[Zhang Bingbing No. 4]: "I was robbed too. Four or five people with clubs came at me for my things. I dropped them and ran. Next time someone goes out, call me along. The shuttle bus in the morning comes too late, so I usually ride my bike at night."
[Wang Xuemei No. 2]: "I'll call you next time. My family also rides bikes. Who knows when these days will end? Ever since the freezer food was eaten up, the dried shiitake mushrooms I bought are gone, the snacks are gone too. Every day we only eat plain rice or the corn porridge that was distributed before. I really hope the Earth's Dark Days end soon [praying emoji]."
[Fat Girl No. 25]: "Tighten your belts and wait for the artificial sun. Everything will get better! But does anyone still have the scalper's phone number? I really want to buy something, I can't take it anymore!"
Jing Shu's memory was stirred. In her previous life, at this time Su Lanzhi was still working hard and doing overtime. Because Yu Caini was promoted to "Deputy Director," her previous position became vacant. Su Lanzhi and Tian Qing competed for it, but in the end both failed. Soon after, depression combined with heatstroke broke her down completely, and she never even made it into the system again.
As for Jing Shu, she was still ignorant then. Every day she went with Jing An, carrying steel pipes to line up at the supermarket for food, afraid the family would run out of grain, afraid they would be robbed after buying. She was the same as everyone else, hoping the Earth's Dark Days would end soon, expecting someone to save them, pinning all her hopes on others.
Jing Shu later realized that in the end, people still had to rely on themselves.
Almost as if on cue, once everyone's refrigerators were empty, the power supply was shortened again. It was now from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Within these two hours, everyone had to finish all household electrical needs: charging power banks, phones, and flashlights, steaming rice for the day with the rice cooker, boiling water, keeping the lights on for at least an hour (news reports said humans needed daily exposure to light, and besides, candles were already used up), and watching the news broadcast to stay updated.
Of course, this excluded a handful of the rich who owned UBC solar power systems. It was said that the price of one set had soared past a million now, and only truly wealthy people could get them. Less than 0.03 percent of people had them.
And it also excluded those with real power. Their electricity was never cut. Rules had always been tools of those above, in any country. But to be fair, those who had truly contributed enough did deserve some special treatment.
For example, the ones who managed to keep the last hundreds of millions of people alive during the hardest days. Yes, their decisions caused a third of the population to die, but as a survivor, Jing Shu had to admit it was remarkable. Two thirds of the people lived on in such an environment. Other countries had gone completely extinct.
A saying was popular after the apocalypse:
With money, you had UBC; with power, you never lost electricity; with nothing, you relied on public use.
With money, you ate dried food; with power, you ate vegetables; with nothing, you ate bugs.
With money, you drank purified water; with power, you drank mineral water; with nothing, you drank rainwater.
So what did it count as, that Jing Shu had all of these? Thinking about it actually made her feel very satisfied.
There was no need for air conditioners anymore, since the temperature began to drop rapidly after 5:30 p.m. Four months into the apocalypse, people had slowly adapted to surviving the heat largely thanks to sufficient water intake.
But even water supply rules had changed. The water trucks only delivered once per day, rationed by headcount. Each person got only 1.5 liters. In such hot weather with constant sweating, 1.5 liters was barely enough. Adults were best off consuming 2 liters per day.
The changes, like boiling a frog in warm water, were easy to miss. In the first month, every person had one bucket per day. Then it was reduced to two buckets per family. Then one bucket per family. After three months, it had become 1.5 liters per person. The public found it hard to accept, but faced with armed police in riot gear with shields and guns, they dared not complain.
"Delivering water needs armed police?"
At most, people muttered complaints from afar. The fact that water needed armed escorts showed just how scarce it had become. Freshwater lakes had turned green and stinking with rotting corpses, silt was rising, and high heat had dried the rivers. There was no time for remediation, and still it did not rain.
Scientists on the Science Channel now spoke with one voice: high heat would inevitably cause sea levels to rise, which in turn would bring floods and torrential rains. A third of the world would be submerged, and island nations might be wiped out entirely.
"Rain will come sooner or later, and widespread flooding is likely. Preparations must be made in advance, or the consequences will be unimaginable."
In the first month, when scientists warned this, everyone was nervous. But after four months of the same, people were numb. "Hurry up and rain already! Floods would be better than dying of heat and thirst!"
But still, no rain fell. No floods came. Japan had prepared for three months to be submerged, but not a drop of water fell.
Perhaps only Jing Shu knew the truth. Everyone let down their guard, but in the second year of the apocalypse, all these predictions came true. The flood was not absent, only waiting, and when it came, it swept away several countries and a third of China. That year was one of endless deaths.
Jing Shu shook her head. Every day's events kept pulling out her old memories. After finishing ten scallion egg pancakes, two bowls of double-layer milk custard, and a big pot of tomato egg noodle soup, Jing Shu put on her helmet, grabbed her solid iron rod, and set out to take Su Lanzhi to work.
Yes, a real iron rod. Some people might not understand the weight of iron, so Jing Shu gave a quick explanation: one cubic meter of iron weighs 7.8 tons. This solid 1-meter-long rod weighed 39 kilograms.
Now Jing Shu could lift it with ease and swing it dozens of times without trouble. If some fool dared to come near, she could break bones with no problem, one hit guaranteed lethal.
She also carried along two boxes of soil from the villa. Su Lanzhi's competition was almost here, and Jing Shu had decided to cheat a little for her. No matter what, Yu Caini had to be pushed out.
"You really have to come? Isn't it safer to stay at home? The outside is dangerous." Su Lanzhi smeared some dirt on her face. Jing Shu followed suit. After drinking Spirit Spring, their skin had become too good. Without sunlight and with long-term malnutrition, most people's skin was sallow and dark. They stood out too much.
After months without sunlight, people were aging fast and losing nutrients. In her previous life, Su Lanzhi had looked like she was seventy before she even turned fifty. But this time, she was still beautiful, like a woman in her thirties, with glowing skin.
As for Jing Shu, she looked even more like a young girl. The beauty was so inconvenient that she had bought many cosmetics and creams that now seemed unnecessary.
Jing Shu slammed the iron rod down with a thud. "Look at my strength now. If anyone dares to mess with me, I'll beat them down! Dad was called away by Uncle, and no one else can send you. I can't rest easy letting you go alone. Besides, I want to see what that shady workplace of yours is really up to."