Chapter 40: No Problem, She Can Fly

Jiang Yan had just finished browsing the important messages in the homeowners group when the property manager dropped an Excel file into the chat.

[Repulse Bay Underground Temporary Shelter Arrangement.xls]

[Property Manager No.1: Per official notice, all Repulse Bay homeowners must transport their living supplies to the underground parking area by midnight tonight (space is limited, max three items per person). Assigned parking spots correspond to residential units as detailed in the spreadsheet. Those who fail to arrive before 12am will be considered as having forfeited their spot and must bear responsibility themselves.]

[Property Manager No.1: Some temporary spots will be reserved for official supply storage; this shelter is only for temporary relief from extreme heat and conditions will be basic. We appreciate your understanding during these extraordinary times. Let's unite and overcome this hardship together! Fighting.jpg]

Jiang Yan opened the file and quickly found her information:

[Unit: A-3201;

Householder: Jiang xx (female);

Parking spot purchased: No;

Parking spot leased: No;

Registered for official shelter: No;

Assigned accommodation area: Open bunk area - Casual Zone, F-414 (Roommates: D1103, Liu xx (female)); D1103, Zhang xx (female); D1103, Gong xx (female)]

Good grief—four people crammed into a parking space less than ten square meters. The latter three were clearly roommates sharing an apartment.

Scanning other entries, she noticed those without purchased or leased parking spots faced similar arrangements. She realized Repulse Bay had many renters.

A few households had registered for official shelters instead. Seven or eight units with elderly residents living alone in high-rises had chosen to stay put, quietly preparing for death.

Understandable—if even young people struggled with this heat, how could seniors with chronic illnesses cope? Some might collapse mid-descent.

Neighbors who once helped each other now remained silent. The brutal heat and Blood Mosquitoes arrived swiftly, but human indifference came faster.

Many property staff had already quit to return home. Those remaining, while organizing shelters per official orders, also overlooked these elderly residents.

With her dimension, Jiang Yan wouldn't squeeze into underground shelters with over a thousand others—men, women, and children packed together with snoring, flatulence, teeth-grinding, sleep-talking, and noisy kids. Such conditions would be unbearable.

Yet staying home would draw attention, especially living on the top floor—the least heat-resistant level. Many developers cut corners on roof insulation and waterproofing, and this state-backed complex was no exception.

Jiang Yan quickly devised her plan: claim she's heading to an official shelter alone to avoid both the crowded underground accommodations and gossip. Then, under cover of darkness, she'd use her jetpack flight suit to secretly fly back home.

No better solution existed.

With this decided, Jiang Yan stepped out of her dimension.

The moment she stepped inside, a wave of heat surged toward her, enveloping her completely.

It felt like stepping into a dry sauna room.

Glancing at the thermometer, she saw the outdoor temperature had already reached sixty-two degrees Celsius.

Indoors was slightly better—thanks to various heat-resistant measures, even without air conditioning, it was only around fifty-eight or fifty-nine.

Still uncomfortably high.

A dry sauna typically runs at about eighty degrees.

But in that environment, people usually cover their faces with chilled towels.

This cools the skin while preventing nasal congestion.

People also remain seated and can leave whenever the heat becomes unbearable.

But now, the oppressive heat clung to her body relentlessly, making the discomfort far worse.

Jiang Yan's floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room faced the garden, while the bedroom windows overlooked the cityscape outside the residential area, offering a view of urban buildings and streets.

She walked over and gazed outside for a while.

The roads were eerily silent.

The only signs of life were the scattered Mutated Blood Mosquitoes flying through the air.

Unfazed by the scorching heat and blinding sunlight, they searched for fresh blood sources.

Pulling out her phone, she checked the navigation app and quickly decided on a temporary destination for her outing.

Her flight suit could only sustain her for eight to ten minutes, so her resting spot couldn't be too far.

Plus, with temperatures this extreme and the risk of Blood Mosquito attacks along the way, she couldn't venture far.

Just the thought of those increasingly large Mutated Blood Mosquitoes sent a chill down her spine.

Her dimension held plenty of mosquito repellent, but recalling the experts' claims that homemade Chinese Herbal Mosquito Repellent Sachets were far more effective against these pests, she re-entered her dimension.

Digging up an old article, she found a list of twelve herbs:

Mugwort, mint, angelica dahurica, lemongrass, perilla leaves, lavender, honeysuckle, cloves, rosemary, spikenard, patchouli, and camphor leaves.

Lavender, honeysuckle, and lemongrass were already in her collection of herbal teas.

Rosemary, cloves, and patchouli were among the spices she'd purchased.

As for mint, she only had fresh leaves—leftover from grocery shopping.

She grabbed a handful, took them out of the dimension, and laid them by the floor-to-ceiling windows to dry in the intense heat.

Spikenard was nowhere to be found.

The remaining herbs—mugwort, angelica dahurica, and others—she had stocked up on during previous trips to the traditional medicine shop.

With a thought, Jiang Yan retrieved all these supplies from the Storage Zone, along with two rolls of large gauze and a sewing kit, and began stitching small pouches.

Her needlework was far from skilled—the dozen or so bags she sewed were crooked and uneven, as if covered in squiggly black worms.

But functionality mattered more than aesthetics.

Once the pouches were done, she quickly slurped down a bowl of cold noodles and chugged an iced cola. By then, the mint had dried sufficiently.

Soon, the Chinese Herbal Mosquito Repellent Sachets were ready.

She retrieved the backpack she used for disguise—already stuffed with instant noodles and tissues—and hung the sachets all around it.

After putting on her Heat-resistant suit, she draped several more sachets around her neck, legs, and arms. Fully armed, she finally stepped outside.

The herbal fragrance was overpowering—even through the hood of her suit, Jiang Yan could smell the potent medicinal aroma.

Securing the door behind her, she adjusted the Anti-intrusion program to its highest setting—500 volts of electric shock—before heading toward the Walking staircase.

The doors of units 3203 and 3204 were slightly ajar, with He Chunmei and the others seemingly busy preparing items to take to the underground parking lot.

From inside the rooms came He Chunmei's bossy voice as she ordered Zhou Guangfu around.

Not just that—the doors on other floors were also left half-open.

The temperature in the hallway was slightly lower than inside the apartments. To prevent Blood Mosquitoes from entering their homes, nearly every household had sealed their windows shut.

The only airflow came from the slight gap between living rooms and the hallway.

All building entrances and underground garage access points had been tightly sealed by the property management.

Despite the heat, no one dared to go outside.