Chapter 150 Drifting from Extreme Heat to Extreme Cold
"Hello? It's me." A low and hoarse voice came from the other end of the line. This kind of hoarseness is the kind of hoarseness caused by real fatigue, not the kind of voice that is deliberately lowered. You can hear the deep fatigue in it.
"I knew it was you just by looking at the number." Shu Fu could still hear a noisy noise on the other end of the line, like the sound of cars running, and the sound of many people running hurriedly, and further away, the faint roar of artillery fire.
She could even imagine what he looked like at the other end of the line, covered in blood and dirt, with new wounds on his arms, shoulders or some other part of his body. His thin cheeks were probably blackened by the artillery fire, and his eyes were red and sore from the smoke of the war. He was obviously extremely tired and sleepy, but he held the phone carefully with his bloody fingers, standing in the early morning rain, tilting his head to listen to her voice.
Shu Fu asked, "Is it over?"
"Not yet. It's over for now. The signal here has been restored, so I want to let you know that I'm safe."
Wow, you all know how to report safety?
Shu Fu tried hard to hold back her laughter: "Well, are you injured? How about Sister Liu Shuang and the others, are they all safe?"
"They are all minor injuries, theirs too, nothing serious, how about you?"
"As long as I'm on the water I'm safe, don't worry."
Thinking back on the past now, he finally understood why, since the night of the evacuation from Suicheng, she had been able to switch back and forth between suddenly disappearing and appearing safely. She was absolutely safe on the raft.
For her, the most unsafe thing is to let others know about her safety.
The war between Shacheng and Zhashui County has not ended yet, so he cannot say much. In fact, according to regulations, he should not even make this call now.
But he still called. Besides letting her know that he was safe, he also wanted to hear her voice, even if she said nothing and only heard her quiet breathing.
They always seemed to meet briefly and then separate again. He sometimes wondered what it would be like if they met in a completely peaceful world.
In such an apocalypse, life is too fragile and easily broken, and accidents always come unexpectedly, just like this time, no matter how much he hopes to bring the other 21 people back together, there are still two people who can never go back...
Shu Fu soon heard someone on the other end of the phone calling Commander Cheng. Cheng Yu responded and said to her on the other end of the phone, "I have to leave. When this matter is over, I will come to find you with Han Lan, Liu Shuang and others."
Shu Fu didn't ask him if he planned to stay for a long time or just for a few days. It was inappropriate to say that now. The war was imminent and she didn't want him to be distracted. So, she still responded with a smile: "Okay, I'll wait for you and Sister Liu Shuang!"
The call was quickly hung up. Before it was hung up, she heard a roar approaching from the other end, which sounded a bit like thunder, but she knew it wasn't thunder.
Shu Fu stood under the eaves holding the phone, silent for a moment, and soon came back to his senses.
The word "worry" is useless except for causing internal consumption.
Although she was concerned, love between men and women only took up a small part of her life. Therefore, the fact that Cheng Yu was alive was far more important than being with her. No matter where he was, as long as he was alive, it was fine.
At the moment, her top priority is still the construction of the raft.
It was still early for the next ten-draw, and there was no way to add more trailer spaces in the Drifting Island House in the past twenty days. From what she saw that day, Liu Shuang seemed to want to come with Han Lan. That meant she had to wait at least two months. Of course, there was also a possibility that when the next ten-draw was done, she would be lucky enough to get two gold ones in a row.
But the possibility of this is really low.
Summer has fully arrived in Fengshang Plateau. In addition to the frequent catastrophic rainstorms and hurricanes, the temperature in this area is also rising.
She was in the house on the drifting island, and none of this affected her. Even if she went to the deck and it was too hot to bear, she could always turn on the portable protective shield. But it was different for the four rafts and friends behind her. Their houses did not have a constant temperature function. When the protective shield was closed, the temperature in their houses would be affected by the outside world.
However, currently none of the four rafts have the function of purifying water. All daily water use has to rely on filters to filter rainwater from the outside and store water for use.
Therefore, the protective cover needs to be closed for a period of time every day. But once it is closed, it is impossible to stay on the deck in such a hot weather. This is very inconvenient for the rafts that are gradually beginning to develop nowadays.
