mtl008 Chapter 257 Situation
Chapter 257 Situation
The atmosphere inside the room was oppressive and gloomy, as if a sharp blade was hanging over everyone's heads, making them feel tense and oppressed, as if their heads would be chopped off at any moment.
The door clicked open, and Qin Yu walked in, his shirt stained with blood and dust.
Qin Yue looked panicked, and tears welled up in her eyes and finally streamed down her face. She quickly walked to Qin Yu's side, "Brother, are you hurt?"
Qin Yu quickly reassured them, "I'm not injured. This is someone else's blood. Please sit down and I'll explain everything to you one by one."
Jiang Li and the others breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Qin Yu return safely, but they were still shocked when they saw the bloodstains on his body. What exactly happened?
"Go change your clothes first, we'll wait for you here."
Jiang Li looked at the dirt on Qin Yu's body and urged him to clean himself up quickly to avoid getting sick or having other problems.
Qin Yu didn't refuse, after all, he was also uncomfortable being covered in dirt. He quickly went to the bathroom to wash up and then went back inside.
Seeing Qin Yu sit down, Qin Yue couldn't wait to ask, "Brother, what happened? Why did you come back with blood? Was the situation too bad?"
Qin Yu turned on his watch and sent a video to the group while saying, "The shaking just now was caused by the birds attacking the base. The base barely managed to control the birds' attack by using firearms and deploying soldiers to shoot them down."
Jiang Li opened the video. Missiles and other weapons drew a bright arc in the thick fog, like shooting stars in the sky, bringing a moment of brilliance. A huge mushroom cloud bloomed among the flock of birds.
After the smoke was blown away by the wind, the corpses of birds could be vaguely seen on the ground, their blood soaking into the soil. Jiang Li could almost smell the nauseating rusty odor.
But after the missiles were used, the number of birds did not seem to decrease at all. They continued to fly towards the base, using themselves as cannonballs. This scene was like raindrops falling from the sky, which was shocking and terrifying.
"Damn, this is outrageous! Are these birds ants? No matter how many we kill, their numbers don't seem to decrease."
When Liangzi saw the scene in the video, his anger burned fiercely, as if he wanted to set the whole world on fire.
The news Qin Yu brought back was neither good nor bad. The fact that the shaking wasn't caused by an earthquake was a good thing, but the fact that the flocks of birds outside were so reckless and so numerous made it uncertain whether the base could hold out.
"Do those birds know where humans are? Otherwise, why would they attack the location of the base?"
After watching the video, Lin Panpan felt a chill run down her spine, as if a cold air was rising from her bones. She made a chilling guess.
“This is a very likely guess.” Jiang Li crossed her arms over her chest, her expression solemn.
"But even if we know that the flock of birds was attracted by people, there is no way to stop them from getting closer. And we are in the base now, so there is nothing we can do."
Qin Yue's face was filled with dejection, like a withered flower; she didn't know what to do.
Staying inside the base and watching flocks of birds fly outside gives me a suffocating feeling, like being slowly but surely cut in half.
"The base should have thought of this, and the scientists will definitely find a way to drive these birds away."
Even assuming they hadn't come up with a solution, the base was so fortified that it couldn't be breached by a flock of birds in a short time.
Qin Yu spoke, his voice like a steady bell, reassuring everyone.
"The flock of birds outside didn't invade the base, so how did you come back with blood on you?" Jiang Li looked up at Qin Yu, her face full of doubt.
"It was that sudden shaking that startled the crowd, causing them to gather and stampede. Fortunately, the soldiers managed to control the situation, but some people were still injured, so I helped the soldiers take them to the infirmary."
As Qin Yu recounted what had just happened, he felt a tightness in his chest. Even though the soldiers had told them to stay where they were and wait, those people still desperately tried to squeeze towards the door; they were practically courting death.
"Sigh, I thought that even if the flock of birds was large, we could wipe them out with a few shots using firearms. But it seems that their numbers are like locusts, and we'll definitely have to live in the underground base for quite some time."
We still need to be careful with food. If we don't go out for a while, I'm planning to switch to eating only one meal a day.
Lin Panpan felt a headache coming on when she thought about the food stored at home. There were three people in her family, and Xiao An was just a child, but he ate quite a lot.
