Chapter 101 Wei County
It was a very scary thing to encounter freezing rain on an uncovered mountain road. The already wet road surface quickly froze, the ice piled up, the car tires slipped severely, and it was easy to roll down the hillside. In the end, they had to stop.
However, once the car stopped, the freezing rain on the roof and windows began to freeze rapidly into ice, covering the windows, and the wipers and rearview mirrors. If the car engine was not still running and there was still some heat inside and outside the car, the doors would probably have frozen together with the car, and it would not have been possible to open them.
The evacuees were transported in a bus and a military truck, accompanied by several fully armed soldiers. However, no matter how well-prepared the soldiers were, they were completely helpless in such a situation.
They first called for help, but the nearby rescue points were some distance away and the signal was not good, so no one responded.
They thought that they might as well wait until the freezing rain stopped before leaving, but they ended up waiting until nightfall, when the fuel tank was almost empty, and the freezing rain not only did not stop, but became increasingly severe.
When the engine uses up all the fuel, the temperature inside the car starts to drop, and the freezing rain freezes the entire car, they might really be trapped here.
Several team members knew that they could not wait any longer. The route from Weixian to Gongmang County was the shortest evacuation route, only more than 200 kilometers. If everything went well, it could be reached in two or three hours. Therefore, there would not be too many team members responsible for this type of short-distance transfer.
They joined the army after the disaster and had little experience. They also knew that they were outnumbered and not strong enough. If they continued to sit and wait for death, they would not be able to save others.
Finally, they held a meeting to study the map and decided to walk to a farm in a nearby valley to try their luck. It was not close to the road and the walkway was about 5 to 6 kilometers long, which was within the range of the walkie-talkie.
They left one team member to look after the people, and the other two began to climb over the guardrail of the mountain road and walk down the hillside.
Fortunately, the two team members found a farm where they could stay overnight, and they used the walkie-talkie to communicate with the team members who stayed in the car waiting.
When the people learned that there was a place to shelter for the night, they immediately picked up their luggage and backpacks, wrapped themselves in thick clothes, put on rain gear, tore the clothes into strips and tied them to their rain boots to increase friction, and then began to follow the team member out of the car and move.
But some people were unwilling to get off the bus. It was still freezing rain outside, and walking 6 kilometers in such conditions sounded scary.
They would rather hide in the car. Even if the car would stall after the fuel ran out, at least the car walls would protect them from the freezing rain outside, and they could lean against each other for warmth. In short, they absolutely could not walk at night in such a condition.
Such a temperature would not freeze people to death, but it would be easy to get sick, and it would be a big problem if they got sick during the transfer. They refused to get off the car, and the team member had no choice but to leave his walkie-talkie behind and evacuate with the other group.
This group of people had a hard time carrying their luggage and backpacks, but fortunately they finally arrived at the farm. Several team members who arrived earlier had already started a fire, and even used drinking water effervescent disinfectant tablets to disinfect some rainwater and boil hot water. After they arrived, they could immediately sit around the fire and drink a few sips of hot water.
These people were lucky. After daybreak, the team members used the intercom to call for help and then met another team. This team was from the army, driving a military off-road vehicle and a military wheeled armored transport vehicle.
The wheels of the off-road vehicle are treated with anti-skid treatment, and the armored personnel carrier can drive in ice and snow environments, so even freezing rain weather will not have much impact on them.
They came from another rescue point and were just passing by here. Their destination was another city north of Weixian, which was quite far away, nearly 800 kilometers away. However, if their car took a slight detour, they would also pass by Weixian.
The farm was far from the mountain road where the bus stopped, but very close to the mountain road where the team was. The survivors who had spent the night at the farm were saved. Gongmang County was too far away for the other party to send them there, but after learning that the other party would pass through Wei County, they asked the other party to take a slight detour and drop them off in Wei County first.
The people who were looking miserable in front of Shu Fu at this moment were the ones who had just been brought here by that troop. Although they were rescued and their belongings were not missing, they had made such a big journey from yesterday afternoon to today, and ended up back to the same place, freezing like dogs. Several of them had caught colds, so they were naturally in a bad mood.
While the survivors were clamoring, several team members in charge of the evacuation came over. Because of yesterday's explosion, the service desk had been moved to another location. They were not here before and only came over after hearing the news.
After they came over, they soon discovered that nearly one-third of the lucky ones who had been transferred were missing. After asking, they learned that those people were still on the mountain road. Because the army's off-road vehicles and military transport vehicles did not have as much space as the buses and could not accommodate everyone, the three team members thought that they would drive out to pick them up after they came back.
