Forecasting Natural Disasters for Novel Natives - Chapter 11

Zhang Xiao was upset, feeling as though the damned heavens were toying with her.

Just then, the Sky Screen’s content shifted once again, displaying numerous split screens showing military units in uniform deploying to various regions for rescue operations and civilian evacuations. Set to stirring, dramatic music, the footage made people’s blood surge with excitement.

Zhang Xiao stared blankly at this scene. In her previous life, she had died too early and never lived to see the military arrive for rescue.

Zhang Xiao’s emotions were incredibly complicated, and she didn’t want to keep watching.

But at that moment, a thunderous explosion roared out, accompanied by the shriek of artillery fire. Startled, Zhang Xiao looked up to see several of those military units in the sub-screens under heavy attack.

Witnessing this scene, people cried out in alarm.

Weizi’s voice turned heavy with regret:

[Unfortunately, the evacuation was not smooth. Some restless groups had long taken advantage of the chaos, seizing control of territories and capturing large amounts of weapons and equipment. They lay in wait, ambushing military forces to rob them of gear and supplies—especially military vessels.]

[Many units, upon entering local cities, were ambushed in different ways. Some suffered devastating losses, even total annihilation. The flames of war spread from disaster-stricken regions all the way to the refugee bases. With this, the apocalypse officially entered an era of competing warlords.]

[Alright, that’s all for today’s video. Next episode, we’ll discuss internal strife and external chaos, as well as some strange infectious diseases caused by prolonged flooding. If you found this helpful, please like and send flowers for support. See you next time.]

The Sky Screen gradually darkened, and small screens materialized in front of everyone, displaying like, dislike, and flower-sending icons.

Some people hit like, others dislike, while some couldn’t be bothered with any of it, engaging in heated discussions with those around them instead.

Zhang Xiao glanced at the small screen: “What mystical nonsense.”

Someone capable of forecasting the world’s future—would they really need measly likes for support?

Feeling agitated, she deliberately clicked dislike. A crying face appeared before her, then the screen vanished.

Zhang Xiao’s heart jumped, sensing she had lost something important, but the screen had already disappeared with no way to recover it.

She pushed down her unease and headed toward the nearest store.

Although unexpected developments had occurred, her objective remained unchanged—to fill her storage space with as many supplies as possible. While everyone else hadn’t fully reacted yet, she needed to stock up first.

“Everyone, what are your thoughts on this?”

Somewhere, a uniformed military leader looked at those seated around him.

Someone sighed. “Everything else could potentially be fabricated—videos can be produced—but the military unit designations that appeared at the video’s end are classified information that couldn’t possibly be fake. The identities and names of the soldiers shown have all been verified.”

So either this video was genuine, and everything in it was a prediction of the future.

Or there had been a leak of military secrets. Either scenario was extremely serious.

Eliminating one possibility left the other, and no matter how unacceptable, it had to be the truth.

Everyone’s expressions were grim.

So starting tomorrow, their country would be swallowed by torrential rains, followed by corpses everywhere, people struggling to survive, and various factions emerging?

What was this “era of competing warlords”? Wasn’t that just another word for territorial fragmentation?

How many years of peace had they even enjoyed? The thought was unbearable.

Suddenly, someone with a hot temper spoke roughly, “It’s just rain, right? So most areas get flooded—it won’t all flood in a single day. The Sky Screen showed the government responding slowly because they didn’t anticipate the rain wouldn’t stop. Now that we know, can’t we just prepare in advance?”

At this moment, the leader received a phone call. “Yes, yes, understood!”

Everyone watched him.

The leader announced. “Orders from headquarters—deploy immediately to take control of local cities.”

*

Zhang Xiao rushed to the nearest wholesale store at top speed.

The wholesale store wasn’t particularly large, but it carried a comprehensive selection of goods.

Currently, a crowd had gathered outside, all discussing the Sky Screen.

Zhang Xiao: “Boss, I want to buy rice, twenty…” She glanced at the surrounding people and said calmly, “Two bags of rice.”

The boss didn’t think much of it. Though still shocked by the Sky Screen, business was business.

“Fifty-pound bags?”

“Right.”

The boss went to move the rice, when someone nearby remarked, “If it really rains, rice prices are bound to go up.”

The boss hesitated mid-action.

Zhang Xiao cursed under her breath, knowing this would happen. That’s exactly why she didn’t dare say she wanted twenty bags—she was afraid the boss wouldn’t sell.

The boss eyed Zhang Xiao. “Girl, you’re hoarding rice, aren’t you?”

Zhang Xiao replied steadily, “Hoarding what? There’s no way torrential rain is coming. I just moved and don’t have rice at home, so I came to buy some. Besides, who hoards just two bags of rice?”

She checked her phone. “Boss, I’m rushing to get to work. How about I add ten yuan per bag?”

The boss was skeptical but figured ten yuan extra per bag was money he’d be foolish to refuse, especially with plenty of rice in his warehouse.

Still, he probed. “Even if it doesn’t rain, I think prices will rise anyway. Add a bit more?”

Zhang Xiao’s face darkened as she turned to leave. “If you won’t sell, forget it. I’ll buy elsewhere—supermarkets definitely won’t raise prices.”

“Hey, hey, hey! I didn’t say I wouldn’t sell. Young people are so impatient.”

The boss went to get the rice while Zhang Xiao browsed the store, selecting a jug of cooking oil, two containers of instant noodles, several packages of crackers, instant foods, seasonings, sugar packets, lighters, drinking water, and various daily necessities—all common items.

For now, she couldn’t pursue quantity, only comprehensiveness and variety.