"You still have to eat. If you don't get enough nutrition, I'm afraid you'll get sick easily."
This flock of birds is probably not the end of the natural disaster. We might encounter other situations later. If our legs go weak, how will we escape?
Jiang Li cautioned that getting sick would be even more troublesome than not having food.
Nowadays, a person's health is the foundation of everything.
When will this natural disaster finally end?
Qin Yue sighed softly.
"That's all for now, but everyone should be prepared to take their belongings with them at all times, in case of any unexpected situations."
As everyone left Qin Yu's room after the meeting, a gloomy atmosphere filled their hearts.
Back inside, Jiang Li sat in a chair, contemplating her plans like a statue. When Ye Jingmo brought over the medicine, she didn't hesitate for a moment, downing it in one gulp without a sound, like a robot, devoid of any emotion.
The underground base has insufficient food reserves. If we stay here for too long, even if nothing happens outside, chaos will break out inside.
Jiang Li couldn't help but look at Ye Jingmo and ask, "Brother Mo, do you think the base has any way to drive away the flocks of birds? If this continues, chaos will break out in the base sooner or later."
The dense fog rendered the fields, which had been painstakingly cultivated, completely barren, and the livestock succumbed to disease and died. Without food, people will do anything when they're starving.
Ye Jingmo pulled Jiang Li's hand onto his lap, as if cherishing a priceless treasure, warming her cold palm.
"The base will definitely come up with a solution, it's just a matter of time. If things continue like this, the base will probably provide relief meals, but that should just be enough to keep people from starving."
Hearing Ye Jingmo say this, Jiang Li suddenly remembered a satiating potion she had taken before her rebirth.
I don't know what it's made of, but one tube is enough to provide a day's worth of food. However, it tastes extremely bad, like fermented garbage.
Most people, given a choice, would not take such satiating agents, as they are torture for the taste buds and sense of smell.
Over the next week, the intermittent shaking gradually calmed people down from their initial panic.
The base has also released a video regarding the bird attack, explaining the current situation and trying to calm people's emotions and give them confidence that the underground base will win this "battle".
However, most people were skeptical of what the underground base said, since they only said the positive things, and apart from the soldiers and government on the front lines, no one knew the real situation.
But life goes on, and many people who are short of food and don't have enough points to buy food in the cafeteria have started to cut back on their food.
Sometimes when Jiang Li and Ye Jingmo went up to gather information, they would see some emaciated people lying on the ground, their eyes cloudy as they stared at others, like walking corpses.
Most people remained indifferent, continuing with their lives as usual. After all, no matter how bad things get, life has to go on.
In the morning, the alarm clock rang as usual.
He reached a hand out from under the covers and groped around to the pillow, skillfully turning off the alarm clock.
Jiang Li rubbed her face against the blanket, her eyes half-closed, like a Persian cat that hadn't woken up yet, lazy and content.
When the second alarm rang, the person in bed slowly got out of bed and staggered towards the bathroom like a puppet on a string.
Ye Jingmo was setting out breakfast on the table when suddenly a warm body pressed against his back.
"Brother Mo, what's for breakfast?"
Jiang Li's voice was still a little hoarse as she wrapped her arms around Ye Jingmo's strong waist.
"Milk-cooked fermented rice balls".
Ye Jingmo turned around and hugged Jiang Li back, stroking the back of her neck gently, as if he were petting a cat.
Jiang Li looked at the bowl on the table. The white milk and fermented rice wine were mixed together, and she could smell the aroma of milk and wine. The plump little dumplings were decorated in it, making her mouth water.
"It looks delicious."
Jiang Li happily sat down in the chair, scooped up a spoonful, and put it in her mouth.
The rich, creamy flavor is subtly infused with the aroma of alcohol. The small glutinous rice balls are soft, chewy, and slightly bouncy. After drinking a bowl, you feel warm all over.
"Brother Mo, how about we kill all those guinea pigs today, leaving only Blackie and Whitey?"
Jiang Li licked the milk off her lips, thinking of the guinea pig in the cage that ate grain but didn't gain weight, and asked Ye Jingmo for his opinion.
Xiao Hei and Xiao Bai were the first guinea pigs Jiang Li raised. Since she had already named them, she figured she might as well keep them.
