One day in the summer of the third year of the natural disaster.
That day, Qiao Qingqing was massaging Qiao Songzhi's back when she suddenly felt the room was stuffy. She raised her hand to wipe her forehead and actually felt sweat.
"It seems a bit hot." Qiao Songzhi said she was sweating, and said with a smile that Qiao Qingqing's skills had improved, and she massaged the acupoints very well, and sweating must be detoxifying.
Qiao Qingqing didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "It's not that amazing, it's just a little hot, I'll take off my coat."
The floor heating was on in the room. Qiao Songzhi twisted her waist yesterday, so she turned on the floor heating to warm up the room for her mother's massage. At this time, she didn't think too much. She took off her coat first, then a sweater. After taking off the sweater, she still felt hot, so she took off another one.
"It's really hot." Qiao Songzhi, who was only wearing one piece of clothing, sat up, frowned and fanned himself with his hands, "How high is the floor heating?"
Qiao Qingqing answered casually, "Twenty." The expression on her face suddenly froze. She quickly threw the vest she took off on the bed, rushed to the window and opened it.
The window, which had not been opened for a long time, was a little sluggish. When it was pulled open with force, melted water flowed in and dripped onto Qiao Qingqing's hands.
It's not ice water, the water is room temperature.
Looking up, the roof was also dripping, and looking sideways, you could see ice water sliding down the wall, leaving mottled water marks. The ice layer on the outer wall was melting and disintegrating. Looking far away, Qiao Qingqing seemed to see reflections on the ice surface, which was the dazzling refraction of the melted ice water in the sun——
Sunlight?
Qiao Qingqing looked up again and saw the existence that she had just ignored.
That was the sun, half of its face covered by dark clouds, which had not been seen for three years!
"The sun is out?! Oh my God, there hasn't been any sun in a few years, and it's hard to grow vegetables... What happened? Why is the water dripping?" Qiao Songzhi came over, looking surprised and shocked.
"It's getting warmer." Qiao Qingqing murmured, and the next moment she rushed out of the room.
Outside, Shao Shengan and the others were also feeling hot and were taking off their clothes. Qiao Qingqing reminded them loudly:
"The temperature is rising! The ice is melting!"
"The temperature has risen?" Shao Sheng'an was stunned for a moment. He looked down at the down jacket in his hand. No wonder he felt hot and stuffy.
"As the temperature rises sharply, the ice will melt quickly, and it will be very dangerous for people standing on the ice. We need to warn others."
Her serious attitude infected Shao's father and the others. Shao Shengan threw his coat on the sofa and immediately went into the utility room to get something: "I'll find the speaker!"
Father Shao also hurriedly said: "Then I will go and inform the neighbors."
At around two o'clock in the afternoon, the temperature, which had been low for more than two years, finally warmed up. It rose from more than sixty degrees below zero at a lightning speed, achieving N-level jumps, breaking through zero in the blink of an eye and rushing to fifteen degrees Celsius in an instant.
Less than five minutes have passed since the temperature rise was discovered!
Qiao Songzhi stared at the thermometer in amazement, and finally understood why her daughter was so anxious. No wonder it was so hot all of a sudden, they were wearing so many clothes, so they were sweating like steamed dumplings!
Shao Shengan used a microphone to notify the residents of this building, and then notified the neighboring buildings.
"The temperature is rising! Everyone, be careful! The temperature is rising! Be careful of the ice breaking! Don't go out!"
The horn blared throughout the neighborhood. Mrs. Zheng angrily cursed, "What a psycho! You disturbed my nap!" Zheng Liangying took off a coat and said, "Mom, it seems the temperature has risen. It's so hot. I'm dizzy."
"It's going to get hotter, it's a good thing. There's no need to make a fuss about it. It's like a disaster is about to happen."
"That's right..." Zheng Liangying opened the window, feeling the long-lost warm wind, and couldn't help but smile happily, "It's finally warm! I've been looking forward to this day for a long time. I'm tired of wearing this stinky cotton jacket! I want to wear a skirt and suspenders!"
Mrs. Zheng also hoped: "This damn weather will end soon. I am going to get moldy staying at home!"
In the room, Zheng Liangdong was lying on the bed in a daze. He also heard the noise outside, but he just sneered with the corners of his mouth and continued to close his eyes.
Be happy, be cheerful, worse things are yet to come.
As for his father who worked outside, Zheng Liangdong was not worried. His father was fine in his previous life, so what could go wrong in this life? This life was so fucking annoying that he didn't have the courage to commit suicide again. He wished he could press the fast-forward button and let everything come to an end quickly!
The residents of 701 and 702 also responded. Family members of these two households also work outside, but everyone is happy about the rising temperature and did not think it was a big problem at first.
