NOVEL NEXT Chapter 20: Chapter 20 Cash is King
The door to room 3204 was tightly closed.
There were two pairs of shoes by the door, a pair of men's black leather shoes and a pair of women's beige casual sneakers.
It looked like they belonged to a couple or a married pair who had just returned home from work.
Jiang Yan had previously stocked up overseas and had momentarily given the renovation company a temporary password to adjust something, so she had given them a one-off code.
Although that password was now invalid, she reset all the passwords before opening the door.
After double-locking both doors, setting the air conditioning to 28 degrees, Jiang Yan flopped down onto the couch in the living room.
The space had a "Washing Essence and Marrow" effect on her body, so during her time abroad, she would spend an hour or two inside each night after returning to her hotel.
Her overall physical condition kept improving.
However, because she had been on edge every day, now that she was relaxing at home, she actually felt a bit fatigued.
This fatigue was not physical but more on a mental level.
Jiang Yan closed her eyes and lay down for a while, recovering some energy before she sat up.
She glanced around the room's corners to see if there were any oversights in her refuge.
She had removed all non-load-bearing walls in the two smaller bedrooms and the study, leaving only the master bedroom.
The whole place seemed much more spacious.
The drain in the bathroom had been sealed with cement by the renovation company and even covered with a coat of waterproof paint.
In the living room, two sets of real fireplaces had been installed, each with two separate, concealed smoke outlets.
She thought of these fireplaces while stockpiling in the Maple Country.
She used to think a generator and air conditioning would suffice, but news from the Maple Country made her realize that in extreme cold, these real fireplaces would heat the room far better than any air conditioner.
Moreover, air conditioning units are installed on the exterior walls, and there was no telling when a line or part might fail.
Traditional heating and cooling methods turned out to be more reliable in extreme weather.
Additionally, to prevent any creatures from entering through the smoke outlets, she had not only installed a filter net but also designed a manual valve.
Remembering the massive Blood Mosquito that hit her car window earlier today, Jiang Yan rose quickly to shut those two valves.
Moreover, when the renovation company came to the living room, she took out an anti-surveillance detector from the space and did a thorough sweep.
Apart from the devices she had placed, no new surveillance equipment was detected.
Harmful intentions should not be fostered, but precautions against others are necessary; this had always been Jiang Yan's code of conduct.
After finishing these tasks and taking a warm shower, Jiang Yan heard her stomach growling.
Lately, she had been subsisting on various hotel meals and Western food, but she found herself missing the simplicity of home-cooked dishes.
However, she didn't feel much like cooking today, nor did she want to eat the prepared meals from restaurants.
She simply took an egg and a handful of green onions from the space and quickly whipped up a fragrant egg fried rice for herself.
She also made a simple cabbage soup without any oil or salt, mixed a dipping sauce, and served it with a small dish of spicy and flavorful side dishes.
Simple yet delicious, Jiang Yan finished the meal and the soup to the last drop.
After eating, she threw the dishes into the dishwasher, grabbed a bottle of chilled soda water, and leisurely turned on the TV.
On her free days, she would listen to financial news and play a round of King's battle game, today was no exception.
"Japan initiates the 100th discharge of nuclear-contaminated water into the sea... the international community strongly condemns... Japan admits initially secreting low-concentration nuclear-contaminated water without communicating with local fishermen..."
"The world is bracing for the hottest year on record... temperatures surge globally... experts state the causes include the tropical Pacific's surface warming... El Niño... increased solar activity..."
"... citizens are reminded to store at least ten days' worth of food and drinking water at home... stay indoors as much as possible until the heatwave subsides... avoid working or walking outside in high temperatures... heatstroke... call emergency services promptly..."
After listening to the news intermittently for an hour, Jiang Yan also finished her game session with the unfortunate end of three straight losses.
The news mentioned a global temperature spike but not the mutated Blood Mosquito attacks.
Jiang Yan guessed that the Blood Mosquito might be a problem only in Anming.
Glancing at the thermometer, the outside temperature was still 41 degrees. Although it had only increased by one degree Celsius since 5 p.m., it was now nearly ten in the evening; this temperature was obviously abnormal.
Jiang Yan muted the TV and took out her pad to check the surveillance footage.
At the entrance of Building A, several men were rushing out, fully geared with electric bike helmets and gloves, carrying large non-woven shopping bags.
It seemed they had been informed of the Blood Mosquito attacks and the officials' advice to stock up on food and water.
There were also a few fearless 'lone heroes' dressed in shorts, slippers, and boxer shorts, ready to walk their dogs in the garden.
In the footage, some delivery riders carried large boxes of ice cream, popsicles, and chilled beer, all stored in specially designed cooler boxes.
One of the delivery riders was even carrying an unopened standing fan, probably ordered by someone unwilling to go out and preferring to use a courier service instead.
Each rider wore a helmet and mask, and most of their yellow work clothes were soaked.
At several other floors' elevator lobbies, there were several people waiting to get on the elevator.
Most likely, they couldn't stand the heat and were going out to buy fans, or perhaps some were prompted by the news to start procuring goods in advance.
After all, following the mask incident, most people's stockpiling instincts were fairly strong.
Jiang Yan watched the surveillance for a while, not discovering anything new, and then put down the pad.
Tomorrow was going to be an extremely busy day for her.
With the sudden rise in temperature and the emergence of the mutated Blood Mosquito, she had rescheduled everything planned for the next two weeks to concentrate on accomplishing it all tomorrow.
Glancing at her phone, several suppliers had sent messages confirming deliveries for the next day.
The two sets of automated waterless Planting machines Jiang Yan had ordered before going abroad had arrived.
She also bought four high-power ice-making machines, several specially designed luxury private mobile Apple Cabins, and ten suits of newly mass-produced jet flight suits from the UK, priced at 3 million yuan each, which would also be delivered tomorrow.
The lease on the warehouse she rented was just about to end these couple of days.
Jiang Yan had also arranged for the bank to prepare a substantial amount of cash for her.
She planned to finish paying the remaining balance for these goods tomorrow, then take most of the money to buy gold bars, and the rest she planned to withdraw and throw into the space.
In times of peace, collect antiques; in times of chaos, buy gold—this principle is timeless.
Besides, in the early days of the apocalypse, cash is king.