Chapter 12 Suicheng
A huge, dazzling electric arc cut through the night sky and exploded from the air, just like the arcs of light flashing and scattering in a transparent sphere during an electrostatic experiment, forming a spider web-like fine network pattern.
But now, it is the sky above people’s heads that is constantly bursting with dazzling arcs.
The electric arcs emitted extremely dazzling light, and when they flashed, the night sky looked like day. The sky seemed to be split into different shapes by the bursting electric arcs.
People hiding in the buildings looked through the glass windows at the horrific scene outside that they had never seen before. Their hearts were filled with fear. Under the roar of nature, they felt that they had become extremely small.
High-rise buildings in Suicheng are generally equipped with lightning protection facilities, such as lightning rods, lightning strips, equipotential bonding terminal boxes, and surge protectors. Their names and appearances are different, but the principles are similar.
Although these facilities are called lightning arresters, they are actually lightning inductors. When lightning strikes a building, they can quickly divert the current generated by lightning hitting the building and conduct it into the earth through the building's steel bars.
Under normal circumstances, such facilities are sufficient to protect buildings during lightning weather, but this protection is not 100%. For example, the layout of lightning protection facilities is unreasonable, the building uses metal external drainage pipes, and the exterior wall is installed with pointed metal wires because of the installation of air-conditioning brackets, which can easily attract lightning.
What's more, what happened in Suicheng today was not ordinary lightning.
Some people were afraid and frightened, while others were naturally excited. After all, such a scene is rare to see in one's lifetime. Many people stood in the building with their mobile phones facing outside to take pictures.
In a building in Suicheng, the video host Xiao Zhou was trying hard to capture the most terrifying thunderstorm through the glass and heavy rain.
"Brothers and sisters of Hua Country, let me show you a new sight in Suicheng—lightning! See? This sky that flickers like a spider web is definitely not a special effect, but something that is really happening right now!
...Don't worry, it's dangerous for people to carry metal conductors in the wild during thunderstorms! As long as you are indoors and not charging, there is basically no problem playing with your phone and making calls!
…That’s right, I’m an educated man, so I have some basic knowledge! We’ve also disconnected all the large electrical appliances in our home to ensure safety, and I’ll take you to witness this once-in-a-century spectacle!
...Look! That lightning is so close! Oh my god! It’s so beautiful, it’s purple-blue! ..."
However, the beautiful lightning he mentioned cut through the night sky in an instant and landed on the roof of the building where he was. The lightning was too close and the window had no steel shielding. The extremely strong electromagnetic waves generated a huge current on the mobile phone near the window.
The man who was still holding his phone and trying to take pictures to get likes only felt a sharp pain in the palm of his hand. The phone in his hand suddenly became hot and burning. He screamed and subconsciously let go of his hand. The phone fell to the ground with a bang. He looked down and saw that the phone, which he had just bought not long ago, was actually smoking.
"What's wrong?" Family members in another room rushed over after hearing the noise, only to see the person who had just been shocked and excited by the severe thunderstorm and shouted "I'm going to be famous" now walking away from the window with a look of fear on his face.
"How is that possible? Wasn't there a rumor debunked before that mobile phones wouldn't be struck by lightning?" He covered his right hand which was numb with pain, with a look of shock on his face.
He did have some knowledge about disasters, which is why he dared to stand at the window and shoot videos in such weather. He had no idea that something like this would happen.
Seeing their son addicted to playing short videos, the family couldn't help but complain: "Are you crazy? Look at the horrible weather outside. This is not ordinary lightning, this is a thunderstorm! Suicheng has issued an emergency disaster warning, and you still went over to take a photo! You are red all day long. You are willing to give up your life for red, right!"
However, even though they scolded their son, the couple had to give up temporarily when they saw their son holding his palm and crying out in pain. They dragged him around to look for a medicine box.
