Chapter 67
The heavy rain outside continued to fall without stopping. Mu Nan could not see the situation in their own building, but he could use a telescope at home to see the situation in the distance. Many people took a shower and started to wash clothes in the heavy rain. People who had been hiding in their tents during the day now came out to feel the daylight because of the rain. The usually lifeless camp suddenly became as lively as New Year's Day.
However, the soldiers were not as relaxed as the crowd. Some of them wore protective clothing that covered them from head to toe and walked towards the collapsed area in groups. It was a rare opportunity for them to go out during the day, and their vision was no longer obstructed by the darkness. Even the rain on their bodies could help cool them down. It was the best time to transport corpses or collect supplies.
But now the plague has begun to spread, and those who want to search the ruins must wear protective clothing. However, because there are too few protective suits, they can only be used by a small number of people. Therefore, the limitation on the number of people has resulted in their clearing progress being very slow so far.
Mu Nan looked for a while and then put away the telescope and returned to bed: "I don't know if the canteen still cooks big pot meals every day, but without protective clothing, those who live in tents can't go to the ruins, and the military doesn't provide free food. What should those who have lost their homes and didn't dig up anything to eat do?"
Qin Huai: "As long as there is still food, they will not let the people starve to death. They only make such demands because of the shortage of supplies. They want to maximize the use of manpower. Now that we can't dig through the ruins, we can always do something else. Otherwise, how did those refuge bases get built later? It depends entirely on the soldiers to build brick by brick. Obviously, it is impossible."
Mu Nan thought so too. Maybe some people have already been arranged to go to the future refuge base, but they don’t live in the camp, so they don’t know about it.
After it rained for a while, the air was finally less humid. Although the rain didn't lower the temperature much, it was still more comfortable than being under the scorching sun. After the temperature outside dropped slightly, the low temperature of the air conditioner in the room made people feel a little refreshed. Mu Nan couldn't resist the sleepiness and fell asleep with his pillow in his arms.
Qin Huai leaned on the bed, listening to the sound of rain outside, but he could no longer sleep. He didn't know how long this kind of peace could last.
When he woke up, the rain outside had subsided, but it was still falling. Qin Huai had already poured two buckets of rainwater into the bathtub in the bathroom. The rainwater collected from mid-air was relatively clean, but Qin Huai still threw disinfectant tablets into the water just in case. By the way, he also gave a box of disinfectant tablets to Yu Zibai's family. Mu Nan and Jian Chu had a good relationship. Although they could only be regarded as friends they met halfway, it was rare that they had similar personalities. If something happened to them, Mu Nan would definitely be sad, so he took care of them to the best of his ability.
Mu Nan stretched out on the bed, humming and not wanting to get up: "Rainy days are perfect for sleeping."
Seeing Qin Huai start to mop the floor, smelling the disinfectant that has become a daily routine, Mu Nan muttered again: "It's still suitable for eating hot pot."
Qin Huai was mopping the floor without even raising his head: "Then eat."
Mu Nan quickly shook his head: "I'm just saying, the aroma of the hot pot spreads ten miles away. Even if I want to eat it, I won't eat it at this time, for fear that others will not be able to rob our house."
Qin Huai: "Just cook a Zihai pot. It's raining outside now, and every household is closed, so the smell is not easy to spread. The people next door are most likely to smell it. It doesn't matter. They know we have a Zihai pot at home, and it doesn't have a strong hot pot smell. Just add some vegetables and meat and it's like a simple hot pot."
Mu Nan thought about it and felt that it was feasible. He had been eating rice and vegetables every day for the past few days. Although he was not tired of eating them, it would be nice to change the taste. So he quickly got up and opened a box of Zihai pot, and set up the induction cooker and small pot to start cooking. However, Qin Huai took him to the bathroom and said, "Eat as soon as you wake up, and brush your teeth for three minutes. Now you have a toothache, but no dentist can help you. Don't be lazy."
Mu Nan held the toothbrush in his mouth and said, "I was planning to cook it first before brushing my teeth. I'm not that unhygienic."
Qin Huai smiled, put down the mop, and began to dismantle the hot pot for him. Mu Nan obediently scrubbed it for three minutes, then hurried over to take out dishes of food for the hot pot from the space, and put a small fan on the table to blow it. It was raining, the air conditioner was on, and he was eating hot pot. All the despair and worries about the future seemed to be gone.