It turned out that yesterday's freezing rain had damaged the only large truck left in Wei County, and it couldn't start at all. In the end, they had no choice but to shamelessly ask for help from the team that had just sent them back and was about to continue their journey.
"Have they agreed to pick it up?" The faces of the team members in charge of the transfer were not looking good. Supplies are in short supply now. The people who can still use military off-road vehicles and military armored vehicles in the current situation must have a high rank and must be carrying out some important mission.
It would be fine if they were asked to take a detour to send someone back, but now they were asked to make another trip to pick up another group of people. Wouldn't this delay their mission? These team members could already imagine that they would receive criticism and education from their superiors like a gust of wind.
**
Shu Fu did not stay on the first floor for long as there were too many people and it was too chaotic. After she had a general understanding of what happened to the group of people yesterday, she went to the medical building at the back. There were nurses there who were more familiar with the situation in Wei County. At the same time, other survivors would not come to the medical building, so it was convenient for her to inquire about the news quietly and smoothly.
She was looking for the nurse who had given Yao Ruoyun an IV yesterday. There were fewer patients now, so the nurse naturally remembered her.
The other party told her that there are less than 200 people in the entire Wei County, and those who should be relocated have already been relocated, so nine out of ten houses are basically empty.
Those who have not left until today are either new survivors like Yao Ruoyun and Shu Fu who came later, or some local residents who are stubborn and refuse to give up their hometown and houses, or they are members of the rescue team or the army like her and will not move until the last moment.
The reason why those stubborn local residents have not been forcibly relocated is that the situation here has not yet reached the point where they can no longer hold on, and from time to time there are still some survivors who have fallen behind and are stranded nearby for various reasons. If they withdraw the rescue point at this time, it would be tantamount to cutting off the way out for those who have fallen behind.
But in fact, it is really hard for those team members who insist on staying here. They are also human beings and have families to worry about. Most of their family members have been transferred long ago, but they cannot be with their families.
When Shu Fu heard this, she noticed that the other person looked at her with a complicated expression, and then she realized that in the other person's eyes, she was also a survivor who had fallen behind for various reasons and was stranded here...
In short, Wei County is now short of everything, including water, cars, fuel, and electricity. After the previous attack, some emergency supplies are missing, the internet is down, and there is no heating...
But there is no shortage of empty houses, and those unowned houses are easy to identify. Before, every time a family was evacuated, the team would stamp "moved" on the door of that family, so that other team members could quickly identify those stubborn residents who refused to move.
There is also the hotel in the town’s central square and a circle of buildings nearby, which are currently basically empty because they are some distance away from the clinic.
I say "basically" because some new survivors don't want to live in the clinic, so they go to the hotel to stay temporarily. After all, it is the only star hotel in town, and the room facilities are definitely better than the clinic ward converted from a school, but there is no electricity, no water, and no heating.
Especially the heating, because it was built later, it was necessary to lay pipes, so the way to go was centralized heating. After it was built, only the First Clinic and the surrounding buildings and bungalows had heating. In other words, the remaining population of Wei County is currently mainly concentrated in a circle of buildings centered on the First Clinic, because only here are there water, electricity and heating.
Shu Fu thanked the nurse very earnestly. Although she looked at her with a complicated look from time to time while she was talking, the information she provided was very comprehensive and detailed, so Shu Fu handed a bag of fruit gummies to her when she left.
It was the kind of soft candy that came in a family-size package, with colorful and cute cartoon animals inside the transparent packaging bag. Girls, especially those living in a time of material scarcity, would probably not refuse it.
Of course, if the other person doesn't eat sweets, she can also replace it with other salty snacks.
However, the nurse obviously could not escape the candy attack. She coughed reservedly, and the next second Shu Fu stuffed the bag of candy into her hand and quickly left.
When Shu Fu left the medical building and returned to the building in front, the noisy crowd on the first floor had dispersed, but the line in the tea room was still very long.
She put the thermos cup in her hand into her backpack, and used the backpack as a cover to exchange it for another identical thermos cup filled with hot water. Upstairs, Yao Ruoyun had already woken up and was bending over to make the bed. When she saw her come back, she asked her about the situation downstairs. She was also woken up by the noise downstairs.
"The mountain road is frozen. The group of people who got on the car and left yesterday afternoon were trapped on the mountain road not long after they drove away. Some of them walked at night in the freezing rain, and were lucky enough to be taken back. But some people are still trapped on the mountain road, and someone is about to pick them up now..." Shu Fu described the situation clearly.
