Without internet and signal, people realized how inconvenient it was.
We were unable to contact our relatives and friends, and had no idea of the situation outside. We just watched the rain falling from the sky, feeling panic and anxiety in our hearts.
"Why is it raining non-stop? It's like all the rain that didn't fall in the past few months has been poured down from the sky. It's so scary!"
"The rain won't stop, will it? The residents living on the lower floors are in dire straits. The water has accumulated to the fourth floor, and there is no sign of it receding."
"I live on the fifth floor. There are so many things in my house, including elderly people and children. We don't have any other relatives or friends to rely on in Xingcheng. What should I do?!"
"Don't panic, don't panic. Rescue teams can be seen everywhere these days. I heard the rescue teams' loudspeakers constantly shouting, asking everyone to stay at the homes of neighbors on higher floors. If you really have nowhere to go, you can write a note saying 'need to move' and stand at the stairs waiting for rescue."
"Many five- or six-story low buildings and old houses in Xingcheng were flooded. If most people have nowhere to go, how many rescue boats will it take to transfer all the people?"
"Then I don't know. We can only wait slowly."
Sinan would go downstairs every day to keep an eye on the rising water. When he went downstairs that afternoon, he saw several speedboats paddling in the Shenxianyuan community, evacuating residents on the lower floors who were flooded.
One of the speedboats was docked in front of Building 14, and residents of the four-story building whose homes had been flooded earlier rushed to get on the speedboat.
The fire-fighting speedboat can accommodate 12 to 14 people at most. There were three families on the fourth floor of Building 14 who had nowhere to go, and nearly 18 people rushed onto the speedboat, almost capsizing it.
There were two young firefighters on the speedboat. One of them, who looked no more than 20 years old and had a crew cut, shouted, "Don't panic, residents. We are gradually evacuating the affected people by building. Try to bring as little as possible to reduce the burden. We will evacuate a group of people and then come back to evacuate everyone. Don't crowd in. If you crowd in, we will have to go to other buildings to evacuate people first."
But the three families refused to give in to each other. They all wanted to move first and did not want to throw away their packed bags. The three families pushed and shoved each other on the speedboat, and as expected, the speedboat capsized.
"Help!" After the splashing sounds of people falling into the water, the screams for help from the elderly, children and women from the three families who couldn't swim were heard. "Ah! Help me, I can't swim! Help!"
Upon seeing this, the two firefighters immediately dropped their oars and jumped into the water to rescue the person who fell into the water.
People at the stairs who were also watching the rising water offered their help: "Quick, grab this stick, I'll pull you up."
"Little boy, don't flutter around. Hold your breath for a while. Uncle is here to save you..."
After rescuing all the people from the three families to the stairs, an old man in his seventies, who was wearing a heavy winter coat and felt heavy after being soaked by water, was finally rescued by a firefighter with a crew cut. After he came to his senses after choking on water, he immediately slapped the firefighter with a crew cut and cursed: "How do you serve in the army? Don't you know that the elderly should be given priority? You saw me fall into the water and didn't save me first, but saved me last. You want me to die! I'm going to complain to you!"
The noisy people around suddenly quieted down. They didn't expect that this old man had such a bad temper that he would hit a firefighter.
The crew-haired soldier reached out his hand in disbelief and touched his burning left cheek, tears glistening in his eyes.
He is only twenty years old and is the apple of his parents' eyes. After graduating from high school, he applied to be a firefighter because he failed to get into college. After undergoing high-intensity training at the fire brigade, he has been selflessly devoting himself to the fire and water in the past two years.
After the heavy hail stopped, his fire brigade accepted the task and went out to respond as quickly as possible. For the past week, they have been shuttling back and forth on the water in Xingcheng, rescuing the trapped people day and night, with only six hours of sleep and rest each day.
Because it had been raining and it was winter, no matter how thick their clothes were, they would still get wet. They were wet from morning to night, their limbs were stiff, their lips were purple, and their hands and feet were shaking. But they had no complaints and overcame their own difficulties and continued to evacuate the people.
