Chapter 53: Extreme Cold Upgrade Extreme Cold
November 1st, the 123rd day of doomsday.
In the early morning, everything was quiet, with only the sound of the cold wind whistling outside the window.
People go out to chop wood and look for food during the day, and by the evening they are exhausted and fall asleep early.
"Bang!"
Suddenly, a loud bang exploded in the silent night, and the sound was so loud that it seemed to be right next to my ear.
"What's wrong? What happened?"
"Where did it explode?"
Everyone was awakened and looked around in panic, not understanding what was happening.
“Crackle!”
Immediately afterwards, hailstones the size of basketballs fell like cannonballs, hitting the roof, the ground, the doors and windows frantically, making a terrifying sound.
The nightmare has come to some residents who chose to stay at home instead of going to shelters.
In the face of huge hailstones, the window glass was as fragile as paper, and cracks appeared all over the window in the blink of an eye.
There was a loud bang and the glass exploded, leaving the whole room filled with fragments.
"Ah! It hurts. How can I fly so far?"
"Never mind the hail. Go to another room. It's too cold here."
"No, the glass in other rooms is broken too."
"What should we do? We'll freeze to death if we leave the windows open."
"Wow, I told you guys to go to the shelter and you guys didn't agree, now what?"
"Stop talking nonsense, bring some boards and stuff to block the windows."
The same scene happened in different homes. The sudden hail caught everyone off guard.
Even Qiao Qiao was awakened.
She carried Xiao Qiao to the second floor and squeezed on the earthen kang with her parents. The three of them were not sleepy at all, and they all looked at the horrific scene outside the window.
The branches of the trees that had not yet been cut down for the fire were all broken, and many small trees were even broken in half, lying on the ground in all directions.
Accompanied by the howling cold wind, it seemed that the whole world would be destroyed in the next second.
"Don't be afraid, it's okay." Qiao Huizhou hugged his daughter and comforted her.
Qiao Qiao huddled in her mother's arms, constantly comforting her angry little Qiao. "As long as we are together, I'm not afraid."
Qiao Xinghe and Qiao Huizhou smiled and stroked her head. "Yes, as long as the family is together, no difficulties can defeat us."
"Including you, Yueying." Qiao Qiao said to the shadow on the bed.
The shadow rolled over and bubbled up without making a sound.
But my heart is not as calm as it seems on the surface.
“Qiao Qiao…”
The hail lasted for six hours and gradually stopped until dawn.
Before people could recover from the sudden hailstorm, new disasters struck.
The cold raindrops quickly froze into ice as soon as they touched objects. The already bare branches of the trees could not bear the weight and broke one after another with a crackling sound.
The whole world seemed to be cast under a spell, and everything I saw was a frozen world.
Whether it is high-rise buildings or street communities, they are all covered with a thick layer of ice.
In the morning light, it reflects dazzling light.
The only thing to be thankful for was that the bungalow was flooded during the heavy rain, so there was no need to worry about being buried inside if the house suddenly collapsed while you were sleeping.
But the sudden hail and freezing rain also brought challenges to the shelters that were set up with great difficulty.
Due to time, manpower and cost factors, the shelter was built in an extremely hasty manner, and the materials used were mainly lightweight.
This brings about a hidden danger: poor ability to resist risks.
Yang Yi's family arrived early and were lucky enough to be admitted to the best shelter No. 1.
Although we could only eat dry compressed biscuits during this period, we didn’t have to worry about starving to death. The five stoves in the house were burning day and night, so we didn’t have to worry about freezing to death without knowing it.
Compared to home, the situation here is much better.
The only thing I couldn't adapt to was that there were too many people. The 500-square-meter room accommodated nearly 300 people, and each person had less than 2 square meters of space to move around in. People were crowded together when sleeping, and during the day, they could only move around in their own seats.
Too many people and too little land can easily lead to conflicts.
There have been many quarrels and fights in recent times, but they were all minor frictions and nothing happened after the authorities stopped them.
However, I heard that a group fight broke out in a shelter far away, resulting in one death. Naturally, all the people involved in the fight were taken away, and their fate is unknown.
The people in the shelter were all awakened by the loud noise.
"Mom, up there." The little boy pointed to the ceiling and curled up in his mother's arms.
"Oh my God!" Xia Zheng looked upwards and discovered the scene above her head.
The ceiling was dented by something unknown, and it was covered with creepy spots, as if it would collapse and fall at any second.
The shelter had no windows and was surrounded by steel plates. Everyone could only hear crackling sounds but had no idea what was happening.
The fear of the unknown spread, dealing a severe blow to everyone's already fragile nerves that were on the brink of collapse.
"Ah! What happened? Where are the staff!"
There was a sudden burst of panicked cries from the crowd, and the already crowded space became even more chaotic.
Someone brave enough opened the door to see what was going on.
"Bang!"
Who knew that as soon as he stretched his head out, he was hit by hailstones the size of basketballs. His head was instantly split open and blood was spilled all over the ground, just like watermelon juice spilled on the ground and instantly frozen due to the low temperature.
"ah!"
The people behind him screamed and retreated.
"It's hail!"
"Close the door quickly, I'm freezing."
"Why don't you turn it off?"
"You are close, so naturally you should go and shut it down."
"Whoever wants to go can go. I don't want to be chopped up by hail."
Those near the gate passed the buck to each other, and no one took the initiative to close the door.
"Get out of the way!" A girl who looked a little thin walked through the crowd, carrying an aluminum basin on her head, quickly closed the door and went into the house.
