Chapter 14: The Maitreya Buddha

Lin Buwan steadied her nerves and sat down slowly. As she moved, the kayak gradually stabilized. Lin Buwan had never paddled this kind of boat before. While she had once gone boating on a lake with classmates during her school days, it felt entirely different from this.

Silently reciting the essentials of rowing in her mind, she dipped the paddle into the water. The kayak began to drift away from the balcony. Lin Buwan let out a long breath—she had taken her first step. As long as she didn’t lose her composure, the kayak would drift wherever she wished.

In her spare time at home, Lin Buwan had already done her homework. For this trip, she planned to first visit the company where she used to work.

Her company specialized in pharmaceuticals and medical equipment, located on the twelfth floor of an office building. The building had twenty stories in total, housing all kinds of companies—food, clothing, technology, agriculture, and more.

Lin Buwan remembered that the company downstairs imported and exported food products.

Her decision to go to the company had two reasons. First, there were plenty of medicines and equipment there, items that would be priceless in the apocalypse. Second, she wanted to look around the other companies to see if she could find anything useful.

She had considered heading to a large supermarket, but most of them were on the first or second floor, with some even in the basement. Those on higher floors were simply too far from her apartment; it would be a real challenge to paddle there on her own. Besides, she recalled that after the super typhoon, the high-floor supermarkets were quickly taken over by the authorities.

With these thoughts swirling in her mind, she carefully steered the kayak to avoid floating debris.

There was plenty of detritus on the water—various types of garbage. Just a moment ago, her paddle had snagged a pair of underwear. The most prevalent was plastic waste: brightly colored bags, bottles, cans. Besides that, there were bits of wood, even animal carcasses.

Animals soaked in water for a long time looked grotesquely bloated, like overinflated balloons, ready to burst at the prick of a needle. Whenever she came across such a carcass, Lin Buwan would carefully nudge it away with her paddle. She couldn’t bear to imagine the stench if one of those things exploded.

The company was not far from her apartment, only about four bus stops away. Thankfully, most of the buildings still rose above the water; otherwise, someone as directionally challenged as Lin Buwan would easily get lost.

She was moving with the current when, suddenly, the water’s flow shifted, and she felt a surge of resistance.

Lin Buwan cursed under her breath. The company building was only a hundred meters ahead; there was no way she’d give up now. Besides, she couldn’t control the current, only blame her bad luck.

She changed the angle of her paddle, trying a few strokes. The kayak spun in place. Lin Buwan clicked her tongue and stopped moving—the current quickly pushed her back a short distance. Rowing against the current: if you’re not moving forward, you’re being swept back, she muttered to herself, then resumed paddling.

This time, carefully recalling the proper technique, the kayak stopped spinning and made slow progress against the flow.

She summoned her energy and paddled vigorously. It wasn’t long before she reached the office building’s windows. The glass was unbroken, surprisingly intact; from the outside, she couldn’t tell which floor she was on.

She reached into her backpack, and under its cover, took out a hammer from her hidden space.

In just that brief moment, the kayak had already drifted a little farther from the building, but she was still close enough.

She struck the glass hard with the hammer. With a clang, only a few fine cracks appeared. No wonder the glass survived the typhoon—the quality was excellent!

Lin Buwan gripped the window frame tightly with one hand and hammered several more times at the same spot. The glass shattered into crystal-like fragments. Another blow, and the shards tumbled into the murky water below, revealing the office within.

She pulled the kayak closer, grabbed the securing rope, and leaned her upper body into the office. Gloved hands clutching the jagged window frame, she finally managed to stand on solid ground.

Once she had her footing, she dragged the kayak inside as well. After making sure no one was around, she stowed the kayak into her storage space.

This was the seventh floor, the water just lapping over her feet.

Her primary goal was to collect medicines and equipment. There was no rush for this floor; there were still thirteen more above, each housing one or two companies.

Wading through the water, she made her way to the company’s main entrance. The glass doors were closed.

Luckily, they were glass. Without hesitation, Lin Buwan raised the hammer and smashed them. This glass was much easier to break; two swings and it was in pieces. Only then did she see the company’s sign—Xingran Technology Co., Ltd.

Companies like this rarely had anything she wanted. She glanced around and left.

She climbed the emergency stairs to the eighth floor.

Peering inside, she saw two companies: one dealing in textiles, the other in tea. Both were promising. After a moment’s thought, Lin Buwan decided to clear out each floor methodically.

Her hammer became the master key—no glass door could withstand its force.

In the textile company, she found plenty of fabric and some bedding, and swept them all into her space. She’d bought some clothes before, but not nearly enough. Who knew when the apocalypse would end? What if it never did?

Fabric would be a rare commodity after the world’s collapse; even if she couldn’t use it herself, she could trade it for something else.

Most of what she found were samples, not much in quantity, so she finished quickly. There were likely snacks and food at employees’ desks, but she didn’t have time to rummage for them—there were still more than a dozen floors to go.

The tea company, on the other hand, had ample stock. All the tea was stored in freezers, though the power was out and the units were no longer cold.

Lin Buwan casually tore open a packet and sniffed—it smelled perfectly normal, not spoiled. She swept all the tea from two freezers into her space. She’d never had the money to stockpile tea; now she had enough to last a lifetime.

Just as she was preparing to leave, Lin Buwan noticed the boss’s office and paused, deciding to take a look inside—there might be something valuable.

The door was unlocked; a turn of the handle, and she was inside. Right in front of her stood a golden Maitreya Buddha, grinning at Lin Buwan as she entered.

That can’t be real gold, can it? No one would put solid gold on a desk as decoration. Lin Buwan ignored the Buddha, scanning the office. Oddly, she felt a strange urge—her portable apartment seemed to want the Buddha.

It was a peculiar sensation, arising inexplicably in her mind. Since it wasn’t very big—about the size of a soda can—she reached out and touched it, and the Buddha vanished into her space. As soon as it was inside, the odd feeling disappeared. Lin Buwan didn’t dwell on it and continued her search.