Chapter 49 Plague [VIP]
Tang Tian hadn't had time to listen to the official radio station today, so she asked what it was, and Shen Boyun answered truthfully:
"Once the authorities realized there was going to be a plague, building shelters became the most important task, especially in areas like quarantine zones."
"However... after the flood receded, the silt left behind was too deep. So before that, there is the more important task of dredging."
"But while the work is underway, the authorities will continue to distribute supplies. This time, there are medicines among the supplies. Did you grab some?"
Tang Tian responded casually.
The plagues brought by floods are generally highly contagious diseases. Fortunately, they are not brand new diseases, otherwise the difficulty of human survival would be greatly increased.
Tang Tian couldn't help but think of the mutant piranha. But it was still a fish, after all. Without water and exposed to the scorching sun, it would probably be roasted to a pulp.
China has experienced several major epidemics, so it has some experience in this regard, but it will be more difficult and involve greater sacrifices than in the past.
The shelter is overcrowded, and once the plague spreads, it will be a dead end. Therefore, some people would rather live outside or seek refuge like Wei Mingyang and others, rather than go to the already opened shelter.
The hospital and clinic are now defunct in name only, but the authorities should have preserved some of the equipment and medicines, and they may have tried to collect them, but it is very likely that they will not be able to treat so many patients in time.
Tang Tian thought silently in her heart, and Shen Boyun also put away the insect repellent boxes.
However, just as he stood up, he staggered and seemed about to fall.
Tang Tian noticed and quickly went over to support him:
"Are you okay?"
"Thank you, I'm fine..."
Tang Tian pursed her lips and handed over two more keys.
"This is the key to the main gate. This gate is temporarily used to prevent the plague. I will open it regularly when I have the chance."
Tang Tian initially thought about keeping the door locked, but then thought again, firstly, there were neighbors and it might be inconvenient for them to come and go, and secondly, if there were any acute emergencies in the future, it would be impossible to lock and unlock the door all the time.
So we will seal it off temporarily, and if we don’t need it later, we can take the metals away.
The outdoor area has been disinfected for insects, but many insects are still breeding in the slightly dark corridor.
The plagues that followed the flood were mostly gastrointestinal diseases and insect-borne diseases, such as typhoid, dysentery, cholera, malaria, etc., which easily tortured the remaining survivors.
Compared to the various filthy sounds, the crying and howling gradually became louder.
Some people thought of the 17th floor, but at the same time they also remembered the ruthless attitude of killing people there, so they dared not go there again.
At the Tang family's house, Wei Mingxia found several Chinese medicinal seeds that could relieve the disease, and went to the constant temperature room to try to plant them using the wood attribute ability.
Although the system medicine field can also produce it, it is highly random and takes a long time.
But compared to fruits and vegetables, Chinese medicinal herbs take a long time to grow. Wei Mingxia exhausted her mental energy once, but not even a bud sprouted.
Tang Tian still went to the corridor to disinfect every few days as usual, and practiced her purification ability at the same time.
And when I looked down from the window at the end, I could actually see a team clearing the silt.
Those who are clearing the silt may not be officials, but they are probably recruited like the workers when reinforcing the dam. For the sake of food, there will definitely be people who do this dirty work.
Originally, the Shen family had this plan, but Yan Chunhua was afraid that Shen Boyun and Cheng Jing would be infected, and there would be no medicine to treat them by then.
If they were sent to quarantine again, they wouldn't be able to see each other for a long time. She was worried and didn't agree, so in the end they didn't go.
But it is impossible to clear away so much silt all at once, so we temporarily cleaned up the two sides and created a wide path in the middle so that at least people can walk around. The garbage and dead fish were all mixed into the mud.
A few days later, several cars with national flag patterns on them slowly drove in. After they stopped, several white-collar workers got out of the two leading cars.
The so-called "Dabai" refers to people wearing white one-piece protective suits, which are most common during epidemics.
But now the number of professional medical personnel has been greatly reduced, so the government can only rely on recruitment to fill the position of Dabai.
Also, because it involves the plague, one can be infected if one is not careful. The risk is high, but the reward is extremely high.
