The rise of nanometers

On February 22, the Yellowstone volcano erupted again. Although the expeditionary force controlled the spread of volcanic ash, there was no way to stop the tide of magma that erupted.

As the main direction of the magma tide, 83% of Montana has been swallowed up, and the magma flowing along the Missouri River is less than 54 kilometers away from the city of Bismarck.

But fortunately, it is the cold winter in the northern hemisphere, and the magma cools very quickly, so it does not rush into places such as North Dakota.

It's just that the development of things often has two sides.

Although the Missouri River was not completely swallowed by the magma tide, indirect flash floods occurred in the Missouri River Basin at this time.

In some areas, due to contact with magma tides, local snow and ice melted rapidly, turning into sudden floods.

These floods carried the volcanic ash on the ground and turned into black floods, flooding low-lying areas.

Then encounters with cold air and prolonged periods of dark weather cause floodwaters to refreeze in flooded areas.

This kind of intermittent flood has hit the city of Bismarck more than eight times. With the Yellowstone volcano erupting again the day before yesterday, the Fifth Group was ready to prepare for sudden floods.

The soldiers that were mobilized on a large scale that day were sent there to reinforce the levees of the Missouri River.

Sure enough, at noon on the third day.

A flood mixed with volcanic ash, broken ice, debris, and corpses surged down from the upstream.

On the temporary embankment made of quick-setting cement and angle steel, you can see the surging floodwaters, like a long black snake, sprinting madly downstream.

The road bridge and railway bridge on the west side of Bismarck also felt shaky at this time.

Large pieces of broken ice, entrapped wood, and cars are constantly colliding with the bridge piers. This continuous impact is a fatal and unstoppable threat to the bridge.

Although the temporary embankment ensured that the main urban area of ​​Bismarck was not affected by floods, other surrounding areas were not so lucky.

After five surgeries, Kong Ligu removed his exoskeleton and stood in front of the corridor window, looking at the Missouri River in the distance.

The overflowing black torrent seems to destroy everything in the world and end all the sins of mankind in this era.

"Dr. Kong, is there no problem over there?" Jones looked at the black flood worriedly.

After taking a sip of hot tea, Kong Ligu said calmly: "I believe that my motherland has not notified us to evacuate, which means it is safe here."

"..." Jones was speechless. In fact, she always had an incomprehensible doubt about Chinese people like Kong Ligu.

For example, they have a high degree of trust in the Federation. This trust even has a sense of mysterious confidence, which is something that Jones and other locals cannot understand.

Because after the disaster in North America, the official behavior was quite inactive, which led to the local people actually not trusting the official.

Kong Ligu turned around, looked at Jones who looked confused, and said calmly: "You will understand later, okay, you have rested enough, let's continue with the next operation!"

"OK."

In the evening, the weather in Bismarck changed from the previous gloomy weather.

The setting sun illuminates the city.

The people who survived the disaster rarely saw the golden sun in this dark and cold winter, and the flood peak of the Missouri River outside the city had also passed.

As night falls, the temperature drops rapidly.

The black river in the river became more and more viscous. It was obvious that the flood was freezing. Regarding this situation, the soldiers of the fifth group did not take it lightly and continued to strengthen the embankment.

As for the bridges on the river, although they have not collapsed, many bridge piers have experienced large-scale cracks and disintegration, and may collapse at any time.

These road bridges and railway bridges are basically scrapped and will have to be blasted and disposed of in the future.

In the northern part of the city.

An old-fashioned bar is finally open again.

The boss, Marshall, is an old man dressed as a cowboy. He likes to carry a large revolver and chat and drink with customers while doing business.

However, after reopening today, the bar was deserted, and his beloved big revolver was nowhere to be seen.

An old customer who was passing by saw the bar open again. He hesitated at the door and then walked in.

When I walked into the bar, it was deserted. Apart from Marshall, there were only two customers wearing American military combat uniforms, drinking in the corner.

"Oh! Ham, are you still alive?" Marshall joked with a smile.

"Hahaha, let's have a glass of rum and ice." Ham smiled and shook his head, then sat on a chair next to the bar: "By the way, I don't have rice dollars now, can you take the credit?"

"Put it away." He turned around and picked up a bottle of rum from the wine rack, then cut an ice ball with an ice knife, put the ice ball into the cup, put a slice of lemon into it, and finally poured the rum.

"How is work? Is Baker Company still there?"

Ham shrugged: "Probably not. I now work for the federal government, delivering urban supplies."

"You are a network engineer and you actually work as a courier?" Marshall asked with a hint of surprise.

Harm took a sip of cold rum and shook his head with a smile: "This is just a temporary job, and for Dusha and the others, I must have credit points."

"Speaking of which, the rice dollar has really been completely cancelled? Will those rich people agree?" Marshall asked curiously.

Taking another sip of wine, he smiled helplessly: "Monopoly? They can't even buy a piece of bread now. Even if the federal government doesn't directly confiscate land and factories, they can't resist."

"Why?" Marshall, who had lived in capital society for decades, still didn't understand the federal social operating system.

Hamm explained: "When you open a bar, you need to pay taxes and buy alcohol and food. If the federal government wants to destroy the entire bar industry, it only needs to increase taxes and then restrict you from purchasing alcoholic beverages and food. How can you survive?"

"Um..." Marshall was speechless and remained silent for a while: "There is always someone who needs to drink. Will the need be eliminated?"

Ham smiled again and shook his head: "Demand is indeed difficult to eliminate, but demand can be transferred. Don't forget, the Federation has its own companies?"

Own business? Marshall reacted immediately, and he realized that the Federation and Noah were different. There was an essential difference between the two.

Big businessmen and rich men can make all the decisions within the Noah Society's system, but within the Federation's system, they can only obey orders.

Then Hamm said pointedly:

"The rich are indeed dissatisfied, but the third- and fourth-class people are very satisfied. At least they don't have to worry about becoming cannon fodder. If they successfully become official citizens of the Federation, they will be more handsome than the rich in the old era."

After saying that, he glanced at the two soldiers in the corner.

Marshall seemed to understand.

After drinking a glass of rum, Ham used his ID bracelet to pay Marshall 5 credits, and then returned to his community with a bag of cans and candies.

There is still a pungent smell of sulfur dioxide in the air.

But the sky has become a lot cleaner, no longer as gray as before, and the black-gray volcanic ash and snow on the streets along the way have also reduced a lot.

Hamm didn't have any other thoughts. He just wanted to live for his family now, instead of thinking about other messy things.

Thank you for your support (ω｀), the fourth update is completed.