Day by day in the infinite game

Chapter 241 241. Air pollution survival mode ([-])

When the sleeping people in the underground town heard the alarm, they did not panic. They got up in an orderly and skillful manner and checked the corners of the houses again to ensure that no rainwater would get in.

Over the years, they have repeated the same experience countless times, and it has long been integrated into their normal daily habits.

Although the underground living environment is dark, humid and cramped, compared to the buildings on the ground that have been corroded by acid rain for a long time and become like brittle skin, as well as the environmental factors that seriously affect human health, underground residences are not so difficult to accept.

"Xiao Zhuo, is it closed?" An old and hoarse voice sounded in the small box house.

"Don't worry, grandma, I've checked." This was the rough voice of a young man who was in the stage of voice change.

Underground living environments are divided into different types according to different living standards. The most common, low-cost, and most widely used are iron-sheet houses with the thickness of a container box. They are usually located in the "danger zone" closest to the surface.

Although it is said to be a dangerous area, it is actually outside the penetrating power of highly corrosive rainwater, so there is no need to live in fear all day long.

This kind of house starts out as a large iron box without any functional planning. After people move in, the house slowly distinguishes functional areas such as bedrooms and kitchens.

Long-term acid rain has brought huge destructive power. The original mature urban supply system of black towns has been destroyed, and the supply of water, electricity and even food has been greatly reduced.

Tall buildings collapsed everywhere, the ground cracked, and the remaining buildings were crumbling in the wind and rain.

As if the end of the world is coming, the residents of the city suddenly fell into endless panic.

After learning through radio, Internet and other communications that the living environment was equally bad not only across the country but also around the world, people who originally wanted to leave their hometowns and find another way to make a living had to give up the idea.

If it's the same everywhere you go, it's better to stay in the place you're most familiar with.

……

Even though it was hit hard and suffered heavy losses, the country immediately provided basic living guarantees to the people, provided iron sheet houses for homeless people who were about to live on the streets, and distributed food, water and other necessities per person.

Qin Zhuo and his grandmother, who has a broken eye, live in such a wooden house, and the grandparents and grandchildren depend on each other.

Grandma's surname is Ning, and she has a nice name called Ning Jingxuan. She is a gentle and kind-hearted old lady.

In fact, she is an old lady, but she only looks old in appearance, with a slightly stooped figure. She is only 40 years old.

The originally smooth, healthy, plump and elastic skin and bright and shining eyes were ruined by the acidic substances carried by the acid rain.

She was originally a girl who had just grown up from an ordinary family. She graduated from school and was about to step into the society to be self-reliant.

But the situation changes suddenly, and the world is impermanent.

The originally ordinary but warm life was suddenly turned upside down.

Almost in the blink of an eye, the family is no longer a family, and people are no longer human beings.

The domino-like collapse of houses, which is no less than a high-intensity crustal movement, not only leaves a desolate and indifferent ruins, but also makes many families fall apart in an instant.

She was left alone.

Later, she remained unmarried and raised Qin Zhuo alone, who also became an "orphan".

At the beginning of the establishment of underground towns, all infrastructure and safety protection were not yet mature and in place. A large amount of manpower and material resources needed to be invested in infrastructure construction.

In order to support herself and Xiaozhuo, she also devoted herself to the construction of the glorious base.

At that time, the protective measures were not in place. During an excavation and cleaning work, she and many colleagues around her were doused by a sudden acid rain.

Even though proper treatment has been taken as soon as possible, her skin, appearance and physical health are still heading towards an irreversible aging direction.

She went from a young and beautiful girl in her early twenties to a sickly, pale, weak and blind old lady.

Qin Zhuo was still very young at that time, so she simply asked him to call her grandma. She also suppressed her heartache and joked with herself, and she suddenly avoided the detour of 30 to [-] years in her life.

Due to this accidental "work-related injury", the relevant departments provided generous compensation. In addition to replacing them with a house with better safety performance, she can also receive a monthly security allowance, food and water sufficient for two people to live.

But Jingpingxuan refused to buy another house.

She thought that at this time, the country was in dire straits, and there were countless people who needed to be resettled.It was the most difficult time, she couldn't see, she couldn't help anymore, and she shouldn't be a hindrance.

She could accept food, water, and the insurance money needed for daily life in order to survive, but she already had free housing provided by the state and a place to stay, so there was no need for her to change to a new house.

Although she was blind, as a well-educated person, Ning Jingxuan did not feel sorry for herself and waited for death.

She also wanted to set an example for Qin Zhuo.

She began to explore slowly, learned to take care of herself, learned to needle and thread, learned to wash and cook, and took good care of herself and Qin Zhuo.

Ever since Qin Zhuo could speak and remember, she had told him stories every day. From classroom knowledge to life experience, she would slowly teach him whatever she thought was useful.

In my spare time, I tried to learn knitting with a "knitting needle" that I had polished using tree roots for a long time.

Acid rain destroyed ground life, and wool and the like have long since become "records in the books."

What can be used are the long root systems of plants that are stretched underground and preserved.

This is also one of the food sources for people today.

In addition to plant roots, various insects and worms living underground are also sources of high-quality protein and energy for people today.

When the living environment deteriorates again and again, and finding food and trying to stay alive become the top priority, it doesn't matter whether bugs are scary or not, disgusting or not. At worst, it's just a matter of swallowing jujubes with your eyes closed.

After various underground infrastructure projects were gradually completed, key facilities such as agricultural departments and scientific research departments also began to be quickly established. People depended on food. If crops that could be cultivated were discovered and put into production as soon as possible, the panic of the people could be appeased as soon as possible. The chance of survival is also greater.

Today, the agricultural department has clearly introduced and widely planted several familiar underground root crops, including yams, potatoes, sweet potatoes, taro, radishes, etc. In the reclaimed underground farmland, simulated sunlight is used to promote their effective growth. photosynthesis, and then continue to grow.

Although the output, taste and nutrition cannot be compared with before, at least you won't be hungry.

The food crisis has been lifted temporarily, but the fresh water crisis is imminent again.

The original freshwater lakes, rivers, wells, and open-air reservoirs on the earth's surface have been polluted by acid rain, and the purification process is cumbersome, making it difficult to use. For a long time, people have used reserved water, sealed reservoirs, groundwater and other precious freshwater. resource.

This is only used for drinking water. More domestic water is used in rainwater and sewage after filtering harmful substances.

In order to save water, public health areas were set up in underground towns when they were first established. There was no division of toilet functions in the various types of prefabricated houses where people lived.

Basically no one is willing to go to the toilet in a small space where they also need to eat and sleep.

(End of this chapter)