Chapter 9 The Cataclysm Is Approaching. Tomorrow I plan to go into the mountains again. ...
Because the software itself has a certain function of detecting tectonic plate activity, it even has early warning information for geological disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis, with the highest frequency and the scale being alarming.
These natural disasters continued for five years.
The reason it's only five years is not because these extreme weather events will disappear in five years, but because this software can only predict up to five years.
Even if the accuracy of the later parts is not enough, with the previous examples, this point can be completely ignored.
The most important question right now is whether countless, continuous extreme weather events will occur in the next few years? Is that even possible?
Or rather, is it really reasonable?
Lu Xuan asked the people in the live stream, "What are the chances that this software is malfunctioning?"
This question can be answered regardless of whether you've heard of the Weather Companion system or not.
[After all, this is the work of a top researcher at the institute; the error rate is 0.001%, and the data error rate cannot exceed 0.0001.]
Upon hearing this answer, Lu Xuan's face immediately darkened.
Very well, so everything that exists must have a reason, right?
Ancient people were already very poor at dealing with natural disasters. If they hadn't prepared in advance, one could have foreseen the terrible situation that people of this era would have experienced in the following years.
He asked himself if he had experienced so many thrilling and dramatic events that ordinary little accidents could not really affect him much.
But at this moment, looking at the endless red alert in front of him, an uncontrollable anger and violence welled up inside him.
An invisible pressure emanated from Lu Xuan in the tranquil mountain forest, and rapidly expanded outwards.
The creatures that were peacefully grazing, resting, or hunting suddenly panicked at the approaching danger. Countless birds scattered in all directions, and unknown roars of beasts filled with fear and unease came from all directions.
The viewers in the live stream were startled by the noise.
【What's wrong? What happened?】
[What happened on the broadcaster's end? Why do the animals seem frightened?]
Could it be that some ferocious beast has come down from the mountains?
Lu Xuan paused slightly upon noticing the commotion around him, subtly concealing his leaking supernatural power and taking a deep breath.
But a moment later he couldn't help but laugh in exasperation.
Before the apocalypse, he was a rich second-generation heir with plenty of time and money. His only tasks were spending money and having fun, but the arrival of the apocalypse ruined his life.
I thought that even if the environment wasn't as convenient as modern times, I could at least live a stable life again after changing to a different world. But then they pulled this stunt on me again.
It's really... great!
For a moment, he really had the urge to think, "Forget it, let's all just destroy each other."
But as his gaze inadvertently fell on the ring on his index finger, reason returned to his mind.
He closed his eyes to calm his turbulent emotions, and when he opened them again, he was completely calm.
He's survived a zombie apocalypse, so why would he be afraid of a mere natural disaster?
He has enough strength, and with the live streaming system as an additional advantage, giving up the struggle is impossible.
The reason why it is difficult to survive under natural disasters, apart from the fact that humans cannot survive under extreme climates, is simply due to insufficient resources, leading to death from hunger, thirst, or freezing.
As long as he can solve these problems, not only will survival be no problem, but he can also find ways to improve his quality of life as much as possible, fulfill his long-held wish since the apocalypse, and live a peaceful and comfortable life!
...That's what he said, but he's not alone anymore. He also has to consider Lu Qing and Lu Chen. He needs to plan out the specifics of how to proceed.
While Lu Xuan was deep in thought, the live stream chat room also began to discuss things on its own.
I thought the weather app was useless, but it actually works!
[Is the streamer's area about to enter a period of planetary catastrophe? I've never seen data so prevalent before, this is quite an eye-opener!]
[It's just a slight temperature difference, is it that serious? It's just a matter of wearing a biosuit.]
Are you stupid? There were no bio-clothing garments in ancient times. Don't forget the harsh living conditions that ancient humans faced just because our environment is better.
In ancient times, the human population was already small. After several years of natural disasters, the population was likely greatly reduced, and it's unknown how many years it would take to recover.
