching from survival mode to vacation mode—luxury yacht vacation mode, to be precise.

Comparing the resources already onboard the yacht to the supplies they’d collected earlier, the father and son realized their contributions were merely a drop in the ocean. Even if Yu Xi had accepted them, it seemed more like they’d just paid for food and lodging.

Breakfast:

Yu Xi casually remarked that they didn’t need to fuss over breakfast—just something simple.

Chen Lei’s idea of “simple”: congee and steamed buns.
Actual breakfast on the table: Century egg and pork congee, fresh pork soup dumplings, crispy fried dough sticks, shrimp wontons, stuffed egg pancakes, tea eggs, and cucumber salad with fruit.
Chen family duo: …

Lunch:

Yu Zhenzhen casually mentioned she wanted noodles.

Chen Lei’s idea of noodles: instant noodles with a sausage.
Actual lunch on the table: Lanzhou beef noodles, seafood soup noodles, char siu pork ramen with tender bamboo shoots, paired with cold wood ear fungus salad, spicy kelp strips, crispy roast duck, and spicy beef slices (fuqi feipian).
Chen family duo: …

Dinner:

Ya Tong declared it was their last meal on their rest day and didn’t feel like cooking, so they settled on hotpot—a three-way split: spicy broth, tomato broth, and bone broth.
Chen family duo: …

Chen Lei, who came from a relatively well-off family—upper-middle class though not quite elite—had originally thought that if his son liked Yu Zhenzhen, it was fine. If the girl reciprocated and her family didn’t object, it would be a good match.

Now, however, he felt it necessary to make his son see reason.

…

The following day, after a day of rest, the group set off again, navigating from the eastern coast along the outer edge of the hills toward the southwest.

They had expected the yacht’s route to be somewhat challenging—staying too close to the open sea risked being pulled into a time-loop zone, while staying too close to the shore increased the risk of running aground.

However, when they reached the southeastern coast, they realized they had underestimated the magnitude of the disaster.

The southern coastline had disappeared entirely.

What stretched before them now was an endless expanse of water.