Chapter 80
Everyone was startled.
This is the second time a Level 1 alarm has sounded since the base was established.
Then, the sound paused, then suddenly rose in pitch, "whoosh—whoosh—", crashing into the ears, making one feel terribly uneasy.
People on the street stopped in fright, looking up at the sky in bewilderment; the air seemed frozen.
Some people who had never heard an alarm before asked anxiously, "What happened? Are we going to be attacked by mutated beasts?"
Those who had survived the beast tide turned pale at the sound of the alarm, stamping their feet in panic: "Quick! Get home and hide! A moment's delay could mean death!"
Everyone's heart skipped a beat, and an inexplicable panic spread as they all ran frantically towards their homes.
Old Jiang's family had also experienced the previous alarm, and the two children were so frightened that they kept burrowing into their parents' arms.
Yuan Ying quickly shielded the child behind her, her voice trembling as she asked Jiang Hai, "Brother, what... what's going on? Is the beast tide coming again?"
Jiang Hai's face darkened, and he shouted in a deep voice, "Turn on the loudspeaker immediately!"
Everyone was terrified by the repeated alarms.
The radio was right next to Xu Na. She frantically tried to turn it on, but her hands were shaking so badly from nervousness that Jiang Wen had to quickly come to her side and turn it on for her.
Sure enough, the announcer's voice could be heard repeatedly broadcasting the emergency notice:
"Attention, base residents! A super blizzard is imminent! A super blizzard is imminent! Please gather your essential belongings and assemble at the main square within two hours! You must be at the main square within two hours!"
"Special Reminder: Do not exceed the time limit! Do not exceed the time limit! Exceeding the time limit may endanger your life! Exceeding the time limit may endanger your life!"
"Attention, residents of the base..."
Upon hearing this, Grandma Jiang's legs went weak and she almost collapsed. It took her a while to recover, and her voice trembled with anxiety: "Ah Hai! Quick! Think of something! The old man went outside the base today to look for mutated medicinal herbs. We have to contact him right away!"
In the past, Grandpa Jiang, at his age, would never have left the city alone. But recently, the gathering area has become crowded, and the base has increased its patrols. Many people are now waiting at the only entrance to the base outside the city in order to exchange for the items that their families desperately need, so that they can get the best items as soon as possible.
Grandpa Jiang only decided to try his luck after hearing in the last couple of days that someone had found ephedra and other Chinese medicinal herbs in the No. 2 collection area.
Those intersections are only 3 or 4 kilometers away from the city gate. Recently, there have been many people there, and the safety factor is high. After Jiang Wen accompanied him there once and found that there was no danger, Grandpa Jiang stopped letting anyone else go with him.
Who would have thought that the base would sound such an alarm without warning today?
Jiang Wen frantically tried to contact his grandfather, but the detector kept emitting busy signals and he couldn't get through!
Now, the whole family panicked.
Wu Xiu stamped her feet anxiously: "What should we do? Dad is old, it will take him a long time to get back by himself. Will we be able to make it back in time if we go to look for him again?"
Grandma Jiang's chest heaved violently, her voice trembling with anxiety, "That old fool! I told him not to run around like that, but he wouldn't listen! Now, at this crucial moment, he's just making things worse!"
Jiang Haiqiang suppressed his panic, fearing that the old lady might do something rash in her anxiety, and quickly supported her: "Mom, don't worry. Dad went to Collection Area No. 2 today, which is close to the base, so he must have heard the alarm. We'll go find him now, we'll make it in time."
He was burning with anxiety, but at that moment he was the pillar of the family and had to stay calm and keep things under control.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Wen said, "Uncle, I'll go with you."
Jiang Hai looked at his nephew's young face, then at his nephew's wife beside him, and said, "I'll go. You guys pack at home, bring everything you can, and try to bring as much dry food as possible."
The base's notification came suddenly.
Jiang Hai didn't know what a super snowstorm was, but anything that could make the base mobilize so much must be a matter of life and death. He guessed that the base was organizing everyone to take shelter in underground air-raid shelters to minimize casualties.
