Chapter 50
I was extremely tired in the first half of this sleep, so I slept very deeply. The second half was not so restful. I guess my body had recovered, so I couldn't stand the noise from the outside world and the heat. I felt someone walking around me, talking and crying, and Mu Nan frowned in annoyance. Before he could be annoyed for too long, a cold fingertip gently pressed against his brow, as if trying to smooth his frown.
Mu Nan used up all his strength to open his eyes. He saw Qin Huai lying next to him, looking at him with his eyes open. His face was still covered with dust and dirt. He was so dirty that he was almost unrecognizable. He couldn't help but smile, his voice hoarse with fatigue: "Brother..."
Qin Huai hummed and said softly, "Are you awake?"
Mu Nan shook his head, feeling like he was still not awake. His head was groggy and his body felt as heavy as if a jack was pressing on it.
Qin Huai said: "If you haven't woken up yet, just continue sleeping. It's still early."
Mu Nan: "What time is it?"
Qin Huai: "It's four o'clock in the afternoon. Are you hungry? Do you want to eat something?"
Mu Nan felt a little hungry, but didn't really want to eat, so he shook his head, then held Qin Huai's hand and stuffed a piece of chocolate into his hand. Although there were some food in their backpacks, such as bread, he felt that Qin Huai might not be able to eat anything now, so he gave him chocolate to replenish his strength.
However, Qin Huai seemed to have misunderstood his meaning. He took the chocolate, peeled off the outer packaging, and stuffed it directly into his mouth.
Mu Nan frowned, and whispered with the chocolate in her mouth, "I'm giving it to you." Then she stuffed another piece into his hand.
Qin Huai shook his head: "I don't want to eat, I just ate something."
Mu Nan was a little unconvinced: "What did you eat?"
Seeing that he was acting like a housekeeper, Qin Huai opened the bag and showed it to him: "I ate two steamed buns."
The food they had prepared before was a bag of bread, a few steamed buns, and a few bottles of water. They didn't put too much, firstly because they were afraid of the weight, and secondly, as long as the backpack was not shown to others and they didn't eat anything too outrageous, others wouldn't know what was in their bag. They could take whatever they wanted to eat from the space at any time.
Mu Nan was satisfied. As long as he had something to eat, he would be fine. He felt a little tired after being in the same position for a long time. Mu Nan moved and lay flat on his back. He subconsciously glanced around and saw that there was no one beside him. A little further away was Xu Ming who had not woken up yet. So he turned to look at Qin Huai: "Where are Jian Chu and the others?"
Qin Huai said: "Get the injection at the door."
Mu Nan got up and looked towards the door, but they were a little far from the tent entrance. Many people were coming in and out, so he didn't see Jian Chu and Yu Zibai for a while, so he lay down again: "Who's getting the injection? What's wrong?"
Qin Huai said, "Jian Chu is getting an injection. Maybe the aftereffects of the earthquake have kicked in. He has a fever and gastroenteritis. He has a strong stress reaction. He can't stop vomiting but he wants to endure it. Yu Zibai dragged him to find a military doctor. There are many cases like Jian Chu. They are all stress symptoms that cannot be endured for a while after a major disaster. Mild ones will recover on their own, while serious ones will be relieved by injections and medication. A few air-conditioning fans that were just dug out from the supermarket were set up in the tents for the injured in the back. Two were brought over and placed in the front to cool down the people getting injections."
Qin Huai stretched out his hand and rubbed his stomach: "Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?"
Mu Nan shook his head: "No, I'm fine. I don't know what the situation is like outside."
It was so hot during the day that there was no way to carry out rescue work under the scorching sun. Those who were buried under the collapsed materials did not know whether they would be killed by the heat. The daytime was long now. It was very bright at five or six in the morning and the sun did not set until eight or nine in the evening. There was no way to carry out rescue work during such a long period of time. We could only watch time pass by. This was undoubtedly watching life pass by helplessly.
Mu Nan was sleeping. Even if Qin Huai wanted to go out to find out what was going on, he didn't dare to leave easily. Such a serious earthquake had just happened. If he woke up and couldn't see him, he would probably panic and get scared. So Qin Huai didn't move. But because he added another layer of sunshade outside the tent, as long as he didn't go out at the hottest time of the day, he could walk outside the tent at four or five o'clock. So even if he was lying here, he could hear some sounds coming from outside and know the general situation.
"The main focus now is on rescuing the hospital. Some of the victims' families cannot accept the decision made by the higher-ups and are making a fuss."
As soon as these words were spoken, loud wailing sounds were heard outside their tent.
