Chapter 37 Lou Yuncheng
The two sentences Zheng Feifei said before hanging up the phone were extremely firm. She must have encountered something and suffered some hardship, which led to the changes she has now.
Going to Sand City is the right choice, and the sooner you go, the better.
But Shu Fu had just arrived in Louyun City and knew nothing about the city pass.
While thinking, she opened Cheng Yu's message.
His message was very simple, just one piece. It was mainly because of the heavy rain and hurricane last night, and waterspouts appeared over several water bodies. A large area of Louyun City was affected, so he asked her about the situation there.
The other party was kind-hearted, and Shu Fu immediately typed back: Sorry, I was a bit busy this morning and couldn't answer the phone. I'm fine, I'm safe, thank you Captain Cheng.
After a while, Cheng Yu replied to the message, with just one word like last time: Yeah.
Shu Fu: ...
But soon, a voice call came from the other end.
Shu Fu complained in her heart that older people really don't like to send messages, and then she answered the call: "Captain Cheng."
"Are you okay over there?" The other end of the phone was not as quiet as hers. There were voices and machine sounds, and it sounded very noisy.
"It's okay. I'm fine."
Cheng Yu hummed again, and seemed to walk to a quiet place for a while before speaking again: "Is there enough food and drink at home? Don't go out if you have nothing to do in the next two days, especially don't go to the east part of the city."
"Hmm?" Shu Fu, who happened to live in the east of the city, made a sound.
Cheng Yu quickly explained, "Last night the wind was too strong and a large supermarket in the east of the city was severely damaged. This morning, when it was almost dawn, several groups of people took advantage of the chaos to go and steal things. A serious fight broke out and some people died... There is no news online yet. You should be able to see relevant news when you go online later."
In fact, Cheng Yu was still being conservative. In this gang fight - or rather a melee, a total of eight people died, and dozens of people were admitted to the hospital.
Because the dead and injured were all refugees from other places who were sharing the house, this incident became a fuse that triggered long-accumulated conflicts hidden beneath the calm appearance.
In several residential areas in the east of the city where refugees share rental housing, more outsiders are gathering. Some have already started causing trouble nearby, going to local people's homes to beat, smash, and rob, while others are quietly squatting in the same house, seemingly brewing even greater chaos.
The people in the rescue team have already started to equip themselves with guns, stun batons, tear gas, explosion-proof equipment and other items.
The troops were also alarmed and were being transferred from the north.
The main purpose of Cheng Yu's call was to ask her to stay at home and pay attention to online news and external developments.
He guessed that she might be staying with a relative, as it was inconvenient to live under someone else's roof, so he added one more sentence at the end.
"…If you are short of drinking water, don't worry too much, just call me and I will find someone to deliver it to you."
Shu Fu could naturally tell whether the other party was being polite or speaking the truth from the bottom of their hearts. She was not a person who could not tell the difference. Even if she did not need the other party to send her supplies, she would still express her gratitude to the other party for this sincere concern.
Just after she thanked him, she remembered that there was something she really wanted to buy but couldn't - a marine outboard motor.
She needs this thing until the raft is upgraded to be usable 24 hours a day, so that she won't have to row the boat with her own hands next time something happens.
However, she can ask Zheng Feifei first, after all, the property management and neighborhood committee can buy supplies for her.
So Shu Fu asked Cheng Yu another question, about the pass to enter the city.
"You want to go to Sand City?"
"He's my friend. I'm still considering it. After all, I just returned to Louyun City."
Upon hearing this, Cheng Yu nodded and told her that it wasn't just Sand City, several plateau cities now required a pass to enter the city. However, Sand City was the largest plateau city, and its urban development was similar to that of the plains, so more people wanted to go there.
The entry permit to the city is very strict. At present, it is only open to relevant scientific research and technical personnel, and the immediate family members of local residents who own property in the area.
Secondly, either people who need to be transferred for official business in the army, or people who are going to perform tasks, or people who have made meritorious services apply on their own initiative.
Finally, some people with good economic conditions who are willing to donate supplies to refugees in their personal name and whose donations reach a certain level, or who support some scientific research in plateau cities, can also apply.
In summary, certificates will be issued based on ability, relationships, and materials.