But the air-raid shelter is only so big, how can it hold everyone in the base? This is when things are most likely to get chaotic, so a man has to stay at home to keep things in order!
Xu Na is pregnant; what if something happens to Jiang Wen...?
Therefore, sending him to see the old man is the best option.
Wu Xiu's heart tightened upon hearing this.
She shook hands, and then saw her husband looking at her. "Ah Xiu, go and tell Dali and the others. We don't know what the situation is like right now. You two can go together later so you can look after each other."
Meeting her husband's determined gaze, Wu Xiu felt reassured. "Okay, I'll go right now."
At this moment, Ye Qingyun said, "And Grandpa Lin, I'll go over there now and see if there's anything I can help with."
The Lin family now only has Old Master Lin left. The other party has helped them so much, so it's only right and wrong for them not to abandon him.
Yuan Ying also said, "Then the rest of us will stay home and pack our things."
Jiang Hai nodded, "Try to keep everything in the cellar. Since it's a super snowy day, these things might freeze if left outside."
Grandma Jiang: "We know, you can rest assured about this."
Jiang He was clumsy and became so anxious that his face turned red.
He wanted to go with them to find the old man. Before he could speak, Jiang Hai took out the energy gun that Jiang Zhi had given him and handed it to him, saying in a deep voice, "Ahe, Awen, whether on the way or when we get to the square, if our family gets into a conflict with anyone, just fight back, don't be a coward!"
Jiang Wen took the gun and nodded solemnly: "Uncle, don't worry, I will definitely protect my family!"
Jiang Hai looked at him, a slight smile appearing on his tense face: "Good boy."
After explaining what needed to be noted, Jiang Hai turned to leave.
“Wait, Ah Hai,” Wu Xiu called out to him, and she quickly took out two thin cotton-padded jackets and a lotus leaf shirt from the house.
Although she knew it wouldn't work, Wu Xiu still handed it over, saying, "Wear this and come back quickly. We...we'll be waiting for you at the main square!"
Jiang Hai squeezed her hand. "Okay!"
After saying that, Jiang Hai left without a moment's delay.
The rest of the family quickly got to work as well.
Ye Qingyun and Wu Xiu went out and headed to the Lin and Niu families respectively.
Grandma Jiang and Yuan Ying packed up the food, while Jiang Wen and his son piled up all the valuable and heavy items in the house in a corner.
In cold weather, keeping warm is the most important thing, so Yuan Ying stuffed all the cotton quilts she had made into a snakeskin bag.
To reduce luggage, it was packed very tightly.
Grandma Jiang led Xu Na and the two children to the cellar and found all the easily filling dried meat.
At this moment, I only regret that I don't have a space device so that I can bring everything I want to take with me.
But in such an emergency, the old lady couldn't afford to complain and could only pack everything up as quickly as possible.
On the other side.
Ye Qingyun knocked on the Lin family's door several times in a row.
Grandpa Lin quickly opened the door and was somewhat surprised to see Ye Qingyun: "You—"
Ye Qingyun didn't bother with any explanations and said directly, "Grandpa Lin, do you have anything you need to pack? I'll help you, but we need to be quick."
Then he called out to Jiang Jun, who was working in the room, "Jun, come out quickly!"
Grandpa Lin was stunned for a moment, and after realizing what was happening, he looked at Ye Qingyun with a complicated expression.
"You—come help me tidy up?"
Ye Qingyun was extremely anxious.
That old man is so slow.
"Oh, Grandpa Lin, let's talk about that later," she said, disregarding all manners, and walked straight into the house. "Where's the food?"
Before Grandpa Lin could react, Ye Qingyun said, "Never mind, I won't ask you anymore. I'll figure out how to pack it for you."
He casually found a large bag in the yard and packed all the suitable food into it.
The Lin family had a lot of food, but it was all unprocessed. Although they had two refrigerators, the food that couldn't fit was piled up in the corner, and much of it on the bottom shelf had gone bad.
Ye Qingyun felt a pang of heartache seeing this.
This family may be capable, but they don't know how to manage a household!