Yao Ruoyun looked unhappy after hearing this. Firstly, she almost got on that car and left yesterday. If she had gotten on the car, she might have been one of the people trapped on the mountain road. Secondly, thinking about the freezing rain and heavy snow in the past two days, all the mountain roads would probably be frozen now. If the snow didn't stop, the ice on the road would not melt. The original plan to recover as soon as possible and go to Zhicheng to meet up with her parents would probably be ruined.
After all, Gongmang County is the closest rescue resettlement county to Wei County in Xizhou Province. Even if you arrive in Gongmang County, you still have to drive more than 500 kilometers to reach Zhicheng.
But right now, there are more worrying issues.
"Change place to live?"
Shu Fu nodded, and after confirming that there was no one in the ward or nearby, she lowered her voice and continued, "The weather is not right. The long rainy season has lasted for several months. I estimate that the temperature will drop further."
"You mean, the freezing rain and heavy snow conditions won't get better, the mountain roads will remain frozen, and we might be trapped here for a long time?" Yao Ruoyun was smart and reacted immediately.
So the current situation is, if they really can't leave, how are they going to spend this winter? They have to make plans in advance for the possibility of being trapped.
Yao Ruoyun looked at Shu Fu and said, "Senior sister, I know you must have an idea. Just tell me, I will listen to you!"
**
Half an hour later, the two of them were walking with difficulty in their raincoats on the icy and snowy streets. The wind outside was getting stronger, and the snowflakes were blown by the wind and fell densely on them. They could clearly hear the whistling sound around them, and they could imagine how heavy the snow was.
The two reached out their hands and pulled the brims of their raincoats down a little to block the snowflakes that were blowing in their faces. I don't know if it was because of the wind, but the temperature seemed to have dropped again, much colder than when Shu Fu woke up in the morning.
Shu Fu did not plan to walk too far. After leaving the street where the first clinic was located, she turned back onto the main street of Wei County and headed north along the buildings beside the main street. The place she was looking for was a house outside the center circle of the clinic, but not too far away.
It was too far away, so if there were any changes in the situation with the rescue team, she would not be able to know it in the first time. But if it was a house near the clinic, when the survivors and original residents found that they could not leave Wei County for a while and the weather conditions started to deteriorate, they would all move to the buildings near the clinic.
Because only this circle of buildings has water and electricity, heating can be restored if the heating boiler is repaired later.
But Shu Fu didn't need these, she had everything, except that Yao Ruoyun couldn't enter the drifting island house, she had everything she needed for the winter. And these supplies had to be kept away from crowded areas so that they could be used more safely and casually.
Otherwise, either the two of them would suffer from cold and hunger, or be targeted and have no peace.
As for how to explain to Yao Ruoyun the various supplies that appeared out of thin air, she was not too worried. Huaguo had already acknowledged the existence of people with superpowers, and the people were also tacitly aware of it. She believed that Yao Ruoyun herself should have heard about it more or less.
What's more, judging from the progress of the white light bar, she is not far from awakening, and by then she may not even need to explain.
In addition, some people with special abilities like to act in a high-profile manner, and even use rafts and work as a medium to make money in order to earn materials, but on the contrary, there must be people with special abilities who are vigilant and low-key. Wei County is located between the three regions of Xizhou Province, Southwest Plateau and Xiangzhou Province. In the past, this was a strategic fortress and a place that military strategists must fight for.
Here you can attack or defend, and staying here allows you to find out the latest situation, so there may be other people with superpowers here.
Although she has not seen anyone with white stripes on their heads since she came to Wei County, it does not mean that there are none. When the nurse mentioned that some people deliberately gave up the clinic building with water, electricity and heating and the surrounding buildings and went to live in hotels, she vaguely felt it in her heart.
She thought about it and stopped in front of a residential building while comparing it with the electronic map on her mobile phone.
There is no internet on my phone at the moment, but fortunately all the maps of Huaguo have been downloaded in advance, so it is not difficult to zoom in and search for streets and buildings.
The county town was really small, and it only took a short walk to reach their destination. If it weren't for the bad weather, they could have walked even faster.
This is a four-story residential building, which is some distance away from the heating area. Next to it is a small gymnasium, which is much taller than the residential building.
Not far in front of the residential building is the Weixian Central Square. The tall and eye-catching hotel building is just diagonally opposite the square. Under the hotel building is a supermarket and several small restaurants. The several buildings extending next to it also look quite impressive. They are all restaurants and other non-star hotels, as well as a large bookstore and some small supermarkets.
In short, this is also the commercial center of Wei County.
The residential building she chose was a long way from there, in a dark area, not close to hotels, and not close to water and electricity. But in front of this building was the central square, with a wide view, and whether it was cars entering or leaving the county town, people living in this building could see them.