Seeing his parents look anxious and flustered, Xiao Zhou's fear dissipated a little, and he comforted them: "Don't worry too much, I was just scared just now. It's okay, the injury is not serious. It's a pity to lose the new mobile phone... Dad, Mom, don't be afraid, the power supply of our large electrical appliances has been disconnected, and the windows are closed. As long as you stay away from the window, the thunderstorm outside will not affect the indoors-"
As if in response to his words, a sudden strong wind blew outside, making the tightly closed windows rattle. The rainstorm suddenly increased in intensity, as if a huge storm cloud from somewhere was moving towards this side.
The heavy rain hit the window glass, making a crisp sound, as if something sharp was mixed in the rain, knocking on their windows densely.
Before the three people could react, they only heard the sound of the window shattering. As the glass fragments fell into the room, strong winds and heavy rain also rushed in in an instant. The cold and surging water vapor made the three people in the room shiver involuntarily.
They opened their eyes wide and looked, and saw that along with the glass fragments, there were also ice crystals as big as eggs falling to the ground.
"Oh my god, such huge hailstones...oh my god..."
**
When the window glass was hit by large hailstones and made a crisp sound, Shu Fu was hiding in the drifting island house on the raft in the living room, sitting cross-legged on the wooden floor next to a low coffee table, fiddling with the pan on the gas stove in front of him.
It's dinner time, and in the pan are several pieces of meat with pink and white textures as beautiful as snowflakes.
This is the M9 marbled rib eye steak in the "barbecue gift pack" that day. The whole portion of rib eye steak weighs 1,000 grams. Probably because it is barbecue rather than steak, the beef is divided into ten thin pieces.
There are now three pieces in the pot. Next to the gas stove, in addition to the rechargeable energy-saving lamp for lighting and the tablet playing variety shows, there is also a piece of evenly thick pork belly, two large prawns and two skewers of large squid, a vegetable and mushroom platter, a sea salt and black pepper grinder, barbecue sauce, some garlic slices and lettuce.
Except for the sea salt and black pepper grinders, everything else is food from the "barbecue gift pack".
It would be impossible for her to finish the entire "barbecue gift pack" by herself, so what was currently on the table was enough.
In a moment, the marbled beef eye in the pot is ready. This high-quality beef is fried and roasted until it is 70% cooked, and some sea salt and black pepper are ground on it. No other seasoning is needed.
The pork eye has some crispy and soft fat, and the taste is rich and tender, but not greasy at all, and melts in the mouth.
After eating two pieces of marbled beef, Shu Fu felt relaxed and inspired. She could open her computer and write a 10,000-word food story.
While eating the marinated meat, she used the fat from the roasted beef in the pan to add slices of zucchini, eggplant, enoki mushrooms, and shiitake mushrooms. These thin slices of vegetables and mushrooms also only needed to be ground with a little sea salt and black pepper before they could be eaten.
…
Outside the house, there was another loud roar of thunder, this time it seemed particularly close. Not long after, the sound of wind and rain outside suddenly increased, as if a group of people were holding fire hoses and continuously spraying high-pressure water on her windows.
As the crisp sound of glass shattering was heard, Shu Fu cried out inwardly, turned off the gas stove temporarily, stood up and walked to the door of the wooden house, took the thick velvet coat beside her and put it on, then pushed the door open.
There was a big temperature difference between inside and outside the wooden house. She stood under the wooden eaves outside the door and looked forward. The flashing thunderstorm outside clearly reflected the situation on the small balcony in her eyes.
The outermost layer of ordinary glass on the balcony window was broken into several pieces, as if it had been shot, but fortunately the inner layer of tempered laminated glass was intact. In the extremely harsh climate, it still protected her small home and kept the strong winds, rainstorms and hail outside the building.
Shu Fu felt a little relieved but also a little scared. Fortunately, she acted quickly and reinforced the doors and windows. Otherwise, with such heavy hail today, the glass windows facing the outside of her house might not be able to be saved.