These spoiled items, if left outside, would be snapped up by countless people.
Fortunately, all the meat had been specially processed and turned into dried meat.
As Ye Qingyun helped tidy up, he thought to himself, "No wonder the old man likes the food they make."
It's obvious they can't cook.
At this moment, Jiang Jun pushed a wheelchair out of the house. As soon as she saw Ye Qingyun, she asked, "Third Aunt, what's going on outside?"
Ye Qingyun glanced at the stone dust still stuck to his head from the experiment and sighed helplessly—this nephew probably didn't even have time to hear the alarm on the radio.
“Ah Jun, now pack up your master’s valuables and take him back to our home.”
Although Jiang Jun was unaware of the situation, he could tell from Ye Qingyun's expression that the matter was urgent, so he agreed.
Old Master Lin's eyelids drooped, and his fingers unconsciously rubbed his cuffs, as if he was pondering something.
His lips were habitually clenched tightly, but it couldn't hide the redness in the corners of his eyes, and even his lips, which were usually pressed into a thin line, trembled slightly.
I originally thought that my relationship with the Jiang family was just a casual meal, and at most, I would take Jiang Jun as my apprentice because of Jiang Zhi.
But in Old Man Lin's mind, none of these relationships were particularly good.
He never expected that, at this crucial moment, the Jiang family would actually be willing to take him along...
He snorted and tossed out several spatial artifacts. "With your method of packing, I'm useless. Use these instead."
Ye Qingyun was stunned.
This is... a spacecraft?
Realizing what it was, Ye Qingyun was both amused and exasperated; even if she were given these wonderful things, she wouldn't be able to use them.
Does she have mental strength?
Grandpa Lin realized this too, and he cleared his throat. "Young Jun, pack all these things away. If you don't have enough mental energy, use these."
As he spoke, Grandpa Lin took out several more mental energy storage devices from the cabinet.
These were things Lin Yuan specially left for the old man in case something happened at home while he was away.
If used sparingly, it can last for ten days.
Jiang Jun has an affinity for spacecraft and is able to use it.
With the support of these mental energy storage devices, storing the Lin family's valuables inside would not be a problem.
Ye Qingyun understood and immediately breathed a sigh of relief. "Grandpa, why didn't you say so sooner? You wasted so much time."
Old Man Lin snorted and instructed Jiang Jun, "Take apart everything that can be dismantled in the workshop. Collect all the ores. Remember, if there's not enough room, you can leave the food behind. Prioritize the placement of the equipment and the ores."
Jiang Jun readily agreed.
Although he has difficulty walking, his hands are still very nimble.
Ye Qingyun couldn't help but say, "Grandpa, is it really necessary to waste space in the spacecraft with these instruments?"
Grandpa Lin: "What do you know? The fact that the base can issue such a notice proves that this cold wave must be something serious. If we were to encounter it head-on, the instruments could very well be frozen to death."
These instruments were brought from the research institute by Mr. Lin at great expense.
Giving up these things would be like taking his life.
Ye Qingyun was somewhat surprised to hear the old man speak so seriously: "Is it that powerful? What if that person were to encounter..."
Grandpa Lin glanced at her, put his hands behind his back, and said firmly, "I don't understand mutants, but ordinary people and above have absolutely no chance of survival."
Ye Qingyun's face turned pale instantly.
She had expected the situation to be serious, but she hadn't anticipated it to be this serious.
If Jiang Hai hadn't brought Grandpa Jiang back in time...
Thinking of this, Ye Qingyun couldn't help but shiver, and his fingertips felt a little cold.
Jiang Jun was quite quick; he disassembled the studio's items and stored them in his spatial device in just half an hour.
Ye Qingyun was helping to tidy up the food, while Old Master Lin went back to his room to tidy up his bedding and other personal items.
After I put away the important things, another ten minutes passed.
Ye Qingyun kept checking the time.
The system kept showing no signal, and she was preoccupied with the message bead the researcher had given her earlier.
I wonder if something else happened over there.
But no matter how much he worried about it, Ye Qingyun knew that now was not the time to stop.
"Let's go back first."