Shu Fu and Yao Ruoyun found the entrance to the building. The building faced south, and the entrance was on the north side, which was the place facing away from the street. As the nurse said, nine out of ten residential buildings here were empty. Shu Fu took Yao Ruoyun into the corridor in the middle of the residential building, went up to the third floor, and chose the family in the middle.
A large part of the buildings here were influenced by the ethnic minorities in Xizhou Province and were built in a square shape. Also, due to the small area, the building planning was not so strict. Strictly speaking, the house she chose was not a pure residential house, but a teahouse.
There was a striking stamp on the door. Shu Fu took out a multi-purpose knife from his backpack and scraped the piece of wood with the stamp. Then he took out a small lock pick and pried the door lock open.
Yao Ruoyun on the side: ...
"Senior! I've never seen you before, so I'm going to look at you with new eyes!"
"Okay, let's go in and take a look." Shu Fu took off his rain hat, shook off the ice and snow debris on his raincoat and boots, put away his multi-purpose knife and lock picking stick, took out two flashlights from his backpack, and handed one to Yao Ruoyun.
In the past, Yao Ruoyun would never have entered such a simple little teahouse located in a residential building.
It was dark, cold, damp and small inside. The hall was probably only about 30 square meters, as if it was made by connecting two rooms. The cash register was also here. There were some rattan sofas inside, white walls, gray tiles, and dark red curtains. There was a corridor on the other side, which contained a windowless kitchen. Opposite the kitchen was a bathroom.
This family workshop, which is located in a residential building and decorated in a style similar to that of the previous era, is surprisingly clean inside and not as old as Yao Ruoyun had imagined.
"This teahouse looks like it was only opened about two years ago." Yao Ruoyun quickly checked the windows in the hall. Only the south-facing wall had windows facing outwards. The natural disaster had been going on for a long time, and the windows that needed to be reinforced had been reinforced long before Wei County began to evacuate.
It's the same here. There's a layer of wire mesh outside the windows, and a few wooden strips are nailed inside. However, the wooden strips are nailed sparsely so as not to affect the view outward. The windows face the central square.
While Yao Ruoyun was checking the windows and the cabinet behind the cash register, Shu Fu had already walked into the kitchen. This kitchen was the reason why she chose this place as her base.
The kitchen is very small, not against the outer wall, and is located in the center of the entire building. It is basically the warmest area in the building. Because it is a teahouse, the stove inside is relatively simple, and the stove and the floor are also relatively clean.
Even if it is a home workshop, most of the furnishings in the kitchen are made of stainless steel, which is fireproof and waterproof. The walls are also insulated. Moreover, the kitchen is close to the hall outside and has good ventilation, which is just right for making fires for heating.
Yao Ruoyun understood what Shu Fu said. The two of them took off their raincoats, put down their backpacks and supply bags, found an old dustpan, broom and mop in the corner at the end of the corridor, and worked together to clean the entire teahouse.
They focused on cleaning the kitchen. Since there was no water, they went downstairs to shovel some snow up. Then they moved all the rattan sofa seats to one side of the hall, leaving the hall area near the kitchen empty. The unused items in the kitchen were also moved to the rattan chairs outside, and the bathroom was simply cleaned with a mop.
Because it is the bathroom of a family workshop, it is a single bathroom for both men and women, and can be used after a simple cleanup.
After everything was cleaned up, Shu Fu prepared to go to the houses next door that had been stamped with "moved" to move some sofas and mattresses over. After a little arranging, this would become a great temporary residence.
Yao Ruoyun was shivering from the cold, but after drinking some hot water and working for a while, she no longer felt cold.
She is a carefree person who can easily go with the flow. She has been making do with the life she has with her parents for the past few months. At least she has something to eat when she is hungry and a place to rest when she is tired.
So, when Shu Fu brought her out, she followed him. She cleaned as Shu Fu asked her to do, without asking any questions about the empty place with nothing in it, and how they would keep warm, sleep, and eat in the future...
When the sanitation work was about to be completed, Shu Fu suddenly felt the vibration of the bracelet.
No way, a new task?
She thought it was an illusion, but then she walked into the kitchen and took a quick look, and found that there really was a new task.
[Within two hours, check in at the new service desk at the Weixian Rescue Station to receive a 20% progress bar for level 5 of the raft. (Current progress of level 5 of the raft: 25%)]
Note: Failure to complete this task will deduct 40% of the progress bar. 】
Shu Fu: ...
Are we going back again?
This is really numb, I am going to be numb from the cold...
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