The rain did not last too long, except for the heavy downpour on the first day and intermittent rain on the second day. It was almost clear on the third day. What was disappointing was that the scorching sun was hanging high in the sky again. The hot temperature did not return to normal because of this rain, but it was not completely unchanged. At least now the temperature outside is only around 50 degrees. People can still go out during the day if they do a good job of sun protection and do not expose themselves to the sun during the hottest time. I don’t know whether the scorching sun was extinguished by this rain or people’s adaptability is gradually getting stronger. In short, it is slightly better than the previous situation where people could not go out all day.
However, such a slightly happy thing did not make the situation outside any better. On the contrary, because of this rain, the outbreak of the plague could no longer be resisted by human power.
In just one day, the mud in the ditches caused by the heavy rain of the previous two days evaporated. At the same time, the ubiquitous smell of rotting corpses became stronger and stronger. Even people living in the tents in the camp that had been cleared out a large area sometimes could not stand the stench that wafted in the wind. Just smelling the smell could make people think of the scene of stinking maggots crawling on corpses.
However, the smell is not the most unbearable thing. The most unbearable thing is the proliferation of rats. I don't know if rats have been rampant before, or because now that the daytime temperature is a little more acceptable, more people go out during the day, so there are more rats. The most disgusting thing about rats is that sometimes there is even a greasy smell where they crawl. Experienced old people say that those are rats crawling over corpses, and the grease they bring out is the corpse oil that has seeped out of the deeply rotten corpse.
Many people know what corpse oil is, but some people may not know that corpse oil does not require special extraction. A naturally decaying corpse will condense a layer of corpse oil. The corpse oil will seep out from the surface of the corpse and then slowly drip down. Sometimes rats can even crawl through the corpse oil ditches gathered on the ground and then carry this thing full of bacteria and viruses everywhere.
Live rats were crawling all over the place, and dead rats were rampant. Now, in addition to burning the corpses, some dead rats on the roadside had to be cleaned up. At first, some people tried to cover their mouths and noses as much as possible to rummage through the ruins in order to fill their stomachs, but more and more people were sick, and even some people who had never left the tent began to fall ill. Animals infected people, and people infected people, which made many people feel that they were not survivors of the earthquake, but zombies in hell on earth.
Some people cannot stand such an environment. They think they will be safe as long as they leave here. Seeing more and more sick people, they can't help but flee in panic. Little do they know that everywhere is the same now and there is no way to escape.
Some people are afraid of the feeling of waiting to die, so they climb up high ruins and jump down. For them, dying early is a relief.
But more people are sick and are still struggling against fate. They don’t want to die. Even though living seems to be a more terrible thing than death, they are still unwilling to give up.
Some people panicked and asked for help from soldiers and doctors, while others simply dragged their sick bodies out of the camp. They were already sick anyway, and without medicine, they would die if they couldn't survive. It was better to go out and look for something, so that they could die with a full stomach.
The healthy people hid in the tents, wrapped themselves tightly and avoided getting close to others. The sick people had given up and started helping the soldiers clean up the rubble. They had no protective clothing and no longer needed it. They would move as long as they could still live. If they couldn't move anymore, they would let the soldiers carry them away and burn them. Compared to those who rotted under the rubble, at least they could return to dust.
Compared to the people in the tents who were in a state of panic, fear and despair every day, the ones who suffered the most physical and psychological torture were the soldiers who were still wearing protective clothing and constantly removing corpses. They watched their comrades fall one by one, watched those who were still sick and could still move come out to help them clean the bricks with their bare hands, watched those who had greeted them yesterday but could no longer open their eyes today, and every day was a collapse that would completely break them. But they couldn't stop, couldn't hide, and couldn't even allow themselves to be vulnerable, and couldn't even cry, for fear that once they couldn't hold back their tears, they would never be strong again.
The spread of despair was not limited to the camps. Those who were arranged to live in the buildings that did not collapse also began to fall ill. The most common symptoms were fever, weakness, vomiting, diarrhea, and swollen lymph nodes. Some people also developed herpes on their bodies, which was itchy and painful, and the constant alternation of hot and cold tortured them. Some people had anti-inflammatory and cold medicines at home, and they took whatever they had at home, regardless of whether they were suitable for their symptoms. Whether they could eat well or not was also their fate. Most of these sick people lived on low floors, which were closest to the ruins and were easiest for rats and reptiles to climb. In addition, there was no way to plan and deal with the excrement, making the already severe environment even worse.
In order not to pollute the environment in which they live, some people with better conditions tie the garbage into plastic bags and throw it outside, while some who don't have such conditions just tear some cloth from home, cut it up, wrap it and throw it outside. In short, as long as they throw it out of their living area, out of sight, out of mind. However, the things thrown away will not disappear, but will be scattered everywhere, making the already dirty environment even dirtier. Mosquitoes and flies surround it, and rats crawl around with germs. It is impossible for people not to get sick, but the reality is that there is indeed no good environment to clean up these things.