Even if they are infected, the supplies in the remuneration can be given to other relatives at home, so some people are willing to do it no matter how dangerous it is.
The tasks assigned to Dabai this time were, first, cleaning and disinfection, and second, sending the patients to the nearest isolation point.
The big white in the front was holding the roster, and the other big whites had already taken out the disinfection tools.
There are over a hundred people in the buildings in front of us, and at least three-quarters of them are infected, so there are so many cars following behind.
After a few brief instructions, the white-collar workers slowly entered the building and started working.
…
The entry of the white guards was like a wave, instantly making the building noisy.
Most people saw the rescue and hurried to leave, but quite a few were unwilling to leave for various reasons.
Some are afraid that their belongings will be stolen after they leave; some believe they are not sick, while others think that going to the quarantine center will make them sicker;
Some are afraid that there will be sequelae even after the disease is cured, and they are willing to go to the quarantine area only if they can continue to be supported by the authorities.
Someone is sick and sees that help is coming, but without saying a word, he throws the patient out of the house.
The children cried and banged on the door, begging not to abandon them, but were finally pulled away by Dabai.
The sound of footsteps was endless, even the Tang family noticed it.
"Quiet!--"
Dabai, who was holding the roster earlier, switched to a loud speaker and shouted, temporarily stopping the noise. He then said sternly:
"The higher-ups have mandated that confirmed infected patients must be isolated in the quarantine area. Anyone who disobeys orders or disrupts public order under any pretext will be sent to forced labor, and serious offenders will be executed!"
"Don't even think we can be nice. We're not real medical staff, so we don't care about your nonsense. If you dare to resist, the guy in my hand won't agree!"
Some residents wanted to get angry after being choked like this, but when they suddenly saw the black hole in Dabai's hand pointing at themselves, they were so scared that their legs and feet went limp, and they sat down on the ground and were dragged away.
Oh my god, that’s a real gun, most people have never seen it!
Seeing that Dabai seemed to be serious, people didn't dare to say anything more. They packed up their belongings and left the building in shame. Only then did the chaos subside.
But some patients seemed to have lost their last bit of rationality, or they didn't believe that the rescuers could really shoot. They struggled to break free from Dabai and ran to other places, trying to infect others. Some even directly pulled off the protective suit on Dabai.
Each of their eyes was red, filled with resentment and anger, as if they were completely unable to listen.
With a "bang", a huge bloody hole appeared on the forehead of the person who resisted first. The man died in an instant, with his eyes open.
The leader Dabai said without emotion:
"Take this corpse away with the others and burn them together!"
"If anyone wants to try, come on. This is self-defense and it's not against the law!"
Everyone began to tremble with fear, and some of the natives even remembered the pirates who had attacked some time ago.
After a simple cleaning of the vomit and excrement in the building, which was then disinfected with disinfectant, the white guards transferred the infected people from floor to floor.
Choi Soo-young belongs to the older generation and has seen this kind of plague before. She barely survived by relying on the food and medicine hidden in her home. She and her grandson were not taken away for quarantine.
Wei Mingyang and Wei Qian also still lived in 1602 across the street, but since Wei Yu's death, the former had gone a little crazy and had left Wei Yu's body at home to rot. In the end, Wei Qian couldn't stand it anymore and cleaned it up.
Later, the father and son relied on the little remaining food and disinfectant to survive until now. They rarely went out and avoided being infected, but they are basically no longer in human form.
The Baibais went all the way to the 17th floor and opened the closed door, but were all surprised.
This floor was completely free of dirt and looked as if it had been cleaned. It was almost no different from before.
If they weren't wearing masks, they would probably still be able to smell the disinfectant.
The leader, Dabai, glanced at the roster and went up to knock on the door of No. 1701.
Tang Tian quickly opened the window on the door.
Ever since she saw those cars approaching, she had already made all the preparations: turning off the air conditioner, opening the door, and so on.
Dabai didn't mean to take everyone away no matter what. Besides, the corridor was so clean, and these two families must have the supplies and people with the ability, so they would not necessarily be infected. They were happy to relax.