"It's good that the temperature has risen. I've been freezing to death these past two years!"
"It's not that easy to crack. This damn ice is so thick!"
The children cheered and wanted to rush downstairs to play. Qiao Qingqing looked stern and warned, "When the temperature dropped sharply, it suddenly dropped by dozens of degrees. The temperature dropped in the middle of the night, and the accumulated water froze the next morning. At that time, some people were directly frozen under the water! If the temperature rises to 20 degrees Celsius, 30 degrees Celsius or 40 degrees Celsius in a short period of time like the sharp drop this time, what do you think will happen?"
Grandma Wang's face changed drastically: "Jia Le is still working outside. He said he was going to dig up some factory equipment today!"
"I'll go find him!"
"It's very dangerous to go out now. I might not be able to find anyone to take me out first."
Wang Jiale's wife was anxious: "You are the one who is saying everything, what should we do?"
Qiao Qingqing said calmly: "Stay at home and don't go out. This is the best support for your relatives outside."
"How can you do this? You are abandoning them! No! You are too cruel!"
"Qingqing, your family is not outside, otherwise you would never say such a thing!"
The accusatory looks and words from others had no effect on Qiao Qingqing. She was only making suggestions based on her experience. The decision was in their own hands.
Grandma Wang made a disappointed accusation, and Qiao Qingqing replied: "That's right, because my relatives are all at home, so I can give you some suggestions so calmly and rationally. If my mother was outside now, I would go to pick her up no matter how difficult it was. It doesn't matter if you say I'm cruel, in the final analysis, this matter is up to you to make the decision."
"Qingqing, let's go home." Shao Shengan pulled her hand.
"Then we'll go back first. If you want to go out, be sure to take protective measures." Qiao Qingqing nodded at them and climbed the stairs back to the eighth floor with Shao Shengan.
There is usually a thin layer of ice at the door of my house, but at this time the thin layer of ice has melted into water, soaking the door.
"Step on it and dry your shoes before you come in." Shao's mother took a piece of torn clothes and spread it on the floor. "The doormat we put before is already wet!"
When they entered the house, Qiao Qingqing asked Shao Shengan not to close the door: "Let's ventilate. I'll go open all the windows."
"I know, but people outside can see our house if they pass by. I'll hang a bed sheet at the door to block it."
The ice on the outer wall completely melted in the past ten minutes, and the ice water flowed down. Qiao Songzhi had been paying attention to the thermometer. When he saw Qiao Qingqing coming back, he hurriedly reported: "It's already 21 degrees Celsius! Oh my God, boiling water can't be so fast! Less than half an hour, less than half an hour! What's wrong with this weather, what's wrong!"
Everyone started taking off their clothes one by one. Half an hour ago, they were wrapped up like polar bears, but now they were only wearing single layers of clothing.
"No, I think it's too hot. There's no wind at all."
"We didn't bring summer clothes when we came—"
Shao Shengan said hurriedly: "Qingqing bought you clothes for all four seasons. I'll go get them now."
Soon, everyone took off their clothes and put on summer clothes.
"It's too hot. The room is so stuffy." Shao's mother fanned the room with her hands.
"We have fans at home, let's use them first." Qiao Qingqing entered the room and took out a dozen fans from the space. Two fans were enough for each person to fan with both hands at the same time. She tied her hair up and faced the sudden temperature rise in an orderly manner from beginning to end.
"The house needs to be ventilated and disinfected. I've got the disinfectant out. Dad, you start disinfecting from the terrace. We still have to seal the doors and windows after that. I'm afraid cockroaches will start to proliferate after the temperature rises." Epidemic prevention work must be done as soon as possible.
Then he said to Qiao Songzhi, "Mom, I'm afraid the food in the kitchen will go bad, so let's cook it all and eat it tonight."
Shao's mother asked hurriedly: "What about me? What should I do?"
"Mom, let's wash clothes and quilts with Sheng An. The temperature dropped suddenly before, and the water in the water tank was frozen. It should have melted now, and it is definitely not drinkable. Let's use it to wash clothes." The sun will get bigger and bigger, which is just right for disinfecting clothes.
Shao Shengfei also had a job, which was to sit on the balcony and stare at the ice surface downstairs.
"This is a very important task, can you do it, brother?"
Shao Shengfei nodded vigorously: "I can do it!"
Everyone in the family had work to do, which greatly alleviated the panic caused by the sudden change in climate.
But things outside soon became chaotic.
Because of the extremely low temperatures, even without the sun, people still think this time is the warmest time of the day, so this is when most people go out.
"The temperature is rising! People outside, please find shelter in buildings! Stay away from the ice!" More than ten minutes ago, Shao Shengan's voice was transmitted through the loudspeaker.
