Chapter 48: Super Mold 12
The crowd surrounding the Government building began to riot, even breaking chains and rushing into the building.
At this moment, a broadcast voice echoed over the city.
“My dearest citizens, I am deeply sorry, the message you received is true.”
“No one expected that a tiny mold could stump the world’s most brilliant scholars and researchers.
It didn’t even give us any time, rotting 70% of the world’s food in just a few days.”
“We had placed our hopes on this season’s About to mature crops, believing that if we could last half a month, we would have rations.
However, before the crops could bear food, the mold had already rotted them.”
“We have already given you all the food that could be found by any means within the city.
There is nothing left to sustain our current situation.”
“The Government will soon cease to exist.
The only thing we can do, the last thing we can do, is to do our utmost to maintain the city’s electricity and natural gas.”
“Please, all citizens, pay attention to food handling and water storage during this time.”
The Mayor’s voice in the broadcast was choked, and through his voice, one could imagine a desperate and powerless white-haired old man.
“We are truly helpless; we hope you can remain safe.”
Listening to the broadcast, the building where tens of thousands had gathered fell silent.
Even the young man who had been whistling just moments ago stood dazed, unsure of what to do next.
Just then, a middle-aged man with temples streaked with grey emerged from the Government entrance.
He looked at them with world-weary eyes; there was no need for words to know his identity.
People made way for him, people began to cry, people watched his retreating figure, knowing in their hearts that life was gradually coming to an end…
NPCs within the game were collapsing, while some players took advantage of this opportunity to fish in troubled waters.
You Che was one of those fishing in troubled waters.
As a player, he had drawn a super practical skill – Car Manufacturer – when opening his Newbie Gift Pack.
This skill primarily allowed him to manufacture a vehicle every two days through his own abilities.
The manufactured vehicle could be a bicycle, a tricycle, a car, a truck, or even a train.
As long as it was a vehicle, anything was possible.
However, the game also had limitations: each vehicle could only last for two days.
After two days, he could choose to manufacture a new car or not, but the old car would definitely disappear suddenly.
He was incredibly lucky when he entered the game, directly manufacturing a modern car!
The theme of this game was famine, so You Che immediately drove it out to sell for money.
The car was brand new; even if he sold it as ‘dirty goods’ at the lowest price, he could still get ten or twenty thousand.
You Che used this money to frantically hoard supplies until the car disappeared out of thin air a day or two later, which angered the ‘Big Brother’ who had originally taken his cut.
Unable to find the thief, they went after the one who sold the car.
You Che’s luck was truly terrible; most of his hard-earned food stash was stolen, and he was chased and beaten by that group of people.
He couldn’t take it anymore and had to leave that area to find a hiding place.
This wealthy Residential Area was a very good place to stay.
Taking advantage of most people being out on the streets, heading to the Government, he rushed over, then went to the property management to find out if there were any empty rooms in the Residential Area.
After confirming, he went straight upstairs.
Chu Yian was in her room disassembling the badge drawing when she suddenly heard a faint sound of a heavy object falling from the opposite side.
Someone?
No, there were only two apartments on this floor.
Besides herself, the other apartment was empty.
Chu Yian thought she might have misheard.
She lowered her head, preparing to continue drawing, but her pen tip stopped as it touched the white paper.
Better safe than sorry; it’s good to check.
What if someone really moved in?
Although this building had two independent elevators, the two apartments were still connected.
Stepping out of the elevator door, there was a passage on the side that directly connected the two.
While one couldn’t normally pass through, one could glimpse the opposite apartment door.
Thinking of this, Chu Yian put down her pen and tiptoed to the passage, carefully looking over.
The door to the opposite apartment was indeed open.
However, no one should be renting an apartment now, right?
This person might be an intruder.
The person should have already gone inside, but a bag was left outside the door.
Chu Yian glanced at the person’s backpack, and her pupils suddenly constricted—that was a player’s backpack!
