Chapter 10: The Red Bubbles

On the 18th day of the apocalypse, the temperature hit 56°C!

Today was the first day of water and electricity rationing, and it was like a sauna in the bedroom when I got up early.

We all knew that the power would be limited today, but hadn't expected it to start so early, before we were prepared.

In the residents' group chat for our community, there was a chorus of wails, with everyone condemning this bizarre weather.

Post bars and various video platforms were also abuzz, continuously showing footage of firefighters rescuing people who had fainted in the streets.

Workers trying to repair transformers and ensure electricity supply were collapsing one by one, receiving a flurry of likes and shares.

Comments flooded in, praising the spirit of selflessness and exclaiming the fortune of being born in Huaxia!

And the post on the apocalypse forum had already received over a million likes, pinned to the top of the screen...

Many people had previously bought generators, and now they could brazenly use their air conditioners, with plenty of packed food from home still available. These past two days had liberated my mom as well.

In the group chat, there were people flaunting their meals and warmly inviting neighbors without generators to visit, leading to a second and then a third.

Suddenly, the message that cooking at home and not causing trouble for the country was everywhere!

And in our community, some really did go to freeload off others' air conditioning and meals, quickly posting photos of the feast.

Jhiang Yuan chuckled to herself: Idiots!

In the midst of the apocalypse, one couldn't be too careful, inviting a wolf into one's home was not something she would do.

This was much better than her previous life, where without generators, she and Xiao Nuan would soak in the water all day, and she had to fan her child to sleep, enduring great hardship.

Suddenly, a video notification popped up.

Someone went outside, and after returning, they suffered extreme skin irritation. Scratching it would turn the skin red and then cause red blisters to form.

In her previous life, she was too busy pitting her wits against Xia Chaoyang and Bai Mengmeng to notice news on the internet, unsure if this had happened.

Just as Jhiang Yuan opened a recommended video, she was shocked again.

There was someone whose body was covered in dense clusters of red blisters, which looked itchy and oozed blood when touched.

Viewers couldn't help but feel disgusted; it was terrifying, and fortunately, she didn't have trypophobia.

The further she scrolled, the more alarmed she became. This condition had already appeared a few days ago but hadn't been widely reported, spreading only in a small area.

What was this? Sunburn?

No, it had to be bacterial and definitely related to the high temperatures.

"Ding~" Her phone vibrated, prompting her to take a look. It was from the residents' group chat, with the owner of Unit 1301 forwarding a similar video and advising everyone to take precautions. The group exploded into discussion.

0902: "What's this situation, it's too terrifying."

0301: "It might be a skin disease; I've seen many such videos, probably a fungal infection."

0402: "Does anyone in our community have this condition?"

On reading 0402's message, she too was curious, but nobody answered, and it quickly got pushed up the chat.

0902: "Does this mean we can't go outside during the day anymore?" paired with two crying emojis.

1601: "It's best to be cautious, it's nearly 60°C during the day, you'd get sun-scorched if you go out, it's so frightening, I'm really scared!"

...

Property manager, "Everyone, please don't panic. Try not to go out these next couple of days, disinfect your home, dispose of trash promptly, don't spread or believe in rumors, and await official notifications."

Jhiang Yuan turned off her phone and hurriedly called her parents over. After a brief explanation, she began to clean.

Every nook and cranny needed attention. Once the cleaning was done, she sprayed disinfectant and quickly placed the trash at the door, planning to take it downstairs later in the evening.

She had to wash her hands every hour and then apply some floral-scented water. The blisters were too terrifying, and she didn't want her family to get them as well.

She even made a special trip to the corridor, spraying disinfectant in every nook and cranny—of course, including the entrance of unit 2102 across the hall.

If it really was bacteria or a virus, if their home got infected, Jhiang Yuan's family would also be at risk. She understood the principle of a shared fate.

This incident was 100% related to the scorching weather. Skin exposed to such high temperatures would definitely meet a grim fate, and even the best sunscreen would instantly become useless.

She remembered reading about skin diseases in a medical book yesterday. She needed to go back and review that information later.

"Click..."

The door to 2102 opened, and Jhiang Yuan hastily stepped back.

The strong scent of disinfectant wafted over, and the person across furrowed their brow, "Do you need any help?"

"No, it's fine. Recently, a lot of people have caught a skin disease, possibly from bacteria. I'm disinfecting the hallway. Let's not leave trash out for too long in the future, okay?"

"Sure, no problem. Thank you. If you need anything, just come and knock. I'm home during the day."

Home during the day, which means not at night. There were too many secrets about this person in 2102. It seemed it would be wise to minimize contact in the future. She trusted no one now.

On the 20th day of the apocalypse, temperatures soared to 60°C.

Water and electricity rationing went from 4 hours per day to now only 2 hours. Residents in the community's chat group desperately @mentioned the property manager, trying to negotiate more benefits, but the manager seemed to have vanished without a trace, not replying to a single message.

Many children and elderly couldn't bear it. Throughout the day, the sound of the community's emergency 120 ambulance never ceased.

Qin Yue didn't dare to open the curtains and sat on the floor in front of the dining area playing with Xiao Nuan.

Her biggest fear had come true. Those red blisters were officially named Erythematous Linear Vesicles, commonly seen in people with sensitive skin, a skin disease caused by sun exposure, potentially fatal.

From a simple skin outbreak to being fatal—that was a huge leap that many people couldn't accept since so many had been affected.

Those who had gone outside were not the only ones to talk about, as even those who stayed at home didn't escape the misfortune of infection.

The officials urged the public not to go outside, to protect themselves and disinfect properly. Experts were working hard on developing a vaccine, asking everyone to stay calm and wait for further news...

Meanwhile, unclear about the pathogen's mode of transmission to avoid unnecessary contact, all major commercial establishments began to implement quiet control measures.

Many places experienced water and power cuts. After a day full of complaints, Lushan Garden also successfully lost power.

Without any notice and with no electricity restored by 9 p.m., people in the chat group started to grow restless.

Many asked for reasons, and others tried calling property management, all to no avail.

After a heated half-hour discussion, an active resident from unit 0902 brought valuable news: The property's generator had run out of fuel, and now no one could go out to purchase more, so it seemed that electricity would not be supplied anymore.

Actually, Lushan Garden was still in a relatively good state; other places had begun to experience outages much earlier, especially some of the older communities which were in much worse condition.

After the power cut would come the water cut-off. Fortunately, they were prepared. Every possible container at home was used to store water, and they were refilled as soon as they were emptied, not to mention the stock of bottled water they had.