Chapter 23

City H and City B are not far from each other and have similar climates. Both are inland cities in the north, with the highest temperature in summer not exceeding 40 degrees. As well-known tourist cities, there are many tourists in summer, and the temperature in the green areas will generally feel lower.

The three sealed-off cities are located along the coast, close to the south. In City G, there's a saying that three-quarters of the year is summer, with the remaining days split 2:2:1 between spring, autumn, and winter, and winters never drop below 0°C. City W is a notorious "hotspot," with summer temperatures consistently around 40°C and the wind blowing hot. City S is slightly better, but still incredibly scorching.

A video of a medical worker who fell into a coma while working intensively in high temperatures went viral online, and #Medical worker who fell into a coma while working non-stop in temperatures exceeding 30 degrees Celsius# directly became the number one trending search.

A highly-rated comment asked if the air conditioning temperature couldn't be lowered a bit. Someone in the lower floor quickly replied that because the X virus is transmitted through aerosols, the central air conditioning ventilation system may spread the virus to other uninfected wards, so the only option is to open windows and use electric fans for ventilation.

Someone else shared his experience. His home is in the sealed-off city of S. A family in the building where he lived had a confirmed case and was taken away. After the building was sealed off, everyone locked their doors and thought that everything was fine. However, within two days, there was another infection, and the resident was a resident of the same room but on a different floor.

It was finally discovered that the virus was transmitted through the water supply and drainage of the floor drain. Everyone in the building was stunned and quickly filled the floor drain with water or used a plastic bag filled with water to press down the floor drain according to the experts' advice.

Then the topic went off topic, listing hundreds of layers of information, from various epidemic prevention measures to channels for seeking help.

The news has begun to report that this summer's temperature may reach a new high, foreign beaches are crowded with people, and the price of air conditioners in Nordic countries such as Country E has soared.

It's hard to understand the train of thought of those people. The severity of the X virus has been clearly stated, and the government is also calling for people to stay at home. They go to the beach to cool off without wearing masks. Don't they worry about their lives at all?

In fact, this news reflects the low level of trust that foreign people have in their governments. This is also true for countries like the United States, which has a dark history of adding viruses to children's vaccines for experiments, and politicians who use the X virus to attack the media. The media is completely controlled by big capitalists who promote idiotic and happy education, and the masses have no ability to think independently.

The comments section was filled with heated debate, quickly spun off into irrelevant topics and ultimately devolved into a tangle of demons and demons. Wheat Pian's "Northern Mainland Netizens" and the "Nano-Emperor" were locked in a heated argument, and the news item was quickly put into featured mode to block the debate.

This week, statistics on the domestic X virus mortality rate showed a downward trend. Measures taken to promote traditional Chinese medicines reduced the number of severe cases. For a time, the stock prices of traditional Chinese medicine companies soared, and the several medical stocks purchased by Chao Youqian took off rapidly.

Where there are interests, there are sour grapes. The comments were a mess and the war between Western medicine and Chinese medicine was about to break out. Fortunately, the network administrator was able to close the comment section in time.

Foreign countries have given up on city lockdowns because they cannot control the situation, or the area is small and the flow of people is fast. In addition, some places do not have identity cards, so epidemiological investigations cannot be carried out and accurate isolation is impossible.

No amount of medical resources could sustain their efforts. Only the wealthy could get treatment after being infected, leading to strikes, wage demands, and riots. Some people, concerned about the virus and wanting to protect their elders and children, rushed to supermarkets to stock up on masks.

Racial discrimination becomes more intense in extreme environments. Community patrols have been formed in Chinatown to prevent robberies, and the embassy has also called on overseas Chinese to protect themselves.

Seeing that the situation is not right, those who have a keen sense of smell and went abroad early are now desperately scrambling for tickets to return home, and flying back and forth is a futile effort.

Airfare to China has been rising steadily, and the vast international student population is expressing their discontent. Amid the global outbreak of Virus X, there's a shortage of transport personnel, and to protect the small gains made domestically, charter flights for them to return home are unavailable.

But they are not abandoned as some people advocate. There are still tickets for flights that have not been melted down. If you can hire the entire plane at your own expense, we can help you contact the routes and quarantine hotels.

Masks and traditional Chinese medicines manufactured expedited by the domestic production chain are shipped to overseas embassies and distributed free of charge to international students and compatriots.

The temperature rise in the second week of staying at home is obvious to all. The highest temperature in H City has exceeded that of previous years. Chao Youqian and Lang Xin no longer go out for walks, but turn on the air conditioner to enjoy the coolness and ice drinks at home.

There are many modern otakus and housegirls with storage quirks. The extreme survival experts have tens of thousands of followers on their self-media accounts. The goods they stockpile can last for several months, so it is not surprising that they don't buy things for fear of being infected by the outside world.

After the outbreak of the epidemic, many people went shopping crazily. As long as they had food at home, they would not worry, and large-scale purchases would no longer attract attention.

After eating through the food for over a week, I counted the space consumed and found it was less than a refrigerator. I still ordered food online, pursuing not only enough food but also good food. I focused on replenishing fruits and vegetables that are difficult to grow on the balcony, my favorite snacks and dishes, and daily necessities and supplies.