Seeing Jiang Li's actions, Ye Jingmo's eyes darkened. He felt a dryness in his mouth, and his Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily.
"Kill them, since they don't grow any meat and there's no need to raise them."
Ye Jingmo shifted his gaze to the guinea pig cage placed in the corner.
Jiang Li went into the kitchen to boil water, while Ye Jingmo moved the guinea pig cage to the bathroom to avoid the hassle of cleaning later.
Ye Jingmo picked out Xiao Hei and Xiao Bai from among them. They were completely unaware of any danger. When they were pulled out, they still had grass roots sticking out of their mouths, and their beady eyes stared innocently at Ye Jingmo, as if to say, "Why are you catching mice?"
Ye Jingmo found a box, put Xiaobai and Xiaohei inside, and began to deal with the remaining guinea pigs.
Carrying a bucket full of hot water into the bathroom, Jiang Li watched as Ye Jingmo held down the guinea pig's body with his left hand and made a clean and decisive cut with his right hand, and the guinea pig's struggling body slowly calmed down.
Jiang Li took a pair of pliers, clamped the guinea pig, and put it into hot water to soak. After a while, she took it out and, while the fur was softened by the hot water, immediately began to remove the fur.
After working for about two hours, the clean, white guinea pig meat was placed in a basin.
Finally, everything is done.
Jiang Li wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, her eyes filled with the joy of accomplishment.
Although guinea pigs are not very big, there are so many of them that this batch of meat can last for about half a month.
Outside the bathroom, Pudding sat upright at the door, her eyes fixed on the guinea pig meat in the basin, her longing almost overflowing, as if she hadn't eaten for three days and three nights.
Jiang Li looked up and saw Pudding's hungry eyes, which looked like those of a wolf. She smiled and took two guinea pigs out of the basin. She went to the kitchen and cooked the guinea pigs in a pot.
Pudding understood from Jiang Li's actions that she was preparing food for it, and immediately followed Jiang Li happily.
Using chopsticks, Jiang Li took the cooked guinea pig meat out of the pot and put it in ice water for a while. Then, she took the small bowls of pudding and jelly and shredded the meat into thin strips.
Pudding couldn't wait to stand up, put its paws on the stove, and wag its tail like a fan.
Jiang Li watched Pudding and Jelly happily eating their food, and a wave of happiness washed over her as well.
dong dong!
A knock sounded in the quiet room.
"Captain, are you home?"
Liang Zi's deep voice rang out from outside the door, and the knocking was urgent, as if something urgent had happened.
Ye Jingmo took the basin containing the guinea pig meat out of the bathroom and had Jiang Li put it into the space. He then turned around and went back into the bathroom to put the fur, internal organs, and other garbage into bags.
Jiang Li put the bag into her spatial storage. The space inside the house was small, and if it was left untreated, it would definitely start to smell bad in a few days. In this environment, it would be difficult to explain if someone found it.
Ye Jingmo scanned the area to make sure there were no flaws before carefully opening the door.
"You rushed over, is there something you need?"
Ye Jingmo lowered his eyes and stared at Liang Zi.
"The base is about to distribute supplies. There's already a long line at the canteen. I came to let you know so you can hurry over before you miss your turn."
Liangzi's chest heaved violently as he gasped for breath, small beads of sweat clinging to his nose, revealing his urgency as he ran over.
"Then let's go quickly."
Jiang Li pulled Ye Jingmo's hand and walked towards the cafeteria, her face showing a hint of anxiety.
Although she had plenty of supplies in her space, the base was distributing supplies. They walked over unhurriedly, which seemed strange no matter how you looked at it, so Jiang Li decided to put on an act.
Qin Yue and Qin Yu also left the room at Liang Zi's prompting, and the group headed towards the cafeteria in a grand procession.
There were four lines of people at the entrance of the canteen, a sea of people, all of whom were numb from the hardships of life, but more or less had a bit of joy in their hearts.
Qin Yue kept glancing ahead curiously, "I wonder what kind of supplies the government will give us? I hope it's something like instant noodles."
Qin Yu said, "Some people have already received a lot, do you still want to make demands?"
Qin Yue rolled her eyes at Qin Yu, who was undermining her, but if she didn't say anything, no one would think she was mute.