After all, sometimes we all want to go fishing, catch some seafood, or just enjoy the sea breeze.
So this summer, she planned to take a real deep-sea trip, to waters farther away from the Fengshang Plateau, and then head directly north to escape the summer heat in the Far North.
Currently, the raft is drifting in the deep waters south of Fengshang Plateau, which is covered by thunderstorms almost 24 hours a day. She can't even close the protective shield, so she plans to set off today.
Before leaving, she thought of Zhang Tian's matter and went to Chen Fa's milk tea shop.
The protective shield could not be closed today and the raft was drifting with the current, so Chen Fa raised the Lighthouse Milk Tea Shop again. The shop still has not opened yet, but this does not stop other friends from visiting.
Those who haven't found a job yet or who have a day off all stay in the store, sitting on the high chairs next to the long curved table by the window. They all bring their own drinks and chat while watching the flashing water surface and the endless heavy rain outside.
Chen Fa moved very quickly. The batteries had already been installed in the store, right next to the warehouse. They would automatically charge quickly whenever there was a call. So at this moment, a few small lights were on on the first floor of the milk tea shop, adding some warm and gentle atmosphere to the store.
Everyone not only brings their own drinks and snacks, but also their own garbage bags. They dispose of their own garbage when they leave, and also clean the store a little, taking care of it as if it were their own home.
Seeing that she came here on purpose, Chen Fa guessed that she had something to say, so he took her back to her residence upstairs.
Shu Fu mentioned that she was planning to travel east to the deep waters today. Chen Fa understood and said that she had already talked to Zhang Tian about it.
She was stunned for a long time about the fact that her own raft could not be towed like Chen Fa's. Then she showed a helpless smile, saying that she had not even had the chance to take out her raft to have a look before this ending was announced.
Chen Fa couldn't comfort her too much. After all, she couldn't empathize with her. Her raft had been upgraded to a milk tea shop, and it was such a unique building. Not only would Zhang Tian be envious, even Yao Ruoyun, who already owned a plantation house, felt envious.
But this is an established fact, she can only accept it and make her own choice.
It was obvious that she didn't want to go back to the land. Fortunately, Wu Shaoshan lived with her in the hotel building, so although she was not in a good mood, she still said in a self-deprecating tone that she had to plan her future life and work.
"…Also, Zhang Tian didn't take the two boxes of supplies you asked me to hand over, saying that she had some food and daily necessities with her for the time being. Wu Shaoshan seemed to want to take them, but because Zhang Tian didn't take them, she declined." Chen Fa sighed. She could understand a little. After all, there were four people in their dormitory, and Zhang Tian's family was the best off. Moreover, compared with Chen Fa and Wu Shaoshan, she had never really suffered from natural disasters, nor had she ever been really hungry.
The only time he suffered a setback was this time, and Chen Fa also rushed there later.
She already owed Chen Fa a favor, and guessed that the supplies were provided by Shu Fu, so she didn't want to owe him a second favor.
"Even if the supplies are not accepted, do you think I should go talk to her?"
"Forget it, let's take it slow. After all, we haven't seen each other for such a long time. The gap is too big at the beginning, and it's inevitable that we will be a little alienated. Give her some time." Chen Fa pushed the two boxes of supplies in front of her and asked her to take them back.
"Why are you returning them to me? If they don't eat them, then you and grandma will eat them."
"I only have so little space. You know this. These two boxes take up two of my backpack compartments. I plan to open a trial business in a few days, so I need to use the compartments to store the pearls, milk jelly, coffee jelly, glutinous rice, taro paste, mochi, and tea that I made in advance..."
"Okay!" Shu Fu was most happy to hear about the progress of the milk tea shop. Without saying a word, she packed up her box and went downstairs.
She returned to the Drifting Island House and quickly issued a voice announcement on the function screen: Attention, the raft will be carrying out a water drifting expedition in the next month, and will set off eastward immediately, first to the original ocean area, and then turn north to escape the summer heat in the Far North. If the sea conditions permit, it may cross the Arctic Circle, enter the polar day area, and finally enter the original Eurasian continental plate. I have never been to this route before, and I don’t know what I will encounter along the way. Let us look forward to it together.