In fact, the Covenant does have newly discovered edge planets that require them to deal with natural disasters on their own.
These planets lack sufficient funds to purchase weather satellites, or they can only use old satellites that are malfunctioning. As a result, these planets frequently face natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis.
However, because the Covenant's buildings are sturdy enough and its life-saving equipment and resources are relatively complete, they generally do not threaten the lives of its citizens.
But the situation in ancient times was different from that of the Star Alliance. Take the mud house in the streamer's house, for example. Let alone an earthquake, it would probably be blown down by a strong wind.
Lu Xuan, snapping out of his thoughts, looked up and saw that his house had been mentioned. His lips twitched involuntarily.
He selectively ignored the audience's complaints, picked up the bled deer and the fish he had caught, and went down the mountain to go home!
We'll talk about the natural disaster when we get back!
·
With the spatial ring, Lu Xuan put the two deer into his space when he went down the mountain. Since live animals couldn't be kept in the space, he carried the fish in his hand to keep them fresh.
Despite the absence of large prey, the eight fish, averaging ten pounds each, still caused quite a stir.
If he hunts wild boar or other meats, the villagers will definitely be reluctant to trade them, but many people want to eat fish, especially those with pregnant or postpartum women in their families. Fish soup is very nourishing, and many people are scrambling to trade for it.
Because the fish is so big, it usually has to be shared by several families.
Many people kept asking him where he was caught and whether they could catch him.
Lu Xuan didn't hide anything, "There's a water source an hour's walk from the foot of the mountain, where there are many big fish."
The villagers were astonished.
An hour has passed; wouldn't that mean we'd be deep in the mountains by now?
There are many wild beasts in the deep mountains, and the young villagers who were just starting to get excited immediately gave up their idea.
They are the able-bodied young men and women of the family, and they cannot and dare not take such a big risk just for a few fish.
Some even advised Lu Xuan, "You were lucky this time that you didn't encounter any ferocious beasts, but you might not be so lucky every time. You can't take such risks in the future. The Lu family only has you and Lu Chen left. What will they do if something happens to you?"
The words were unpleasant to hear, but Lu Xuan knew the villagers cared about him, so he didn't explain further, simply nodding and saying, "I understand."
Fish is more about freshness than meat. With the disaster relief preparations in mind, Lu Xuan decided not to go into town today. Instead, he exchanged most of the fish for fresh ones, and as usual, gave the village chief's family and the Zhang family a smaller one each.
After all that work, when Lu Xuan got home, all he had left was a ten-pound catfish and an eight-pound blackfish.
Seeing that he had a good haul today and hadn't gotten hurt, Lu Qing had a deeper understanding of her younger brother's abilities and happily asked, "How are we going to eat this fish?"
Lu Xuan said, "Catfish is usually braised in soy sauce or stewed in clear broth. For blackfish, cut off the head and make a fish head tofu soup. If you can't finish the fish body in one meal, marinate it with salt and eat it tomorrow."
Lu Qing glanced at a huge catfish in a wooden basin and a black fish head that looked to weigh over three pounds, and then fell silent.
So, can you finish eating these ten-odd kilograms in one meal?
This has once again increased my brother's appetite.
She rolled up her sleeves and said, "Okay! Chenchen, take a few eggs to Liu's house in the east of the village and buy two pieces of tofu. They just made some new tofu today. Also, buy some dried bean curd sheets and dried bean curd sticks while you're at it."
Lu Chen, who was secretly poking the catfish with his finger, immediately looked up and said, "Okay!" He then turned around very eagerly to get the eggs.
Such a large fish is quite troublesome to handle, so Lu Xuan didn't prepare to let Lu Qing do all the work. "I'll help you kill the fish."
"No—" Lu Qing was about to stop him when she saw Lu Xuan quickly grab the catfish, smash it on the head with his bare hand, and knock the struggling fish unconscious with a punch. He then quickly cut open the fish's belly to remove its internal organs and gills. His skilled movements made her subconsciously shut her mouth.
