Chapter 191
The seven-day observation period was easy for someone like Mu Nan who could stay at home for a month or so, especially because he could video chat with Qin Huai every day, watch TV series on his tablet, play single-player games, and chat with Qin Huai, and the day would be over. However, Mu Nan was still a little worried about the dungeon that Qin Huai had mentioned before.
If it is underground, the living space must be very small. Even if the lights are very bright, if the houses are like this isolation room without even a window and can only accommodate a bed and a table, living in such a closed environment for a long time will make people feel more and more depressed.
Although Qin Huai comforted him that if it was really an underground city, it must be suitable for human habitation, and even if the environment was really difficult, it would be better than facing the wind and rain outside. Although he said so, Mu Nan's anxiety about the living environment did not decrease at all.
After the seven-day observation period, they were taken out of the isolation room. As soon as he came out, Song Jia stretched his body. Just as he was about to find Mu Nan to complain about the hardships of being locked up for the past few days, he saw Mu Nan rushing towards Qin Huai and hugging him. Qin Huai also responded with a kiss on Mu Nan's forehead.
Turning around again, Jian Chu and Yu Zibai were also talking in a sweet voice there, probably because they were worried about each other's altitude sickness. Although they knew that there were medical staff to deal with any situation in the isolation room at any time, they would always feel uneasy if they didn't ask in person.
These four people made Song Jia speechless, and Xu Ming, who was standing by, patted him on the shoulder and said, "You have your brother, but I am alone. Do you feel more comfortable when you think about it this way?"
Song Jia looked back at Wu Zheng, who was observing the surroundings without paying any attention to him, and suddenly felt not much better.
The staff had already notified everyone of the gathering time yesterday, and almost everyone came out of the house at the appointed time. The official tablet provided in the room these days also had the living rules and regulations here, and everyone had read them over and over again countless times. Now they would be taken to the residential area to choose housing and settle down.
Because they knew that the refuge city was built underground, they did not have high expectations for the underground environment. They imagined it would be dark, messy, closed and narrow. But in fact, after taking a huge freight elevator down, they saw a bright sky, although it was obvious that this was just a projection screen or something.
The road is also very spacious. Except that the distance between the 'sky' and the ground is a little closer, the underground feeling is not very strong. There are even green plants on both sides of the road.
Some of these people, who had not seen anything green except in their own vegetable dishes for many years, could not help but try them out to see whether these plants were real or fake. They had lived in a civilized world before, but this time they were like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden, and were amazed at everything they saw.
Although they didn't know how big this underground city was, it was definitely much bigger than they thought, because in addition to the floor they were on now, Mu Nan actually saw the entrance to the subway station, which meant that there was another floor below them, which should be public transportation.
Up there, he saw many people riding bicycles. Although the road below should be able to accommodate cars, it is a closed underground environment after all, and air quality must be paid close attention to. It is estimated that bicycles will be the only means of transportation here in the future. If they go a little further, they will have to take the subway further down.
Mu Nan whispered to Qin Huai: "Do you think we are still on Earth? I am exaggerating."
If the 'sky' above his head had not been too close, he would not have felt that he was underground, but rather had a feeling of returning to the time before the end of the world.
Qin Huai was also somewhat surprised at the level of development of the underground city, which was far better than he had expected, so he could only sigh: "So it is not without reason that humans have become the overlords of this earth. As long as there is no catastrophe that instantly exterminates them, as long as there is a glimmer of hope, people can survive."
Song Jiajianchu and the others were also very excited. Although the houses here were very low, the roads were very clean. Probably the roads were only used for bicycles, so they were not very wide, probably only as wide as the two lanes before. However, there were green trees, flowers and plants all around. Looking at these plants, one could not help but have tears in his eyes. Compared with the desolation brought by the harsh climate above, the feeling here was civilization and warmth.
All the resistance I had before coming out about living underground disappeared in an instant, and I couldn't help but admire how awesome their country is.
The staff took them to a subway station and told them that they could use their wristbands to ride, but that the wristbands were only temporary. After they obtained their residence permits, everything would be the same as before and they would have to buy their own travel cards.
The subway below surrounds the entire underground city. There are currently twelve subway lines. The routes are very complicated and intricate. Although there are signboards, it is still dizzying. But this is only because they are new here. Once they get familiar with it, they should be able to figure out which line to take and where to transfer.