"Save them! Go save them! They are buried down there, why don't you go save them? Why haven't rescuers been sent from above? Why? They are right down there, right under the house! They are still waiting, waiting for someone to rescue them. They are still waiting... They are still waiting... "
A middle-aged woman was crying at the top of her lungs and shouting on the verge of collapse, but the soldiers she was pulling could only remain silent and helpless.
The soldier looked like he was not even twenty years old, with streaks of mud and dust on his dark and red face. His red eyes were also trying their best to endure, silently bearing the middle-aged woman's questioning. What could he say? He said that in such a disaster with heavy casualties, the rescue of medical staff is always the first priority. When there is no help from the outside world, rescuing a medical staff member may save more lives in the future.
But no one wanted to hear such words at that time, and no one could understand reasonably. Their family members were buried in those piles of rubble and they didn't know whether they were alive or dead. Every minute and every second that passed was torment for these family members. In those rubbles were their parents, partners, and children, each of whom was an inseparable existence in their lives. However, facing such a natural disaster and those lost lives, they were powerless.
Finally, the soldier's superior came out, pulled the soldier away from the middle-aged woman, patted him on the shoulder and said, "You go in first."
Then he turned to the distressed woman and said, "We have tried our best to carry out the rescue work at the fastest speed and with the greatest manpower. Your crying will not only not help our rescue work at all, but will also cause great psychological pressure on my soldiers and even delay the rescue work, which will delay the lives of your loved ones. Madam, I understand your feelings, but I do not agree with your irrational behavior now. You have the energy to cry here, so you might as well save it and wait until the sun goes down to join the rescue mission with everyone else."
The officer walked away without looking back after he finished speaking. They simply did not have the energy to reason with the family members who had lost their minds. Although the current situation meant they could only launch rescue operations after dark, it did not mean they would be free during the day. They needed to organize the existing supplies, count the number of people, maximize the use of resources, and also ask the survivors about the surrounding building systems. Blindly digging the ruins would only waste more time. They did not have much time to begin with, so they could only squeeze the time into efficiency.
After the officer left, the middle-aged woman still couldn't stop crying. Some emotions cannot be stopped just by wanting to, but it was obvious that she had listened to what was said just now. She no longer tried to vent her fear and terror on innocent people, and she did not continue to scream in vain.
Mu Nan looked out the window for a while, then sat down again. Their tent had windows, and because there was a sunshade outside, although it was still very hot, it avoided the direct sun, and the heat was not unbearable, so people could even walk around outside. The windows of their tent were also pulled up. In the absence of air conditioning, closing the windows was no good except making the tent airtight and more stuffy. Mu Nan slept right under the window, so he could see what was happening outside as long as he sat up and raised his head slightly.
After there was no more sound outside, even the crying had died down, Mu Nan sighed softly.
Qin Huai woke up early. He heard several conflicts between the crowd and soldiers in the afternoon. This woman was just crying, and someone had a direct conflict with some soldiers in the afternoon. If it weren't for the most important person to him sleeping next to him, Qin Huai didn't think he could be much more rational than those seemingly irrational people.
Those people are just looking for a little release in their panic, to release the pressure and pain of losing their loved ones, as well as the confusion and panic about the future. Some people will instinctively transfer these emotions, while others will try to suppress them, and in the end they will either gradually accept them and slowly metabolize them over time, or they will collapse mentally because they can't bear it.
This is also the reason why Qin Huai wants to take Mu Nan home. Although returning home is a little closed, it can avoid the indirect or direct emotional influence of the outside world. Emotions are contagious among groups. He would rather Mu Nan watch variety shows at home without a care in the world and think about what to eat every day, than be surrounded by such boundless panic and despair.
As for whether such excessive protection would harm him, Qin Huai had become more open-minded. After all, they had agreed that if they couldn't live together, they would die together. He would never leave Mu Nan's side and would never leave him alone. So it would be a good thing for Mu Nan to be able to spend one more day comfortably like this.
Most of the people in their tent were not seriously injured, but there were only a few who were alone, and only a few were lucky enough to have their whole family together. Most of them were those who could not be locked up at home and came out for a walk and luckily escaped. However, their relatives who stayed at home were not so lucky. Not many of them were rescued in the first time. Therefore, after the survivors in the tent recovered a little, they became anxious and could not sit still, but they could not go out because the sun was so scorching outside.
Some people have prepared for the worst, their grief and despair seem to have no will to survive, they are still alive, but it seems that they are no different from being dead. Some cannot accept this reality, and constantly seek comfort from those around them, saying that they live on a high floor, if they are buried, they will be buried on the top, they will be the first to be rescued, maybe they are still alive, and they also say that they have stored a lot of food and water at home, those things alone can last for days and nights, they will definitely be rescued, it seems that if you say it more, it will come true.
