Chapter 21 Freezing Rain【VIP】
Before we knew it, the temperature had dropped to minus 45 degrees Celsius, and the world truly became a huge crystal clear ice cave.
Not only was there a thick layer of transparent ice on the ground, but there were also telephone poles and trees broken by the rime everywhere, and even some sheds and self-built houses were collapsed.
The communication base station was probably destroyed by the freezing rain, and the signal was extremely poor. There were either no messages in the group chat, or a long string of messages were spit out in one breath, and there was no network connection most of the time.
The news was also mostly bad: someone froze to death, or someone simply ate everything edible at home and then committed suicide.
But suicide also requires courage. Most people who are freezing and starving are still afraid of death, so most of the messages are still requests for help.
The property management committee is struggling to protect itself and is almost on the verge of disbanding.
The last message they sent was to remind residents not to sleep completely at night. It would be best to take turns to keep watch and try to use primitive methods such as making fire to keep warm. After that, no matter how many times they tagged me, they would not respond.
The residents were furious. They were waiting for the property management committee to contact outside help, but they just left them like that?
But when we braved the extreme cold to go to the building where they were, we found that there was no one and nothing inside. It was obvious that they had packed up and run away.
Without power communications, official news cannot reach everyone.
Occasionally, some people tune into the national radio station through radios or other devices, but not everyone has such old items at home.
Fortunately, there is a rich second-generation man living alone in Building 15. He doesn’t like playing or starting a business, but he is only interested in outdoor survival and camping, and he has a lot of props at home.
But he was not stupid and did not tell anyone, but he was happy to share his radio.
Zhang Manxin was overjoyed when she heard the news. She immediately notified each household in the group to send one person to attend the meeting in Room 201 downstairs when there was internet access.
There was originally a family of two living in 201. They didn't freeze to death in Hexinyuan, but they moved away. Unlike other houses with frozen corpses, it was a good place for people to gather.
After seeing the news, Wei Mingxia asked Tang Tian if she wanted to go.
The latter thought about it and decided to go once.
This probably also means counting the survivors. If the Tang family does not go out, they will be more likely to be targeted than if they show up.
So she dressed warmly from head to toe, ate a bag of spicy noodles, comforted Tan Tan who wanted to go out with her, and then left home.
I don’t know if it was an illusion, but it seemed as if even the ceiling of the corridor was covered with a thin layer of ice, and the cold was unstoppable.
Shen Boyun also walked out of 1702. The two looked at each other, still silent, as if their breath would turn to ice if they opened their mouths.
“Shen Boyun, and my buddy Cheng Jing.”
He covered his mouth and mumbled something.
But in the only pair of dark pupils that were exposed, there seemed to be a tiny bit of light reflected from the ice.
"Tang Tian."
Tang Tian understood what he meant. After all, the two families had helped each other in the past, and both wanted to survive in the apocalypse. Perhaps there would be opportunities for cooperation in the future. Although the two had met many times, they still didn't know each other's names.
Shen Boyun nodded and stopped disturbing them. They went downstairs one after another.
…
The door of Room 201 was wide open. When Tang Tian went in, the temperature was almost the same as outside.
There were already a few scattered silent people in the room. Zhang Manxin was pacing anxiously with her cell phone in hand, and Yue Ming was shivering beside her.
Seeing Tang Tian coming, he immediately raised his head, but then looked away disappointedly.
There was a complete set of leather sofas in the living room of Room 201. Tang Tian sat down on the edge without any hesitation, curling up slightly.
In Shen Boyun's view, he was just like a little hedgehog who was on guard against everyone.
Not bad.
As more people arrived, there were more complaints and grumblings, mixed with a little sobbing.
"The elderly man next door to me has died. I'm afraid none of the elderly people in our building will survive this disaster."
"Not to mention the elderly, even the children can't stand it, and now the hospitals are basically closed!"
"When will the next wave of rescue arrive? I really have no idea..."
Until the end, there were only about twenty people in the room, and most of them were young and middle-aged people. This means that these twenty or so families were the only ones who survived in the building.
They didn't die completely, probably because at least there was water to drink.
The last person to come in was holding a hand-cranked radio. Zhang Manxin was overjoyed when she saw it, and hurried forward and said with a smile:
"Xiao Li, you're finally here! We've been waiting for you!"
Li Feiyang put the radio in his hand on the table, without saying anything, while adjusting it, he answered:
"Boss Zhang, I'm fully charged. I just need to tune into the national radio station to receive the news."
He turned the volume up to maximum and heard a crackling sound.
Everyone stopped talking and looked at the radio expectantly.
Tang Tian also listened quietly. There were only a few things playing around the clock:
Officials are working to transport supplies, regulate prices, and remove ice.
It is just the de-icing work, and we must mobilize the power of the people to join in the work.
In addition, most of the air-raid shelters in Chuncheng have been opened up by the government as extreme cold shelters in history, and others who want to go can also go there on their own.
It sounds exactly the same as before. It doesn't disappoint the people, but it's not necessarily good news either.
After the news circulated twice, several people plopped down on the cold floor and cried loudly:
"There's no rescue! Oh my god, isn't this a deliberate attempt to kill us?!"
