Chapter 1 Chapter 1 Back to Three Years Ago
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"As we all know, yellow fog has occurred frequently in many places across the country in the past month. The Meteorological Bureau has repeatedly stressed that yellow fog is a natural phenomenon and is harmless to the human body, but is this really the case? How does yellow fog come about? You need to know the truth."
Since the yellow fog came, this kind of posts have been common in the forums, and eight out of ten are discussing the yellow fog. The poster looked like a mysterious and knowledgeable guy, and the eye-catching title attracted many people to click on it.
"Oh, the bell ringer is here?"
"It just breaks the fog and reveals the truth. If you have nothing to do, find a class to attend."
"Pip marketing number."
"??? Where is the owner of the building? Ignore them and start talking."
The questioning continued, but the host seemed to be oblivious to it and continued to explain:
"The yellow fog comes from underground. You all know about the two supervolcanoes, Yellowstone and Mawson, right? Their overall activity has increased significantly recently, local earthquakes and ground fissures have occurred frequently, and the groundwater temperature has risen significantly. All the conditions for eruption have been met, and they may erupt at any time."
"Ah? I know that volcanoes emit a lot of gas before they erupt, but man, even if Yellowstone and Mawson were doubled, the gas they produce can't cover the entire world!"
"Oh my god, another ignorant elementary school student talking nonsense here."
"This is so funny. You don't think the fog is just coming from you guys, do you?"
Original poster: “It’s not just volcanoes that emit gas, there are also underground fissures, and there are many more volcanoes currently active than just these two.
Although it may sound alarmist, I still want to say that the Blue Planet has begun to save itself. Before long, mankind will face the biggest crisis in history. What we can do is flee to higher places and stockpile as much supplies as possible. "
"Frog, according to what the OP said, all active volcanoes became active overnight, otherwise where would there be such a heavy fog, hahahahaha..."
"It's better to just say the end of the world."
"It's still the end of the world after all the twists and turns. It's boring."
"Leave me your forum IDs. When I become a zombie, I won't eat you."
The post grew into a tall building amid heated discussions, but the original poster never showed up again.
Gu Mengran swiped his phone to finish climbing the stairs, and the editor replied: "The OP is right, the end of the world is coming. Be sure to stock up on food, stay away from volcanoes, and it's best to go to high altitude areas, the higher the better."
The train was running at full speed and the signal fluctuated greatly on some sections of the road.
Gu Mengran edited the good news and sent it. The network was temporarily blocked for a moment. After a minute or two, the signal was restored, and only a few large words were left on the high-rise building that was in full swing:
[This post has been deleted by the administrator, please speak rationally. ]
“Swoosh—”
The high-speed train sped into the tunnel, and the thick ink color enveloped the carriage. The window turned into a smooth mirror, and Gu Mengran raised his eyes slightly, and a fair, flawless face suddenly came into his sight.
This is him, the 19-year-old him, without having experienced the three-year apocalypse, without having his face disfigured.
The pain of being torn apart by the propeller was still stimulating his brain. When he opened his eyes again, Gu Mengran was back to three years ago, one month away from that unprecedented disaster.
Having experienced it personally once, Gu Mengran would never forget it until his death.
The yellow haze that swept the world was just the beginning. A month later, active volcanoes in many parts of the world slowly awakened like crouching beasts and erupted one after another. Among them were the Yellowstone and Mawson supervolcanoes that had been dormant for a century, with an eruption level as high as the astonishing VEI-7.
The volcano continued to erupt, wantonly destroying cities and farmland, and burning countless plants and animals. At the same time as the volcano erupted, there was also an unprecedented earthquake.
Yellow fog, volcanoes, earthquakes, and ground fissures...
But this is far from the end. In order to save itself, Blue Star is determined to clean up the "fleas" on its body and kill them all.
When volcanoes erupt, they release large amounts of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide, exacerbating the global greenhouse effect. Temperatures rise sharply, glaciers melt, sea levels rise... Humans have not yet emerged from the shadow of volcanoes and earthquakes, and the extremely high temperatures that follow are making people miserable.
October 10, 2044.
The butterfly flapped its wings slightly, and a rainstorm came quietly.
After a long drought, people who had been devastated by high temperatures finally welcomed a timely rain, but no one expected that this rain would never stop.
Before Gu Mengran died, the rain was still falling and the land almost ceased to exist.
“——Ding dong ding. Next stop is Yuntian North Station. Passengers who are about to get off please make preparations in advance.”
The train broadcast sounded at the right time, and Gu Mengran suddenly pulled himself out of his long memories. He stood up, took down his suitcase, put on a mask, and walked towards the door slowly.
The yellow fog lasted for more than a month, but perhaps people had gotten used to it and their lives were not affected too much. Passengers were constantly entering and exiting the station. Gu Mengran dragged his suitcase out of the station, and the taxis waiting in line looked like a long dragon.
After queuing up to get on the bus and putting away the suitcase, Gu Mengran sat in the back seat.
The taxi drove away from the station, and the hazy yellow mist shrouded the familiar yet unfamiliar street. Gu Mengran stared out the window, his throat tight and a slightly sour taste rising at the tip of his nose.
