Ch82 Cooling Down, Torrential Snow and Extreme Cold Arrive
With the water supply in the space secured, Meng Ci felt cheerful for the next few days.
He called Shen Que over daily, cooking up all sorts of dishes and taking liberties with him along the way, living a life of pure bliss.
Nearly ten days of acid rain caused many houses to collapse.
Fortunately, the building where Meng Ci and the others lived remained unscathed. Thanks to Fang Shurui and the others reinforcing the roof, it didn't even develop a single crack.
It wasn't until the night before the blizzard hit that Meng Ci began reminding everyone.
"Shen Que, I see the temperature dropping steadily today. Remember to pile on extra blankets tonight."
"Teacher Yun, the temperature has plummeted these past two days. Make sure to wear more layers when you sleep."
After receiving their assurances, Meng Ci set down the walkie-talkie with a sigh of relief.
After turning on the electric blanket, he plopped two ten-pound quilts onto the bed before climbing in himself.
He then set an alarm for 2 a.m.-the time when temperatures would begin plummeting-so he could check on everyone.
Perhaps because he'd made all necessary preparations, Meng Ci felt surprisingly calm. After setting his phone aside, he fell asleep quickly.
"Riiing!"
"Riiing!"
The alarm jolted Meng Ci awake. After silencing it, he tentatively extended a hand to gauge the outside temperature, quickly pulling it back at the bone-chilling cold.
Curling tightly under the covers, he grabbed the walkie-talkie and began calling out to Shen Que.
"Shen Que! Shen Que!"
"Shen Que!"
Meng Ci called out for three minutes without hearing Shen Que's reply.
Could this guy have frozen to death?
Meng Ci was already preparing to struggle out of bed to find Shen Que.
But thankfully, Shen Que's voice finally came through the walkie-talkie.
"Mm!"
Though it was just a faint "mm," it still put Meng Ci's mind at ease.
Relieved, Meng Ci burrowed deeper into his blanket.
In the darkness, Meng Ci began muttering.
"Shen Que, is your blanket thick enough?"
"Snap out of it! Put on more clothes! Cover yourself up!"
"Shen Que, Shen Que..."
Hearing no further response from Shen Que, Meng Ci kept repeating his name.
"I'm awake!" Shen Que's voice finally carried some strength this time.
"Oh!" Meng Ci responded with a touch of embarrassment.
"Then hurry and cover yourself with blankets. Put on more clothes."
"I'll see if I can wake up Teacher Yun and the others."
"Okay." Shen Que agreed.
Meng Ci turned the knob on the walkie-talkie and began calling out to Yun jingcen and the others.
"Teacher Yun! Teacher Yun!"
"Teacher Yun, wake up!"
"Teacher Yun, it's getting colder! Don't sleep!"
The walkie-talkie had been left with Yun Jingcen mainly because she had mentioned being a light sleeper, allowing her to respond quickly if needed.
"Meng Ci!"
Hearing Yun Jingcen's voice through the intercom, Meng Ci felt relieved.
"Teacher Yun, are you okay?"
Meng Ci asked.
Yun Jingcen replied, "I'm fine."
"Thanks to you reminding us last night to cover up with more blankets."
After hearing Meng Ci's advice, Yun Jingcen gathered every blanket in the room and distributed them among the group!
She also instructed them to cover themselves with coats and other warm layers before sleeping.
"It's fine, Teacher Yun."
"Please go check on the other teachers. We can't have anyone freezing to death."
Yun Jingcen acknowledged the request.
Shivering, Yun Jingcen bundled herself in layers of clothing before knocking on each door in turn.
Mao Xinyu, Ruan Qing, Fang Shurui, Cheng Yu, and Duan Yan.
Only after ensuring everyone was awake did Yun Jingcen relax.
She replied to Meng Ci's message. Once they confirmed Shen Que was safe, everyone felt relieved.
With sleep gone for all of them, Yun Jingcen gathered the others.
They assembled a stove they'd found while scavenging earlier and lit a fire.
Once the flames caught, Yun Jingcen tossed several potatoes into the flames.
"We really owe Meng Ci a huge debt today. Without him, we might have frozen to death," Mao Xinyu said, rubbing her hands together.
The others all agreed.
Ruan Qing, clutching a hot water bottle, shivered. "Could it be... could the end really be here?"
Silence fell over the group. They had already looked outside-feather-like snowflakes swirled down, and the sound of rushing floodwaters below had ceased.
Most likely, the flood had frozen solid.
Fang Shurui took an air
thermometer and measured the temperature. Yesterday it had been three degrees Celsius, but in just a few hours it had
plummeted to minus thirty degrees Celsius.
In all the years since M City was founded, the lowest temperature had only ever been minus three degrees Celsius. Duan Yan hugged a glass cup, his eyes fixed on the steam rising from the hot water inside. "So it's here. We've endured this long, what else is there to fear?"
Now, with no end in sight for the blizzard, Yun Jingcen and the others hadn't stockpiled much firewood earlier, nor had they sought out coal.
Therefore, they devised a plan: the group would split into two teams, going out twice daily-morning and afternoon-to chop wood and return.
The five teachers initially objected to Ruan Qing joining the trips. But Ruan Qing reasoned that in the apocalypse, if he remained incapable of doing anything, he wouldn't survive if he ever had to leave the teachers behind.
The teachers considered this and realized he had a point.
Originally, they only wanted to do their small part to protect Meng CI, the flower of the motherland.
But in this apocalypse, if the nation's blossoms still lived in a greenhouse, then the nation itself would have no hope.
The final decision was made: Cheng Yu, Duan Yan, and Mao Xinyu would form one group, while Yun Jingcen, Fang Shurui, and Ruan Qing would form the other.
Regardless of whether they found wood, the most important thing was to stay alive.
Each team's round trip must not exceed three hours.
The fire in the house must never be extinguished.
The vegetables they'd painstakingly planted earlier were already frozen stiff, likely beyond revival.
Fortunately, the two rabbits Meng Ci had given them were kept in a nest lined with an electric blanket, plugged in all night. Combined with their fur, they seemed to be holding up reasonably well.
Therefore, if they ever wanted fresh vegetables again, they would need to raise the temperature in the house to continue growing crops.
After making these arrangements, the group huddled around the stove, wrapped in blankets, fighting off drowsiness.
It was already five o'clock. They wouldn't be able to sleep much longer before having to get up, and the cold seeped through the blankets.
It was better to make do here.
After confirming Shen Que and Yun Jingcen were safe, Meng Ci felt relieved.
"Meng Ci!" Shen Que's voice crackled over the walkie-talkie..
"Yeah? What is it?"
Knowing everyone was okay, Meng Ci curled up in his blanket, half-asleep.
"Nothing!" Shen Que's voice came through.
Meng Ci rolled over, releasing the walkie-talkie from his hand. Half-asleep, he wondered if the guy's brain had frozen solid.
He didn't catch what Shen Que said next over the radio. Meng Ci couldn't be bothered to check-all he wanted was to fall asleep.