Chapter 26 – The Real Test 真正的考验

Cao Yuwei also paused for a moment, and her face changed slightly. "Zombies?"

Lin Yuan nodded and continued, "Yes, I know this sounds like a plot from a movie, but that sense of fear was so real... Every time I had that dream, I felt as if I had really experienced it."

He scratched his head and gave a helpless smile. "Aunt, you know I'm not the kind of person who would believe in such strange things. But that dream... I just couldn't ignore it. I started stockpiling things half a year ago just to prepare for all this."

Cao Yuwei was silent for a while and then asked in a low voice, "So, what you dreamed about was something that would happen in the future?"

Lin Yuan shook his head. "I'm not sure. Everything in the dream was very blurry, but I could feel that... if we don't prepare, once the disaster strikes, we'll be caught off guard."

Cao Yuwei pursed her lips, and a complex emotion flashed in her eyes. She looked at Lin Yuan and finally nodded. "Although it sounds absurd, I believe you."

Lin Yuan's words made Cao Yuwei more vigilant, and she turned around to start organizing the remaining supplies at home. Just then, an unexpected thing happened. When she tried to move a bag of rice, it suddenly turned into a white light and vanished into the air.

Lin Yuan widened his eyes. "Aunt, where did you just... put the rice?"

Cao Yuwei was also at a loss. She was stunned for a few seconds and then instinctively waved her hand. The bag of rice actually reappeared in front of her out of thin air.

"What... What's going on here?" Cao Yuwei murmured in a low voice, her eyes filled with an incredulous light.

Lin Yuan reacted at once. "Aunt, you've awakened an ability! Is it a related to space or something?"

"Spatial ability?" Cao Yuwei frowned. "I just wanted to move the rice to a safer place, and I didn't expect it to... disappear."

A flash of excitement appeared in Lin Yuan's eyes. "Great! With your ability, we don't have to worry about our stored food being flooded or stolen! And we can store more things!"

Cao Yuwei gradually calmed down. After trying several times, she found that her ability allowed her to put some supplies into the "space" and take them out at any time. Though the space capacity was limited, it was useful in every aspect in the current situation.

...

The rain poured down. Jiang Tianming's black dog, Xiaohei, stood on the bow of the boat and occasionally let out low barks, as if reminding its master of something. Jiang Tianming's raincoat was already soaked through, but he didn't stop rowing at all. After several hours of hard work, he finally reached the community where Jiang Yulian lived.

"Sister—!" Jiang Tianming shouted towards the building. His voice was drowned by the rain, but Jiang Yulian on the 15th - floor balcony seemed to hear something and opened the window.

" Tianming?" When Jiang Yulian saw her younger brother rowing over, a flash of surprise appeared in her eyes, but it quickly returned to calm. Jiang Tianming circled around the building for half a circle before finding a way to enter the floor. He rowed the boat to the fourth floor, broke into the corridor from the balcony of an empty apartment, and then walked from the corridor to the stairwell and climbed up to the 15th floor.

Soon, Jiang Tianming was panting, worn out. "Sister, how's it going here? I'm here to take refuge with you, haha."

Jiang Yulian gently patted her younger brother's shoulder, her tone gentle but firm. "Don't worry about me. It's okay here for now. But how did you end up like this?"

Jiang Tianming shook his head with a bitter smile. "My home was flooded, so I had to move here. Fortunately, Xiaohei was with me."

Jiang Yulian looked down at the black dog in the boat and gently stroked its head. "Your dog is quite loyal. Hurry up and move your things in."

Jiang Tianming smiled bitterly. "Don't be misled by its gentle look. It's fierce normally. If it hadn't noticed the fast rising water, I might not have evacuated in time."

Jiang Yulian nodded, but a trace of hidden worry arose in her heart. Her intuition told her that this rainstorm was far more terrifying than she had imagined.

The rainstorm continued for ten days, and the order of the entire city fell into chaos.

The supermarket had been emptied by looters when the water level rose to waist height. Desperate people began to flock to the streets in search of food, but with the flood covering most of the area, food resources became extremely scarce.

The power outage left many families in the dark. At night, people could only light candles or use flashlights.

The flood triggered a large number of sanitation problems. The drinking water was contaminated, and the number of patients with infectious diseases soared.

The scarcity of resources made some people take risks. Incidents of burglary and assault occurred frequently. The police didn't have enough manpower or usable boats, and they simply couldn't maintain order.

Lin Yuan stood by the window, gazing at the messy street, and sighed. "Just ten days, and the city's already in such a state..."

On the morning of the eleventh day, the strong wind gradually subsided, and the rain finally stopped. People poked their heads out of the windows and looked at the long - lost sunlight shining over the devastated city. There were long - lost smiles on their faces. Some people began to cheer, some people prayed and thanked the heavens, and some children even ran to the rooftop to play, letting the sunlight shine on their bodies.

After the rainstorm, the flood still hadn't receded. The low - lying areas of the city were filled with murky water, floating with all kinds of garbage and debris. Occasionally, some corpses could still be seen floating up and down in the water. However, those corpses looked a bit odd.

Lin Yuan was looking at a floating corpse from the balcony in the distance, frowning slightly. "Why does it feel like it... seems to be moving?"

