Returning home, Harry set down the clothesline and couldn't get the image of the bloated female corpse, gnawed to pieces, out of his mind. His thoughts were in disarray and it took him a while to calm down again.

“Should I stay here and wait for rescue, or try to leave and find a way out? Or are there other survivors in this city?”

Harry took off his wet shoes and socks, put on a pair of clean shoes, and stood by the balcony window, lost in thought.

Looking at the water outside the window, he saw sporadic high-rise buildings in the distance. The ones that emerged from the water were all thirty stories or more.

Looking at these buildings, Harry couldn't help but wonder if there were other survivors like him inside. It would be better to find them than to be alone.

Of course, there were unknown risks on the way. The body that had just been gnawed left a shadow in Harry's heart, and he felt uneasy.

“Or maybe I should wait for rescue. Maybe rescue teams will appear soon.”

The only thing Harry felt fortunate about was that he lived alone and had prepared several bags of instant noodles and some biscuits and bread as breakfast, all stored in the fridge.

Being alone, he could hold out for four or five days with the food he had.

After thinking for a while, Harry decided to prepare for both options. One was to stay here temporarily, hoping for a turning point or the appearance of rescue personnel. The other was to make a makeshift raft and risk leaving here if there were no rescuers around for several days.

With a decision made, Harry felt a little relieved. He took out a bag of biscuits from the fridge, ate while busy, and was grateful that the water was still on. He filled a kettle with water and lit the stove.

He was using an old-fashioned can of liquefied gas, but he rarely cooked, and he only used it once this month when Amma and a few friends came over for dinner. He almost never used it when he was alone.

But now he had to thank the can of liquefied gas. Otherwise, it would be difficult for him to even have a cup of hot water.

“I should boil more water just in case. Although the water hasn't stopped yet, since the power is out, the water may stop at any time.”

Although Harry didn't know the exact reason, perhaps due to different lines, the water had not stopped yet, despite the power outage.

In addition to preparing hot water, Harry also searched the house for various tools. He soon found some iron nails, two screwdrivers, pliers, scissors, a lighter, and a hammer. He also collected the kitchen knives and fruit knives, which were stored in the kitchen, and piled them all on the coffee table in the living room, ready to be used at any time.

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After eating biscuits and drinking some water to fill his stomach, Harry started working. His plan was to first climb to the top floor and release thick smoke to attract the attention of rescue personnel outside, if there were any.

Then he would make a makeshift raft as a backup plan.

He found some old clothes from the house, including a cotton quilt, a pair of plastic slippers, and several plastic bags, wrapped them all up, and then took a lighter and prepared to go out.

He wanted to carry these things to the rooftop, light them on fire, and create a lot of smoke. If there were really rescue teams, they would see the thick smoke and know that there were survivors here. That's when he would be saved.

Harry opened the door and was about to go out with his things when he suddenly stopped and looked at the corridor in front of him.

He saw wet footprints on the corridor in front of him. These footprints appeared from the end of the corridor and extended all the way to the house where the young couple lived.

Harry's heart was pounding. Looking at these wet footprints, he knew they were not the ones he left behind. His footprints had long since dried up. The footprints on the corridor were obviously left by someone who had just passed by and were not there for long, otherwise they would have dried up quickly.

“Are there other people here besides me? Did someone just come from the stairs and enter the house where the young couple lives? How did this person get here when the stairs outside were flooded?”

Harry looked at the half-closed door and wanted to rush in to see what was going on, but he was afraid deep down and felt that there was something strange about it.

He didn't act rashly, but quickly retreated to his house, put down the cotton quilt and clothes in his hand, and then picked up the kitchen knife and hammer on the coffee table.

With these weapons in hand, he felt a little safer and braver. He took a deep breath to calm himself down and went out again to see what was happening.

“I hope there are other survivors here,” Harry thought silently.

Facing various unknowns alone, he not only felt lonely but also had a sense of fear of the unknown, which enveloped him all the time, making him feel extremely depressed. He was afraid that he would collapse soon if he continued like this. He longed to see other living companions, even if it was just a dog.

Soon, Harry came to the door, looking at the half-closed anti-theft door and the wet footprints in front of it.

Approaching, Harry found that there were large amounts of water on both sides of the footprints. Obviously, the person who left the footprints was not just wearing wet shoes, but was soaked all over. When he walked over, he left not only a row of wet footprints but also a lot of water on the ground.

However, with the passage of time, these water marks were slowly evaporating, which Harry noticed when he got closer.

Harry clenched the hammer and kitchen knife in his hand and did not immediately push the door open. He cleared his throat and asked, “Is anyone there?”

Apart from his voice, there was silence in the corridor and the house.

After a few seconds of pause, Harry asked again, and at the same time, he listened carefully for any sound coming from inside the house.

Suddenly, he heard a sound from inside, as if a chair had been moved, which sounded particularly loud in this quiet place, as if someone had accidentally hit the chair while turning around.

“Is there really someone inside? Why aren't they answering me?”

Harry couldn't help it anymore. He raised his right hand holding the hammer and was about to push open the half-closed door.