In the middle of the night, Su Yu was shivering with cold. Even though she had tucked herself completely into the bed, she still felt cold. Faintly, she heard someone knocking on the door continuously.
"Knock! Knock! Knock!"
"Su Yu! Gu Meng! Wake up! The cold wave is here!"
Su Yu struggled to wake up, and Gu Meng beside her also opened her eyes groggily. Both of them were shaking with cold.
The sun was still shining, and the electric blanket had been turned off a long time ago. The two of them were freezing, and the chill seemed to penetrate into their bones.
Su Yu replied to the person outside, "I'm awake," and quickly turned on the electric blanket, putting on two sets of warm underwear, a heavy down jacket, and sticking several warm stickers. Only then did she feel better.
It's really getting much colder! She had to go out and take a look.
Gu Meng was still struggling to put on her clothes, so Su Yu went out by herself. In the living room, a stove had been lit, with coal inside and a kettle on top.
Li Zhun and Bai Shang were dressed like bears, huddled around the stove to keep warm, their faces frozen white.
Qiu Qin hadn't come out yet.
Lin Yiran was standing by the window looking outside, holding a thermometer in his hand: "It's already minus fifty-three degrees, and it's still dropping. Be vigilant at night and don't sleep too deeply."
Su Yu walked over to look out the window, but it was pitch black and she couldn't see anything. However, the bone-chilling cold made her body stiff, and she almost couldn't speak.
"I know, I'm going back to the room. It's warmer in the room."
Lin Yiran reminded her to bring the hot water bag and would fill it with hot water for them later.
Su Yu nodded in agreement, indicating that she understood, and quickly went back to the room.
Lin Yiran also asked Li Zhun and Bai Shang to go back to their rooms, and he would wait for the water to boil. Li Zhun quickly ran away, but Bai Shang stayed. He was also waiting for the water to boil.
The two of them sat beside the stove, staring at the kettle that was starting to steam, silent.
After a while, Bai Shang broke the silence.
"Do you think everything will return to normal after this cold wave?"
Lin Yiran replied calmly, "Can't you guess? This disaster won't end so simply."
From the rainstorm to the mosquitoes, and then to the extreme cold, they had only experienced three disasters, but they already felt like the end of the world.
Lin Yiran knew that Su Yu probably knew more than they did, but she didn't want to come out, and he wouldn't force her. Occasionally, she would give hints that were helpful in preventing disasters, and he could also deduce some other clues from them.
That was enough!
Lin Yiran patted Bai Shang, and the water was boiling. Just as Gu Meng came out with a hot water bag.
Several of them filled the hot water bags with hot water, then put out the fire, and went back to their rooms one by one.
Su Yu took the hot water bag from Gu Meng, saw that she kept looking out the window, and guessed what she was worried about, but didn't console her. She just went to bed and fell asleep.
In the future, such disasters would be common, and human lives were not worth much. As ordinary people, they couldn't save everyone. Gu Meng wouldn't realize that soon, the people she was worried about would resent her, envy her, and even harm her.
Therefore, in the end of the world, it was most important to take care of oneself.
She didn't dare to sleep deeply at night, waking up from time to time. Outside was silent as if the world had been paused, without any signs of human life.
But when she woke up in the morning, the crying sound came from downstairs. It was a heartbreaking cry, and it was a mess.
Su Yu and Gu Meng put on their clothes, finished washing up, wrapped themselves in cotton jackets, and walked out of the room. Lin Yiran was making breakfast on the stove.
"What's wrong?" Gu Meng walked over and asked. Bai Shang brought out the dishes and chopsticks from the kitchen and replied to her.
"A few people in this building froze to death last night, and the apartments nearby were about the same."
Gu Meng's face turned pale, but she didn't say anything.
Su Yu looked at her, then shifted her gaze, accidentally meeting Lin Yiran's gaze.
Lin Yiran turned his gaze away naturally, looking down at the porridge in the pot, and said briefly, "Hurry up and eat. After that, we'll have a meeting."
The few of them ate porridge with multigrain, paired with pickles and salted duck eggs. Su Yu and Gu Meng ate two bowls, while the other few boys ate three bowls.
After breakfast, Su Yu finished washing the dishes, and everyone sat at the table waiting for Lin Yiran to speak.
"Everyone has seen that this extreme cold will take many lives. We can only protect ourselves and can't save everyone, so don't have too much psychological burden."
Hearing this, Gu Meng lowered her head. She knew that this was mainly for her to hear.
Beside her, Bai Shang patted her on the shoulder and whispered to comfort her, "Don't worry too much. If we have any predictions about the disaster, we will try to let the settlement know. The country will still save most people."
Lin Yiran continued, "What we should worry about now is man-made disasters." Without waiting for anyone to ask, he looked at Su Yu, and his eyes were so complex that it was hard to see clearly, "Su Yu, what do you think?"
Su Yu looked at him, momentarily at a loss for words. Why did he have to mention her?
Gu Meng immediately looked up at her, looking innocent. Li Zhun and the others also looked at her.
Su Yu could only explain, "Under extreme cold conditions, people can't go out and can only stay at home. Imagine, when your food and heating supplies are not enough, what would you do?"
Li Zhun took over the conversation, "Ask for help from others!"
"Right," Su Yu nodded, but the words that came out made several people's hearts turn cold, "So, who has the most supplies in the apartment now? It's us. Everyone has seen us go out to look for supplies. Now that we still have supplies, they won't force their way in, but what if after a while, there are no supplies left?"
Everyone was silent, and they all knew the answer.
Lin Yiran said it out, he just wanted to expose this bloody truth and make everyone mentally prepared.
"Without supplies, they will come to borrow, ask for...even, they will steal and rob. This result is normal. In order to survive, humans can do anything. So, don't think that just by installing a few doors, you can feel at ease. "Finally, he made a heavy conclusion, "I can be sure that this disaster is far from over. We all need to be mentally prepared to face it and not look at the problem with the same standards as before. Here, don't trust anyone easily except the few of us!"
Everyone nodded.
"Also, from now on, we all need to do physical training. Su Yu, you have a Tang knife, and you need to practice swordsmanship with me, Li Zhun, and Bai Shang. Gu Meng and Bai Shang will practice archery, and Qiu Qin will do upper body physical training since his leg is not yet healed."
Su Yu: "..."
Why did she have to team up with the male lead again?! Suddenly, she felt that the Tang knife wasn't as good as before.