When death from heat and disease became unavoidable choices, some people began to move upstairs with their families, while others simply lived on the rooftop, using limited materials to build a shed. They hid in the corridor to avoid the sun during the day and slept in the shed at night. As long as they were away from the ground, they felt further away from death.
As more and more people move upstairs, the rooftops are gradually unable to accommodate them, so they simply settle down in the corridors of high floors. It is definitely not possible to live in the stairwells. By closing the door of the stairwells, some rats and mosquitoes can be blocked in the corridors. If you live in the stairwells, there is no way to prevent the rats crawling up and down.
Residents on high floors were naturally unhappy when they found that there were people living in the corridor in front of their homes with their bedding spread out. The plague was transmitted from person to person, and with so many people coming from nowhere living in front of their homes, who knew if they were sick? It would be so unfair if they got infected because of this, so disputes were inevitable.
But even if they argue, some residents dare not confront them head-on. After all, someone lives at their doorstep, and who knows if they will do something bad. They are also afraid that once they open the door, their house will be taken away. The people living downstairs have moved up, and you can imagine how bad the situation is downstairs. Otherwise, why would they leave their own house and sleep on the floor at someone else's doorstep? So at most they curse at home for a while, and listen to the movement at the door every day in fear, for fear that someone will pry the door open. Qin Huai's seventeenth floor is not high, but it is not low either. When people from above move in, their floor becomes a Feng Shui treasure land, because an iron door is installed, so not everyone can come in. With fewer people living, the environment will naturally be better.
Someone had an idea. After discovering that an iron door was installed on their floor, they tried to go up the elevator directly. However, the elevator door was also blocked. So several families discussed together and decided to work together to move the large wardrobe that was blocking the elevator entrance.
The movement made quite a noise, and even Xu Ming, who had been in self-isolation, came out. When Daniu heard the noise, he looked fiercely at the man who had already opened the closet a crack, "What are you doing! Are you looking for death? Get out of here or not?"
The people inside immediately began to beg: "It's impossible to live downstairs. Please be kind and let us live in the corridor for a while. It won't affect you at all. Please give us a way out."
If these people could move in, then why did they go to so much trouble to block the elevator with wardrobes? Not to mention Qin Huai and the others, Daniu was the first to disagree. He simply stepped back and stopped blocking the elevator, and raised his fist towards the people inside: "Either get out of here or I'll beat you out! If you want to live here, ask me if my fist agrees first!"
If there were only Qin Huai and a few others at this time, they would have to show their weapons to scare these people away, but Da Niu looked too fierce. He was at least 1.8 meters tall and had a muscular body. He looked very tough to deal with. It would be no problem for him to kill someone with one punch.
Those who wanted to live here immediately backed off, but were reluctant to give up. After all, this floor was still unoccupied. There were five or six of them in their group, and it was still spacious, which was better than the crowded upstairs.
While they were hesitating, Daniu punched the person standing in front of them, hitting him in the eye socket. The man covered his eyes and fell backwards. He fell into the elevator, staring at stars and couldn't get up for a long time. Daniu looked at the others fiercely: "Why don't you get out? You really want me to beat you up and throw you down one by one, right?"
The others quickly retreated back into the elevator, originally thinking of occupying the place in advance by relying on numbers, but when they faced off against Da Niu, they discovered that they couldn't even withstand a single punch from him.
He is an office worker who doesn't do much exercise on weekdays. His thighs are not even as thick as other people's arms. In addition, people in his area are generally not very tall, basically around 1.7 meters tall. When facing a 1.8 meter tall guy, his height and physique are completely oppressive, and people really dare not provoke him.
After watching the group of people press the elevator button and go down, Daniu moved the wardrobe back.
Jian Chu looked at Xu Ming, whom he hadn't seen for a while, even though he kept in touch with her by knocking on the wall every day: "How is your quarantine going?"
Xu Ming smiled and said, "It's OK. I don't have any symptoms at the moment. I should have escaped for now. But now it seems that the situation outside is more serious than I thought before."
Jian Chu couldn't help but sigh: "We are locked in the room and don't know how serious the situation is. Anyway, we can live one day at a time."
Seeing that Daniu restored the wardrobe with his bare hands, Jian Chu gave him a thumbs up: "Great job, Brother Niu!"
Daniu immediately revealed a silly smile, which did not seem out of place on his slightly ferocious face: "That's all the strength I have. Come to think of it, I didn't thank you last time. Fortunately, you spoke up for me, otherwise my family would really be driven away."
Jian Chu said, "What's the big deal? I'm just telling the truth." After that, he couldn't help but ask, "Is your wife sick? She seems to be coughing all the time."