When the three families fell into the water, the soldier with a crew cut jumped in to rescue them immediately. However, because the water level was already twelve meters high, their clothes were soaked after they fell into the water and it was difficult for them to swim, so they naturally had to do some local rescue.
The place where the old man fell into the water was several meters away from him. After rescuing the people around him, he swam towards him. After spending half a day, he finally dragged the heavy old man to the shore. Unexpectedly, he was beaten by the old man.
For a moment, the crew-haired soldier felt very aggrieved. As firefighters, they represent the image of the country. He couldn't get angry at the people. He covered his face, swallowed his grievances, and apologized to the old man: "I'm sorry, it's my fault, please don't be angry."
The old man still refused to give in, saying something like that firefighters are the dogs of the country, the people are the masters of the country, and dogs should serve their masters well.
The words were so harsh that everyone around frowned. Even the old man's family couldn't stand it and advised him, "Old man, stop making trouble."
But the old man refused to give in and yelled excitedly, saying that they wanted him dead, that the rain flooded the house instead of letting him run away, and that they teamed up with the country's dogs to throw him into the water...
A complete paranoia.
The rain was still falling heavily at this time, and the strong wind blew the rain onto the wet clothes, making the two firefighters who had already fallen into the water so cold that their teeth were chattering.
Another firefighter couldn't help it and urged the three families to negotiate and get on the speedboat to move with them.
Who knew that the old man would act like a madman, blocking the stairs with his arms outstretched, and not allowing the other two families to get on the speedboat. He also asked the two firefighters to send their family of five first and take with them all his luggage, including some large furniture.
Such a weird person made Si Nan, who was watching the fun, laugh. While everyone was talking about it and the old man's family remained silent, she kicked the old man into the water and shouted coldly, "What the hell, just because you are old, you can take advantage of your age and hit people? I spoil you! Nowadays, natural disasters keep happening one after another. It's better for rubbish like you to die early and be reborn, and don't implicate the firefighters."
As she spoke, she picked up a small wooden stick floating on the water, broke it into three pieces of different lengths, and threw it in front of the three families. "Draw lots. Each family will send a representative to draw lots. The two families who draw the longest ones will go first, and the ones who draw the shortest ones will stay."
Everyone was stunned for a moment. They didn't expect that Mrs. Cheng, who was labeled as a "good model couple" by everyone, would do such a cruel thing.
The old man was kicked into the water for no apparent reason and kept struggling and shouting for help. The two firefighters, who had already lost their hearts, watched coldly and had no intention of going into the water to save him.
The onlookers were even more unwilling to get their clothes wet and go down to rescue the unreasonable old man.
The old man's son was the only one in his family who could swim, so he had to jump in to save the old man.
He finally rescued the old man, but the old man raised his hand to hit Si Nan, cursing him with all kinds of dirty words.
Si Nan didn't hesitate at all. He raised his slender leg and kicked the old man into the water again.
People watching: ...
The old man’s family: …
For a moment, I didn't know which of the two people was more bizarre and outrageous.
The old man's family tried to save face and attacked Si Nan, but when they saw Cheng Suming standing behind Si Nan, pushing the frame with a cold expression, and Yang Wentao, who was tall and had a scar on his face, but his muscles were still strong even though he was wearing a thick cotton coat, and he looked very powerful, the old man's family became intimidated and only dared to say a few words in a low voice.
When her husband rescued the old man again, he was already dying and had no strength to speak.
The three families were very tactful and drew lots. I don’t know if God couldn’t bear it, but the result of the draw was that the old man and his family stayed.
Before the speedboat left, Sinan took two sets of clean, warm winter men's clothes and put them in waterproof pockets. She also handed four potatoes she had cooked earlier to the two firefighters and asked, "Where are these people being transferred to?"