Ye Qingyun and Jiang Jun brought Old Master Lin back to the Jiang family home.
As soon as I stepped outside, I saw that many families had already packed their belongings and were heading towards the main square.
At this point, no one cared about hiding their wealth anymore. They wrapped themselves in all the thick clothes they could wear at home, making them look as bulky as round wooden barrels, swaying with every step they took.
Each person had a bulging snakeskin bag strapped to their back. It was clear that it was filled with quite a lot of things.
Ye Qingyun watched with growing anxiety.
They have a large population, and I don't know if they've finished cleaning up yet.
I'm afraid that if I arrive late, I won't be able to find a good spot.
She was also worried about Grandpa Jiang's situation. In short, her mind was in a complete mess, and she was so anxious that she developed a big blister on her lip.
As soon as the three entered, they saw Niu Dali and his family of three coming over and helping Wu Xiu and the others. Ye Qingyun was delighted to see this.
"Xiaoxu, how's your house tidying up?"
Liu Xu said, "There are few of us and not much stuff, so we can pack up quickly."
The Jiang family usually organizes and tidies up their belongings promptly, so tidying up is not slow.
Even so, the chilly weather still made Grandma Jiang break out in a light sweat.
She wiped her forehead. "We're almost done here. Qingyun, do you think we should bring a pot?"
Ye Qingyun recalled what he had seen outside when he first arrived and said, "Bring it, bring the little pot we used when we were camping!"
Upon hearing this, Yuan Ying quickly went back into the kitchen to clean up the small pot.
Finally, everyone moved all their belongings into the yard.
Upon closer inspection, I was surprised to find that there were so many things.
Even if one person carries a bag, they might not be able to carry it all.
Wu Xiu said worriedly, "The announcement said we should only bring a few things. We've brought so much, will they not allow us to bring it in?"
The women exchanged glances, all seeing the worry in each other's eyes.
This is still quite possible.
Even if the air-raid shelter under the main square is huge, it can't hold everyone in the base, let alone their luggage.
Grandpa Lin said calmly, "What's there to be afraid of? There are so many residents outside, do you think they can all come back?"
Old Master Lin was telling the truth.
In fact, the base's sudden announcement meant they were already planning to abandon most of the people in the collection area.
The Jiang family couldn't help but feel a sense of shared sorrow.
If they hadn't listened to Jiang Zhi and stockpiled food early, if they had been busy gathering in the fields these past few days, if...
Each hypothesis brought the Jiang family a sense of relief, yet also left them speechless.
I couldn't help but worry more about Grandpa Jiang and Jiang Hai.
Grandpa Lin looked at Jiang Jun: "Jun boy, do you not know how to use the spatial artifact I gave you? Are you just holding it as a decoration?"
Everyone was stunned. Was this meant for them to use?
"Don't just stand there, quickly collect everything you can, including the things that spoil easily, and leave the rest that's worthless here."
Jiang Jun suddenly realized what was happening.
"Yes, yes, teacher!"
Jiang Jun has a strong affinity for space stones. These past few days, while studying at the Lin family's house, he has felt his ability to open space devices becoming smoother and smoother every day.
With just a thought, he gathered everything in the yard inside.
Grandpa Lin, fearing he might not remember, reminded him, "Remember to carry your mental energy storage device with you at all times."
He didn't want all the spacecraft he had painstakingly created to crack.
The Jiang family was overjoyed.
With the spacecraft, they can now carry the food they couldn't take with them.
Grandma Jiang quickly said, "In that case, we won't stand on ceremony with Brother Lin. Ah Jun, you should put all the grain in the cellar first."
Jiang Jun responded and did as instructed.
Ye Qingyun remembered something and interrupted, "Wait, A-Jun, we can't put everything away yet. We need to take out the things we use regularly."
Wu Xiu also realized what was happening.
"Yes, yes, it's easy to arouse suspicion if we go empty-handed. We should bring out our usual items and carry them ourselves."
With the spatial device in hand, everyone's plans were disrupted, and another flurry of activity ensued as they scrambled to put things back together.
