Chapter 27: Deadly Infection 12
This weapon, even at home, is quite a deterrent.
Chu Yian couldn’t find a place to put it away, so she simply leaned it against the wall and went about her business.
Noon.
A cacophony of shouting and fighting erupted in the residential area.
It started when a family, whose home had been robbed, went door-to-door begging for supplies, only to find their own stolen items in one of the houses. What else could it be? It was definitely a robbery.
Immediately, the two families began to fight.
The sounds echoed throughout the entire residential area, growing increasingly intense.
Suddenly, a dull thud was heard, followed by a woman’s piercing wail, “My child, my child!”
A child had fallen from a building.
Falling from the sixth floor, head first… The residential area fell silent for half a minute, then an enraged roar, “I’ll fight you all to the death!”
The fight escalated, the sounds becoming even more gruesome. One person, covered in blood, ran out, followed by a man wielding a cleaver. The man caught up to the bleeding person and struck him twice more.
The person screamed twice, then collapsed to the ground.
The man with the cleaver still didn’t let him go, dragging him by the arm back into the stairwell.
In this situation, no one dared to intervene. Calls to the police station went unanswered; it was truly a desperate situation.
Until ten in the morning.
The sounds of fighting from the adjacent building gradually subsided.
Silence.
An unprecedented silence.
No one even posted messages in the WeChat group.
Most people didn’t know what had become of the two fighting families. The bloodstains downstairs had dried, and no one had collected the body of the child who fell from the building. The scene was one of despair and fear, even leading people to wonder if the end of the world was nigh.
However, at twelve noon.
The power came back!
Not only did the power return, but the news also announced an exciting piece of good news—a specific medicine.
“Dear citizens, according to international CDC research, there has been a significant breakthrough in the development of a specific medicine. Please wait patiently, as the specific medicine will be mass-produced after clinical trials.”
“Let us unite our efforts to fight the epidemic and disaster!”
Not just the news, but broadcasts and mobile media, as if afraid people wouldn’t see it, were all pushing this message.
Finally, other sounds emerged from the residential area: some cheered, some yelled, some cried, venting the fear, unease, despair, and relief that had accumulated in their hearts over the past few days.
The WeChat group, silent for an entire day, finally came back to life.
“The specific medicine is coming out soon, everyone, just hold on for two more days.”
“Stop doing illegal things like smashing, looting, and robbing. If we unite and help each other, we will definitely get through this.”
Someone in the group expressed this with particular optimism.
However, they clearly overlooked the time it would take for the specific medicine to appear, assuming that an announcement today meant someone would come to save them tomorrow. They also overlooked the limited resources and the increasing number of infected people.
And the twisted and perverted psychology of those who had already robbed and killed.
Chu Yian calculated the days; it would be another seven days until the specific medicine truly came out. She felt that the days ahead would likely not be easy.
But there shouldn’t be any more trouble today.
She opened the freezer compartment of the refrigerator. Because the power came back in time, although the contents showed signs of melting, none of them had spoiled. For these two days, the meat in the refrigerator still had half a catty of shrimp, 3 chicken drumsticks, 1 catty of pork, and half a catty of beef jerky (made from fresh beef yesterday).
Vegetables: 4 potatoes, half a catty of peas, 180g of dried wood ear mushrooms, 1 winter melon, 1 packet of dried shiitake mushrooms.
Pickled vegetables: two and a half bottles.
Staples: 7 catties of rice, 12 catties of noodles.
At the time, she had only stocked enough rice for one person, not expecting to eat so much. Chu Yian calculated her current stock today and figured she could eat for another seven days without much problem, but she would have to vary her meals.
Today, she would eat stewed noodles.
She took out the completely thawed shrimp, then rehydrated some dried shiitake mushrooms and dried wood ear mushrooms. She cut a piece of meat from a chicken drumstick, diced it, and set it aside.
She cooked these ingredients in sequence, then added the noodles. Afterward, she seasoned it with salt, MSG, chicken essence, Sichuan peppercorns, pepper, soy sauce, sesame oil, and lard.
Finally, a rich bowl of noodles was served.
After cooking, Chu Yian tasted it herself. It was cooked, but the flavor was mediocre.
However, in the current situation, having something to eat was already very good, and besides, the stewed noodles looked incredibly appealing. Chu Yian quickly found the merits of her dish today, then packed two-thirds of it to send to her neighbor.
Game Day Fourteen.
Perhaps it was yesterday’s broadcast, or perhaps the brutal fight yesterday morning, that prevented any robberies from occurring last night.
Chu Yian walked into the kitchen to see what to eat for lunch today. It wasn’t that she only ate at noon; it was just that breakfast and dinner usually consisted of porridge, which was simpler and she wouldn’t send it to her neighbor.
Given that she would have porridge for breakfast and dinner, she decided to have noodles again for lunch today.
The chicken drumstick bones from yesterday’s deboning hadn’t been used yet. Chu Yian simply took another drumstick, removed the meat, and stewed the bones with shiitake mushrooms.
Today, she would make chicken noodle soup.
The meat was boiled in plain water and then shredded by hand. It was then mixed with chili oil and various seasonings for a cold salad.
The chicken noodle soup was light and fresh, while the cold shredded chicken was rich and spicy. Chu Yian was satisfied with today’s lunch.
It was delicious, so she would share it equally.
Chu Yian divided the food and walked out with the bowls, just as Lu Qingyuan came out. He was carrying a pile of data cables and a black box in his arms.
Lu Qingyuan looked at her, “Just put it on the table. Come here and help me.”
“Teacher Lu, what is this?”
Chu Yian put down the items and went to help, looking at his pile of equipment with some confusion.
“These are surveillance cameras and alarm systems.”
Lu Qingyuan handed the extra items to Chu Yian to hold, then opened the door and installed hidden cameras outside. Besides the cameras, he also installed several strange devices inside, which were probably the alarms he mentioned.
Installing three at once, that was quite impressive.
“Where’s your phone? Give it to me.”
Chu Yian handed over her phone. She watched as he opened it and did something on her phone.
When Lu Qingyuan returned her phone, it had a new app with a completely black image.
“You can use this software to see what’s happening outside.”
“Oh, okay, got it.”
Chu Yian reached out to take her phone, her fingertip accidentally brushing against his palm. The strange sensation from her fingertip made Lu Qingyuan pause. He looked at her, only to see her engrossed in studying the software, looking very focused.
“Hey, Teacher Lu. How do we use those three alarms above us?”
Chu Yian pointed at the devices above and asked.
“Those are warning and defense machines. You don’t need to worry about them; I control them.”
“Oh, okay, then thank you for your hard work, Teacher Lu.”
Chu Yian looked at these machines—this damned sense of security.