"The central city and nearby commercial office buildings have been requisitioned as temporary shelters. These places have tall floors and can accommodate many people. If you want to go, wait here. We will come back to pick you up soon after we send them off."
The crew-haired soldier was very grateful to Sinan, knowing that she had taken action first to vent his and his comrades' anger.
According to the rules of the fire brigade, they could not take anything from the public, but the weather was wet and cold, and they had to work in the wind and rain every day. When they finished their tasks and rested, they wanted to wear clean clothes and sleep comfortably. They also wanted to eat more after the food-scarce work meals to restore their strength. So they hesitated and accepted Si Nan's kindness.
Si Nan shook his head: "I'm not going. I'm just asking where the disaster victims are being resettled. My friend is likely to be among them."
The guy with the crew cut said he could help find out about her friend, and Sinan was naturally very grateful.
Amidst the anxious atmosphere, the heavy rain began to gradually turn into light rain. Five days later, one afternoon, the signal network was restored in most areas of Xingcheng.
At this time, the accumulated water had reached as high as the eighth floor. Most of the equipment of the communication network company was soaked in the water. The equipment for restoring the signal network was located in high-rise buildings and towers, so the signal was unstable and intermittent.
Despite this, the people of Xingcheng were still extremely happy. Those whose mobile phones had power took them out to contact their relatives and friends, and went online to check global news videos. They found that the hail and heavy rain occurred all over the world. More than half of the territory of a low-lying island country had been submerged, and countless people were killed and injured. They immediately exclaimed in joy, but also worried about their own future.
People who are out of power try to borrow other people's mobile phones, or rent power banks at high prices in temporary shelters provided by the government to charge their phones and then make calls.
Before the power outage at home, Si Nan fully charged all the power banks stored in his space. In addition to the smartphone he already had, he also bought two sturdy and durable phones with long standby time for the elderly.
Her smartphone was charging when she received a string of messages, and when she heard the notification tone, she immediately picked up the phone and checked the various messages.
There are almost no missed calls, but a lot of messages and chat apps.
She first opened the chat software and opened the chat boxes of Sheng Youqing and Gao Moli. Both of them told her that they moved with the rescue team to a temporary shelter in an office building called "Century City" the day after the hail stopped, and asked her not to worry.
Then her uncle and aunt, who couldn’t type but could barely use their smartphones, sent her voice messages.
My uncle said that their small green-tiled farmhouse was smashed to pieces on the day the hail hit.
My grandmother was killed by the hailstones because she couldn't dodge the attack due to her weak legs.
My aunt's leg was broken and my two cousins were injured, so they hid in the concrete building of the next-door neighbor.
The situation at my aunt's house was similar. The farmhouse was smashed to pieces, but my aunt believed Si Nan's words and made preparations in advance. Seeing that the weather was not right, she took the family to a cave in the mountains for refuge, and no one in the family was injured.
After browsing the software and checking the news, I found that most of them were from the Xingcheng Municipal Department and the Meteorological Bureau, reminding people to evacuate due to heat disasters after the hailstorm.
She flipped through a few messages and found a message from an unknown number in the middle. She clicked it and saw that it said, "Sinan, it's hailing, are you okay? I can't get through to you on the phone, and I can't leave you a message on the chat app. Have you blocked me? Do you hate me that much? Even if we can't be lovers, we can still be friends! You have to believe me, I have always been sincere to you. We have been together for so many years, don't you know what kind of person I am? It was Jiang Feifei who designed to seduce me, and I couldn't control myself for a moment, and made the mistake that all men would make..."
It was a long and eloquent message, and even though it was sent from an unfamiliar number, Si Nan still knew that the person who sent it was Zou Shichu.
Without any hesitation, she deleted the disgusting message and blocked the number, and then she felt much better.
After reading all the information, she tried to call Sheng Youqing and her husband. Fortunately, the call went through. Sheng Youqing said to her amidst the noise: "Ah? What did you say? Oh, we are fine. We have food and shelter here, and limited electricity. It's pretty good. But there are a lot of people and it's very noisy. I was trying to save an old lady some time ago and was hit on the waist by a big ice block. I couldn't move for several days. Gao Moli asked the rescue team for help, and we were transferred."