Every time they appeared in the game, the outfit and backpack were basically the same.
Chu Yian’s own backpack was still in her room, and she clearly remembered its details!
First time!
She had been in the game for so long, and this was the first time she had encountered a player.
Chu Yian’s heart pounded, filled with the excitement of meeting an old acquaintance in a foreign land.
But soon, she calmed down again.
NPCs had good and bad people, and naturally, players also had both good and bad people.
She wasn’t clear about the other party’s intentions, or how many there were.
What if she rashly went up to acknowledge them, and the other party didn’t feel a sense of camaraderie with fellow players?
Moreover, she had stored so much food.
What if the other party became greedy and wanted to murder her for her goods?
Chu Yian heard footsteps from the opposite side, crouched low beneath the partition in front of her, listening as the person moved things inside.
It seemed to be only one person’s footsteps.
Bang—
The other party closed the main door.
Chu Yian stood up, her brows slightly furrowed.
She didn’t know how to deal with this neighbor now.
Better not meet yet.
Considering all aspects, safety was paramount.
Chu Yian carefully examined the connection between the two sides; besides the elevators, the stairs were also separate.
The closest point where the two apartments connected was still a meter away, and looking down from her floor height could make one dizzy.
Chu Yian felt this wasn’t enough.
She looked at the opposite side, then returned to her room.
She found glass bowls and bottles in the room, wrapped them in towels to reduce noise, and then smashed them.
She directly spread these broken glass pieces on the floor outside.
If the other party truly wanted to come over from such a height, their first step down would land on these sharp glass pieces.
In addition to this, Chu Yian also found several empty cans, put a few stones inside, and tied them with string along the path leading to her side, creating several simple alarm systems.
It was then that Chu Yian realized how important surveillance was.
In the last round of the game, Teacher Lu’s surveillance was simply a sharp tool, allowing them to foresee danger and seize the best time to escape.
By the time Chu Yian finished all this, it was already noon.
She stood by the window, looking out, and saw those who had gone to the Government gradually returning home.
No one had a smile on their face; confusion, helplessness, and fear were the expressions on most of their faces.
Many people had not yet realized the Mayor’s warning earlier.
Electricity, water, and gas were still holding on, but they themselves didn’t know how much longer they would last.
Maybe a day or two, maybe two or three days.
Although Chu Yian didn’t go, the broadcast reached here.
She had already assessed her water reserves.
Because she was preparing a survival kit, she had bought 8 cases of mineral water at the time.
There was also a large barrel of mineral water on the dispenser, which was basically enough for drinking.
However, she still found all the containers in the house and filled them all with water, with the bathtub in the room holding the most water.
If the power went out, this water could be used for washing things, flushing toilets, and many other purposes.
Besides that, the most important thing, of course, was food.
Chu Yian looked at the refrigerator, took out the rice she had originally planned to save, grabbed two handfuls, and prepared to steam rice for lunch today.
Chicken, dried tea mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, and a stew seasoning packet were also taken out.
She put a large frozen chicken into the pot to boil, then scooped out half, drained the water, and dried it.
She processed the stew seasoning packet and threw it into the pot, then took out seasonings and began to prepare the dressing for the other portion of chicken.
At once, the spicy aroma of cold-dressed chicken and the rich aroma of chicken stew were all vented through the range hood.
A tiny bit of the smell drifted to the next door, and even that small amount was caught by You Che, who was preparing to gnaw on compressed biscuits.
He sniffed hard, enticed by the smell, and couldn’t help but swallow several times.
Fragrant!
It was too fragrant!
Whose family was so extravagant that they could still stew soup at a time like this?
This tantalizing smell immediately made him feel that the compressed biscuits in his hand weren’t appealing anymore.
He wanted to go see whose house was cooking, but he didn’t quite dare.
He sniffed hard several times, then buried his head and continued to gnaw on the hard biscuits.
