Chapter 56

Since Jian Chu's place now had power, though it couldn't handle large appliances like air conditioners, it could still power small appliances, such as boiling water or cooking rice. The previous day, due to the lack of electricity, they had to bring flour and join Qin Huai and the others for a meal. However, today they hadn't found much, having been busy with the rescue work. By the time they finished, it was nearly dawn, and they were racing against the sun on their way back. They had no time to search along the way and found nothing edible. Now, their home only had instant noodles and a self-heating pot left, so there was no need to join them for a meal.

Without a phone, communication was very inconvenient. To avoid Qin Huai and the others waiting for them to eat together, Yu Zibai specifically came over to let them know that they would eat at home and agreed on a time to gather in the corridor later.

Mu Nan said, "This is exactly the time to use wireless walkie-talkies."

Qin Huai had bought some, but they were not easy to use. He didn't want to give others the impression that they had everything. In his previous life, Mu Nan had been alone and didn't need to keep in touch with anyone. When he later reached a government reconstruction base, there was an internal LAN network, though he wasn't sure when it was established. At that time, the LAN didn't cover private refuge bases. He had gone to a government refuge base when his advanced private refuge base failed due to food supply issues. In less than a year, partial communication recovery had happened.

Qin Huai said, "If you want to use it, we can pretend it was found in the ruins tonight. There's a box set. We'll first go to the cooling station tonight. If we manage to get the solar panels, we'll wait a bit longer. If not, we'll check the mall. You can dust off the box a bit to make it look like it was found in the ruins."

Mu Nan quickly replied, "I was just expressing my thoughts, not in a hurry. We'll see how it goes. Whether we use it or not is fine. Since we live close, it's just a bit of running around. If it's really troublesome, we can set up a signal to knock on the wall. I wonder if knocking here would be heard over there."

Qin Huai laughed, "You could shout loudly, and they'd hear."

Confirming that Jian Chu and the others wouldn't join for a meal, Mu Nan began to look through the menu: "Let me see what we can have today. Strong smells won't work they'll be detected. Dumplings and buns are off-limits, as they're too greasy. Noodles won't do either; soup doesn't fill you up."

Seeing him pass over page after page, Qin Huai said directly, "Let's eat. Get some appetizers out: pickled beans, preserved vegetables with minced meat, and fish-flavored eggplant. What else do you want?"

Mu Nan flipped through the menu and said, "Add a stir-fried vegetable dish and dry-fried king oyster mushrooms. Do we need soup?"

Qin Huai shook his head, "No soup. It's not good to drink soup and then go out. Although many people are less particular now because of all the rubble everywhere, both you and I are quite cautious. Who knows if there are people or bodies under the ruins? We'd rather use cat litter at home and take it out in a tied bag."

Mu Nan took out plates of food. Although it had only been a few days since they last had rice, it still felt like rice was the best, and with the accompanying dishes, his appetite immediately surged.

With each bite of dish followed by a mouthful of rice, the satisfaction of a full mouth, the salty fragrance of the eggplant, and the tangy crispness of the preserved vegetables made the meal incredibly enjoyable. As Mu Nan ate, he remarked, "Brother, I suddenly feel a sense of crisis."

Qin Huai asked, "What's wrong?"

Mu Nan said, "If we keep eating like this, won't the food we prepared run out?" There was definitely enough rice, as Qin Huai bought it by the ton, but it seemed like they might not have enough dishes.

Qin Huai smiled at his concern, "Don't worry, we have enough for at least these few years. As for years later, if things haven't stabilized by then, we'll only have the prepared compressed rations left. They'll be filling, but won't cater to our taste. But if we reach that point, if people still haven't recovered from the disaster and can't get any vegetables or meat, then survival itself will become the hardest thing, and there won't be much concern for taste."

After eating and drinking to his fill, Mu Nan sat against the end of the bed with a satisfied burp. Qin Huai was tidying up, mixing the remaining fish-flavored eggplant with the rice and finishing it off in a few bites. Empty containers and bowls were left together. Mu Nan took out the trash bag from the space that hadn't been filled yet. After adding today's trash, the bag was full. He tied a knot and put it back into the space, waiting for an opportunity to throw it out.

Seeing that there was still time before the meeting, Mu Nan took out a digestive pill from the space and put it in his mouth. It was a digestive aid bought by Qin Huai, made by a well-known traditional Chinese medicine hospital in City B. The main ingredient was hawthorn, though it was mixed with other herbs. It had a sweet and sour taste, perfect for aiding digestion.