Sure enough, after a few questions and everyone’s temperature was taken, no one in the Tang family needed to be quarantined.
But Tang Tian didn't want to end it so quickly. She handed a cigarette to the window and asked with a smile:
"Uncle, can I ask you something?"
Although she also stockpiled tobacco, this was the half pack of Huazi she took from Zhou Ping, so she didn't waste anything.
Besides, nowadays just a cigarette can make some people smile.
The leader Dabai was indeed happy. After taking it, he asked:
"You're so polite. What do you want to ask?"
This was probably Tang Tian's channel to learn about external trends and some inside information, so he quickly inquired about it.
The leader, Dabai, put away his cigarette and told everything in a very good mood.
The floods receded, but the temperature continued to rise. So, in addition to marking out more territory for the construction of above-ground shelters, the officials also had to relocate the air-raid shelters.
In addition, the authorities are also preparing to repair the power grid, build a water purification plant, and resume some production, and supplies are also being distributed in an orderly manner.
When talking about the extreme cold at the beginning, some people are still afraid, including the officials.
Now we can see that the temperature has climbed to 4 degrees Celsius, and there is no guarantee that it will continue to rise in the future, turning from extreme cold to extreme heat. Some things must be done early.
Seeing that there were only a few floors left, the leader Dabai was not in a hurry. He just took a break and talked about some extra things.
Among them are the pirates.
It is said that the authorities have been preparing to send people to wipe out the bandits, but after several rounds, the evil bandits disappeared and only a few groups of robbers were seen on the road.
They were all captured, but they were not the pirates from before. They were just ordinary people who had done these things out of necessity.
As the saying goes, there are always people who are better than you. The authorities believe that the group of pirates has most likely been eliminated, so it is a good time to get back to doing business.
Tang Tian nodded after listening to this. It seemed that Kang Jingguo and his men had indeed been completely defeated.
Before Dabai left, she gave him a few more Huazi cigarettes, and that was the end of it.
…
After measurement, the Shen family did not need to be quarantined, so everyone was happy.
But as peaceful and harmonious as the 17th floor is, the other floors are as chaotic.
Two children from two families on the 18th floor were sick. Dabai wanted to take them away but was refused.
Gao Lan, in particular, refused to let the child leave her sight and even reached out to greet him. If it weren't for the mask, she would have probably received a few scratches on her face.
The leader Dabai, who had just felt very comfortable on the 17th floor, could not stand this and just took the child away.
The person living next door to Li Feiyang had already died. He took protective measures and disposed of the body, and barely did some disinfection. In addition, he had never gone out, so fortunately he was not infected and passed the test.
Qiu Hongwei on the 20th floor was a man of insight and followed orders to leave temporarily.
But he still thought about coming back later. After all, Tang Tian was so powerful, it was definitely safer than the official shelter.
After the inspection, the doctors hurriedly left the floor, fearing that they would be infected if they stayed for another second. The building suddenly became much quieter, so quiet that one could even hear the sound of the sun baking.
Tang Tian looked down with a telescope. Some patients got on the bus alone, while some were accompanied by large and small bags. Many people came down from several buildings, and there was a fixed spot where corpses were placed.
It turns out that there is an open truck at the end where all the bodies will be thrown. They should then be taken to the incineration site for centralized burning.
The corpses gradually piled up, and then piled higher, with a large number of maggots swarming on them and flies flying around them.
After a while, the convoy finally began to move slowly until it went away into the distance.
Tang Tian put away the telescope and sighed.
At that time, Wei Mingxia, Tang Yi, and even Tang Zirui were sick. If they really couldn't find medical treatment, they would probably be the ones taken away by one of the cars.
Dabai left and probably won't come back for a long time. Tang Tian prepared to do the final disinfection. As long as the people in the building didn't make trouble, there probably wouldn't be any more trouble.
Unfortunately, the development of the situation was not something Tang Tian could have anticipated or avoided in advance.
That day she went out to disinfect the corridor, and Shen Boyun also came to help.
Tang Tian opened the door to get rid of the smell, but not long after, someone suddenly rushed in with something in his hand and stabbed her without saying a word!