Xu Ming could also hear this neighbor's coughing every day. The building had been a little noisy in the past two days, so the sound was somewhat covered up. Before, when the whole building was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop, the coughing was too obvious.
Daniu was afraid that they would misunderstand him, so he quickly said, "My wife has always been in poor health. Now that she has encountered such a big disaster, she can no longer bear it. But she doesn't have any infectious diseases. This is why I dare not let others live in our corridor. She has poor resistance. If someone with a disease really lives here, my wife will be the first to be infected."
Jian Chu said, "It's okay, I'm just asking. Let's go back to the house. It stinks outside. The smell is too bad."
Xu Ming: "I'll go in first. It really smells bad outside. Even disinfectant can't cover the smell." He knew that Qin Huai disinfected the corridor every day. Before, the smell of disinfectant could cover the smell coming from outside, but now as the corridors on the upper floors are filled with people, the smell can no longer be covered. If it weren't for the fans that could be used at home, this life would really be unbearable.
Da Niu sighed as he walked into the house: "That's right, it's not easy for those people either. It's not that they really have no choice. Who would want to sleep on someone else's hallway?"
Qin Huai returned to the house long after the group of people left. They lived far away from their new neighbors and there was nothing much to talk about. Anyway, no matter what the people were like, at least everyone could reach a consensus on their goals for the time being. As long as they could live safely until the base was built, the less trouble there was, the less trouble there would be. After pushing Mu Nan, who was hiding behind the iron gate of his house to watch the fun, in, Qin Huai closed the door and went into the house: "You don't mind the heat."
Mu Nan said, "I thought there would be some fussing, but I didn't expect it to be solved with just one punch. It really paid off to speak up for that big shot. With such a person here, most people probably wouldn't dare to make any moves."
In his previous life, he had closed the door and never opened it, but he also knew that there were some people living outside the corridor. He was very scared at home at that time, mainly because he was alone and Qin Huai's house was still empty. He was afraid that people would know that there was an empty house here and would force their way in. After all, when the soldiers came to conduct a census, the inspection was not very strict, so he concealed it and said that there were people in the house, and no one else came in to verify it. But both sides were too quiet, and he was afraid that someone would be suspicious, after all, there was no sound of life. But fortunately, when he followed a group of people to the private base, no one broke in. I just hope that this time I can live peacefully until I can leave.
Qin Huai: "It can indeed save a lot of trouble." At least he doesn't need to take action. If he takes action, he won't use his fists, but a crossbow that will definitely draw blood. If he doesn't give that group of people a ruthless blow, he won't be able to suppress their restless hearts.
Mu Nan went to bed as soon as he entered the room, while Qin Huai sprayed the door with disinfectant. Disinfection was one aspect, but the more important thing was to cover the smell. Before, no one could come up to their floor, and they all stayed indoors. He was also wearing a mask when he sprayed disinfectant outside, so the smell was not obvious. Now he had some contact with people, and he didn't know how long those people had not washed. After just a while, the smell in the corridor could not be dispersed. In addition, once the door of their stairwell was closed and the security door was locked, and the iron door near the patio on his side was closed, the smell in the corridor was even more difficult to disperse, so he could only spray a little disinfectant to suppress it.
After a little busy time outside, he was sweating all over. Mu Nan took out a pack of wet wipes that had not been opened yet: "Brother, do you want to use wet wipes or take a shower?"
Qin Huai: "Use wet wipes." It is better to keep the water stored in the space for drinking. Now there is no need to flush the toilet. It is enough to clean it once every two or three days. There is no need to take a shower every day.
Mu Nan held up the wet wipes: "Do you want peach flavor or flower flavor?"
Qin Huai glanced at him and said, "I'd better take a shower." He didn't know where Mu Nan bought the wet wipes, but the fragrance was very strong and the residue was very long-lasting. He actually liked what Mu Nan used, but that didn't mean he liked it to make him feel sweet and sticky.
Seeing Qin Huai's unhesitating disgust, Mu Nan let out a light sigh. What a pleasant smell! Compared to the smell of sweat, isn't this sweet and fragrant one good? He tore open a corner of the wet wipes, sniffed it, and then sneezed at the fragrance. He couldn't help laughing, "It's really pungent." So it's better to keep this kind for now. Mu Nan took a pack of unscented wipes and wiped it. He just followed to watch the fun. Although he was still inside his own security door, he was sweating due to the heat in just a short while. He didn't want to take a shower, just wipe the sweat off.
Listening to Mu Nan having fun outside, Qin Huai pursed his lips and smiled. He was so silly and cute.
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