"Xiao Jin!"
Upon entering the library, Xiao Jin found it to be a pretty good temporary shelter—quiet, clean, and safe. If nothing unexpected happened, she planned to stay there for the time being.
Once the rain stopped and the fool left, she put the lock back on the outside of the gate.
Tan Dong was unaware that Xiao Jin had already labeled him as a fool; at that moment, he was basking in the glory of learning the name of his savior.
"Xiao Jin, I understand, but what do you mean by saying the police can't care about this place?" Tan Dong asked.
Finding a spot with a good view and close to the stairs, Xiao Jin took off her protective suit and hung it aside, avoiding the acid rain on it.
The protective suit had been damp and stuffy all the way here, and Xiao Jin's hair was completely soaked with sweat.
Xiao Jin brushed the stray hairs from her forehead, took off her coat and placed it under her body, then sat on the floor against the wall.
"Do you still have a signal on your phone?"
To her surprise, Xiao Jin didn't get a response from Tan Dong after speaking for a long time. She looked over in confusion and saw that Tan Dong was staring straight at her.
When Xiao Jin was hiding from the acid rain, she wasn't wearing a protective suit, but she was wearing a mask and a middle-aged man's clothes that were loose and shapeless.
Entering the library at this moment, shedding her burdens, her delicate face, revealing her forehead, unexpectedly struck Tan Dong with a devastating blow. Her clear, bright eyes were as calm as water, and the white skin on her neck dazzled him.
Seeing Tan Dong's suddenly flushed face and shifty eyes, Xiao Jin tilted her head in confusion.
"Cough cough cough!" Coming to his senses, Tan Dong choked on his own saliva.
"You...how could you..." How could a grown man look like this!
"What?" Xiao Jin asked back.
"Cough! It's nothing, it's nothing." Tan Dong quickly turned her face away, afraid that Xiao Jin would know that she had been staring at her in a daze.
Recalling the previous conversation, Tan Dong hurriedly pulled out his phone, but after opening it, he immediately forgot what Xiao Jin looked like and his eyes were filled with disbelief.
Just as Xiao Jin had said, the cell phone signal had completely disappeared, and he couldn't make a call to the police.
"How could this happen!" Dejected, Tan Dong plopped down on the ground.
Xiao Jin: "It should be acid rain that damaged the signal base station." The concentration of acid rain that fell earlier was not high. Although it had some impact on communications, it was quickly restored to normal after emergency repairs.
This time it didn't work; the surrounding buildings were severely corroded, and the signal tower was no exception.
Moreover, almost all water resources have been polluted. All water resources exposed to the air and acid rain are unusable. Only sealed bottled water has been spared.
Thinking of this, Xiao Jin reminded Tan Dong beside her: "Your injuries need to be cleaned. Don't use the tap water in the building, use mineral water instead."
After saying that, she tossed him a tube of ointment.
Tan Dong wasn't stupid; he immediately understood Xiao Jin's meaning, but after understanding, his expression became even uglier.
If even the water is polluted, how can humans survive?
There were many vending machines in the library, so there was no need to go through the normal channels. He simply smashed the glass outside and took some bottled water to the restroom to treat his wounds from the acid rain.
After coming out, he sat on the stool with a sour face, no longer showing any curiosity towards Xiao Jin, but instead crossed his arms and seemed to be thinking about something.
This silence lasted until the rain stopped.
Although the entire city was without power, the clock hanging inside the library continued to turn relentlessly, its hands frozen at 8 o'clock, while outside it was deathly dark.
In the dimly lit library, the figure cosplaying as a stone statue finally moved. Perhaps because he had been in the same position for a long time, Tan Dong swayed slightly when he stood up.
He twisted his stiff joints and turned to look in the direction where Xiao Jin was sitting. Because it was too dark around him, Tan Dong could only see a rough outline.
The quiet atmosphere was broken.
"The rain has stopped, I'm planning to go home!" Tan Dong's voice was slightly hoarse.
After a long pause, the outline gave a soft "hmm".
Tan Dong took a deep breath: "Thank you for saving me, I will repay you..." He paused for a moment: "If you have nowhere to go, you can come with me."
Xiao Jin did not answer, and Tan Dong understood.
"I'm leaving. Take care of yourself." After saying that, Tan Dong left the library. On a nearby seat, a protective suit was neatly folded and placed.
Xiao Jin opened her eyes and stared at the chair for a long time.
...
The devastation following this acid rain exceeded the Chinese government's expectations.
Even with prior preparations, many people still died, and many ongoing projects suffered varying degrees of damage.
However, these difficulties did not stop the government from moving forward; on the contrary, it continued to accelerate the integration of various resources.
This time, the residents of China changed their previous reluctant attitude and became extremely cooperative with the series of announcements issued by the government. What are property and human rights more important than survival?
While disaster relief preparations are in full swing in China, people abroad are suffering.
They had previously mocked the Chinese government for making a mountain out of a molehill, but after yesterday afternoon's acid rain, those comments vanished completely.
Compared to China, which suffered casualties despite being prepared, the situation abroad was exceptionally dire.
The once bustling streets and pedestrian areas were now littered with countless corpses. The acid rain corroded the bodies, emitting an indescribable stench. The crowds trampled the fallen into a pile of mud.
Foreign governments that realized what had happened were filled with regret. While comforting the wounded, they quickly stopped exporting supplies from their own countries to China.
After all, this acid rain has already caused crop failure. If we sell domestic resources abroad, are we planning for the entire nation to starve?
When the person in charge of the order suddenly reneged on the contract, the Chinese government did not reprimand or force them. They decided to let it go while they were ahead, as the other party had already attracted enough attention.
However, don't expect to get a penny less in compensation for breach of contract. When the contract was signed, the Chinese representative had already taken precautions and didn't ask for foreign exchange, but for various rare acid-resistant materials.
After all, the raw materials for some materials can only be found overseas.
Back then, when the foreign officials saw that the Chinese government wasn't asking for money, they thought he was stupid. Now, they've become the fools.
After much pleading and cajoling, the foreign official, who was practically rolling on the ground in protest, managed to reduce the penalty for breach of contract by 30%.
The Chinese government agreed, after all, these materials were really needed domestically. What if they pushed the other side too far and then shamelessly refused to give them to them?
...
After Tan Dong left, Xiao Jin locked the outside door of the library as she had planned.
Returning to the corner where she had just rested, Xiao Jin found a single tent in her space and set it up there. She placed a moisture-proof mat at the bottom, an inflatable mattress on top, and a blanket and pillow on the mattress.
A camping lantern hangs from the top inside the tent, illuminating the small space.
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