On the road outside the community, a group of people who were out digging wood heard the noise and looked at each other.
"Did you hear that? What is that man shouting?"
"It seems that the temperature has risen - oh, yes, it must have risen. My neck is sweating. I thought I was just angry."
"No way, I haven't experienced what it feels like to sweat for a long time. It seems to be really hot."
People who are outside are actually the first to feel the temperature change. They are surprised, delighted, and excited. Everyone is happy and joyful at first. Who likes this kind of weather? They are freezing to death!
Warming up is good, warming up is wonderful, it is really a great thing.
But no one expected that the temperature would rise so quickly, and soon the joy was replaced by fear. I don’t know who was the first to notice that something was wrong with the ice under their feet.
"I heard something cracking under my feet. Did you hear it?"
"It seems like my feet are shaking. Do you feel this way?"
At the Jinyuan Community shelter, the garrison troops on the supply ship discovered the problem at the first moment.
"The ice surface is melting! The ice at the bottom is also melting! Residents in the shelter must evacuate immediately! The shelter is in danger!"
"Light the signal fireworks to warn the surrounding area! Quick!"
Sirens rang throughout the shelters, and residents were arranged to evacuate, but the temperature rose too quickly, and the melting ice made the ground slippery, making it very inconvenient to walk. Some people reacted quickly, some reacted slowly, some were obedient and ran away without saying a word, and some insisted on going back to pack their bags after asking questions...
Even though experts had predicted a variety of possible natural disasters, and documents had been sent out to various locations, such as the Jinyuan Primary School material point and other temporary areas, and drills had been conducted to "evacuate residents in temporary shelters on the ice as quickly as possible when the ice collapses," the temperature rise came suddenly and the evacuation work did not go smoothly.
"Leave all your luggage behind! Hurry up! Go to the nearest building! Move fast!"
The supply ship that had been frozen for more than two years began to shake, and the cold-proof shelters also began to shake slightly.
"Hurry! Hurry!"
The sound of ice cracking became louder and more frequent, making people feel uneasy.
"Hole! What a big hole!" Shao Shengfei shouted.
When Shao's mother came out, she saw several large holes in the building next door. The holes were still getting bigger, and the melted ice kept falling into the holes, making crisp collision sounds.
"Oh my God, those sealed tunnel entrances have collapsed." Shao's mother grabbed her eldest son's hand, her eyes full of fear.
The flooded floors in the community had long been hollowed out by people searching for supplies through tunnels. Later, for safety reasons, the tunnels were refilled with ice and watered to seal the ice. Every family had children, and for the safety of the children, the tunnels were sealed tightly, and several adults could stand on them and jump around at the same time without any problems.
But at this moment, the tunnels that had been dug collapsed first, causing the surrounding ice layers to continue to collapse, like horrible black holes, greedily swallowing. It was hard to imagine where someone would be swallowed if they happened to be nearby.
"Don't look at it anymore. Feifei, come over and hang the clothes with us." Qiao Qingqing said, "I'll wipe it."
The doors and windows were wide open, and the warm air was flowing in. The furniture, floors, and walls of the house began to seep water, emitting an unpleasant damp smell. Qiao Qingqing wiped around with a dry towel and saw that the mosquito net on the window was also covered with water droplets. She flicked it with her fingers, and the water droplets were ejected, causing the mosquito net to vibrate and make a buzzing sound.
She looked outside with a serious expression.
There were still people walking outside, and in the distance she saw someone disappearing on the ice.
Suddenly there was a gap.
This patch of ice, composed of flood water, is usually thick and hard, and people have to spend a lot of effort to dig it open and get survival supplies from underneath it.
There were countless holes on the ice, and the excavated passages were winding and tangled. Later, when Qiao Qingqing went out, she didn't dare to skate too fast even when she was wearing skates, for fear of falling into a hole that was not sealed. Qiao Qingqing once thought that if the temperature did not rise and the ice melted, perhaps one day this sea of ice would be dug out of an ice world, and people could return to the ground through those rugged passages and touch the past world.
But today, everything will turn upside down again.
As the temperature rises and the ice melts, those passages become the weakest part of the ice and are the first to collapse. Qiao Qingqing told Grandma Wang and the others not to go out because she was afraid that they would be sucked into the scattered passages under the ice before the ice completely melts. Before they drown, they will be crushed to death, squeezed to death, or suffocated to death.
Soon after, many corpses floated on the turbid water. Some of them became giants that would suddenly explode in the middle of the night, causing huge waves.
Heat, humidity, and dead bodies.
Bacteria are breeding wildly, viruses are spreading, plagues and infections continue to attack humanity.
The barely maintained order will collapse, and the true end of the world will come.
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