Jiuchong Ring suddenly said, "Host, watch out. The next doomsday stage has started. What comes next will be a true survival test."

=====================

曹雨薇也顿了顿,脸色微微一变:"丧尸?"

林远点了点头,继续说道:"对,我知道这听起来像是电影里的情节,但那种恐惧感太真实了... 每次梦到,我都觉得自己就像真的经历过一样."

他挠了挠头,嘴角勾起一丝无奈的笑:"小姨,你知道的,我也不是个会相信这些奇怪东西的人.可那个梦...让我没法忽视.半年前我开始囤积东西,就是为了防备这些."

曹雨薇沉默了片刻,低声问:"那你梦到的,是未来的事情?"

林远摇头:"不确定.梦里一切都很模糊,但我能感觉到...如果我们不做准备,一旦灾难来临,就会措手不及."

曹雨薇抿了抿唇,眼中闪过一丝复杂的情绪.她看着林远,最终点了点头:"虽然听起来离谱,但我相信你.

林远的话让曹雨薇更加警惕,她转身开始整理家中剩余的物资.就在这时,一件意外的事情发生了,当她抓起一包大米想要搬到另一边时,那包米突然化作一道白光,直接消失在了空气中.

林远瞪大眼睛:"小姨,你刚刚... 把米弄哪去了?"

曹雨薇也是一脸茫然,她愣了几秒,下意识地伸手一挥,那包米竟然又凭空出现在她面前.

"这... 这是怎么回事?" 曹雨薇低声喃喃,眼中透着难以置信的光芒.

林远立刻反应过来:"小姨,你觉醒异能了!这种能力... 是空间系吧!"

"空间系?" 曹雨薇皱眉,"我只是想着把米搬到更安全的地方,没想到它就... 消失了."

林远眼中闪过一丝兴奋:"太好了!有了你的异能,我们的存粮就不用担心被淹或者被偷了!而且可以装更多的东西!"

曹雨薇慢慢平复心情,试了几次后,发现自己的能力可以将一些物资收入 "空间" 中,并随时取出.尽管空间容量有限,但对于当前的环境来说,已经是天大的助力.

...

大雨如注,江天明的黑狗小黑踩在船头,不时发出低吠,似乎在提醒主人什么.江天明的雨衣早已湿透,但他丝毫没有停下划桨的动作.经过几个小时的努力,他终于抵达了江玉莲所在的小区.

"姐——!" 江天明对着楼上喊了一声,声音被雨声淹没,但15楼阳台上的江玉莲似乎听到了什么,推开窗户向下张望.

"天明?" 江玉莲看到弟弟划船赶来,眼中闪过一丝惊喜,但很快又恢复了平静.江天明在那栋楼绕了半圈才找到进去楼层的方法,划船来到第四层,江天明从一间空户的阳台破门走到楼道,再从楼道走去楼梯口爬上15层.

不久,江天明喘着气,脸上满是疲惫:"姐,你这里怎么样?我来投奔你了,哈哈."

江玉莲轻轻拍了拍弟弟的肩膀,语气温和却坚定:"你不用担心我,这里暂时还好.不过你怎么搞成这样?"

江天明苦笑着摇摇头:"家被淹了,只能搬过来.还好小黑陪着我."

江玉莲低头看了看船上的黑狗,轻轻摸了摸它的头:"你这狗倒是挺忠心.快把东西搬进来吧."

江天明苦笑:"别看它老实,平时凶得很.这次要不是它发现水位涨得快,我可能都来不及撤离."

江玉莲点点头,心里却多了一丝隐忧.她的直觉告诉她,这场大雨,远比想象中更加可怕.

暴雨连续下了10天,整座城市的秩序陷入了混乱.

超市早在水位上涨到腰间时就被抢购一空.绝望的人们开始涌向街头寻找食物,但洪水覆盖了大部分地区,食物资源变得极其稀缺.

停电让许多家庭陷入黑暗,许多人在夜晚只能点燃蜡烛或用手电筒勉强照明.

洪水引发了大量卫生问题,饮用水被污染,感染病的患者数量激增.

资源稀缺让部分人开始铤而走险,入室抢劫和袭击事件频频发生,警方人手以及能使用的船只不足,根本无法维持秩序.

林远站在窗边,看着远处一片狼藉的街道,心中默默感叹:"这才10天,城市已经变成这样..."

第11天清晨,狂风渐渐平息,大雨终于停了.人们从窗户探出头,看着久违的阳光洒在满目疮痍的城市上空,脸上露出了久违的笑容.有人开始欢呼,有人祈祷感谢上天,有些孩子甚至跑到楼顶玩耍,任由阳光晒在身上.

大雨过后,洪水依然未退去.城市低洼地区积满了浑浊的水,漂浮着各种垃圾和杂物,但偶尔还能看到一些尸体在水中浮沉.然而,那些尸体似乎有些奇怪.

林远在阳台上远远看着一具浮尸,眉头微皱:"怎么感觉它...好像在动?"

九重戒突然出声:"宿主,注意了.末日下一个阶段已经开启,接下来将是一场真正的生存考验."