Besides helping to kill fish, chop vegetables, and add firewood, Lu Xuan could lend a hand. The siblings worked together and quickly prepared a sumptuous lunch.
“The fish is hard to divide, let’s call my brother-in-law back to eat,” Lu Xuan said. “It’s very hot at noon, it’s good for him to come back and rest. The work in the fields won’t make a difference if he stays for a little while.”
In the past, Lu Qing probably wouldn't have called him back.
It wasn't that she didn't care about her husband, but the family relied on the meager harvest from the land for a living. It was just that the sun was a bit strong, and if they got too hot, they could rest in the shade for a while. Coming home took too much time.
However, Lu Xuan's performance in the past two days has eased Lu Qing's tense nerves considerably, so she nodded in agreement.
"Chenchen, go and call your brother-in-law back for dinner."
Lu Chen, who couldn't wait for dinner to start, ran out quickly without saying a word.
Lei Yan returned shortly afterward.
Today's menu includes braised catfish, stewed catfish, blackfish tofu soup, stir-fried cured pork with scallions, stir-fried tofu skin, and minced meat and egg custard.
The salad is still cucumber salad, but yesterday it was smashed cucumber, while today it's cucumber slices mixed with dried bean curd and wood ear mushrooms, giving it a different flavor.
The staple food was, as always, a large bucket of fragrant, finely cooked rice.
Even though Lu Chen had reminded him on the way back, Lei Yan couldn't help but sigh when he saw the table full of food: "Such good food makes me feel uneasy eating it."
Well, for some reason, it reminds me of what I've heard before about the last meal for death row inmates... cough.
The viewers in the live stream are different.
[This is the kind of ancient mukbang I want to see! I hope the streamer eats like this every day!]
[This looks delicious! My mouth is watering so much, I could practically drool! Slurp!]
What's the use of it smelling delicious when you can't even taste it? What kind of human suffering is this!
[Something to watch is better than nothing. At least I, with my mild anorexia, ate an extra nutritional supplement while watching the live stream today. So delicious! jpg.]
Lu Xuan served food to Lu Chen while watching the live stream comments.
He previously speculated that unlocking the five senses sharing feature would require unlocking the live streaming duration achievement, but the new feature was not unlocked when the 24-hour achievement was reached. The next stage achievement requires 240 hours of streaming, which would take nearly 20 days based on streaming more than ten hours a day.
Is this what they mean by "very fast"?
Tsk, the audience's mouths are deceitful.
We keep urging him to enable sharing, but do you think urging will make it happen? Let's just wait and see.
While his family was engrossed in their meal, Lu Xuan suddenly mentioned, "I'm planning to go into the mountains again tomorrow."
With the experience gained over the past two days, neither Lu Qing nor Lei Yan felt that this was a big problem.
But Lu Xuan then added, "This time we might go deeper into the area, and it will probably take a few days before we return."
Lu Qing and the other person were startled.
Lu Qing said anxiously, "Why do we have to go for several more days? Didn't you already go quite deep into the mountains today when you went fishing? Are we going to go even deeper into the mountains? It's too dangerous!"
Lei Yan also said, "Yes, Ah Xuan, I know you're skilled at hunting wild boars, but there's no rush to make money by hunting. You'll be gone for several days, and we wouldn't know if you encountered any danger. What if... If you insist on going, I'll go with you?"
Lu Qing frowned, becoming even more disapproving.
The two families only have two able-bodied men, Lu Xuan and Lei Yan. If something happens to both of them, what will happen to her and Lu Chen?
Lu Qing still wanted to persuade Lu Xuan not to go.
Unfortunately, Lu Xuan's mind was made up and his attitude was very firm: "I will definitely go. Brother-in-law, stay at home to take care of my sister and Chenchen. Don't worry about me. I have enough strength to protect myself and I won't joke with my own life."
The earliest disaster is only half a month away now, time is of the essence, and he cannot afford to waste a single moment.
A note from the author:
----------------------
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com