"The subway is still under construction. Currently, Line 13 to Line 21 are under construction. We will send you a manual when the time comes. You will have to figure out where you work and how to get there from where you live. Not many people are moving here now, so the subway is not congested. But as more and more people move here, it will probably become more and more congested. So I suggest that when you choose a place to live, try to choose one that is close to your workplace and can be reached by bicycle."
Someone curiously asked the staff: "How many people can this place accommodate in the future?"
There is nothing to hide about this. We are afraid of causing unrest outside, so we can't tell you much about the refuge city. But there is no need to hide it from those who have already come, so the staff said directly: "We can only say that we will try our best to transfer them, but an underground city can accommodate at least hundreds of millions of people."
After living in a residential area with a population of only a million for many years, I suddenly heard the unit of measurement of 100 million. I inexplicably felt a sense of unreality, especially since an underground city had to accommodate hundreds of millions of people. I couldn't even imagine how big this underground city was. They didn't even have a province or city with a population of over 100 million before, and now they have to accommodate so many people underground.
The man continued, "We are still expanding. We have enough manpower, but not enough construction materials. The only consolation is that we have enough energy stored. Even if we build a few more underground cities of this scale, the energy stored in our country can be consumed for nearly a hundred years. However, the amount of energy stored is still growing. There are not many countries out there that still have military defenses. Naturally, it's up to you to decide. In the future, the survival and development of our people will depend on you."
A group of people got on the subway. There were other people waiting for the subway downstairs. They should have arrived a few groups earlier than them, so they were not surprised to see that they were obviously from outside. Maybe it was because a group of people came every once in a while and they had long been used to it.
The staff took them to the largest housing authority here, where there was a complete system for housing in the entire underground city. The system would select a suitable area based on your needs, such as workplace, house size, surrounding facilities, etc., and then point out the vacant rooms in this area for people to choose.
Qin Huai's job had been decided long ago. Xu Ming was still hesitating whether to take the medical qualification exam or apply for a farm veterinarian. Anyway, he had a lot of savings as he had just arrived and could live comfortably for a while. There was no rush for the time being, so he chose a house next to the area chosen by Qin Huai and the others.
In fact, Yu Zibai and Jian Chu's majors are best suited for working in banks. There is no other private financial management available now, and it is best to work for the government. Now that the underground city is so well-developed, there must be banks there, so they plan to settle down first and see how it goes. At worst, if the transportation is inconvenient after they have chosen a job, they can just move to another place.
Song Jia still wants to try freelance work. He has done a small business in online video editing when he was in Kangyun. He has saved all the video materials and decided to wait and see the network situation here. Although Wu Zheng has not found the workplace where he is good at, when he comes to a strange place, he still chooses to be with people he knows because he feels safer.
After discussing it, they decided on an area that was relatively close to Qinhuai's workplace and had several subway hubs. Perhaps because of its convenient transportation, the location was very popular and there were not many houses to choose from.
The houses here are not high. After all, the height of the entire underground city may be only a few dozen meters. The conditions are average in a small four-floor apartment. A room may be only thirty or forty square meters. There are about twenty to thirty households in an apartment. At first glance, the apartment area is full of neatly arranged apartment buildings. Although the floors are not high, each building is surrounded by greenery. The conditions look very good, but it's a pity that the area is too small.
The more expensive ones are single-family houses with a small garden. The house has two floors and covers an area of about 150 to 200 square meters. The area is not large, but because it has two floors, the actual living area is relatively large. The houses are simply decorated, and they are not made of reinforced concrete. It seems to be some new type of board material. Anyway, it is underground, protected from wind and rain, and even reinforced steel structures are not needed.
The living environment is good so the price is naturally high. The monthly rent is nearly 100 yuan, which is much more expensive than before in Kangyun. But one thing is that if the house is registered under the name of a employed person, the subsidies you can get will be different depending on the type of job. In other words, if you don't have a job, the rent will be very expensive. If you have a job, the state will share part of the rent, and the part you pay yourself will be cheaper.
Qinhuai must choose a small single-family house. The houses below are not very soundproof due to the construction materials. If you live in an apartment building, it will be very inconvenient. Whether you are talking or eating, there is basically no privacy.
Xu Ming calculated his financial situation, and he was not worried about not having a job in the future, so he simply chose a building next to Qin Huai's. The bigger the house, the less anxious he was about being shut down underground.
