Chapter 28: The Endless Cold Night
1408 Words
July 6th, early morning.
Zhou Lin was woken by the cold.
It wasn’t from freezing.
The indoor temperature had dropped to about ten degrees, and the power was out.
Electricity supply is extremely fragile.
A strong gust of wind could result in large-scale blackouts in the city, and it’s not like how novels describe—society continuing to function for a long time after a disaster. In the real world, even a two or three-day flood can leave an entire region without power for a week or more.
At this moment, ordinary people couldn’t even function outside, and the loss of power also meant the loss of communication in the area. The government and power companies couldn't organize repairs, and as time passed, the situation was bound to worsen.
Zhou Lin knew that for most people, it was essentially the end of the electric age. In the next three months, solar power equipment, which would be ideal for personal or home power generation, wouldn’t work. There were no simple hydroelectric conditions available, and even wind turbines couldn’t function properly. The only thing left would be thermal power generation.
In the tool room, it was pitch dark, and only Yang Kiki’s terrified voice broke the silence. "Who’s there?"
"It’s me, the power’s out," Zhou Lin replied, shaking his flashlight. He saw Yang Kiki wrapped in a sleeping bag, looking like a grub.
The boiler was still running, and as long as Yang Kiki remembered to add coal every eight hours, it wouldn’t go out. In fact, the room was warmer than the two lower floors, with a temperature of 23 degrees.
The engine with the "RR" label and fuel were ready. Zhou Lin only needed a few simple steps to start it, and within seconds, the lights came back on.
"I’ve locked a few windows. Don’t open them without my permission." Ignoring Yang Kiki’s exposed half-body, Zhou Lin tossed out a warning before heading downstairs. To his surprise, everyone was up, including Wu Xue, who had started staying the night since last evening.
Wu Xue hadn’t wanted to stay, but Zhou Li’s reasons were compelling. As Zhou Cai Jun’s "chief physician," Wu Xue needed to see the situation through until the end.
Holding Zhou Li’s hand, Wu Xue was full of gratitude. If it weren’t for Zhou Li insisting she stay, she would have had to suffer from the cold and power outage in her own home, which would have likely gotten worse.
"The apocalypse has officially begun..." Zhou Lin gestured for everyone to sit at the dining table. "From now on, the enemies we face won’t just be the harsh natural environment but also those desperate for food and warmth."
Except for Wu Xue, the other family members—Zhou Cai Jun and Zhou Li—remained calm. Cheng Yali had actually killed people before, Zhou Cai Jun, though small in stature, had an extreme calmness and intelligence, and as for Zhou Li, she might have been the least afraid of the apocalypse.
"Even though we have explosion-proof doors and have welded shut doors that don’t need to be opened, that doesn’t guarantee 100% safety. Li Li has installed surveillance on the corridor, rooftop, and tool room. If there’s any abnormal activity, the software will trigger an alarm. Whoever hears the alarm must immediately notify everyone in the house." After saying this, Zhou Lin handed a small communication device to Wu Xue, asking Li Li to teach Wu Xue how to use it.
Zhou Lin then outlined more precautions and assigned everyone tasks.
Cheng Yali would still be responsible for the family’s daily needs. Wu Xue volunteered to help. Zhou Cai Jun’s main task was to recover his health. Zhou Li would handle the maintenance and updating of all technological products in the house.
As for Zhou Lin, he had only two tasks: one was to supervise Yang Kiki in managing the tool room, and the other was to focus on physical training.
If there was one thing Zhou Lin could be pleased about in the last couple of days, it was the change in his abilities.
Symbiosis: [Level 1: 578/1000] Currently symbiotic vehicles: Laifu (large water transport vehicle) Can symbiotically host: 0 Storage space: 1/1 ...
Zhou Lin had been repeatedly using his abilities as much as his physical strength allowed. As a result, his experience points shot up rapidly. He also noticed changes in his body.
Firstly, he had become stronger. It used to take him a lot of effort to carry a 20 kg bag of rice, but now he could lift it with one hand without breaking a sweat. He only started to feel a little strained when lifting 50 kg.
Secondly, his stamina had improved. He didn’t feel fatigued while doing chores, though this could be because he hadn’t done any intensive physical labor or training.
The third change was an enhancement of his five senses and faster neural reaction speed. For instance, his hearing had become so sharp that he could hear everyone’s breath in the same room, and if the surroundings were quiet enough, he could even hear their heartbeat.
He guessed that his hearing was probably comparable to that of Black Zai (his pet).
His vision and sense of smell had also improved.
Although he didn’t have instruments to measure these changes, Zhou Lin wasn’t unfamiliar with this kind of progression—it was exactly what evolutionaries experienced.
In his previous life, Zhou Lin had heard from evolutionaries that evolution wasn’t something that happened overnight. It was a long-term process, and as long as one kept exercising and providing their body with sufficient food and energy, the benefits of evolution would continue to grow.
As for where the limits of an evolutionary’s power lay, Zhou Lin didn’t know and hadn’t had the right to know in his past life. But he knew that many evolutionaries had failed to grow because they lacked food and were afraid to push their limits, eventually dying in a humiliating manner when they faced overwhelming threats.
Since Zhou Lin had fortunately unlocked the path of evolution five years earlier this time, he would never give up. Perhaps in this life, he might even reach the pinnacle of evolution—if there was such a thing.
The Zhou family’s house was huge, with hundreds of square meters across multiple floors, including six suites, a large living room, a small living room, a reception room, a tea room, and a study. Zhou Lin had transformed a 30-square-meter reception room into a temporary gym.
The gym equipment was taken from Laifu, the large military transport ship. The American soldiers’ professional tools were easy for Zhou Lin to install with his current strength.
"You all need to work out as well," Zhou Lin said. "The environment will only get harsher. I hope everyone will have the ability to protect themselves."
Due to Wu Xue, firearms like handguns couldn’t be exposed for now, so practicing with cold weapons was crucial.
"My house downstairs can also be used," Wu Xue suggested.
"I’ve thought about it," Zhou Lin replied. "For now, it’s unnecessary. Your house hasn’t been reinforced, and the doors and windows haven’t been modified for extreme cold."
Zhou Lin wasn’t short of materials for reinforcement, but the process would require various tools. If they did it, wouldn’t the entire neighborhood know that their house still had electricity? Though other families likely had electricity as well, who would be remodeling at a time like this if they didn’t have sufficient energy?
"Let’s wait and see if the government does anything."
Zhou Lin had good reason for saying this.
After a week of endless night, the temperature would rise for a short period—almost exactly one week.
The national government, using its strong infrastructure and prior preparations, had managed to restore basic power supply to some degree. They used thermal power and underground electrical pipelines to provide power to densely populated areas.
Once that happened, Zhou Lin would reconsider if it was necessary to renovate Wu Xue’s house.
When Zhou Lin got busy, Zhou Li, on the other hand, was sitting on the sofa playing with her phone.
Wu Xue was surprised. Her phone had not received any messages, so was Zhou Li actually playing offline?
"Snow Sister, do you want to go online?" Zhou Li asked, blinking innocently, but her expression was like a little devil tempting one to sin.
- Writer
