Apocalypse: After Being Reborn, I Stocked Up on All Supplies

Chapter 74: Chapter 74 Ye Qing’s Discovery

Jiang Yan knew Ye Qing’s name.

The two were acquaintances who had acknowledged each other with a nod.

Su Dai had specifically introduced him to her before, but she didn’t know he had moved up here.

In her view, given Ye Qing’s appearance and age, he should have just started university and was most likely still living with his parents.

Ye Qing’s Adam’s apple moved again as he said, “Are you going down?”

Jiang Yan nodded and hummed in affirmation.

She was about to lift her leg to continue down when she heard heavy footsteps and heavy breathing coming from below.

The next second, Su Dai’s slender figure appeared at the corner.

She was wearing a waterproof apron with a pattern of tiny wrinkled chrysanthemums, her arms cradling a sizeable white porcelain flowerpot filled with soil, her face flushed red.

“Miss Jiang—Yan!” Seeing Jiang Yan, her eyes lit up, and an involuntary smile curved the corners of her lips.

“Hi,” Jiang Yan responded with a polite smile. @@novelbin@@

“Are you going downstairs?” Su Dai reached the landing at the corner and set down the flowerpot, standing hands on hips beside Ye Qing, panting.

Jiang Yan hummed in acknowledgment.

Su Dai wiped the sweat from her forehead and glanced downstairs, lowering her voice slightly,

“Jiang Yan, it’s a good thing you had the foresight to wear a mask. The smell and scene down there are indescribable.”

Jiang Yan smiled, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

The situation on the 32nd floor was also indescribable.

Although no one lived in this corridor, the dark red bloodstains that had long since dried on the walls spoke volumes about what had happened here.

And with the air being moist, there was always a thick, metallic, rusty scent wafting through the hallway.

It’s just that the few people who lived here had probably grown accustomed to the smell.

Those who dared not move to the 32nd floor did so partly out of fear of the current residents, and partly out of aversion to the bloodstains on the walls.

But Jiang Yan estimated that in a short while, as the water level rose violently again, this place would similarly be packed with people.

Even the leaky apartment 3202 would not be spared.

Right now, they weren’t coming up only because they still had some options and ways out.

After saying her piece, Su Dai bent down to pick up the flowerpot on the ground and said to Jiang Yan,

“By the way, Jiang Yan, don’t come down yet, we have a new discovery! Wait until we tell you, then it won’t be too late for you to go down!”

Jiang Yan paused, “A new discovery?”

“Yes. But it’s not convenient to talk here; let’s go up,” Su Dai said, cautiously peeking downstairs before climbing up with the flowerpot.

Jiang Yan wasn’t in a hurry to go downstairs, so she stepped back and helped push the fire door open.

Ye Qing, who was behind her, also carried the gasoline can up.

“What’s the discovery?” Jiang Yan asked once Su Dai set down the pot.

Su Dai peered through the crack of the fire door down the corridor before turning to lower her voice,

“Xiao Ye discovered that the rate of the water level rise outside has slowed down these past two days. He said it’s very likely that the rainfall will decrease in a couple of days.”

She had actually wanted to invite Jiang Yan over to her place to sit and talk about it.

But with her home now in chaos and scarcely a spare spot to step, she felt a little embarrassed.

Besides, after delivering supplies to Jiang Yan and returning home, Sun Jingtao had specifically reminded her that under the current circumstances, everyone was on heightened alert and sensitive to personal boundaries.

He told her not to overstep the boundaries with Jiang Yan in future encounters.

The “boundaries” Sun Jingtao referred to were the psychological comfort zones people maintain.

The smallest distance is the “intimate zone,” which is within 20-50 centimeters, typically reserved for lovers and close friends, including behaviors like hugging and touching.

Beyond that is the “personal zone,” which ranges from 20-50 centimeters, and if someone not well-known enters this area, it can feel threatening and uncomfortable.

So, he cautioned his wife to avoid entering Jiang Yan’s personal zone as much as possible.

After all, he could sense the strong admiration and appreciation his wife had for Miss Jiang, which wasn’t ordinary.

But the latter was clearly someone who didn’t like others getting too close.

“Oh?”

Hearing Su Dai’s words, Jiang Yan took an intrigued glance at Ye Qing beside her.

Only then did Su Dai realize Ye Qing was also present and tapped him, saying,

“Xiao Ye, you’ve got a better head for this, why don’t you explain it to your Sister Yan.”

“…” Ye Qing glanced at her, setting the gasoline can down.

However, he didn’t relay his discovery but instead looked at Jiang Yan and said,

“Thank you for helping me find the true culprit of my grandparents’ deaths by the Blood Mosquitoes a few days ago.”

He actually wanted to apologize, as he once harbored the urge to kill her.

But it felt inappropriate, so he refrained from saying it.

Unaware of why he was bringing this up, Su Dai sighed silently,

“Jiang Yan, Xiao Ye is a child of deep loyalty; he grew up with his grandparents, so his feelings for them are especially strong.”

In fact, she knew from her husband that perhaps due to his upbringing in a police family and the atmosphere he was exposed to, coupled with his parents’ tragic deaths at the hands of bandits, Ye Qing had a strong sense of justice at his core.

This personality might seem contradictory, but indeed all these traits were present in him.

Sun Jingtao had a similar character to Ye Qing, but his way of interacting with others was much smoother, though less decisive than Ye Qing.

But these were Ye Qing’s personal matters and not for her to judge.

Jiang Yan, listening to Su Dai’s explanation, showed little expression and merely said to Ye Qing, “It was nothing.”

Then added, “Please accept my condolences.”

Ye Qing looked momentarily stunned, “Thank you.”

“Xiao Ye, tell us about your discovery now,” Su Dai said, rubbing her sore arms as a reminder.

Ye Qing took a moment to phrase his thoughts before beginning,

“My observation is that the water level has been consistently rising every day since the rainstorm started. However, the rate of increase over these past two days has noticeably slowed down. This indicates that the rainfall outside is gradually decreasing. If this trend continues, it’s very possible that within a week, this torrential downpour will turn into a drizzle or even stop.”

Jiang Yan, having heard him, raised an eyebrow, “So—”

Ye Qing said, “So that may be our window of opportunity to go out and find supplies, and it might be our only chance to survive the next disaster.”

Jiang Yan of course understood this logic herself.

Still, hearing such words from Ye Qing surprised her.

Because of the recent torrential rain, which seemed as if the sky had opened up, it was hard to tell whether it was getting heavier or lighter, as every day’s rainfall appeared to be the same at a glance.

His ability to think of judging the rainfall by observing the water levels, and his awareness to actively seek supplies during a window of opportunity, was indeed unexpected.

But he obviously couldn’t be a Reborn like her.