Shen Boyun's reaction was more like a muscle habit. He immediately raised his foot and kicked the sharp weapon in the hand away, and then kicked the man away with another kick.
Now everyone is hungry, and kicking is like kicking a piece of thin paper.
The man fell to the ground with a howl, but he still cursed with the strength he didn't know where he got from:
"Tang Tian! You bitch, it's all because of you, it's all because of you that my mom and I ended up like this!"
Tang Tian looked forward and unexpectedly saw Yue Ming.
He wasn't infected, wasn't taken away by Dabai? It was also miraculous.
Shen Boyun kicked the sharp weapon away again, even though it was just a screwdriver, not even a knife.
But the attack just now obviously used up all the strength of his body, and being stabbed in the body was no joke.
Thinking of this, his eyes became stern, he raised his foot and stepped on Yue Ming's chest, saying sternly:
"Shut up! I'll cut off your tongue!"
Yue Ming's eyes were red, but his face still showed unwillingness.
Zhang Manxin has doted on him since he was a child and successfully raised him to be a qualified mama's boy, which is why he still hasn't married.
Until the end of the world, although Zhang Manxin was removed from her position as building manager, she still felt sorry for Yue Ming who was not well fed and clothed, so she left most of the family supplies to him. Naturally, Yue Ming only sided with his mother.
After the kowtow incident, Yue Ming went to find Qiu Hongwei and wanted to join the team.
But the latter had already known what had happened before, so he rejected his request.
The mother and son had no choice but to curse the Tang family while continuing to live.
The last time relief supplies were delivered, they missed out. Now there's another plague, and Zhang Manxin finally fell ill from exhaustion and was forcibly sent to an isolation point by Dabai.
After Zhang Manxin left, Yue Ming was almost collapsed. He wanted to take advantage of the fact that there were fewer people around and the door to the 17th floor was opened again to give Tang Tian a fatal blow, but he didn't expect that he was still outnumbered.
Yue Ming spat and shouted:
"Chen Boyun, what benefit did she give you that you are so protective of her? You are her mistress, right? You two are bitches!——"
However, before he could finish his words, Tang Tian took out a dagger and plunged it into Yue Ming's mouth. While stirring, he said calmly with a cry of pain:
"Officer Shen, people won't learn by just talking. They need to practice!"
But Yue Ming was not sent away, and he still had a strong urge to attack himself. This guy could not be kept any longer.
So Tang Tian took out the dagger and quickly cut his neck again.
Yue Ming could no longer roar, but only coughed up blood, and finally twitched weakly a few times before dying.
Putting away the dagger, Tang Tian turned around and said:
"This corpse also needs to be dealt with."
Also, during floods, you can just throw the bodies down and they will flow away somewhere else, but that doesn’t really work now.
Shen Boyun's face was already flushed due to the heat, but now it seemed to be even redder, even to the neck.
He still agreed to deal with the corpse even though it was just a question of disposing of it. After returning to clean up, Tang Tian found a large storage bag and placed Yue Ming's body inside. This way, they could just carry it down without touching it.
Yue Ming wasn't ill, so the corpse couldn't be the source of infection. Tang Tian then found a deep muddy area and buried the body there, hoping the high temperatures would turn it into water, making it invisible to anyone.
Back in the corridor, I had to wipe the blood and disinfect, and finally finished everything.
…
The building was quiet, and Tang Tian felt much more at peace, but also a little uncomfortable.
Until this day, the sound of a loudspeaker suddenly came from downstairs.
She listened carefully and found that it was not Dabai who came to check and send people to quarantine, but several official personnel who were recruiting on the move.
The job is naturally still dredging, but there are very few healthy people now, so recruitment must be carried out in every corner to ensure that no useful labor force is left behind.
The loudspeaker was automatically broadcasting the recruitment information over and over again, especially the salary that everyone was concerned about, which was indeed quite high.
Before long, the Shen family, the Qian family, the Chen family, and Li Feiyang all wanted to work.
Choi Soo-young never wanted to get involved, but for the sake of her grandson and the reward, she had to join in.