Gao Moli quickly answered the phone: "Nannan, don't worry about us. Qingqing can move on her own these days. Father Sheng called earlier and said he would find a raft to take her back. I will stay here for a few more days and take a boat back to City G."
Si Nan frowned. The water had accumulated into a deep abyss. Although the rain had become smaller, it did not stop. In this situation, even if there was a ship going to the coastal city, with the speed of the ship and the unknown and dangerous journey, could Gao Moli, a woman with a child, reach the destination safely?
Si Nan decided to go out and visit Sheng Youqing and the others in Century City.
Her space was stockpiled with a lot of water transportation tools such as rafts, inflatable boats, and speedboats. However, in order not to attract the attention of her neighbors on the same floor and Cheng Wei from room 1503 next door, she had not taken out any new water transportation tools except for the first inflatable raft.
The couple who borrowed the inflatable raft never came back to return it. No one knew if something happened to them or if her momentary kindness had gone to waste.
In short, in order not to expose the space, she decided to take a speedboat and go out after dark.
Of course Cheng Suming would not let her go out alone, so the two of them took advantage of the darkness, and walked on the dark surface of Xingcheng Water where there was no power supply. Wearing an outdoor headlight, they followed the mobile phone navigation and arrived at Office Building 3 in Zone C of Century City with difficulty.
This office building has a total of 35 floors and has an elegant and upscale exterior. It was previously a well-known large-scale corporate office location in Xingcheng.
Si Nan and Cheng Su Ming got off the speedboat and climbed up to the tenth floor along the emergency passage. The originally spacious office area was crowded with people. Each narrow cubicle was occupied by a family or three or two acquaintances. Even the public areas and elevator doors were covered with bedding and were occupied by many people.
It was estimated that there were at least 500 people gathered on one floor. The entire floor was lit by only a few dimmer rechargeable energy-saving lamps, allowing everyone to barely see the surrounding area.
It was dark outside and it was already around nine o'clock in the evening. Some people had no bedding, so they used the materials in the cubicle to pad the ground, wrapped in their clothes and slept on the ground.
Some people were unable to sleep and sat together in groups of three or two, whispering or talking loudly.
There are also many children who are not used to noisy environments and keep crying...
Such a noisy environment is just the tip of the iceberg before the base was formed in the end of the world. The current shelters are at least still under the control of the country. The country will provide food and drink to the people in the shelters. There are armed police and army soldiers patrolling and standing guard on every floor to prevent people from conflicting over trivial matters and causing uncontrollable situations.
However, the so-called food and drink was only two meals a day, a bowl of porridge and a limited amount of steamed bun to barely fill the stomach, and water had to be collected in containers by the rain to drink.
The conditions are so harsh that there are people who complain, but most people know that in the face of successive natural disasters, the national government has never given up on its people, and it is not easy to provide two meals a day and safe housing for nearly one million people in the shelters.
Many people live here with peace of mind, despite the many inconveniences, it is better than staying alone with no place to live, no food to eat, and dying of starvation or disease.
The police and army soldiers who are responsible for patrolling each floor will not care how people move around at night as long as there are no fights, thefts or robberies in the area they are responsible for.
Si Nan and Cheng Suming easily found Sheng Youqing and his companion, who were just about to go to bed.
Because the two of them had no bedding, they only wore thin coats given by kind people and wrapped themselves with two curtains in the office. Both of them had a cold and cough, and Gao Moli wrapped her daughter in her clothes and fell asleep in her arms.
"Nannan!" When Sheng Youqing and Gao Moli saw Si Nan and the other person appear, their eyes were red.
Gao Moli hugged the child and threw herself into her arms, crying in grievance: "I thought I would never see you again."