The people around are already anxious and irritable, so how can they have the patience to listen to what others say? When they get tired of hearing some things, they start arguing and even fighting.
Until an old man in his sixties who looked very strong in the tent yelled, "It's getting dark! Hurry up and eat something and drink some water, so that you can keep your strength and go dig in the collapsed parts of your homes. If you can't stand it one by one, what will happen to your families? What about those who are waiting for you to rescue? It's difficult outside now, but the country will never give up on the people. We have such a serious earthquake here, and the higher-ups must be trying to arrange rescue. Before they come, we must first learn how to save ourselves. If we quarrel and fight, how can the people buried down there survive!"
At times like this, the less there is a leader, the more chaotic it becomes. If someone strong enough stands up and suppresses the situation forcefully, everyone will be calmed down, as if they have a backbone and have found something to rely on, and are no longer in a panic and disorganized state.
Mu Nan leaned towards Qin Huai, and heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that the people in their tent had been comforted. However, he knew that they could only save themselves, and there was no rescue, because this was not an earthquake in one city or one province, but a global earthquake. This earthquake caused many countries to disappear from the map forever, and buried countless lives.
He didn't know what the national data was, but he knew that the city where he lived alone had a population of nearly 15 million, but the final statistics showed that there were less than 7 million survivors. This was only the statistics after the earthquake. Many people died in the earthquake, and even more people died from the plague that broke out after the earthquake.
Qin Huai held Mu Nan's hand and saw some scratches from gravel on his palm. He gently rubbed it and asked, "Does it hurt?"
Mu Nan shook his head: "It's nothing. It's not as bad as the cut I accidentally cut on my hand while sharpening a paintbrush."
Qin Huai said: "Then why not use a pencil sharpener?"
Mu Nan laughed at his silly question: "Do you think I'm using a 2B pencil to do my homework? The sharper the pencil, the better? I have a pencil sharpener, but some lines can't be drawn with a very sharp pencil."
Qin Huai took out his cell phone from his bag. Although the communication was cut off now, if the phone still had power, he could still watch some downloaded movies or play some stand-alone games. They had already downloaded a lot of stand-alone games before, and now they took them out to help Mu Nan kill time. There were still a few hours before dark.
Mu Nan shook his head: "No, I don't want to play." At this critical juncture, even if he had no relatives or friends trapped in the rubble, due to the influence of the environment, he probably didn't have the mind to play with his phone.
Qin Huai said: "Bring out a small electric fan."
Mu Nan said "oh", took the bag beside him, reached in, and took out a small battery-powered electric fan from the space. It was the size of a palm and the length of two batteries. He also put two replacement batteries in the small pocket of the bag as a backup.
Qin Huai pressed Mu Nan's head on his shoulder and blew a small fan towards him: "Close your eyes and lean back for a while."
Mu Nan was afraid that he would feel hot, so she held the bag and leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Would you like some ice water?" As she spoke, a piece of straw popped out from the bag. Without even looking, she knew what he was doing.
Qin Huai was indeed feeling a little hot, so he lowered his head slightly and drank several sips of ice water under the cover of his bag. He drank the water mixed with ice chips in one gulp. In this sauna-like temperature, his drowsy brain instantly became clearer, and the heat in his body subsided a little. Seeing that Mu Nan was also preparing to drink, Qin Huai said, "Drink in small sips, don't drink too much."
Mu Nan hummed twice, drank a few sips slowly, and then put away the ice water in the bag.
After sitting for a while, Jian Chu and Yu Zibai came over. Although they were still clean, that was because they had changed their clothes before. The skin exposed was like concrete, and their skin color was completely invisible. So it was impossible to tell what their complexion was. Mu Nan could only ask, "How are you? Are you feeling better?"
Jian Chu nodded: "Much better."
Yu Zibai helped him sit down and put away the medicine prescribed by the military doctor. He could still get the medicine now, but in two days, there might be nothing left.
Jian Chu saw that Mu Nan was in good spirits and admired him. It was obvious that he had a stronger tolerance than himself. Looking at the people who were already busy inside and outside, he couldn't help but sighed: "I didn't expect it to be so serious."
There have been almost no major earthquakes in their province and city. At most, there have been some shaking aftershocks from surrounding provinces and cities. Even though they have seen some news after the earthquake on TV, to be honest, when they were at the small square, they did not think that the earthquake would be so serious. The situation in the small square was still okay at the time, but all they could see was smoke, and they could not see the situation in the distance at all. When they returned to the community later, they found that this earthquake was much more serious than they had imagined, so serious that even now when they think about it, they feel palpitations and fear.
Mu Nan comforted them, "At least we are all fine. We were lucky to escape the disaster. Look forward, the disaster will pass." Although he didn't know when the disaster would be over, it was better to hold on to such hope than to be completely despairing about the future.