An intact city, and... people still alive.
After a forty-minute drive, the taxi stopped between towering high-rise buildings, next to a group of abrupt and inharmonious self-built houses.
Gu Mengran scanned the code and got off the bus. Just as he took off his suitcase, in front of the high-raised roller shutter door at the intersection, a white-haired, kind-looking old man walked out, waving a palm-leaf fan.
The old man is over sixty years old, slightly plump and somewhat strong.
Flip-flops, beach shorts, and a yellowed standard old man's vest that has almost been worn like suspenders, and his body looks very strong.
When their eyes met, Gu Mengran's eyes instantly turned red.
The suitcase was thrown alone on the side of the road. Gu Mengran took two steps at a time, ran to the old man and hugged him.
He held on tightly as if grabbing a life-saving straw.
"Grandpa, Grandpa, I'm back."
"What are you doing with all that sticky stuff? You're making me sweat. We haven't seen each other for just a few months. Don't make me so angry!" Meng Gaoyang smiled from ear to ear when his grandson came back after a long time, but his expression was harsh.
A few months for the old man, three years for Gu Mengran. After the disaster, they were separated forever, and the grandfather who raised him to adulthood appeared in front of him again. Gu Mengran couldn't help but be excited.
He tried his best to calm his breathing and hold back his tears. As always, he joked with his grandfather: "Dare to despise me? I'll rub it all over you."
"You kid, I just took a shower!"
Meng Gaoyang looked disgusted and raised his palm-leaf fan to hit him on the head. Gu Mengran was as agile as a loach, dodged and ran into the house without looking back, forgetting even to take his suitcase.
The old house is cool. As soon as you enter the house, it feels like you are walking into an air-conditioned room. It is chilly.
Meng Gaoyang was complaining about Gu Mengran's appearance, and just now he was complaining about it. As soon as Gu Mengran came in, he put away his luggage and searched the refrigerator. In less than five minutes, there was a bowl of grapes, two slices of watermelon, and various biscuits and bread on the table in front of Gu Mengran.
The table was almost full, but the old man was still taking things out. Gu Mengran knew he couldn't win by being stubborn, so he simply held the basin and leisurely ate the grapes.
"Snap"
The steaming frozen durian was placed on the table, and the old man finally sat down.
"Grandpa, eat some grapes. They're so sweet." The seasonal grapes were big and sweet. Gu Mengran wanted to let his grandfather have a taste, but as soon as he lifted the basin, he was ruthlessly pushed back.
Meng Gaoyang didn't say anything either. He fanned himself with a cattail leaf fan in one hand and stared at him with a smile.
The burning gaze was hard to ignore. Gu Mengran felt uncomfortable being stared at. His hand that was peeling grapes paused slightly, and he lowered his head and muttered softly: "Why are you looking at me? You are staring at me so closely while I am eating a few grapes. Are you trying to prevent thieves?"
It has been three years since they last saw each other, and Gu Mengran has experienced so much in these three years that he doesn't even dare to look his grandfather in the eye for a long time, for fear that he might notice the slightest flaw in him.
Having died once, he is no longer the naive child in his grandfather's eyes.
"There's something wrong with you."
These four simple words were like a thunderclap. Gu Mengran's hands trembled suddenly, and the crystal clear grapes in his hands fell to the ground with a "click".
Gu Mengran reacted quickly and took out a tissue to pick up the grapes.
When he raised his head again, the panic in his eyes had disappeared, and a faint smile hung on the corner of his mouth, "Oh no, I was seen through! Did you find out that I'm not actually your grandson?"
Meng Gaoyang rolled his eyes at him, "Don't be so poor. You came back right after the summer vacation without even calling me in advance, and your suitcase is so heavy. Gu Mengran, tell me the truth, did that heartless Gu Decheng bully you again?"
After a false shock, Gu Mengran couldn't laugh anymore.
Gu Decheng, this name made him physically uncomfortable.
His mother passed away when he was young, his father worked away from home, and Gu Mengran grew up with his grandfather. When he was fourteen, his father, Gu Decheng, who had achieved a lot, remarried and gave him a stepmother who was ten years older than him and a brother who was fourteen years younger than him.
In the same year, Gu Mengran, who had been abandoned in his hometown, was finally remembered by Gu Decheng. Regardless of the child's wishes, Gu Decheng took him away from his grandfather and brought him to live in another city.
He was naive in his previous life, and five years of living under someone else's roof prevented him from facing reality. It was not until a natural disaster struck and he was pushed out by his biological father to exchange for supplies that he realized that he had completely lost both his parents when his mother passed away.
Living his life over again, Gu Mengran already had a clear plan in mind.
But this time, he will first abandon those unnecessary family ties.
"Meng Ran, Meng Ran? This kid is silent again?"
Gu Mengran frowned and stared blankly, his face becoming uglier and uglier, which made Master Meng so anxious that he scratched his ears and cheeks, slapped the table and stood up, "Wait, I'll call that turtle son right now. What the hell!"
"Grandpa." Gu Mengran came back to his senses in time, holding his grandfather and explaining in a muffled voice: "I wasn't bullied. I just missed you and came back to see you. But this time I came back... I do have something very important to tell you."