"What nonsense are you talking about? You are fine in front of me." Si Nan saw that she was disheveled and thinner than the last time they met. She no longer had the charming and graceful appearance she had before. She looked haggard and several years older. He wiped the tears from her face with his hand with some heartache: "Don't cry, I'm here for you. Don't wake Wenwen up."
Gao Moli then stopped crying and stood aside, silently wiping the tears from her face.
Sheng Youqing struggled to stand up, "Sinan, why are you here?"
Si Nan stepped over a man who was snoring loudly and put his hand on Sheng Youqing's waist. "I'm just worried about you. You both said you were fine, but I don't think you are. You can't even straighten your waist. Why don't you go to the hospital?"
Sheng Youqing said with red eyes: "My family's money and food are all gone, how can we afford to stay in the hospital? I just need to hold on for a few days."
Si Nan patted her waist in frustration and said, "Since you are not feeling well, why don't you ask the rescue team to send you to my house? There are doctors here, are you afraid that they can't cure you?"
"Hey, I'm dying, be gentle!" Sheng Youqing hissed in pain and glanced at Cheng Suming who was standing quietly behind Si Nan: "I just don't want to disturb you."
"What nonsense are you talking about? Are we still friends? Get up and follow me."
Si Nan pulled Sheng Youqing up, and Gao Moli hesitated and said, "I want to stay here. They said there is a boat going to Linjiang Wharf.
G City, I want to take that favorable boat ride. "
Si Nan frowned: "Is the news reliable? When are we leaving?"
Gao Moli said, "It was said by a man named Ou Li, who is also from City G. I heard him say that he has a private medium-to-large ship at Linjiang Wharf. He has been trying to salvage the ship for repairs these past few days, and he may set off in the next two days."
"Ou Li..." When Cheng Suming heard this name, he felt it sounded familiar. He frowned slightly, but he couldn't remember where he had heard it before.
"Have you seen this person?" Si Nan noticed his expression and asked curiously.
"No, I just thought it sounded familiar, I should have heard of it."
Si Nan said "oh" and turned to Gao Moli and said, "Whether the news you said is true or not, I think it is too dangerous for you, a woman, to take a boat back to G City with your child. Not to mention the long journey and the slow speed of the boat, it will take at least a month to travel from Xingcheng to G City by water. There may be a variety of dangerous situations on the road. Can you handle it alone?"
"If I don't go back, where can I live?" Gao Moli sighed and said, "According to the dream you told me before, this rain will last at least a year, and the whole world will be soaked in water for a year. During this period, there will be no water and electricity, no work, no source of income, and no food. It will be a problem for me and my children to eat and live. I can't always live in your and Qingqing's house, right? As the saying goes, brothers should settle accounts clearly. I can't always be so shameless as to eat and drink with you. If I go back to my parents' home, at least I have a place to live and my parents to love me, and I don't have to live alone in Xingcheng with my children."
Si Nan was speechless. She really wanted to tell Gao Moli that with all the supplies stored in her space, she could support them and their daughter for a lifetime.
But when she thought of the dream that Cheng Suming told her, she swallowed the words that were about to come out of her mouth.
After all, she is just an ordinary person who is selfish.
People are not what they seem, she even has doubts about Cheng Suming who has always been kind to her and knows the secret of her space. What's more, Gao Moli is willing to give up everything to raise her daughter.
In the end, Si Nan failed to convince Gao Moli and Sheng Youqing to go with her. Gao Moli insisted on staying, but Sheng Youqing didn't want to trouble the couple and wanted to wait for her father to pick her up.
Si Nan could only take out some compressed biscuits, high-calorie chocolate, some instant bread slices, and all the remaining money from his bag and share them with them.
In addition, they were given some common medicines for treating colds and fevers, stopping bleeding, antibiotics, etc. and asked to carry them with them.
At the same time, he took off his thick cotton coat and gave it to Gao Moli to wear, so that she would not freeze on the way home. Only then did he leave with Cheng Suming reluctantly.
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