Finally, Ye Qingyun and the others took out five days' worth of food, bedding, and winter clothes.
Just then, the newly made thin cotton-padded jackets came in handy. Ye Qingyun asked Xu Na to distribute the thin cotton-padded jackets to everyone. By the time everyone was dressed, an hour and a half had passed.
Ye Qingyun glanced at the time and became extremely anxious. "Alright, alright, we can't delay any longer, let's go!"
If we delay any longer, there won't be any time left.
The two families, carrying their luggage and accompanied by Grandpa Lin, headed straight for the main square.
As soon as they stepped outside, they felt a gust of cold wind.
Only a few minutes have passed, and the temperature, which was originally 14 degrees Celsius, has dropped significantly, now almost below 0 degrees Celsius!
Grandma Jiang's lips trembled: "Why is the temperature dropping so quickly?!"
As he spoke, he even exhaled white mist!
This temperature is so unusual!
Looking at the ivy covering their walls, the leaves were already covered with a thin layer of white frost.
In just a short while, the sky, which had been gray just moments before, darkened as if it had been suddenly covered by a huge gray cloth, making even the distant city wall, hundreds of meters away, blurry.
Everyone instinctively wrapped their thin cotton-padded coats tighter around themselves.
Grandpa Lin: "Don't just stand there, let's go."
The group snapped out of their daze and, without bothering to find out what had happened, hurriedly set off.
When Ye Qingyun passed by the Zhang family's house, he wanted to call out to them, but found that the house was already empty.
No one thought much of it. At this moment, their own family was the most important. Unless it was a relationship like theirs with the Niu family, everyone was minding their own business.
There were many people on the road who were also hurrying along.
Men, women, and children all carried bundles of various sizes, hurrying in the same direction.
There were men pushing wheelbarrows, their backs piled with quilts and earthenware pots, occasionally turning back to call out to the children who had fallen behind. There were also women carrying bamboo baskets, holding the hand of a toddler in one hand and supporting a frail old man beside them with the other.
These are all residents of their area.
They were all familiar faces by now, so no one was in the mood to say hello.
Every now and then you can hear someone crying and shouting.
"Mother! What are we going to do? My Erzhu is still in the gathering area! Are we just going to abandon Erzhu? He's my only son!"
There were quite a few cries like this.
The Jiang family felt a pang of sadness upon hearing this, but they could only suppress their worries.
I silently prayed that Grandpa Jiang and Jiang Hai could return in time.
After more than ten minutes, before I could even see the square, I could already hear the clamor of voices.
At this point, there were still fifteen minutes left until the time announced on the broadcast.
The square was almost completely filled with people.
You can even see quite a few residents from Zone B.
Registration offices were set up on all four sides of the square, and the entrance to the air-raid shelter was located below the registration offices.
In front of each registration desk was a long wooden table, where uniformed staff members were hunched over and quickly registering people, sending them off as soon as they were done.
Someone was trying to push forward with their household registration booklet in hand, but the people in front wouldn't let them pass and stubbornly blocked their way. The person could only keep shouting, "Comrade, let me register first! I have elderly relatives at home!"
"Why should I? I have children at home!"
If you encounter a staff member like this, just yell at them: "Everyone line up! Anyone who wants to cut in line, go to the very back!"
Another staff member, holding a megaphone, shouted at the top of his lungs: "Don't rush! Time is of the essence! If you follow the rules, we can be faster! If we're any slower, someone could die! Behave yourselves!!"
There were eight entrances, and several long queues stretched from the square entrance all the way to the street corner. It took a lot of effort to move forward even one step.
The Jiang family was extremely anxious.
Despite their haste, they were still too late.
They don't know what the air-raid shelters are like down there, or whether they'll be able to get a good spot when it's their turn.
The crowd was filled with the sounds of children crying and adults scolding.
Someone was holding a wooden sign that read "Registration Office" and weaving through the crowd, getting bumped by elbows with every step.
Jiang He was afraid that Jiang Si would be separated from the crowd if she was held above his head, and Jiang Wen was also afraid that his wife would be pushed by the crowd, so he protected her the whole time.
