"Today's outside temperature is 69 degrees Celsius, and the UV index is 8. Please wear protective clothing when going out and avoid direct sunlight..."
The AI's mechanical voice rang out at the gate.
Zhou Tao stood in front of the door and pressed the open button.
With a beeping warning sound, the first of the double doors opened, revealing the isolation zone between the two doors.
"One, two, three, push!"
Zhou Tao and the others pushed the large boxes wrapped in insulation behind them and slowly walked in. Then they closed the second door that they had just opened and opened the first door in front of them.
A thunderous sound rang out.
The first door, the first direct point of contact with the outside world, was opened, and the intense sunlight shone in. The dry wind carried sand and dust into the small isolation area, making a rustling sound as it hit the protective suits.
Even while wearing protective suits and helmets, Zhou Tao and his companions couldn't help but lower their heads and shield their eyes with their hands.
It's too bright outside.
The indoor and outdoor worlds are completely different.
"Let's go!" Zhou Tao, the team leader, nudged his partner after a moment of adjustment.
According to the standard of four people per production team, he had three other people with him.
The other two are veterans, while the remaining one is a young newcomer who just joined, named Xue Liangping.
" Liangping, let's go?" Zhou Tao noticed that Liangping hadn't reacted yet, staring blankly outside.
"Oh oh..."
Wearing protective clothing and with one hand supporting a box, Xue Liangping looked at the desolate city outside and it took him a long time to react.
I rarely go out during the day.
He offered a defense for himself.
The others didn't blame him; instead, they chuckled.
"You'll be coming out every day during the day from now on. You'll get used to these places after you see them so often." xS12
"Let's move the stuff to the agricultural building first."
"One, two, three... Push!"
Whoosh!
The large, cube-shaped iron box was covered with a layer of heat-resistant material and had wheels at the bottom. Two people were in front steering it, while two others were behind pushing it.
And so, they slowly made their way out the door.
The gate was closed again.
Xue Liangping couldn't help but raise his head, braving the blazing sun, and glance back at the place where he had lived for fifteen years.
A large building.
It is said that he has lived in this building since he was one year old.
This is the only part of the outer wall that he can see.
The roof was neatly covered with solar panels.
These solar panels have supplied all the electricity for his building for the past twelve years.
Seeing his expression, Zhou Tao, who was guiding the way, smiled and explained to the newcomer, "This building, I remember it used to be called something like the Commercial Building? If it were seven or eight years ago, you could still see the sign, but not anymore, it's been covered by solar panels."
" Old Zhou!" A voice suddenly came from the side.
Zhou Tao turned his head and saw an acquaintance from the building next door. He casually chatted with him about recent interesting events.
Xue Liangping continued to look around curiously, following the direction of the large box along the road.
Along their route, people emerged from many buildings, each pushing a nearly identical large box.
Xue Liangping was not surprised.
Because this place contains all sorts of garbage and excrement generated by each building throughout the day.
These are to be sent to the agricultural building, which is specifically responsible for agricultural production, for use as fertilizer.
Through textbooks, Xue Liangping learned that fifteen years ago, vegetables actually grew on the ground outside the building.
Until after that great disaster, the high temperatures and intense radiation on the Earth's surface made agricultural production impossible.
Various vegetables were then moved to buildings for cultivation.
Along with them were survivors from all over the country who were transferred in...
"A newcomer?"
Xue Liangping sensed that someone was talking to him. He turned his head and, sure enough, found that Captain Zhou's acquaintance had somehow turned his gaze on him.
He nodded and briefly introduced himself.
After exchanging a few words, the older man began to recount past events in a very familiar manner.
"What a pity for your generation. You should be in college by now, but it's good that you survived."
"Back then, things were chaotic. The sun was so intense... it was scorching hot as soon as you went outside. We drove around in big trucks, searching for people and delivering supplies from village to village and neighborhood to neighborhood."
"Later, when we started sending people into the building, we drove big trucks to deliver them. At that time, we didn't dare to close the doors of the trucks; we had to seal them with cloth. We also had to give each person a small fan to keep them cool. Even so, we still suffered countless burns and heatstrokes. It wasn't until we switched to delivering people at night that things started to get better..."
Listen to the older brother
If so, Xue Liangping would like to say that he learned about this period of history in a book.
The response across the country was extremely swift following that solar storm.
Despite the inconvenience caused by the high daytime temperatures, the nearly 12 hours of space available for movement at night were fully utilized.
Not only was order successfully restored domestically, but disaster relief efforts were also initiated.
Military vehicles and volunteer vehicles transported people from various locations into buildings.
Despite the initial chaos, there was a shortage of not only food but also energy; basically, everything was lacking.
But at least most people's lives were saved.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be alive today, even though he was only one year old at the time.
In the following years, basic production capacity recovered, especially after the renovation of the agricultural building was completed, which began to supply food for most people, and the situation gradually improved.
However, no matter how much it improves, it's still nothing compared to before...
Xue Liangping couldn't help but look up at the sun one last time.
He fantasized in his heart about that prosperous era of the past.
The large iron box carrying farmyard manure whirred as it went along, and the further it went, the more people appeared on the road.
Gradually, a long queue formed, and people even had to wait in line to get through a certain intersection.
While queuing.
Xue Liangping discovered that his team leader seemed to be very popular; many people in the building knew him, and as a result, he himself had also attracted a lot of attention.
Xue Liangping was somewhat overwhelmed by the attention he received from these people; he had never seen so many strangers in his entire life.
Just as he was greeting the uncles and aunts with the standard smile of someone with social anxiety.
A sudden uproar erupted from the front of the long convoy.
"What's wrong?" The people waiting to pass immediately stood up and looked ahead from a higher vantage point.
Xue Liangping, the youngest member of the team, also climbed up a solar panel pole and looked ahead.
" Liangping, what's the situation up ahead?"
"Could there have been a car accident?"
When this was mentioned, Zhou Tao and the other two team members all had strange expressions.
However, Xue Liangping shook his head.
"It's so dark up ahead... and there are so many big black cars, and their designs are so weird..."
car?
Zhou Tao found it strange. Apart from them, most other production teams worked at night, so why were there cars on the road now?