Naturally, no one would be outside in this kind of weather, and no one would be hurt by the shattered and falling glass, but the problem was that without the glass to block the wind and rain, the strong winds in this kind of weather would bring rain and hail back, and the furniture in the house would be damaged.
If the wind and rain continued all night, the rain would keep pouring back and she would not be able to sleep in the house at all.
But now, Shu Fu turned around with peace of mind, went back into the cabin and continued her dinner.
The zucchini and eggplant slices are very thin and cooked after being grilled over medium heat for a while. Sprinkle with sea salt and crushed black pepper, and they taste tender and juicy.
Not to mention the grilled pork belly, the meat slices with a perfect ratio of three fat and two lean are grilled until golden brown on both sides, sprinkled with sea salt and black pepper to enhance the flavor, then dipped in barbecue sauce, wrapped in lettuce, put in a garlic slice, and then put the whole thing in your mouth.
The crispness of the lettuce dilutes the greasiness of the roasted pork belly, and the garlic slices are also a great way to relieve the greasiness. In this way, the fat and lean pork belly is left with only the slightly crispy, charred aroma and salty and fresh meaty texture unique to roasted meat.
Shu Fu calculated his appetite and did not take out too much food. He finished all the meat and vegetables on the coffee table, then leaned back in satisfaction and lay down on the floor of the wooden house.
The sound of rain was noisy outside, but the temperature and oxygen in the drifting house were constant, and the feeling was much more comfortable than the constant temperature and oxygen created by technology in the loft apartment in her native world. She didn't feel cold just lying on the wooden floor. If it weren't for the fact that the wooden floor was a bit hard to sleep on, she felt that she could sleep like this at night.
After a moment of yearning, she came to her senses. The raft can only be used for 5 hours a day, so it is impossible for her to sleep. Even taking a nap seems a waste. She has to move up the progress bar as soon as possible, unlock the level 2 raft, and increase the usage time of the safe cabin.
But... the appearance of the progress bar task seemed completely random and not something she could decide.
Thinking of this, Shu Fu allowed herself to change to a more comfortable lying position.
**
Around eight o'clock in the evening, the thunderstorm and hail that had lasted for two or three hours gradually subsided, but the strong winds and heavy rain did not stop. Without the dazzling arc of lightning, the night sky of Suicheng was as dark as ink.
Many buildings were not spared from the hail because they were installed with ordinary glass. Most of the buildings with people in them spontaneously cut off the power or turned off the lights. Looking out from the windows, the entire Suicheng seemed to be immersed in a dark curtain of water.
Many street lights were also smashed. Once the dim street lights went out, visibility became even lower. Everyone could only imagine the scene outside from the noisy rain and the window frames whistling in the strong wind.
There were also many unlucky guys who were busy taking emergency sealing measures on their broken windows in the following time, hoping to stop the rain pouring in from outside like a stream.
Outside the window, the sounds of fire trucks and ambulances could gradually be heard. In peacetime, people would call firefighters for help even if their cat ran onto the windowsill of a tall building or their finger became swollen and painful because they wore a ring that was too small and could not be taken off. How much more so for a thunderstorm and large hail that had been raging for two or three hours?
Even though Suicheng issued a thunderstorm warning in a timely manner, some people did not pay any attention and were injured for various reasons in the disaster.
Even some people who were originally safe at home suffered various accidents.
Some people were scratched by broken glass pieces after being hit by hail because they were too close to the window; some people found that hail was destructive and felt sorry for the car they had parked downstairs. They went downstairs to move the car despite their family's objections, and then they were hit by hail and lay down in the rain...
Before eight o'clock, many ambulances and fire trucks had been dispatched due to the emergency situation, but the thunderstorm and hail were so loud that the sounds mixed together and could not be distinguished.
Now that the thunderstorm and hail had passed, the movements of the rescue workers outside suddenly became clear. They braved the heavy rain and disregarded their own safety to provide emergency rescue services.
This heavy rain lasted all night long.
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