After several months of nutritional supplementation, Jiang Sui has grown quite a bit taller and is now able to protect Grandma Jiang.
Needless to say, Niu Dali was practically a human wall at this moment; once someone stood there, no one could move him.
At this moment, Ye Qingyun missed his brat back home terribly.
If that brat were here, he would have already figured out the whole situation.
Grandma Jiang and Wu Xiu kept looking towards the city gate.
"Ah Xiu, have you seen Ah Hai, your dad, and the others?"
Wu Xiu was so anxious she almost cried, "No, Mom, there are too many people, I can't see anything at all!"
As time ticked by, Grandma Jiang's eyes suddenly reddened, and she abruptly slapped herself, startling the entire Jiang family.
Wu Xiu quickly pressed her hand down, "Mom, what are you doing?"
Grandma Jiang was filled with regret: "I was so anxious before. Your father is so old, how could I let him get involved with Ah Hai?"
The eldest son had only recently recovered from his injuries, and he still couldn't come back this time...
Grandma Jiang wished she had been the one who went back then.
That way, even if I can't come back, I can still keep the old man company.
Her eldest son has not enjoyed much happiness; he has been dragged down by them all along.
Ye Qingyun quickly comforted her: "Mom, don't think about these things. Maybe they've already come back. There are so many people around, it's normal that we can't see them."
Yuan Ying's mouth was trembling as she spoke, it was from the cold: "Yes, Mom, the most important thing for us now is to go inside."
In just a short while, the temperature reading on the detector had dropped to -7 degrees Celsius!
If this continues, before the cold wave even arrives, these people will all catch a cold.
Ye Qingyun glanced at the line in front of him, gritted his teeth, and said, "No, we still have to take out those cotton-padded coats and fur jackets to wear."
Even if these staff members are very fast, it will still be half an hour before it's their turn.
The Jiang family members quickly untied the snakeskin bag and put on another thick cotton-padded coat over their thin cotton-padded coats. This was something that Xu Na and Yuan Ying had helped the family prepare earlier.
Even after putting on a thick coat, Ye Qingyun was still worried that it wouldn't be safe, especially for Grandma Jiang and the two children, who might catch a cold. In case they got a fever in the environment below the cave, there would be no one to treat them.
So they all put mole-skin coats on their family members.
Grandpa Lin only had one thick cotton coat, which looked quite exquisite, but it was unclear whether it was warm enough. Ye Qingyun didn't show favoritism and gave Jiang Shan's coat to wear.
"Grandpa Lin, don't look down on our fur coats because they're ugly. Let's keep warm first."
Despite the freezing temperature that made people shiver, Grandpa Lin felt a warm glow in his heart.
Am I the kind of person who doesn't know what's good for him?
Ye Qingyun twitched his lips. He really was like a child at heart.
Wearing the mole skin and cotton-padded clothes, everyone soon felt warm.
Just then, Jiang Wen suddenly saw someone waving in their direction from the other end of the square.
"They're from the Zhang family!"
Ye Qingyun tiptoed over to look, and sure enough, it was Sister-in-law Zhang greeting them.
However, the noise at the scene was too loud, and no one could hear what the other person was saying.
Yuan Ying: "What did Sister Zhang say? It seemed like she had something to say to us."
Niu Dali was tall, and although he saw the other person's mouth moving, he couldn't hear what they were saying.
“Second Aunt, Grandma Zhang said they saved us a spot and told us to go over there,” Jiang Si, who was sitting on Jiang He’s shoulders, suddenly said.
Yuan Ying was pleasantly surprised. "Sisi, how did you know?"
Jiang Si said crisply, "I saw it!"
Everyone was surprised that Jiang Si, at such a young age, could understand lip reading.
She turned to Grandma Jiang and asked, "Mom, should we go over there? It seems like they're much faster over there."
Although the two companies are not particularly close, they have collaborated a few times and feel that they can get along well.
Just as Grandma Jiang was hesitating, she saw Han Lei and a few of his underlings squeeze through.
"Awen, we've finally found you!"
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