While chewing the pill, Mu Nan sighed, "When others are struggling to find food, I'm taking digestive pills. It's quite something."

Qin Huai walked over and patted his stomach, which was noticeably full. "You should eat a bit less next time. Eating so much might make you uncomfortable." It was his fault for thinking that a large appetite was normal due to the physical exertion, forgetting that Mu Nan couldn't control himself.

Mu Nan burped from Qin Huai's pat and said, "I haven't had rice in a long time, and the dishes were so tasty, so I couldn't resist."

Qin Huai helped him up from the floor. "Let's move around a bit, or you might feel queasy when we go outside."

Mu Nan walked around the house to aid digestion. "We must avoid wasting."

By around eight o'clock, it was time to head out. It was still light outside, though the sun's heat had subsided. Initially, people couldn't go outside at this time because even the residual heat from the sun was unbearable. However, now either the temperature had dropped, or people had adapted to the heat over the past few months, allowing them to see a bit of daylight. Some were involved in rescue operations, while others were searching for supplies.

The process of going downstairs today was even more grueling than yesterday. Mu Nan even doubted if he could make it to the seventeenth floor just with sheer willpower. But these few days were the hardest; once he fully adapted, things would get much easier.

Jian Chu carried a stick he had found along the way, probably hoping to find something. Yu Zibai laughed and said, "You won't find anything like that. Most of the stuff by the roadside has already been picked up."

Jian Chu replied, "Let's look anyway, it doesn't hurt."

The group soon arrived at the cooling station. The soldier who had helped them yesterday was in charge of registration. He greeted them with a smile, "Today, everyone is in the back area, at the north hall entrance. The survivors we rescued yesterday mentioned that during the chaos, some people ran towards the north hall exit."

Qin Huai thanked him, "Is the team leader also over there?"

The soldier nodded, "Yes."

When they reached the north hall after sifting through the rubble, they found the team leader, Yuan, directing operations. Yuan seemed to be the sergeant, as the soldiers referred to him as Squad Leader Yuan. Since Qin Huai and his group also called him Team Leader Yuan, it was clear he was in charge.

Seeing the refreshed and energetic young men, Yuan had a rough idea of their situation. They had been helping with the rescue for some time, covered in dust, and looked less clean than today. Seeing them looking neat now indicated that their home had plenty of resources, which explained their interest in solar panels. Most people were focused on finding water and food. Without a generator, even finding solar panels would be useless. Most wouldn't think of this.

Yuan waved to them and asked, "Do you have any plans for today? Are you staying here to help with the rescue, or what?"

Qin Huai said, "We'll stay here, but we'll leave earlier today. We didn't get a chance to eat at the cafeteria yesterday."

Yuan smiled, "Alright, you can help out first. Once you're done, come find me. I can allocate some solar panels to you, as if they were missed in the rubble. However, I might not have too many."

Qin Huai replied, "A little is enough. Thank you, Team Leader Yuan."

Getting the solar panels was an unexpected gain. They hadn't expected much when rescuing people. With the soldiers busy, Yu Zibai put the small cart aside. Most of the people were soldiers, so leaving the cart in a low-profile spot wasn't a concern. They weren't worried about it being stolen.

The north hall had been heavily demolished, unlike yesterday's site with steel beams creating gaps. With their experience, they could guess the situation below by moving the debris. The north hall was likely solid with no survivors left. Now, their task was to clear the corpses. The weather was too hot; if they didn't remove the bodies, an outbreak of disease was inevitable with so many people in the city. Even if they worked non-stop, with the scale of the earthquake and the number of deaths, an epidemic was likely to break out soon.

The bodies hadn't been searched yet, but Jian Chu seemed to have found something. Looking around, he saw that the person nearest to him was Mu Nan, so he called out, "Mu Nan, come over here."

Mu Nan, already sweating profusely from the heat, made his way over with difficulty and then plopped down on a pile of rubble. "What's up?"

Jian Chu was pulling something out forcefully. Mu Nan helped lift a large rock that was pressing down, and Jian Chu managed to pull out a flattened, compressed item. "Is this a down comforter?"

Mu Nan used a flashlight to inspect it. It seemed to be a vacuum-sealed comforter, tightly compressed. A comforter is not small, and it still had some weight when held. "Not bad, it's a find."

Jian Chu sighed, "It would be better if it were water. Who needs a comforter at a time like this?"

Mu Nan said, "It's still needed. Even though it's so hot now, when the weather turns cold, it might get really cold, with snow covering everything."