The original spectators, perhaps also worried about price increases, began entering the store to purchase items. Seeing so many customers, the boss was torn between not wanting to refuse business and fearing he was selling too cheaply—a complete dilemma.

Zhang Xiao, seeing the situation, accelerated her pace and checked out first, scanning an electric scooter to load her purchases.

“No more, I’m not selling anymore! Someone else has already bought out the store’s inventory—not selling anymore!”

After receiving a phone call, the boss immediately changed his attitude and began driving customers away.

Zhang Xiao hung the last bag on the handlebars, hugged another to her chest, and quickly rode off. The boss shouted after her, but she didn’t look back.

Reaching a secluded alley, she confirmed no one was around and no surveillance cameras were present, then stored everything in her space and breathed a sigh of relief.

She mounted the electric scooter again and went elsewhere to shop, but most stores had stopped selling. Supermarkets were still operating normally, but they were crammed with panic-buying crowds.

She went to look but was scared off by the long checkout lines and could only search for small retail shops elsewhere.

After walking several streets, she managed to buy more food and daily necessities, then fruits, vegetables, medicine, clothing, shoes and socks, plus takeout meals, milk tea, and snacks.

Though each individual store yielded little, it accumulated, and her space now contained quite a bit.

But this was still far from the massive stockpiling she had envisioned.

“Damn Sky Screen! Even a few hours later would have been better—then I wouldn’t have to scurry around like a hamster buying things bit by bit everywhere.”

From one store, after much coaxing, the boss finally agreed to sell her a few flashlights and battery packs. But when she went to pay with her credit card, it declined.

Zhang Xiao: ?

The boss glanced at it. “Credit card not working? The previous customer had the same issue—seems like all credit cards have been frozen.”

Zhang Xiao tried another card with identical results.

The boss looked unsurprised. “If the apocalypse really comes, how would you repay money borrowed from banks? Of course they’d freeze your accounts. Just wait—if it really pours tomorrow, electronic payments definitely won’t work, and stores will probably only accept cash… though maybe even cash won’t be useful.”

“If you don’t have cash, I’m not selling these either.”

Zhang Xiao quickly replied, “I have cash.”

She pulled out several red bills, stuffed the flashlights in her bag, and the moment she stepped outside, the boss shut his door.

Latecomers could only pound on the rolling shutter, but the boss inside refused to open, simply shouting that he was closed for the day.

Zhang Xiao looked around—street shops were closing one after another.

Only paint shops, tile stores, electronics stores, and phone shops remained open. These businesses were actually more worried about tomorrow’s torrential rain destroying their inventory, desperately hoping to sell more.

But people weren’t foolish—who would buy such items at a time like this? These shops sat empty while their owners stamped their feet in frustration.

Did she really have no choice but to squeeze into the supermarkets?

After some consideration, she rushed to the bank. After visiting several branches, she managed to withdraw her balance—most branches had already run out of cash, drained by others who realized its importance.

Zhang Xiao wanted to curse the Sky Screen again.

Suddenly her phone rang—it was Zhao Wu.

“Xiaoxiao, my parents, little sister and I are already at the restaurant. When are you coming?”

Zhang Xiao was speechless. With everyone in Haicheng taking action, how could this fool still be in the mood for dinner?

Zhang Xiao asked, “Didn’t you see the Sky Screen?”

“I saw it. Some movie trailer, right? Technology these days is quite advanced—they can even project into the sky. Xiaoxiao, you don’t actually believe the apocalypse is coming, do you? You’d have to be brain-dead to believe that! Come quickly—we went to several places before finding this open restaurant. It’s Japanese cuisine, all imported ingredients, with excellent reviews.”

Zhang Xiao sneered coldly. Eat! Why don’t you eat yourselves to death!

But with them away from home, she could return to pack her belongings and incidentally take things from Zhao Wu’s room too—after all, many items there were bought by her.

Originally she had looked down on those things, but now with her hoarding plan disrupted, even scraps mattered.

She told Zhao Wu and the others to eat first while she hurried back to the apartment.

First her own place, putting all bedding, clothes, computer, books, knives, tissues, small appliances, kitchen stockpiles, and refrigerated and frozen foods into her space.

Then she used her spare key to enter Zhao Wu’s apartment.

Immediately she saw snacks scattered across the coffee table and sofa, plus braised duck, roasted chicken, fruits and such—some bought by her, some by them. Anything unopened, she unceremoniously collected into her space.

She also emptied the kitchen and refrigerator.

Zhao Wu’s kitchen had virtually nothing since he always freeloaded at her place, but the refrigerator held quite a bit—mostly overflow from her own fridge stored here, particularly frozen dumplings and steamed buns.

She took everything.

After this sweep, Zhang Xiao felt satisfied and finally dragged out two large suitcases.

This was mainly for appearances—the rooms’ contents couldn’t just vanish into thin air, so she had to put on a show.

She left both apartments unlocked. This building housed a mixed crowd with no surveillance. In a building like this, full of strangers and no security cameras, it wouldn’t be long before others looted them clean, guaranteeing Zhao Wu’s family would return to find their home stripped bare.

Zhang Xiao checked into a hotel, and after settling in, went downstairs for dinner. Outside she noticed military vehicles on the streets.

From surrounding conversations, she learned the military had actually entered the city—these were just advance units, with main forces following.

And not just Haicheng; coastal and low-elevation cities were all under military control!

The Sky Screen had appeared mere hours ago, yet they’d acted so swiftly!

Zhang Xiao’s emotions were mixed—she wasn’t sure whether to be happy.

With the military present, the city probably wouldn’t descend into chaos like her previous life, but her zero-cost shopping plans and revenge schemes would likely be completely ruined!