"The shelter is so far away? Isn't there one in Area S? Wouldn't we be dead on the way?"
"What's wrong with the officials? It's so cold, and they want us to remove the ice together? How is it possible?"
"I have no idea when I can stock up again. I heard all the supermarkets nearby have been smashed..."
An atmosphere of discouragement, despair, and negativity immediately filled the air. Even those who didn't cry felt a lump in their throats, but as soon as their tears started to fall, they were quickly frozen.
Someone even shouted in a hoarse voice:
"God damn it! I've lived for decades and this is the weather! This has to be the end of the world!"
Li Feiyang, who brought the radio, also had a serious expression on his face, but he was thinking in his mind whether there were enough supplies at home and whether he should go to the shelter set up by the government.
…
There was constant sound of chest-beating and crying.
Most of the supplies in Zhang Manxin's home were left to Yue Ming. The mother and son were so frugal that they were still cold and hungry. After hearing the news, they felt dizzy again and again.
After being helped up by the latter, she looked carefully and saw that everyone was gathered around the table, even Shen Boyun had moved closer, but Tang Tian was sitting on the farthest sofa, as if nothing had happened.
Zhang Manxin immediately became furious, pointing at Tang Tian and angrily shouting:
"Why aren't you anxious at all? Do you have any supplies at home? I've told you so many times that as a new neighbor, you should integrate here as soon as possible. Now is a special situation, and we must unite and help each other. You have supplies but you keep them for yourself. How selfish!"
Stimulated by these words, the people who were crying came to their senses and looked at Tang Tian in unison. One by one, they stood up again as if by some medical miracle, and began to persuade her earnestly to hand over the supplies.
What a huge blame was put on me!
Tang Tian was not angry, but just straightened up slightly and sneered:
"You know we're new here, so how can you be so sure I have supplies? Instead of doubting me, you're using your power for personal gain, secretly withholding supplies from the people in the building. That's proven! How many people have died because they didn't have those few supplies? Aren't you afraid of retribution, like ghosts knocking on your door in the middle of the night?!"
Everyone can put accusations on others, and Zhang Manxin has actually done it.
Obviously, her words made a lot of sense, and everyone turned to look at the latter, becoming even more indignant.
Zhang Manxin is the type who treats people differently based on their status, and the families from which she withholds supplies all have more female members.
If they had not checked the accounts with a few companies with whom they had good relations and found that there were some supplies with different amounts, which looked strange no matter how they looked at it, they would not have confronted the former and only discovered the truth in the end.
Zhang Manxin's face turned pale instantly, and she hesitated but could not refute it. Yue Ming, on the other hand, protected his own mother and stood up and said:
"Ever since the hailstorm, my mom has been diligently organizing the group's affairs. What's wrong with getting a few extra supplies? Besides, she's been the building manager for so many years. It's just this one time, isn't it? Didn't she return it to you later? You're still holding on to that little thing. Have you forgotten all the kindness we had in the past?"
Yue Ming was quite good at confusing right and wrong, but unfortunately the families who had lost their loved ones obviously didn't buy it and rushed forward like zombies.
Tang Tian curled her lips. She was quite happy to watch dogs fight each other.
"Alright! Stop arguing!"
Unexpectedly, in the end, it was Li Feiyang who spoke.
"What's the point of arguing? If you're not happy, just change the building manager. The neighborhood committee is useless now anyway!"
After hearing this, everyone calmed down. However, some people were still angry and continued to grab Yue Ming and kick him a few times before giving up.
Although the suggestion has been made, who will be the new building manager? In any case, this is a mess that no one wants to take over.
Seeing that Shen Boyun, who used to be a policeman, was also there, someone suggested that he do it, but the latter sternly refused.
"What's the point of electing a building leader? They're all doing well now! Buildings 14 and 16 next door have already organized teams to go out and look for supplies. If we're still stuck here, how can we not starve to death?"
A tall, middle-aged man spat, breaking the rigid norm and hitting the nail on the head.
901 Wang Hui’s two elders could not withstand the severe cold and have passed away. However, all the funeral homes are now closed and even the bodies can only be temporarily kept at home.
When he thought of this, he said sadly:
"So many people have died, and the authorities haven't made any progress. We can't just sit there and wait for death! I suggest that Building 15 organize some people to go out and search for supplies. I'll go first, who's going to follow?"
After Wang Hui finished speaking, several more men raised their hands. They were basically the pillars of their families.
But some people are also worried, thinking that going out in this temperature is undoubtedly courting death, and it is better to continue waiting for rescue.
Seeing that there were five or six people willing, Wang Hui immediately took them out of the room. It seemed that he didn't want to bother with those who didn't even dare to fight.
The others began to panic and hurried over to discuss the matter. Zhang Manxin, who appeared to have suffered several scratches on her face, sat on the floor crying. The scene remained chaotic.
Seeing this, Tang Tian also stood up and prepared to go back. After such a commotion, the effect of the spicy strips was almost over.
However, when she looked up again, she saw Li Feiyang holding a radio, his face full of worry, and he sighed.
Tang Tian raised her eyebrows. She keenly felt that she seemed to have received a task from an NPC.
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