Jian Chu replied, "It's February now; there's no chance of winter left. By summer, temperatures might reach 60 or 70 degrees. It might be like the Flaming Mountains from 'Journey to the West.'"

Mu Nan stretched his arms to relax. "Maybe the seasons have flipped. The climate now can't be divided by the old seasons. Let's take it back; if we wait until it gets cold to find a comforter, we might not find one."

Seeing they had been sitting there for a while without moving, Qin Huai came over and asked, "What's going on?"

Mu Nan pointed to the comforter. "Jian Chu found it."

Qin Huai said, "You might have stumbled upon a warehouse." Mu Nan was surprised. "A warehouse? Wasn't the cooling station cleared out already? Where would there be a warehouse?"

Qin Huai explained, "The warehouse was moved to the top floor. What was cleared out were the stores from different brands, but some items couldn't be moved. Those were stored in the top-floor warehouse. They probably include bedding or other non-edible items. You should keep searching here find whatever you can."

He had checked the environment beforehand to understand the terrain, so they wouldn't waste time moving things from places where there were no survivors.

Knowing it might be a warehouse below, Jian Chu and Mu Nan were invigorated. Even though Mu Nan's space wasn't lacking in supplies, finding things to stockpile was always exciting and addictive.

Indeed, the area below was used for storage. After a while, they found another compressed comforter. Seeing them finding items, soldiers quickly came over to help. It was essential to save people, but collecting supplies was equally important.

After working most of the night, they cleared out a pile of bedding, clothing, and quite a few personal care products. However, the personal care products weren't toiletries but skincare items, such as face creams and hand creams. Most of the porcelain bottles were shattered, but some plastic ones were still usable.

Mu Nan and his group didn't take too much. They sorted some bedding, such as comforters and sheets, took some thick clothes suitable for their size, and found that there were no summer clothes left—likely cleared out earlier. They also packed a box of authentic and sample personal care products, along with a few steel bowls. The small cart was already full. They decided to take only what they needed and leave the rest for the soldiers.

Remembering they needed to return early and check on Xu Ming's condition, they went to find Squad Leader Yuan around 3 a.m. Yuan gave them seven solar panels, which was less than they had collected but still useful. Some were damaged, while others seemed repairable. For now, they could only keep the seven panels that were intact and ready to use, which should suffice for basic home electricity needs.

They thanked Yuan again, placed the solar panels among the bedding and other items to keep them concealed, and took their meal tickets for the day. Loaded with supplies, they headed home.

Mu Nan fretted, "Are we going to have to carry all this upstairs?" The solar panels alone were heavy. If it were just him and Qin Huai, they could easily store it in their space. But now, they would have to carry it manually.

Yu Zibai suggested, "You and Qin Huai take your things. Jian Chu can wait downstairs. I should be able to make a couple of trips to move everything."

Qin Huai said, "The vacuum-sealed comforter bags are quite sturdy. Tie a few comforters together with rope, and Mu Nan, just pull the rope up the stairs. Dragging the comforters on the ground will be less effort. We'll use the cart for the other items. We'll go up floor by floor and rest in between. It's easier than making two trips."

Mu Nan thought that climbing the seventeenth floor was already a challenge. Helping to carry the weight of the comforters was also no small feat. He decided to give Qin Huai a good massage later. They hadn't found any survivors today, nor had they come across any bodies. He planned to ask Qin Huai if he was interested in some meat for dinner. People felt exhausted and thin, and a bit of soup would be good for nourishment.

The cafeteria was crowded. Dragging so many items there attracted a lot of attention. Qin Huai found them a discreet corner and instructed Jian Chu and Mu Nan to stay alert, "There will be soldiers patrolling here. Stay vigilant. If you encounter anyone with bad intentions, shout loudly. If no one comes, run. If the stuff gets stolen, it's gone. Got it?"

Mu Nan nodded, "Got it. Hurry up and come back."

Qin Huai took Mu Nan's backpack with the meal tickets and containers inside, while Yu Zibai grabbed a few steel bowls they had just found, unsure if Xu Ming needed them. They decided to ask him.

This was their first visit to the medical team. The medical team had power and air conditioning up and running because of the large number of injured. Tents alone couldn't accommodate everyone, so they had improvised partitions from the rubble, using stones to weigh down thick thermal blankets, creating a makeshift roof. An additional large canopy covered the top, and several air conditioners were placed in different corners to cool the air. Large fans in the center continuously circulated the air, making the area as comfortable as possible given the circumstances.