Jian Chu and Song Jia discussed with each other for a while, and asked Qin Huai whether the things accumulated in the past few years could be obtained smoothly. After getting a positive answer, they generously chose the two houses in front of Qin Huai and Xu Ming. Just as Xu Ming said, the basement was already very stuffy, and it would not be very comfortable to live in a small house. If they could afford it, they would definitely choose a bigger one.
Moreover, the house is a two-story building surrounded by green plants. It is very comfortable to see green when you open the window.
After choosing a house, the rent is one deposit and three payments. After binding the identity information, the payment can be made directly to the account every month. Water, electricity and house management fees can also be paid directly online every month, which is quite convenient.
Seeing that the people who came here were still struggling to choose a house, Qin Huai asked the staff who brought them here and told them that they could leave directly after choosing a house. They were all adults and had mouths and phones. If they had any questions, they could just ask someone themselves. There was no need to be taken step by step to adapt to the environment.
Today's bracelet can also be used to scan for subways. After carefully looking at the map and routes, they found the way back to the community. They had to transfer twice before they arrived, which took more than an hour in total.
The house has a card, and the door password can be changed after swiping the card. Because it is simply decorated, there is nothing inside the house. The floor is also a wooden floor that Mu Nan doesn't like very much. The reason for not liking it is that if you use a sweeper to clean the wooden floor, it will easily leave marks. But if you only wear socks and step on the floor, the wooden floor is more comfortable than marble tiles.
This type of single-family house should be for families with larger populations. The first floor has the living room, kitchen, and bathroom, as well as a guest bedroom. The second floor has the master bedroom, study, and two guest bedrooms. Although the area is not large, there are quite a lot of rooms.
Mu Nan looked around and said, "Can we change the structure of the house? There are too many rooms and it's hard to maintain hygiene."
Qin Huai: "How do you want to change it?"
Mu Nan thought for a while and said, "I want to connect the guest bedroom on the first floor. I took a look and saw that it was a board wall. I want to connect the guest bedroom to the living room and put a hanging chair near the French window. There shouldn't be much dust underneath. I think the ventilation system is pretty good. It shouldn't get dirty so quickly if I put a carpet there. There are two guest bedrooms on the second floor. One is connected to the master bedroom and the other is connected to the study. This way, the living area will be much larger. Anyway, we probably won't entertain friends overnight. Even if we do, we can put a sleeping mat in the study and use it as a temporary guest room."
Qin Huai naturally agreed to this little thing: "Then change it this way."
Mu Nan was a little uncertain: "Can it be changed? This is a rented house. Although Kang Yun's place is also a rented house, I always feel that the management here is stricter."
Qin Huai: "It can be changed. You can change it by paying a full year's rent in advance. If I work for ten years, this house registered under my name will belong to my personal property, so there will be no problem in changing it in advance. I looked at the forums here and there are companies specializing in house decoration. This place has been built very soundly. Except for being built underground, the overall environment here has been restored to almost the same as before the end of the world."
Changing the layout of the house was not a big deal. Thinking of what Jian Chu and the others had asked about supplies, Mu Nan was a little worried and said, "How are we going to get those things out? It feels like everything here is under surveillance. The security level and social order are guaranteed, but there are also more restrictions."
Qin Huai smiled and said, "There are gray areas everywhere. Where there is light, there must be darkness. Moreover, the entire underground city can accommodate hundreds of millions of people. How big is this place? It is impossible to monitor every corner of such a large place. Don't think it is too scary. This place is roughly the same as the environment before the end of the world, but some places are more high-tech, such as circulating air supply systems, constant temperature systems, air purification systems, etc. Being surrounded by technology does not mean being monitored all the time. Let me get familiar with the environment first, and then I will give them the things when I find a chance."
Hearing Qin Huai say this, Mu Nan felt relieved. Anyway, with his brother there, he didn't have to worry about getting the job done.
In the afternoon, Qin Huai went to his future workplace to hand in the documents. Mu Nan lay down on the floor and took a nap without cleaning. Anyway, the layout of the house had to be changed, and it would definitely make the house very dirty, so there was no need to bother.
The temperature here is set very comfortably, around 25 or 26 degrees, neither too cold nor too hot. If you are afraid of the cold, you can wear a long-sleeved shirt, and if you are afraid of the heat, you can just wear short sleeves. Mu Nan feels that if people live in such a suitable environment for a long time, they will definitely become less and less able to adapt to the hardships outside. But even if you think so, who would be willing to suffer when they can be comfortable?
