Chapter 11 The Calm Before the Storm
When everyone returned to the 20th floor, they were all covered in sweat.
Bai Tang told them to sweat it out before turning on the air conditioner and taking a shower, otherwise they might catch a cold.
After everyone had showered, they gathered together again to check the 99+ messages in the owners' WeChat group on their phones.
Everyone is complaining about the unbearably hot weather, while others are showing off how much food they've snatched in the group chat.
Bai Tang and his group ignored these kinds of people. The saying goes, "Wealth should not be flaunted," and in such extreme weather, the same principle applies to food.
They temporarily divided into groups and went downstairs that night to pretend to buy supplies. Bai Tang, Gu Yanxu, and Bai Jiyang formed one group, while Lin Fan, Lin Feng, and Lin Zhou formed another.
The two groups took turns going downstairs, pretending to buy supplies and scouting the outside.
On the night of August 31st, everyone was woken up by the heat and discovered that the power was out.
The neighborhood they live in is a high-end community. If the transformers in high-end communities can overheat and explode, then the power would definitely have been cut off long ago, let alone those middle-aged and older communities.
Most of the residents in the community were awakened by the heat and sent messages to the community property management in the owners' group.
"Why is the power out? We have elderly people at home, what if they get heatstroke?"
"My child also woke up from the heat, and kept crying because of the heat."
"When will someone fix it? Can you hurry up? You've made us pay so much property management fee for nothing."
...
Seeing that everyone was getting more and more agitated, the community property manager finally spoke up.
"Our community has already sent people to work overnight to repair it. It will be fixed soon, so please don't be anxious."
The messages in the group gradually decreased. Some people, despite their enthusiasm, were simply too tired in the middle of the night and fell asleep.
Bai Tang placed a large iron basin in each person's bedroom, filled with ice blocks that had been stored up beforehand, essentially using a primitive cooling method. She also provided each person with a small rechargeable fan.
That's how I barely managed to get through the night.
The next day, there was still no power, and even the water supply for the upper-floor users was sparse, suggesting that the water supply might be cut off.
Many people have noticed this phenomenon and have started stockpiling water at home, using pots, pans, and other utensils to store water.
Sure enough, the water supply to the neighborhood was suddenly cut off before noon.
The residents' group chat erupted in chaos again.
"What's going on?! The electricity's still not back on, and now the water's cut off too! Are you trying to kill us?"
"How can anyone cook without water?"
"What should I do if there's no water or electricity? My phone is almost out of battery too."
At this point, the property manager came out and said, "Because the temperature is too high during the day, the electrical maintenance technicians aren't coming. We're already trying to find a solution, so please be understanding..."
After the manager finished speaking, he was overwhelmed by the 99+ comments in the group chat.
Everyone in the group is saying: "My family is out of water, can anyone lend me some?"
Bai Tang and the others chimed in with a few exclamations in the group chat: "We're out of water at home."
To avoid someone coming to them to borrow water.
According to online sources, this situation is not unique to their city; it's the same in other places as well.
There has been a persistent high temperature and no rain.
Lin Fan couldn't help but ask Gu Yanxu, "Then, boss, what about your grandpa and parents..."
Before Lin Fan could finish speaking, Gu Yanxu interjected, "It's alright. I called Grandpa before and told him about the situation. Mom and Dad are already at the new house with Grandpa, and they've stocked up on supplies, so there's no need to worry for now."
As darkness fell, the power repairmen and the water resources bureau began repairs on the city's water and electricity systems. Finally, water and electricity were temporarily restored to Huatian Community.
After the water and electricity were restored, everyone thought the previous power and water outages were just accidents. However, the smart ones realized something was wrong and started stockpiling water and food.
The high temperatures outside have continued for another week.
But then one day, the weather suddenly seemed less hot than it had been a few days before, though it was still above 40 degrees Celsius.
Just then, Bai Tang saw the weather forecast on TV saying, "A typhoon is about to make landfall."
For several days in a row, people across the country received super typhoon warnings on their mobile phones.
Some people said online: "It's just a typhoon, it can even bring down the temperature, what's there to be afraid of? I don't understand what you're thinking."
Some people also said: "The weather this year is too abnormal. Everyone should listen to the government and stock up on water and food. It's best not to go out during typhoons, or you might get blown away."
The United Nations Weather Forecasting Center said: "The world is experiencing frequent extreme weather events recently, global warming is coming to an end, and an era of global upheaval is on the horizon."
Bai Tang and the others stayed at home obediently, some exercising, some cooking, with clear division of labor and each performing their duties.
I'll just listen to the government and absolutely stay home during typhoon weather.
After two or three days, the weather wasn't as frighteningly hot as before, and everyone thought it was a good thing that it was finally going to rain.
Bai Tang and Gu Yanxu knew, however, that this drop in temperature was the calm before the storm.
This torrential rain will last for two months, with the amount of rainfall equivalent to directly flooding the city with seawater.
In many places, houses were completely submerged, and some buildings were flooded up to eight or nine stories high.
But they were still cheering for the cooler weather.
Some smart people stockpiled large quantities of water and supplies as soon as the weather cooled down to prevent future problems.
Some people don't understand why, as the weather gets hotter, Earth is entering an ice age.
That's because as the weather gets hotter, there will be more and more torrential rain.
As glaciers gradually melt completely, the Earth's average temperature can reach over 60 degrees Celsius. This causes massive amounts of seawater to evaporate, forming thick clouds that envelop the Earth and block out the sun.
At the same time, a massive and prolonged torrential rain will fall globally, and from this point on, the Earth will gradually begin to cool down, and precipitation on the oceans and land will begin to freeze.
As more and more ice accumulated, it pushed seawater onto land, and the entire globe began to freeze over.
Human disasters only begin when things freeze, and this powerful typhoon is the only calm before the storm arrives.
At night, Bai Tang nestled in Gu Yanxu's arms.
"What's wrong, honey? You seem troubled. You've been looking down all day."
"I'm just worried about whether human effort can combat natural disasters."
"Don't worry, you have a whole space full of supplies. If you encounter an emergency that you can't handle, you can hide in the space. Don't worry, you still have me."
"Yes, you still have me. I'm responsible for supporting your whole family."
Bai Tang said to Gu Yanxu.
"Yes, our whole family is counting on you, my wife~"
"That's against the rules, you're being too affectionate." Bai Tang righteously corrected Gu Yanxu's clip.
Gu Yanxu hugged Bai Tang tightly again and said with a lecherous grin, "You are my legal wife. What's wrong with us being affectionate? My wife, let me kiss you (〃ﾟ3ﾟ〃)."
...Manual dividing line (Cannot play, cannot play)
The next day, Bai Tang woke up with a terrible backache; it was truly unbearable.
She wasn't the one putting in the effort; she was the one who was exhausted.
At this moment, Bai Tang's WeChat group kept ringing.
Bai Tang opened the message and saw it was from the community's residents' group chat.