**
The day after the Drifting Island House traveled east, Shu Fu used the satellite network card for an hour, mainly because he wanted to go online to see the situation in Sand City.
The communication signal was restored yesterday. After a day of fermentation, all kinds of news have indeed spread on the Internet. Even if Lanlan didn't help this time, she could still see all kinds of news, pictures and even videos.
These were filmed and uploaded to the Internet by trapped residents in Shacheng and surrounding counties. Many people have been holding back for a long time because of the previous Internet outage, and have accumulated a large number of videos and pictures on their mobile phones, including those from the beginning of the riots a few days ago.
Shu Fu had previously heard Chen Fa's description, which mainly described the entire incident without going into too many details. It was not until she saw it online that she realized how bad the situation in Shacheng was - especially in the county towns surrounding Shacheng.
The house that Zheng Feifei rented was probably not within the focus of the rioters' raids because of its remote location, poor conditions and small population. In addition, Zhashui County was originally a very inconspicuous one among the surrounding counties.
In some populous and well-developed county towns, especially in areas where new safe houses have been built, many buildings have been blown to pieces, or a large hole has appeared in the wall, and the entire building is shaking in the wind and rain.
Among the broken tiles and ruins, one could still see broken human bodies, twisted at strange angles, some with parts burnt, and some with their eyes open until death, lying on their backs in the construction waste and mud, looking at the gloomy sky...
In addition to describing the terrifying severe ichthyosis patients and the crazy thugs who created chaos everywhere, the camera also captured many fights between ordinary people. Some people cowardly betrayed each other at the critical moment of life and death, while others would rather die than protect their families. After a large amount of food was burned and destroyed, some people in the remaining buildings began to snatch food, and fierce conflicts broke out...
There are other videos that were shot after the county town where the photographers were located was rescued. They all show scenes of streets and buildings. A large number of houses were burned to charcoal. Some people were sitting in front of a half-remaining wall and crying loudly. Some people were holding the few remaining supplies in their hands and wandering around the collapsed ruins, looking for their families.
Some people also took pictures of military vehicles passing through the county town, passing through the streets that had become ruins. Most of the military vehicles looked the same, and based on just a few seconds of footage like this, Shu Fu couldn't tell whether they were the vehicles she had sent over.
Because the network and signal were cut off before the incident, and there were severe thunderstorms for several consecutive days afterwards, people in other cities outside of Sand City did not know that such a terrible incident had occurred during the time when Sand City was out of the Internet.
It was hard for them to imagine all this. They couldn't imagine that those bloody and chaotic photos and videos came from Xizhou Province. It was exactly the appearance of a country in war, and it made people tremble even through the screen.
For a time, other towns near Shacheng experienced reverse migration. Many people who had previously tried their best to move to counties and cities near Shacheng are now thinking about moving to the outskirts.
But such a big thing happened that at this stage, almost all towns began to restrict travel, implement some wartime regulations, and impose night curfews.
This move is to prevent suspicious persons from taking the opportunity to blend into the crowd and escape again.
The incident had such a huge impact that no one dealt with the photos and videos that caused panic among the people for a while, and more news was posted online later.
For example, two days later, there were rumors that a large number of canned food were being recycled in Xizhou Province. There was a big commotion in every city, and several canning factories were sealed off one by one.
Several sanatoriums near Shacheng were also sealed off. It was reported that the ichthyosis patients who had previously attacked the counties surrounding Shacheng had stayed in these sanatoriums.
Some people were extremely scared because there was a sanatorium near where they lived. However, because it was not in the area where the chaos plan was implemented, the patients in that sanatorium did not attack his town, but were secretly transported to the direction of Sand City.
Some people also described how after being trapped for two days and two nights, a military unit suddenly came to rescue them. At that time, a group of thugs were trying to break into their house and the door was almost broken down. For ordinary people trapped in despair, the team members who appeared at that moment to save them were simply a mythical existence.
…
Because there are no restrictions at the moment, all kinds of information can be seen on the Internet at once.
But Shu Fu knew that this was only the part that the public could see, and there were many more things happening beyond the public's reach.