It is difficult for ordinary people without any connections to obtain this certificate.
But, it’s not completely impossible.
**
"Can good citizens who have been commended by the city where they live apply?" Zheng Feifei on the other end of the phone couldn't help but received another voice call shortly after receiving Shu Fu's message.
"Yeah." Shu Fu actually thought this was reasonable.
The Fengshang Plateau, where the Sand City is located, is not only the highest plateau in Huaguo, but also the largest plateau on the planet. The world's highest peak is here, with an average altitude of more than 4,000 meters, and is also known as the roof of the world.
Even in Shu Fu's setting of the apocalyptic dark ages when the entire planet has experienced rising sea levels, Fengshang Plateau will be the last piece of land left.
People living there can survive as long as they are not hit by floods, even if they cannot avoid heavy rain, strong winds, hail and thunderstorms.
If there are other reborn people in this world, if the authorities of Huaguo believe in something, they would have extracted useful information from the previous "end of the world" video and taken various preventive measures.
Therefore, for areas like Fengshang Plateau that can withstand the pressure of rising sea levels and survive safely when the end of the world comes, it is a smart and rational strategy to select the best future residents.
Shu Fu can totally understand.
And if we analyze it carefully, the requirements for ordinary people in this type of application are not very high. They are called good citizens, not honorary citizens.
A good citizen means one who has a clean background and no criminal record. As for being commended by the city where one lives, it is indeed a bit difficult, but it is not completely impossible.
For example, a model worker who has worked diligently and conscientiously for more than ten years, or a brave rescuer who fought with criminals, or a hero who saved people regardless of his own safety when a disaster struck... On this basis, with the recommendation of community workers, they should be able to receive commendations.
Zheng Feifei felt like crying: "I am none of them..." As for what happened last night, it was obvious that she was not qualified. After all, she only blew the whistle and shouted a few times, and it was Shu Fu who reminded her first. Even the call for rescue was made by Shu Fu.
She was worried about her mother's injuries and went home without waiting for the rescue team to come and take over.
It’s too late to regret now.
Despite this, Zheng Feifei did not completely lose confidence. At least she now had a direction and knew where to work towards, instead of being like before when she had no idea where to put her efforts.
After thanking Shu Fu, she said that she would definitely work hard. After all, she was a property manager, and rounded off as a community member. To put it in a broader sense, she was helping the government.
Compared with other ordinary citizens, she at least has channels for upward mobility.
After that, the topic turned to the material rewards given to her by the neighborhood committee. She knew that Shu Fu was determined not to take these materials, so she took them herself, but she couldn't not return the favor. So she invited her to her house for dinner tomorrow.
Tomorrow is her day off, and she can help her mother cook. Besides, the material rewards will arrive tomorrow. What she wants are some vegetables, fruits, fresh fish and meat, which are the most scarce things nowadays. Since she refuses to take them, then let's go over and eat together.
"No, the situation these days is special, so keep the supplies you have. The online news may not have come out yet, but something happened in a supermarket in the east of the city, and this area has been uneasy these days. Your work of purchasing things for the residents may not be able to go smoothly these two days. Let's talk about eating later, after these few days are over..." Shu Fu's tone was solemn.
Although Cheng Yu was vague in his words, she could imagine the seriousness of the matter, otherwise why would he call her specifically to talk about this matter, and even mention sending supplies.
Although Zheng Feifei is still unclear about the situation now, the neighborhood committee is well-informed. If the situation is really serious, the purchasing work on behalf of others should be suspended.
When she heard Shu Fu's tone, she immediately responded seriously: "Then remember to lock the door when you are at home these days. If there is any problem, come to me. There is a walkway between our two buildings. You can come directly from the passage on the 15th floor and you won't get wet in the rain."
She didn't know why, but it seemed like it had started from the high-altitude falling object accident in Suicheng, and she always subconsciously had a greater sense of trust in Shu Fu.
After Shu Fu agreed, she asked about purchasing a boat-mounted motor on behalf of others. Zheng Feifei said that the property management company was in charge of Jixing Community and another nearby community, and there were actually quite a lot of people there, but they had never received such a request for purchasing on behalf of others.