Speaking of balcony gardening, Chao Youqian had no idea how quickly vegetables could grow using smart farming methods, with harvests possible in just a week. Luckily, when he bought his own vegetables, the leafy greens were scarce, so he promptly broke off the tender leaves and allowed them to continue growing. He could still use the extra leaves for fresh-keeping or feeding the chickens.

Slow-maturing fruits were still growing, so Chao Youqian ordered fresh fruit online, primarily large watermelons, a summer must-have. He also bought some seasonal fruit and a few boxes of long-lasting ones for the fresh-keeping section.

Staying home isn't all about negativity; it has its benefits. Online blogs and videos exploring and sharing food have exploded. Every day, one or two food-themed trending searches are trending, and just looking at the video covers is enough to make your mouth water.

Some, while tinkering with food at home, discover their own kitchen killer identities. Blackened steamed buns and bread, fish soup left untouched and lingering, stew pots shattered to pieces on the gas stove... these provide ample resources for the kitchen team and a significant boost for the transport team.

Lang Xin also joined the collective effort, specializing in cooking time-consuming and complex dishes. He shared a collection of them on his WeChat Moments, garnering countless likes. Someone commented, "Sister-in-law, what a treat!" Lang Xin mused, without explaining.

Chao Youqian saw this message as soon as he scrolled through his Moments. The people who left the comments were mutual friends. Seeing that Lang Xin didn't deny or reply, he shouted, "Lang Xin! Explain something on your Moments quickly. Those who are stirring up trouble are definitely going to come to me to get to the bottom of this."

"Okay, I'll go reply." Lang Xin said this and left a message in the comment that everyone could see: I'm locked up in H City with Youqian, researching food at home, and everyone must take care of their health.

Chao Youqian was originally sitting on the sofa in the living room, watching the live game broadcast on the big TV screen connected to the Internet. When he saw his reply, he was furious. It would have been better if he hadn't explained.

Lang Xin, the master of expertise and emotions, came over with a plate of sliced ​​frozen watermelon and fed him a piece. "Don't be angry, huh? Those people just like to talk nonsense. When have they ever not wished me 99% when I sent them something unrelated to work? There's no point in getting mad at them."

Chao Youqian was comforted by the sweet seedless Qilin melon. After all, those funny people could talk about anything. If he ignored them, there would be no follow-up. Why was he angry with Lang Xin?

What he hadn't noticed was that this wasn't the first time Zhong had asked his sister-in-law to stir up trouble. For years, Chao Youqian had been the prey, comfortably dozing in 36-degree water. Lang Xin had created a rather ambiguous image of childhood sweethearts with all their mutual friends. Otherwise, he'd be a troublemaker and show off his high emotional intelligence. As long as Lang Xin denied it once, no one would dare to stir up trouble again.

Lang Xin, the driving force behind the scenes, stood beside him, looking pitiful and naive, not being good at refuting or arguing. He watched as Chao Youqian guiltily opened his Moments and generously liked the post, leaving a comment that read "It tastes great."

Chao Youqian was very satisfied with his concise and powerful "edict": "Xiao Xinzi, watermelon is good. I reward you with playing this game online with me."

Lang Xin cooperated and said, "Thank you, His Majesty, for the imperial decree." He sat down next to Chao Youqian and fed him watermelon while he was connecting the game controller to debug the function.

In the second week of home quarantine, the overall mortality rate dropped significantly, and the infection rate also fell after being brought under control domestically. The patchwork anti-epidemic measures abroad, based on the concept that if you don't count or check, then there is no infection, the rising trend of the announced infection rate is also slowing down.

Currently, patients infected with Virus X exhibit early symptoms that closely resemble those of viral influenza, including fever, headache, and weakness. Without intervention, such as taking traditional Chinese medicine to maintain immunity, the disease can progress to systemic failure. The most specific approach is to scan a CT scan to detect any shadows.

After severe illness, the patient will fall into a coma, have difficulty breathing, and a weak heartbeat. Multiple measures must be taken to maintain life. There is no specific medicine and only antibiotics can be used. Even after the disease becomes mild, there will still be serious sequelae.

The cured patients were discharged from the hospital one after another. Since the incubation period of the newly discovered X virus can be up to 14-20 days, the infrastructure-rich country took three days to establish quarantine centers and temporary hospitals in the three blocked cities.

Those discharged from the hospital must first go to the quarantine point for seven days of continuous testing and CT scans. Patients with mild symptoms should be admitted and transferred to the mild quarantine hospital for treatment first, so as to make full use of the hospital's resources to treat critically ill patients.

Human potential is infinite, and feasible domestic methods and means of containing the X virus allow for the spread of optimism.

Video clips from the Fangcang Hospital showed volunteers practicing Tai Chi and square dancing with patients. The medical staff, police, logistics personnel, etc. who worked hard at their posts received support and assistance from all walks of life.

City S, home to the largest number of social media influencers, saw a surge in submissions after the initial chaos. Vlogs were edited with fluidity, game reviews were completed in a day, and food videos featured simple tutorials using common ingredients.

It seems that everything is developing in a positive direction, but the scope is limited to certain countries and regions.

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