Yu Zibai saw that Xu Ming had also woken up and was rubbing his head and slowly sitting up. Then he asked, "Will you join in the rescue later?"
Qin Huai said: "We may go back home first."
Then he looked at them and said, "We have a solar generator at home. It will be more comfortable to stay at home during the day than to be exposed to the heat outside."
Mu Nan didn't expect Qin Huai to tell others what they have at home, and he panicked subconsciously. Although they have interacted with neighbors a lot in the past few months and get along well, they have only known each other for a short time. Telling others what they have at home, especially something like solar energy, makes Mu Nan a little uneasy. In his previous life, he was killed because he exposed a little food, so it's no wonder that he has a psychological shadow and is afraid. In this world, except Qin Huai, he feels that he can't let down his instinctive defense against anyone.
Qin Huai took Mu Nan's hand and squeezed his arm gently without making any sound. Although Mu Nan was a little surprised, he did not show it and did not even move from leaning on Qin Huai.
These words surprised Jian Chu and the other three. They didn't expect that Qin Huai's family had such a good thing, and they said it so directly. If Mu Nan said this, they might not be too surprised. Mu Nan is the kind of person who looks simple and easy to deceive and has no great vigilance against others. Even if Qin Huai is not a social veteran, he is definitely a person who can think carefully and plan. He would not be able to be so close and open with someone after just knowing him for a month.
But after hearing what Qin Huai said, Yu Zibai's heart was slightly moved, but he still endured and suppressed it. Although Jian Chu looked tough, he was not in good health. He had a very hard life when he was a child. He grew up with many fights and fells, and he relied on his youth to bear it. The stress reaction after the earthquake was so strong in the afternoon that he was worried that Jian Chu would hurt himself if he resisted it. When he heard Qin Huai say that his family had a solar generator, the first thought that came to Yu Zibai's mind was whether he could let Jian Chu stay at their house for two days to recover his health first. But soon he felt that his idea was too unrealistic. How could he let someone stay at his house when they were not related to him? Even if he and Jian Chu were definitely not people with bad intentions, why would they believe him?
Unexpectedly, after Yu Zibai suppressed his thoughts, Qin Huai said, "Our two houses are actually next to each other. If the balcony at home was not enclosed, it would be more convenient to connect them. If we can connect the balconies of the two houses and run a line, two air conditioners may be a bit difficult, but if we just drive one more air-conditioning fan, it should be OK."
They did prepare a lot of batteries, but it seemed that with such a big disaster, it would take a long time to restore electricity. The batteries would be exhausted day by day, so the generator would have to be used. But once it was used, it would be impossible to hide it from others. This was not a single-family house. The noise of the air conditioner alone could be heard by people living nearby. Instead of sneaking around from behind, it would be better to show the things at the beginning. Besides, if he didn't let Mu Nan go out at night, he really didn't feel at ease leaving Mu Nan alone.
Given Jian Chu's condition, he believed that Yu Zibai would not let Jian Chu go to the rescue in the early stage. Two people at home is better than one person. And if the balconies on both sides are connected, no matter if Jian Chu and his family have any problems or their family has any problems, one balcony means two ways out, even if they run, there will be one more exit.
This kindness came too suddenly. This is not a need, it is simply too much of a need. However, this problem cannot be solved by opening up the balcony: "If the balcony is opened up, it doesn't matter to our side. Our balcony is not enclosed. If the balcony door is closed, the sun can't get in. But there is a wall in your house that will be unobstructed."
Qin Huai smiled and said, "That depends on your manual skills. I have an iron door that has not been installed yet. I have lime and foam glue. I need to knock down the wall and smooth the cement in one night. It will probably dry out in the sun during the day. I will seal the door at night and install the sealant on it. It will be barely usable. I will cover it inside and outside with a layer of sunscreen film. It won't have much impact. If anything happens in the future, both sides can be connected, which is also a way out."
Qin Huai looked at Xu Ming after he finished speaking: "It's just that our family is far away from Dr. Xu's family, so I'm afraid we can't get through."
Jian Chu said, "It's okay, as long as we can find a line that long. Our bathroom is close to Xu Ming's bathroom. If it doesn't work, we can let Xu Ming live with us. He will just sleep during the day. At this time, it's okay to have some electricity."
Xu Ming said simply: "I don't mind. Although you two are a couple, don't worry. I will definitely give you the private space you deserve. If there is anything inconvenient in your life, you can tell me."
Before Yu Zibai could say anything, Jian Chu got a little mad: "Who told you we are a couple!"
This time even Mu Nan looked at them with a puzzled look on his face: "Aren't you the same?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