The girl took the basin away, and everyone saw that she had a face that could be noticed at a glance in the crowd, with a hint of beauty in her coldness.
Some people were puzzled, wondering why they hadn't noticed such a beauty in the shelter before.
Xia Zheng recognized this person at a glance, "She actually came here."
Yang Yi: "Isn't she the one with Jin Han and the others?"
Xia Zheng whispered, "Xia Momo, used to be an internet celebrity, but later I heard that she was forced to work for Jin Han."
Xia Momo noticed the gazes around her and felt a little annoyed that she had forgotten to wear a mask.
He glanced around and said, "What a loser! He doesn't even dare to do such a small thing."
The men who had been hiding in the back suddenly jumped up and asked, "What did you say?"
Xia Momo glanced at them, without giving them face, and continued: "I said you are a coward! A waste!"
"You tm..."
The man cursed and walked forward to grab Xia Momo by the collar.
Xia Momo was not in a hurry. She dodged lightly, and the man missed and almost fell to the ground. Before he could stand firm, Xia Momo pulled out a dagger from her arms and put it against his neck.
"Is that all you can do? And you still want to fight me?" Xia Momo said sarcastically.
"You dare!" The man was still stubborn.
"Really?" Xia Momo exerted force, and a streak of blood flowed from the man's neck.
"I was wrong, sister! I was wrong!" Although he couldn't see and the pain was slowed down by the cold, he reacted the moment he felt the chill on his neck. He immediately admitted his mistake and apologized without hesitation for a second.
The people around were surprised when they saw this. They didn't expect that such a fragile-looking beauty could be so cruel and start fighting right away.
The other people immediately stopped where they were. Getting injured in this situation would be tantamount to seeking death.
The cold, no medicine, lack of food and drink, and reduced resistance, a small cold can be fatal, not to mention bleeding.
Xia Momo looked coldly at the people who retreated, knowing in her heart that beauty would be a burden in the end times.
If she doesn't become stronger, there will be only two outcomes: either she will be disfigured, or she will become a plaything of the powerful.
After the Jin Han incident, she was tired of having to deal with people. So after their death, she kept training at home. Now with the addition of a dagger and a fire axe, it was no problem to fight three people at once.
Judging from the situation, he will have to stay in the shelter for a while if nothing unexpected happens. It is impossible for him to live with his face covered all the time. Sooner or later, someone will find him.
In this case, she naturally had to make a good start and leave everyone with the first impression that she was not someone to be trifled with, so that the days ahead would be peaceful and safe.
"ah!"
The screams outside distracted people.
"Where are the federal agents? They brought us here and left us alone?"
"Damn it, I gave the introducer a cigarette."
"I gave away all the designer clothes and bags at home so I could live here."
"What? You actually gave me a gift?"
No matter what the situation, gossip is always the most attractive, and a bunch of people gather around and prick up their ears.
"Of course, the introducer said that if you don't bring a gift, you will have to live in the shelter in the back."
"I didn't bring any gifts. I came the day after the notice was given. There were only a few people in the room at that time."
"You still have the leisure to talk about this. What's going on outside? Can this house withstand the hail?" Finally, someone couldn't stand it anymore and interrupted their conversation.
Yang Yi stepped forward and tried to calm everyone down: "Don't panic, let's see if we can find something to hold on to."
"Yes, find something quickly."
"We've all come to the shelter, so why would anyone bring anything with them?"
The ceiling was getting more and more sunken, and taller people were almost hitting their heads.
The crowd was rioting and running around, but it was hailing outside and they couldn't go out, so they could only push and bump into each other in this small space.
"Hey, don't squeeze me."
"Don't step on my bedding."
"Move over there, the ceiling here is about to leak!"
A stampede was about to happen.
Just then, the shelter manager finally arrived!
"Stop making noise! Everyone stay where you are! Don't move around randomly."
Several workers in federal uniforms and hard hats came in hurriedly with a pile of iron sheets and special battery-powered welding machines. They looked around the ceiling and started working.
First, knock the dented area back with a hammer, then cover the damaged area with iron sheet, and then use a battery-powered electric welder to weld it shut.
As the welding gun tip flashed a dazzling arc and made a slight hissing sound, a pungent smell began to spread in the air.
The people in the shelter watched the staff busying themselves quietly, with only the occasional sound of welding breaking the silence.
The man in the mink coat approached one of the federal officers who was maintaining discipline and asked, "Brother, what's going on out there?"
The federal officer handed him a stack of heating pads and reminded him worriedly: "The hail outside is very big. Some of our colleagues are injured. I see someone is in trouble at the door. Don't go out, okay?"
"Yeah, don't worry."
Soon, the ceiling of the shelter was repaired.
However, other shelters were not so lucky to be repaired in time.
Wang Yang was assigned to the last shelter because he arrived late. He waited and waited but no federal personnel came. He could only watch the ceiling sink more and more.
Finally, with a dull thud, a big hole appeared in the ceiling.
A large piece of ice fell from the ceiling, smashed into countless pieces on the ground, and the splashing ice chips scratched many people's skin.
"ah!"
The crowd let out a huge scream.
Then, there were more and more holes in the ceiling, and more and more hail fell.
Many people were unable to dodge and were injured. Some were lucky and were only hit on the body, while others were unlucky and were hit on the head, with blood all over their faces and frozen.
This time, the crowd went even crazier.
Some people even used others as shields to block the hail. At this moment, the ugliness of human nature was fully exposed.
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