Seeing his father's spirit leaving his body, Wei Qian wondered if he had finally come to his senses and decided to support his shattered family on his own. Fortunately, he didn't go looking for trouble with the Tang family, but chose to go back to work.
There was another person, the locksmith who had tried to open the Tang family lock twice before.
This man's name is Huang Kai. Before the end of the world, he was a registered employee of a lock-opening company. From time to time, he would shoot some videos and post them on his own media. He didn't live a wealthy life, but he lived a comfortable life.
But everything changed after the apocalypse. After his wife and children died, he only knew how to pick locks. From then on, he was recruited by different groups just to pick other people's locks.
At first he thought it was illegal and refused to do it, but as the supplies around him became less and less and he was threatened by more powerful people, he became more and more depraved.
At first, it was just a few people in the building cooperating secretly, but later they were recruited by the security department.
But it wasn't long before the security department was breached. Every time I tried to join other teams, they were killed, and in the end, I could only take on odd jobs.
But no matter who he works for, Huang Kai will tell them that the lock of 1701 cannot be opened.
You know, he still has nightmares occasionally about what happened in 1701.
Recently, Sun Gaohan moved into Building 15 and seemed to be interested in cooperating with me.
But before the deal was concluded, the plague hit, and Huang Kai couldn't even get odd jobs, so he had to join in the dredging work.
If you want to work, just go downstairs and find the official to register. The official will provide shovels and other tools, but you need to provide your own protection.
During the dredging process, a storage area was set up for the silt, and vehicles would come twice a day to collect the silt. They would collect the silt and receive daily payment, and this process would continue day after day.
Shen Boyun and Cheng Jing put on the protective clothing they had accidentally found when they went out and went to work, as well as rubber rain boots. After all, there might be all kinds of broken sharp objects in the silt, sand and mud.
After working for a day, they received their wages on the same day.
As usual, there were foods like instant noodles, compressed biscuits, canned food, and mineral water. A few times, they even gave us summer heat relief medicine, which was a very good reward considering the current situation.
With such good conditions, the dredging work proceeded smoothly.
Although there are some discordant things happening, such as Choi Soo-young being too tired and wanting others to help her, Gao Lan being dissatisfied with the low salary, and Qi Chang wanting to see his own child, these are just like a drop of water falling into the waves, not a big problem.
So before long, the silt that was originally divided into two sides gradually decreased in height, and the original ground was gradually exposed.
Occasionally, a sprinkler truck filled with disinfectant will pass by here, make a circle and spray, which is considered as re-disinfection.
Tang Tian looked at the masterpieces of the people downstairs and thought that she would probably be able to go out after a while.
Although her home uses solar energy to cool down every day, she can't always bring the air conditioner with her when she goes out, so she started studying her supernatural powers again.
If you want to cool down, the ice attribute ability in orange dishes is the best choice.
Tang Tian took a quick look and found that everything inside was what she liked.
But she first unlocked and made three cups of iced lemon tea with ice attribute level 1 to test her ability.
Tiny water droplets appeared on the wall of the cup, which was filled with brown tea.
The mother, daughter and her two daughters drank it together. The rich tea was slightly bitter, with a hint of lemon sourness in the aftertaste. The fragrance lingered between the lips and teeth for a long time, and it was very refreshing and thirst-quenching.
Tan Tan looked at what the three of them were drinking and her eyes watered again at the crystal pendant.
The puppy is greedy, but he is not in a hurry because his owner can always make delicious food for him.
Tang Tian deliberately turned off the air conditioner as an experiment. In the end, she felt that this was similar to red cuisine. The LV1 level was about five degrees Celsius rising and falling.
With the current temperature over 40 degrees, LV3/4 ice attribute dishes are enough.
"Buzz...buzz..."
Suddenly, the sound of helicopter rotors was heard outside again, and it became louder and closer to the building, and it seemed to be still on the roof.
Is this another airdrop?
The interval between this and the last time was not long. It seemed that Dabai was not just talking casually. The speed of distributing supplies was indeed much faster.
Because there are few people in the building, the messy situation like last time should not happen again, so Tang Tian decided to go to the rooftop to take a look this time.
Of course, she might need to make some preparations before going...
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