"What?" Master Meng was skeptical.
"Please sit down first. We will talk slowly after you sit down."
After living together for fourteen years, Gu Mengran knows his grandfather well enough.
He concealed the fact of his rebirth and described the impending disaster as a dream, a nightmare that was extremely real.
Meng Gaoyang was born in a shipping industry and spent most of his life drifting on the sea. Compared with ordinary people, he is more "superstitious". Gu Mengran exaggerated, hinted, and finally mentioned his grandmother and mother who died young, and the old man immediately believed it.
The palm-leaf fan stopped waving, and the legs under the table stopped shaking. The relaxed and joyful atmosphere dissipated with Gu Mengran's voice and became extremely solemn.
"A volcano erupts, and it rains for several years..." The old man narrowed his eyes, frowned, and took a breath of cool air. "Hiss, is that really what your grandmother and your mother said?"
Gu Mengran nodded firmly, his expression unchanged as he said, "Yes, they said this is an unprecedented disaster, and asked me to come back to you as soon as possible, and also asked us to make preparations in advance and stock up on supplies in case of emergency."
After saying that, Gu Mengran looked up at his grandfather and blinked innocently, "Grandpa, don't think too much about it. This is just a dream and doesn't mean anything. Maybe grandma and mom are short of money down there and are trying to scare us on purpose."
"Nonsense!"
With a move of retreating to advance, the old man successfully fell into the trap.
Meng Gaoyang fanned himself with a palm-leaf fan very quickly, his eyes rolling around. "I haven't dreamed of them for years. The last time was eight years ago, when the Yuntian earthquake struck. This is not a dream, it's definitely not an ordinary dream. The weather has been weird lately, so something big is bound to happen!"
Gu Mengran opened his lips slightly, his eyes filled with confusion, "Then, what should we do? We can't really go stockpiling supplies, right? What if the dream is false, then-"
"Pah"
The palm-leaf fan hit the palm of his hand hard, making a crisp sound.
Meng Gaoyang suddenly seemed to have thought of something and raised his head. "Meng Ran, if it really rains like that and the water level rises, where do you think we should escape to?"
"Plateau, high altitude area." Gu Mengran said without hesitation.
"That's wrong." Meng Gaoyang laughed and said mysteriously, "Have you forgotten what your grandfather used to do? Your grandfather used to be the captain, the highest commander of the Fengyi."
Gu Mengran's eyes lit up, "Grandpa means... we should buy a boat?"
Meng Gaoyang nodded. "That's right. Let's buy a ship. If a natural disaster strikes, we can just sail away. If not, we can rent out the ship and let others haul goods. We can collect rent for decades without losing money."
Having been in the shipping business for most of his life, the old man becomes very talkative when talking about ships.
Cargo ships are too big, yachts are too expensive, fishing boats are too small, and inland transport ships are just right. Meng Gaoyang analyzed it very clearly and made the final decision in less than half an hour - to buy a river boat.
Gu Mengran was dumbfounded.
It was true that he was guiding grandpa step by step, but it was too smooth, so smooth that it was unbelievable.
After years of continuous rain, the blue planet that humans depend on for survival gradually degenerated into a mercury. With very little land left, humans are not only facing a sharp decline in survival resources, but also the biggest problem of where to settle down.
In his previous life, Gu Mengran fled to an unknown island with Gu Decheng's family.
Although he was "sold" in the end, the six months on the island were enough for him to realize that land resources were extremely scarce after the disaster and there was absolutely no place for ordinary people.
After his rebirth, Gu Mengran has been wondering where they should go.
The standard answer to the homework of a lifetime is only one: a ship. A cargo ship that can move, live, and carry supplies.
Ships are not cheap, costing tens or even millions of dollars.
Gu Mengran was a student who had just entered college, so he naturally had a lot of money in his pocket, so he had to trick his grandfather into giving him his pension.
Grandpa loved him and believed in him unconditionally.
All the drafts in my mind were not put to use in just a short while. In just a moment, the old man sitting opposite me had already started to consider whether to buy a big ship or a small ship.
Gu Mengran's eyes felt inexplicably warm.
Business is more important. He rubbed his red eyes and analyzed with his grandfather: "Buy a small boat, a small bulk carrier, about 3,000 tons. The flooded land is not like the sea, there are more obstacles. And the big ship is heavy, has a deep draft, and is particularly conspicuous. If there is a bump or someone targets it, it will be troublesome."
Meng Gaoyang frowned slightly and nodded thoughtfully, "That's true, but how much can a small cargo ship of 3,000 tons carry? Losing land is no joke. We can't grow crops or produce. We will just be eating up all the land in the future."
Gu Mengran understood the reasoning, but after weighing the pros and cons, a small cargo ship was the best solution. He was not worried that the small cargo ship had too little space and could not carry too many supplies, because -
Gu Mengran slowly raised his head and looked calmly at his grandfather.
Then he raised his right hand and gently placed his palm on the stainless steel basin containing grapes.
The moment his skin touched the basin, Gu Mengran's mind changed, and a basin full of purple grapes disappeared out of thin air on the table.