"Having beans every day is making me feel like I'm turning into a bean," Anna sighed, clearly frustrated with their limited food options.

Tom suggested, "Why don't we go out tomorrow to buy some groceries? My place is also running low on fresh produce."

Ike considered it and agreed. Although they had plenty of food at home, it mostly consisted of bread and cookies, and their mouths had grown dry from consuming them over the past few days.

Besides, the roads were clogged with abandoned cars, and traffic had come to a halt. The breakdown of logistics and trade systems meant that supplies might become scarcer as time went on. It was a good idea to stock up.

Ike began to ponder a deeper question. Assuming the power outage lasted for two months (he believed the country would resolve the power grid supply issue within a month), would the logistics system collapse to the point that the city couldn't access external trade resources?

Anna's phone had ceased functioning on the third day of the power outage, not due to a drained battery, but due to a malfunction.

Before it malfunctioned, her phone hadn't received any signal.

In other words, the satellite system had also failed. Ike hadn't considered this earlier because he had been comparing the situation to major power outages in Europe. He had assumed that with Europe as a precedent, the country must be well-prepared and could handle the situation better than last year's power outages in Europe. With plenty of supplies at home, he hadn't been concerned. However, it now dawned on him that he hadn't heard whether satellite signals were disrupted during last year's European power outage. He began to wonder if satellites were damaged, which would imply a much larger disaster area this time.

Did this also mean that airplanes couldn't enter the affected region? Could planes transport supplies without satellite signals? Ike was entirely unaware of these issues.

He did recall that satellite signals had been disrupted during the Wenchuan earthquake, yet planes had still managed to enter the disaster area for rescue missions. Therefore, while satellite signals might affect aircraft navigation, the country likely had ways to resolve it.

Another question emerged: How large was the affected area this time? Despite not having ventured outside in the past few days, Ike and his family had kept in contact with their neighbors. However, they had no precise information about the size of the disaster area. Ike's comparison had been based on last year's European power outage. But what if the disaster area was much larger than Europe? Even if the country responded swiftly and provided effective disaster relief, it might still take longer due to the sheer scale.

He had previously estimated that the power outage wouldn't last more than two months and had enough food and medicine at home. As there had been few incidents during the power outage, he had become less vigilant.

However, if the disaster area was substantially larger, could they manage in two months? Ike began to feel a chill run down his spine. He knew his current speculation was baseless, but he couldn't help contemplating the possible consequences. His family's food might last for two months, but not six. What if the power outage persisted for six months or even a year?

Ike suddenly felt overwhelmed. He understood that his current speculations were mere conjectures, yet he preferred to rely on his own uninformed judgments than entrust his and his family's lives to unknown rescuers.

"We need to go out and buy more supplies," he declared to Tom, his gaze unwavering.

Tom couldn't fathom the thoughts that had raced through Ike's mind in the past ten seconds while eating.

Tom remained oblivious to the profound implications of his simple suggestion.

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On September 27th, Ike and his family prepared a list of essential supplies:

9 bottles of cola

24 bottled mineral water bottles

6 pieces of yogurt

10 cans of canned lunch meat

5 cans of canned fish

5 bags of pastry French buns (fragrant milk flavor, 20 pieces per bag, total 68 pieces)

Approximately 80 pieces of bulk bread

4 boxes of hand-torn bread (2 pieces per box, total 4 pieces)

32 bags of various flavors of instant noodles (8 bags of each flavor)

1.5 rolls of Olivia sandwich biscuits

2 bags of Aji Yeast Reduced Salt Flavor Soda Biscuits (21 small bags per bag, total 25 small bags)

6 milk chocolate bars

Half a bottle of chewing gum

2 bags of potato chips

0.5 bags of strawberry-flavored hard candy

93 pieces of original coffee

2 large bags of cereal

12 bags of corn-flavored compressed biscuits

50 catties of rice (approximately 0.6 bags)

0.5 bags of edible salt

Ginger and various kitchen seasonings

1 pack of noodles

While they had purchased more snacks than listed, they had consumed many of them in the past few days. Ike realized they needed to focus on buying durable staples like rice, noodles, and wheat. He also emphasized the importance of buying ginger to help ward off illnesses in the humid environment.

After discussing their plans, Ike, his mother, and Tom decided to venture out the following day to purchase the needed supplies together.

The next day, amidst the relentless wind and rain from the ongoing super typhoon, Ike's family prepared to go shopping. Ike had considered inviting Tom along, especially since Tom had wanted to buy fresh vegetables. However, if Aunt Linda didn't allow Tom to go out, they could always purchase what they needed at Tom's convenience store. Despite the convenience, Ike still had reservations about doing business with friends, especially at a time when small businesses like Tom's store might struggle to survive.

With shopping bags and backpacks in hand, the three of them ventured out. Due to nearly a week of continuous rain and the ongoing super typhoon, the streets were nearly deserted.

Ike, his mother, and Tom had to hold onto the wall and move carefully due to the strong winds. Although they expected to get wet, they didn't seek shelter from the rain; their primary concern was the powerful wind.

Communication among neighbors across the road remained possible despite the lack of external information. They learned that the continuous rain had caused flooding in many areas, keeping the police busy with rescue operations. Armed forces were deployed to guard banks where people queued to withdraw cash, although the banks lacked sufficient funds due to the inability to transport cash to relevant branches. The situation seemed to be stuck in a cycle that could worsen if it continued.

Ike also heard that many people had died in hospitals due to the sudden power outage. Hospitals had diesel generators, but they couldn't maintain the same level of power as before, and damage from solar storms had affected electrical equipment. Combined with floods and mudslides, the hospitals faced dire situations.

For Ike and his family, their stable power outage days at home might be akin to the end of the world for some people.

South Gate West Street had many shops, but they were all closed due to the extreme weather. Their destination was a large shopping mall at the end of the street, where they planned to buy rice in bulk.

To make carrying heavy rice bags easier, Ike spotted a discarded baby stroller and suggested using it. After retrieving the stroller from a nearby garbage can, they planned to load it with rice.

However, as they attempted to cross the road, the wind's force threatened to knock them off balance. Holding onto the stroller, they braved the elements. Suddenly, Anna screamed in terror as she saw something inside the stroller, causing her to instinctively retreat. Her abrupt movement tore the rope connecting the three of them, sending them tumbling to the ground when the wind caught them.

Struggling to regain their footing, the trio was once again lifted off the ground by the fierce wind. It wasn't until Ike managed to grab onto an anti-theft window that they finally stopped moving.

They eventually realized what had frightened Anna – a lifeless infant, swollen and white from being soaked in the stroller. The sight of the child's body was a stark reminder of the grim reality of their situation.

They hurriedly left the area and entered the half-covered glass platform of a nearby shopping mall. There, they found several other people who had sought refuge from the storm. Despite their differences, they were all outsiders trapped due to traffic congestion or lack of accommodation options.

Ike shook off the rain, escorted Anna and Yingli into the mall, and pondered the challenges they would face in this new world.

The rainstorm outside obscured their vision, casting a dim haze over the area. Within the shopping mall, only sporadic candles provided faint illumination. Ike and his family, soaked from the rain, entered the mall. Initially, only one of the three cash registers was operational, and a line of customers had formed at the entrance. The cashier, with a stern expression, instructed them to remove their wet coats and raincoats.