Today, Chu Yian went out with one purpose: to buy some seasonings.
With everyone now prioritizing food that could fill their stomachs, few people were interested in buying spices or sauces.
The large supermarket inside the shopping mall was still open, and since it was close by, had a wide selection, and more available stock, Chu Yian decided to head there.
In just two days, the supermarket had changed drastically.
The counters that used to display fruit, vegetables, and meat had now all been converted into food storage displays.
To accommodate more people, most of the shelves around the store had been cleared out. Surveillance cameras were mounted everywhere — 360-degree coverage. Police officers in uniform stood guard, batons in hand.
But despite all this security, most of those precious shelves were completely empty.
Chu Yian glanced over the racks labeled Compressed Biscuits, Sealed Rice, and Instant Noodles, confused as to why they were so heavily guarded.
Still, she didn't dwell on it — she was only here for seasonings.
She pushed her shopping cart and grabbed two of each spice: soy sauce, vinegar, salt, sugar, chili oil, and so on — everything she could find.
Just as she was about to head to checkout, a loud voice rang out, electrifying the entire store.
"Sealed rice is here! Everyone step aside!"
"Make way! Sealed rice delivery has arrived. Let it be shelved before anyone grabs it!"
"Line up properly, and don't cause trouble!"
"No snatching! Each person is limited to two jin of rice — that's one bag. Anyone who takes more won't be allowed to leave. Be smart about it!"
A group of stout, fierce-looking older women stood in the middle of the store, shouting through megaphones and wielding what looked like rolling pins to keep order and push back those reaching out for the rice.
Very quickly, they placed a queue sign at the front.
Chu Yian didn't fully understand what was going on, but her body moved faster than her thoughts. Instinctively, she got in line. There were just over twenty people in front of her — but within seconds, the line behind her had grown even longer.
Her turn came quickly.
One of the women glanced at her, then efficiently tossed a bag of rice into her shopping cart.
Another woman standing nearby glared at the person lining up next to Chu Yian and said coldly,
"You've already got yours. No lining up again. Come back tomorrow."
Some people still tried to break the rules, aiming for a second bag, but most were quickly caught.
If anyone got too aggressive, the police officers nearby stepped in.
It wasn't long before all the newly stocked rice sold out.
Those who missed out were devastated.
Some dropped to their knees, begging the workers to spare them a bag.
Others turned to the lucky buyers, pleading to buy the rice off them or at least get a share.
As long as these people didn't go too far, the police turned a blind eye.
Chu Yian became one of the targets.
A middle-aged couple started trailing her.
The woman, eyes glinting like a hungry wolf, rushed over as soon as she spotted her.
"Hey there, young lady…"
Chu Yian didn't wait around.
She quickly pushed her cart toward the exit.
The couple chased after her,
"Wait up, we're not bad people!"
The woman reached out, clearly trying to grab the bag of rice in Chu Yian's cart.
But Chu Yian swiftly dodged and pulled out the pink utility knife she'd gotten from the loot box, holding it in front of her.
"Don't touch me — or I'll stab you!"
Her tone was sharp, her expression fierce — it was mostly a bluff, but effective.
The woman instantly recoiled in shock.
"W-We didn't mean anything by it. Please don't misunderstand…"
But Chu Yian didn't let her finish.
If they truly had no bad intentions, they wouldn't have followed her.
They clearly saw she was alone and assumed she'd be easy to rob.
She didn't want to waste breath explaining.
She took off running, leaving the couple dumbfounded.
"Maybe we should just go home and come back tomorrow,"
the husband said timidly.
But the woman was far from giving up.
"Come back? If you had just been a little quicker and cut in line, we'd have a bag of rice by now! And who says we'll even get a chance tomorrow? We're running out of food! The rice is right there — go get it!"
"But she has a knife…"
"That dinky little thing? She couldn't hurt a fly! You believe everything she says? She's just a girl — how dangerous could she be? Just grab her and snatch it! What kind of man are you?!"
The woman berated her husband, then took off chasing Chu Yian herself.
But the moment's hesitation had cost them — their target was long gone.
"This is all your fault! We had that rice in our hands and you let it fly away!"
The woman stood in the middle of the street, hands on her hips, cursing furiously.
"Damn you! I hope everything you bought turns moldy! Rotten to the core! May you choke on it, you shameless little—ugh! May you starve, may you rot, you whore standing by the street!"
Her venomous insults echoed down the block, loud and vile.
Chu Yian, who had just slipped away down a nearby alley, paused mid-step.
She glanced toward the park beside the supermarket.
On a low wall sat a group of six or seven teenage boys, around sixteen or seventeen years old.
They looked like street kids — bored, loitering, waiting for something to happen.
Chu Yian approached them with a friendly smile.
"Hey, did you guys upset that couple or something?"
The teens, bored a second ago, instantly perked up at the sight of a pretty girl walking over.
But then her question left them confused.
"What?"
"That couple over there,"
she pointed.
"They just called you short-lived bastards and gutter rats. Super mean. Did you do something to offend them?"
The couple, still ranting in the street just fifty meters away, spotted her.
"There she is! That damned little—!"
Seeing the pair charge forward again, the teens' expressions darkened.
"Who the hell are you cursing at?"
They stepped up, surrounding the couple.
"Get lost, brats!"
the middle-aged man shouted, trying to act tough.
Now the teens were genuinely pissed off.
"You son of a—"
One hot-headed boy kicked the woman square in the knee, sending her crashing to the ground face-first.
"Help! Help! These damned punks are attacking me!"
She lay on the pavement, wailing.
The man, ever the coward, had already backed off, hiding silently to the side.
"You foul-mouthed hag!"
"Think you can curse at us and get away with it?!"
"You think we're scared of you?!"
A few of the boys landed several more kicks before finally running off as a crowd began to gather.
The bystanders had all heard how nasty the woman had been just moments before.
Not one of them stepped in to help.
Even her husband stayed far away.
It took her a long time to get up.
But even after that…
A dog can't stop itself from eating shit.
She started yelling again —
Cursing the boys who had beaten her,
Cursing her husband for being useless,
Cursing herself for her wretched life…
Her cries echoed all down the street.