The most expensive items nowadays are water equipment. Except for commonly used water survival items such as life jackets and lifebuoys, which can still be purchased because the country vigorously produces them, other items are simply out of stock.
We may still be able to find a way to deal with rubber boats, but more advanced marine motors seem to have disappeared from the market.
Shu Fu roughly guessed it. After all, the rescue team was now going in and out of the water, and what they needed most was a boat-mounted motor.
Louyun City is an inland city, and there are few places that need this kind of things. There won’t be too many circulating on the market, and in the future it will definitely be completely dependent on the needs of the army and rescue teams.
After all, it is completely sufficient for ordinary people to have survival tools such as rubber boats and inflatable boats.
It seems that she still has to ask Cheng Yu about this matter, but there is no rush as he is busy there. She plans to wait until the matter in Chengdong is over before contacting him.
**
After hanging up the phone, Shu Fu started surfing the Internet to check news related to keywords such as east city, supermarket, group fight, chaos, etc.
I haven't seen the news about the supermarket incident, but I did see someone took videos and photos of the rescue team.
The video shows a military jeep passing by. The back half of the jeep is half open, with a thick rain curtain pulled over the top of the car, but a hole is left for people inside to get on and off the car.
The man's video was aimed at this opening, and the camera lens passed through the slanting raindrops and clearly captured the rescue team members inside.
The person shooting the video was a man, who was exclaiming in an excited tone, "So handsome! So fucking handsome!", and then continued to analyze the equipment that the rescue team members were wearing in an excited tone.
What about explosion-proof three-piece suits, tear gas, and some type of electric baton...
There was even robbery.
The man said that the fully armed rescue team members were so cool that he also wanted to apply to join the rescue team.
Some people saw the equipment, but Shu Fu saw the tense atmosphere outside through the equipment.
She recognized the street where the jeep drove, not far from the supermarket where she went shopping yesterday. She guessed that the supermarket was where the incident occurred. It seemed that the incident in the supermarket was far more than just a group fight.
Another level of adjective above group fighting and chaos is riot.
The east of the city is the area with the largest number of refugees in the entire Louyun City. Someone has counted online that the total number of refugees in this area is four to five times that of local residents. Even if we exclude some ordinary refugees from other places like Zheng Feifei's family, the remaining people are still more than twice that of local residents.
The rescue team members were fully armed, and the situation outside did not look very good.
The windows of the rental house are made very sturdy to protect against wind and rain, but the door only has a thin layer of door panels.
Moreover, this residential building is very old and there is no gate with access control on the ground floor. Anyone can go up the stairs to the second-floor corridor, and then take the elevator or the emergency stairs without any hindrance.
Shu Fu thought about her personal protective shield. She wasn't sure about its specific defensive capabilities yet, so she had to start the experiment as soon as possible.
In order to conduct the experiment with peace of mind, she had to reinforce the door first.
Shu Fu entered the room and moved a heavy wardrobe against the wall through the space behind the locked door.
The door here opens inwards and is blocked by a wardrobe, which is equivalent to manually adding a layer of defense to the door.
Afterwards, she took out the candles and thick mats from the space and conducted some experiments first.
The candle tests the fire, the cushion tests the fall from a height.
The candle was a large scented one. She placed it on the table and lit it, then stepped to the other end of the room, activated her "portable protective shield", and quickly ran towards the table.
The first test was the portability of the protective shield. Whether she was standing or running, the protective shield would follow her closely like an air cocoon.
She reached out her hand closer to the candle flame, which was deformed by the invisible protective shield but did not go out, and at the same time she did not feel any heat.
Shu Fu's eyes lit up and he immediately turned off the protective shield.
The first experiment was successful and the protective cover was fireproof.
The room already had a bed and a mattress, and although she didn't sleep there, she still took a set of her old bedding and spread it out casually after moving in. She put a thick cushion on top, stacked a table and chairs next to the bed, climbed up, opened the protective cover, and fell onto the bed with her back facing backwards.
She hit the mat hard, and because of the elasticity of the mat, it swayed up and down a few times. The protective shield was still there without breaking, but there was a collision feeling on her back.
Because the impact on the mat didn't hurt much in the first place, she couldn't tell whether the protective shield had helped to reduce some of the impact.