Although the riots occurred in Shacheng and the surrounding counties, this incident affected the situation in the entire Xizhou Province, because the outbreak was just the tip of the iceberg. Not only the people were in turmoil, but also the officialdom.
Those are the parts that ordinary people cannot see.
On the first day when Shu Fu was equipped with a satellite network card to check the Internet, he went to the hotel behind to find Zhang Tian and asked her if she needed to use the Internet. If she needed to, he could go to the deck of her raft.
"It's just a limited-time connection. I saw the news that Sand City was out of trouble, so I came to tell you." After all, Zhang Tian's parents were still alive - at least they were alive when they separated from her, and they were both in Sand City. She was not sure whether Zhang Tian needed to contact the other party after this incident, so she came directly to ask.
No matter how hateful the other person becomes when they separate, they are her biological parents after all. There will always be warm and unforgettable memories in the past twenty years. This is life after all, not a revenge drama with a heroine. Some emotions cannot be completely cut off.
In her four years of living in the same dormitory, she had met Zhang Tian's parents several times. When school started, they drove their car to carry her bags to the dormitory. When they met their roommates, they generously gave Zhang Tian pocket money so that she could treat them. When she graduated and didn't want to work, they paid for her to open a milk tea shop. When she didn't know the true face of the scumbag and said she wanted to get married, they were worried and couldn't stop her, so they bought her a new house in the community where they lived...
The memories of the past do not automatically disappear just because they are no longer human beings.
She understood Zhang Tian's resentment, but the choice still had to be in her own hands.
But she was silent for a moment, and then she just forced out a smile that was uglier than crying: "Forget it... Since Shacheng is fine, they should have survived. If they are really unlucky... I can't change it. Forget it, I won't call you. Thank you, Xiaofu, and thank you for your trouble."
Shu Fu looked at the other person's sensitive and distant appearance, but her mind couldn't help but think of their last meeting in Suicheng.
At that time, the boyfriend she wanted to introduce to them was found to be cheating, and she broke up with him on the spot. She was obviously very sad, but she could cry and curse at the same time. In her memory, Zhang Tian was always lively, laughing, scolding, and showing her joy on her face. Sometimes she would not care much about other people's feelings and just be happy.
Zhang Tian, who is restraining his emotions and politely saying "thank you" to her, has indeed become very different from before. He seems to have grown up, but in fact, he is forced to grow up because of the unexpected events he encountered.
Even if Shu Fu wanted to help her, he didn't know where to start for a moment, and he didn't even know whether he should open his mouth to comfort her.
Maybe Chen Fa was right, what Zhang Tian needed more now was time.
"Okay, come see me again someday when you need me. I can always connect to the internet here, but you just need to let me know in advance."
"Okay, thank you."
**
After that day, Shu Fu would connect to the Internet for about half an hour every day to keep an eye on the situation in Sand City.
The same night when she saw the news from the cannery, she received messages from Cheng Yu and Liu Shuang respectively. The content of both messages was similar, indicating that the situation in Sand City was basically over, but there were still many remaining issues to be dealt with, so they could only report safety to her for the time being.
Shu Fu replied to them separately, saying that she had received their messages and asked them to get back to work first, and she did the same.
At this time, the raft had drifted to the coastline of the original ocean at a speed of 50 km/h, but it was not far from Xizhou Province, and it would take only one day to go back. But since the other party still had things to deal with, she readjusted the drifting speed and accelerated towards the wider sea in the east.
Today's oceans are much deeper than the waters on land. In addition to the uniform rise in sea level of two thousand meters, the original average depth of these seas is four thousand meters.
This was once the largest, deepest, most marginal sea and most island-rich ocean on the planet, and it still is today.
The average depth has reached more than 6,000 meters, and the deepest depth has reached more than 13,000 meters!
Shu Fu still told Zheng Feifei the news about the cannery. Like her, Zheng Feifei vaguely understood what was going on the moment she heard the news, and then her face turned a little ugly.
She did not tell Zheng's mother and followed her to the glass balcony on the Drifting Island House, where she took out her mobile phone, connected to the Internet, and checked the relevant messages herself.
The news about the canneries that were sealed off also mentioned which regions and brands of canneries were sealed off. Zheng Feifei read it carefully and suddenly burst into tears.
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