Inside the tents, most people were lying on the ground, as there weren't enough beds for everyone. Some were in slightly better condition, conscious but staring blankly at the ceiling, unresponsive to the commotion around them. Others were either asleep or unconscious, with blood-soaked bandages covering their broken limbs. Many had severe fractures, and with the limited water resources, there was no way to properly clean their wounds. During their brief stay, someone had been carried out from the tent because their wound had become infected. Without anesthesia, the infected flesh had to be cut away and re-dressed. Those who could endure would survive; those who couldn't wouldn't.

The scene was harrowing, with constant cries of pain. This was also why Qin Huai had not allowed Mu Nan to come; seeing such a scene might ruin Mu Nan's appetite for the day.

There were few people in the medical team. Even though the army had rushed to assist the hospital, there were still not many medical staff available. They quickly learned about Xu Ming's situation. Xu Ming was on a break and in a tent with the doctors. When they arrived, Xu Ming had just returned from getting his meal. Seeing them, he smiled and said, "I was expecting you to come by these days. How's everything at home?"

Yu Zibai nodded, "It's okay. Aren't you going up?"

Xu Ming shook his head, "No, I can't leave here. Even though I'm on a break, I can't rest for long—maybe just an hour before I have to help out again. This is the first time since I started working that I've been non-stop saving lives."

Yu Zibai said, "We found some comforters today. Do you want one? If so, we can save one for you."

Xu Ming nodded, "Yes, save one for me." He handed his house key to Yu Zibai, "If you come down tomorrow, bring all the medicine from my house. It's all in the fridge. If it's not used, it might spoil."

Yu Zibai took the key and nodded, "Should we bring your self-heating pot too?"

Xu Ming shook his head and, seeing that there were no other people around, whispered to them, "Don't rush to rescue anyone anymore. After so many days, there's little chance of saving many more lives by human effort alone. Focus on finding and stockpiling food to bring back. Try not to go out if you can avoid it."

Yu Zibai asked, "What happened?"

Qin Huai replied, "It's likely an epidemic. After a major disaster, a major epidemic usually follows. With such high temperatures and so many deaths, it's almost inevitable."

Xu Ming sighed, "Leaving here would be best, but we don't have the means to do so. The earthquake probably affected more than just our city. I've heard a lot of news over the past few days. Communication is cut off, but satellites are still picking up signals. All calls for help haven't received a response. The situation outside might be worse. Right now, food is the most important. Since we're on a high floor, make sure to clean and disinfect when you get home. It's better to drink less water and keep yourselves clean. Seal your doors and windows tightly. We've studied a lot theoretically, but with so many people dead, no one knows how severe the epidemic might become."

Xu Ming added, "It's really best to leave if you can. Finding a safe place to hide, like a mountain, would be safer, but we don't have any mountains here. If we try to walk out of the city, we might be caught in an epidemic before we even leave the third ring road. I'll keep an eye on the news here and let you know if there are any updates."

For now, this was all they could do. The two exchanged glances, their expressions heavy. They asked Xu Ming for directions, found the cafeteria, which was usually the busiest around five or six o'clock when the day's rescue efforts were ending. People would pick up their food and return to their tents to eat and sleep. Now, it was just before four, so there weren't many people, but the food was already on the stove.

To prevent the spread of the epidemic, the cafeteria staff were still wearing masks despite the heat. People couldn't approach the food table too closely, at least a half-meter away. Food containers were placed on the table, and after presenting a meal ticket, the staff would serve the food, placing it in the pickup area to avoid contaminated people coming close to the food.

Yu Zibai and his group hadn't had a proper meal in a while, so they went straight to the food area. The rice seemed to be mixed with coarse grains, and the only dish was a large pot of stew with potatoes and mushrooms, likely some dried vegetables rehydrated and stir-fried. There were also corn cakes with added sugar and fist-sized steamed buns.

Each meal ticket allowed for one portion of main food and one portion of vegetables or two portions of main food. Since Mu Nan didn't like the kind of food available and suspected the taste might be average, Qin Huai exchanged all the meal tickets for steamed buns and tried one of the corn cakes.

While waiting outside, the two sat on the ground, fanning themselves and swatting away mosquitoes, growing impatient. "What are they taking so long for?"

Mu Nan said, "Maybe there are too many people in the cafeteria."

Jian Chu sighed, "I wonder what kind of food they have."

Knowing what was available, Mu Nan sighed as well, "It's probably not very appetizing. I hope my brother doesn't end up with tasteless food. I'd rather just have steamed buns."