She then used objects to experiment with the shield's wrapping capabilities.
When she opens the protective shield without touching any objects with her hands, objects outside the shield will be isolated. When she touches something such as a backpack, a chair, etc. and then opens the protective shield, the objects in her hands are considered to be part of her and wrapped together.
However, the coverage range is limited, with only enough space for one more person. When her hands touch larger objects such as a bed or a table, the protective shield will only cover her.
Finally, Shu Fu came to the folding bathtub in the bathroom which was already half filled with water. She turned on the portable protective shield and reached her hand into the water first. The water surface was separated by the protective shield, and her hand entered the water but did not touch the water.
This was the experiment she wanted to do the most. Without any hesitation, she climbed into the bathtub and squatted down.
Perhaps because this world is the end of the world due to a water disaster, the waterproof function of the portable protective shield is the best. The water in the folding bathtub overflowed because of her entry, and flowed along the outer wall of the bathtub and onto the tiles.
She was like being in an invisible bubble, surrounded by water. Her clothes and body were dry. The bubble was still like an air cocoon, sticking to the outer layer of her body. When she raised her hand, she could still feel the buoyancy of the water.
Shu Fu stayed for a while and soon realized something was wrong. To verify, she stayed for another ten seconds, then quickly got out of the bathtub, stood aside, and turned off the protective shield she was wearing.
This protective shield perfectly isolates her from water and does not affect her movements, but unfortunately, probably because she is in the water for more than a certain period of time, the air in the shield is exhausted and there is no way to replenish it.
That is to say, if she uses the protective shield function in the water, she has to bring her own oxygen tank, otherwise she will be short of oxygen.
To verify this, she stood in the bathroom again and turned on the protective shield, waiting for about the same amount of time as she had just waited in the bathtub. This time, she did not feel short of breath.
This means that when on land, the shield will filter the outside air and continuously replenish the breathable oxygen inside. But it cannot filter the oxygen in the water like the gills do.
But being able to resist water, fire and physical damage, this portable protective shield has far exceeded her expectations.
Shu Fu finished the experiment and released the Drifting Island House to check the time she had consumed: [00:57:13].
She tried to be as fast as possible, but the experiment still took more than two minutes, and Shu Fu felt a little distressed.
After all, this is a function that will be unlocked only when the raft reaches level 4. Now the raft is only level 2 and it is still early for level 4. The second prize of gold is not so easy to draw, so you have to cherish the remaining time and not use it casually.
After finishing the experiment, she did not move the large wardrobe blocking the door. Instead, she moved the large folding bathtub filled with water in the bathroom behind the wardrobe, adding another obstacle.
This is the 21st floor, and there are anti-theft bars on both windows. It is impossible for people outside to break in through the window. As long as the only door is blocked, the house is absolutely safe.
Shu Fu actually quite likes the days when she can't go out, because she can lie down openly.
She didn't have a chance to eat the hot pot she had eaten halfway that day, so she decided to bring it out for lunch. With this in mind, she took out the folding sofa and the small round table from the space and placed them in front of the balcony window in the living room.
Then I put a tablet, hot cocoa milk, a packaged box of chopped cantaloupe, and a box of duck tongues on the round table, and started watching TV series, surfing the Internet, playing with my phone, and lying down.
When it was almost time for lunch, news related to Chengdong Supermarket finally appeared on several websites, including several videos and photos. It seemed that they were all news released by the official Louyun City government, not taken by the public.
Yes, the incident happened at dawn, and there were no tall residential buildings near the supermarket. It was estimated that apart from the participants in the incident, almost no one knew about it.
The announcement is now probably to remind residents in the east of the city to be careful at their doorsteps in the next two days. If you spot suspicious people or non-residents on the street or in the community, call the police or the rescue team immediately.
The rescue team number announced in the news is a new number with simple numbers and easy to dial.
In addition, there are some photos posted by the public, indicating that the chances of seeing police cars and rescue team military jeeps on the streets have increased. Some people have also seen fully armed team members. Finally, some people feel that there is some unusual atmosphere.
By the afternoon, some unusual news appeared on the Internet.