Knowing that they had just arrived, the higher-ups gave Qin Huai a week to adapt to the new environment. The next day, Qin Huai called the decoration company and told them about the changes. This type of board-structured house is easy to modify, and there won't be too much dust when the wall is punched through. The house was quickly renovated according to Mu Nan's requirements.
Jian Chu, Song Jia and others also took a look and asked about the price of the renovation. It was not expensive, so Jian Chu and Xu Ming directly asked someone to make the renovation similar to what Mu Nan's family did.
Song Jia's family did not change the structure of the house. Now they are just two brothers and can live anywhere they want, just in case they start a family in the future. So as for the reconstruction, they will wait until they fall in love and find a partner. They always have to consider the needs of their future significant other.
Fearing that they might be worried, Qin Huai also specifically mentioned to them: "We have just arrived, and we haven't figured out many things yet. I have already contacted people, and everything is almost ready. We will be able to take it in a month or two."
Seeing that Qin Huai had made all the arrangements, they of course stopped worrying. Anyway, they still had the assets they had sold in Kangyun before. The money and food in the account were enough for them to eat, drink and have fun for more than a year without working. If you count the things Qin Huai had people prepare, they would not have to worry about food and clothing for two or three years.
They settled down here, and couldn't help but worry about their friends in Kangyun: "I don't know when they can come over. It's a pity that the network is not interoperable. When they come, we may not be able to contact them immediately. Oh, it would be great if we could all be together."
Listening to Song Jia's mumbling, Mu Nan felt the same way. It would be nice if they could all be together. In addition to Daniu and the others, there was also Qin Bing. If they could see each other again in their lifetime, it would be worth a good meal.
While others were adapting to the new environment, Qin Huai had already started working. His workplace was not far from home, only fifteen minutes away by bike. His main work area was technological defense, and he was working on the defense system of the entire underground city.
Of course, he was too young and not qualified to be the main force of research, but his calm personality, outstanding abilities, and tactfulness, unlike most scientific researchers who were more rigid, made him be noticed by a very powerful professor, who chose him as an assistant. His overall welfare benefits were greatly improved, but he was a little busier than before.
But no matter how busy one is, there must be time to rest. When not working overtime, after dinner, Qin Huai will ride his bike around with Mu Nan. The program set by the system here has a clear distinction between day and night. There are not many shops outside, but they are opening one after another. Jian Chu is eager to open another shop. After all, he has been doing business for several years and is considered a veteran.
However, some supply channels are not clear yet, so for now we can only wait and see.
More than a month after arriving in the underground city, Qin Huai found an opportunity to share some of the things with them, but he didn't give them all. One reason was that the quantity was too large and would easily attract attention. Another reason was that most of them were food, which did not last long. Anyway, it would be enough for them to eat for a while, and he would find another opportunity to give them more after a while.
Qin Huai had carefully calculated how much to take out from the space. Just the things that Xu Ming and the others had stockpiled with the money they gave him every month had to be taken out in at least three installments. Adding some of the things they had stockpiled before the end of the world that they had mixed in, Qin Huai planned to give them to them four installments over two years.
Two years is neither a long nor a short time. At least they have been able to take root and survive in this new environment. Therefore, the supplies given to them in these two years can be regarded as an aid for their early survival. How they will live in the future depends on themselves. They have given help to the best of their ability, but they cannot help others for a lifetime.
What they didn't expect was that in the third month of living in the underground city, in order to celebrate Wu Zheng's successful job in the machinery factory, everyone decided to go out to a restaurant to celebrate. When they came back after eating and drinking, they saw a man sitting cross-legged on the side of the road in front of Xu Ming's house, with a piece of grass he had picked from the flower bed in his mouth. When he saw them, he showed his white teeth.
"Hi, everyone. Long time no see."
Jian Chu was startled: "Brother Yu, you are here too?"
Yu Feng stood up and dusted himself off: "Yeah, this journey was really tiring."
Yu Feng said as he looked at Xu Ming: "I have spent all my savings along the way and can't even afford to rent a house. Since we have been colleagues for many years, please have pity on me and take me in."
Xu Ming didn't know what he felt at that moment. It felt swollen and distended. He was a little surprised, but not surprised at the same time. But he had to admit, he hadn't seen him for almost four months, and when he saw that nonchalant and ruffian smile again, he suddenly found it more pleasing to the eye.
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