One video was shot by someone in the building through the window. It showed someone suddenly breaking the window and jumping off the building opposite. After the person jumped, two figures appeared in the broken window, but they just stuck their heads out and looked down without showing any expression.
After a while, the people in the house moved a wardrobe to the window to block the rain and sight outside. The person who fell from the building lay motionless in the greenery downstairs, and the people upstairs did not come down to deal with it.
Another video captured a supermarket diagonally across the street. A large group of people turned the corner, each holding an iron rod or a knife, without raincoats or umbrellas, and rushed into the supermarket aggressively.
Not long after, there was a chaotic noise in the supermarket, which seemed to be the sound of shelves falling to the ground, mixed with screams, and finally someone came out from inside and smashed something, scaring the person who was filming the video diagonally opposite and made him scream, and the camera also shook.
Immediately afterwards, someone rushed out of the supermarket, bleeding from his head. He stumbled and seemed to be trying to escape, but was quickly pulled back in by people who had chased out from inside.
There was another person standing at the door holding a stick and looking up. The person filming the video was startled again and quickly squatted down, and the video was interrupted.
…
The news spread quickly, and various discussions emerged in the several groups that Shu Fu joined after moving into Jixing Community. Some people like her who were well-informed also mentioned the news of the supermarket incident that came from nowhere.
But so far, all discussions related to this incident are pure news, with no photos or videos.
It was not until the evening that someone in the group forwarded a photo from another group.
The photo was taken in a hospital. It seemed like it was taken secretly at the door of the emergency room. Even the lens is crooked.
There were people covered in blood lying on several beds in the emergency room. Some of them had been stabbed in the thighs, arms and stomachs by sharp weapons. Their flesh and blood were blurred, and their intestines were turned inside out. It looked horrible.
There are words next to the photo: Before dawn, riot at Huimin Supermarket.
Now that supplies are in short supply, supermarkets usually leave many times more employees on duty 24 hours a day than before, and these injured people seem to be the people left on duty by Huimin Supermarket.
Although there was only one photo, it was so bloody and terrifying that it quickly spread among various groups.
Combining the news at noon and the videos in the afternoon, most people guessed what was happening in the east of the city.
Everyone was indignant, angry, panicked and helpless. They had never expected that in a time of frequent natural disasters, such a man-made disaster would occur.
Someone immediately sighed and said that natural disasters and man-made disasters are always connected.
Shu Fu sent a message to Zheng Feifei, reminding her again: pay attention to the news about Chengdong on the Internet, don't go out, and block the door with heavy objects! It is best to lock the door tightly, so as not to give the other party a chance to pry the lock. Put some heavy objects inside the door. You can first put an empty large bucket or bathtub inside the house, and then use utensils such as washbasins and pots to collect rainwater from outside and fill the bucket. The large bucket filled with water weighs at least several hundred kilograms and can block the door. If there is any situation, call the police or rescue phone at any time.
Zheng Feifei was probably also checking the messages in the group, and she replied directly: Well, the neighborhood committee issued a notice before noon to suspend work for the next two days. My parents and I are at home, but you, please be careful when you are alone at home.
At eight o'clock in the evening, Shu Fu checked the obstacles behind the gate again and released the raft.
The situation outside was not good today, so she planned to go to bed early and try to get enough rest while the weather was calm nearby.
Although she was a little nervous, she was not afraid. Even the door could not block her. She could immediately open the raft's protective shield and reduce the entire raft's presence to zero. Even if someone broke into the house, they would not notice her.
In comparison, she was more worried about Zheng Feifei's family.
She is one of the people associated with the progress bar task, and she doesn't know what irreversible consequences will be caused if the other party has an accident.
And putting aside the progress bar tasks, Zheng Feifei is also her friend.
Shu Fu tossed and turned in bed, and it took a while before she fell asleep.
While she was half asleep, she heard the sound of her cell phone vibrating again. This time, because she didn't turn off the volume, the ringtone also rang.
She subconsciously sensed something was wrong, woke up instantly, and answered the phone.
The call was indeed from Zheng Feifei, and her low voice was trembling and flustered: "Shu Fu... I just saw... a lot of people sneaking into our community. Some of them went to Building 1 and Building 2, and the others came towards us."
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