Liu Peiqiang stared blankly at the Earth outside the window.
Although several days had passed, he still felt uneasy about being on a mission in another time and space. In particular, the Earth in this time and space seemed very unfamiliar, completely unlike the blue Earth of his childhood memories.
"This looks absolutely spectacular! It's the first time I've ever seen anything like this, bro."
A familiar voice suddenly came from beside me.
He knew without even looking that it was his partner Makarov.
"Alas, these magnificent sights were achieved at the cost of lives."
Liu Peiqiang was filled with mixed emotions. Makarov put his arm around his shoulder and comforted him, "We've done everything we could. Don't be sad about it, brother..."
"And haven't similar things happened frequently where we've been before?"
"Be more optimistic, hmm?"
Due to major geological changes and drastic climate shifts, disasters frequently occur in the Wandering Spacetime, often resulting in the loss of most of the population of an underground city.
Therefore, the United Government has taken preventative measures in all aspects to minimize the impact. In particular, considering that the Earth will completely stop rotating in a few years, which will inevitably lead to a major disaster, these matters were planned and explained decades in advance to prepare people psychologically.
Therefore, for their generation, weather disasters are already commonplace, and one could even say they are somewhat numb to them.
For example, the most common occurrence is magma seeping into underground cities. In the past, when this happened, all we could do was strengthen inspections and prevention measures while accepting our fate.
Faced with this helplessness in the face of such a great era, all they can do besides accept their fate is sigh when the news reports about it.
Even as an astronaut, and even as Sun Deyi, no one could save those trapped in the lava.
At least, that was the case before the Mutual Aid Society and that President Zhang appeared.
Liu Peiqiang was deep in thought.
He only discovered this more than six months ago, after the magma seepage accident in the Changbai Mountain underground city, that they already had a new way to deal with this disaster.
The Spacetime Tunnel, combined with a well-organized structure, is enough to remove everyone from danger before death truly begins to reap lives...
Seeing that his partner hadn't responded for a long time, Makarov brought over a packet of drinks and handed it to him. "Do you think I'm wrong?"
Liu Peiqiang took the drink, silently put the straw in his mouth, and said, " Old Ma, what you said isn't wrong, it's just that I'm not used to it..."
Makarov shrugged and slurped down his drink. "On the bright side," he said, "The existence of the Mutual Aid Society and us in this timeline has greatly reduced the mortality rate. It's hard to imagine how many humans in this timeline would have died if we hadn't come here."
Liu Peiqiang released his pent-up frustration, forced to let go of the disparity between his ideals and reality.
After the space station accepted this temporary mission, it kept a close eye on all the news about this spacetime that it could receive.
He knew everything about the entire operation, from beginning to end, including all the internal communications within their timeline and all the rumors that could be gleaned.
Especially Becker's uncooperative, disbelieving, and uncooperative attitude...
It's already a miracle that we've achieved what we have.
It can only be said that Old Ma is right. If it weren't for them, this timeline would have been caught off guard by this kind of meteorological disaster and would probably have become a replica of No. 2 Spacetime.
"Let's stop talking about that and talk about something happy."
"I heard that the North America rescue operations in this timeline are paid operations. After the operation is over, they will settle accounts with us for a large sum of supplies, although they will most likely be taken from the 'fridge'."
"But perhaps we can get a bigger share in our underground city. After my child hears that I participated in this rescue operation, he might silently clasp his hands in prayer before the sumptuous meal, and say in his heart, 'Thank you, my father, for everything you have done for me'..."
Seeing Old Ma's mouth almost stretched to the bone, completely lost in his own fantasy, Liu Peiqiang smiled and couldn't help but think of his family in another time and space.
New York.
Jack and his two companions finally crossed the Statue of Liberty Statue and set foot on Manhattan soil in their sled.
The Manhattan Borough that lay before them was devoid of its former prosperity; the money had been swept away by the tsunami, and power was frozen beneath the ice.
Before the three of them was only darkness.
The power has been cut off for a long time.
Let's start our walk from here.
Jack and his two companions dismounted from the sled and, using the dim headlights, pushed the sled forward together.
The near-shooting incident on Staten Island during the day had left a deep impression on them, and now they dared not wake the gunmen hiding in the darkness at night.
But outstanding men always shine...
Besides, their car lights were on.
So the three of them were discovered again before they had gone very far.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a commotion arose from the building next door, as if many people were walking around and some were shouting in low voices.
The three of them immediately tensed up, exchanged a few glances, and in unison rushed to the rack behind the sled, carrying the various supplies inside onto their bags.
They were going to abandon the car and flee!
But just then...
"Stop!"
A beam of light shone directly into their faces.
A young man, clearly wearing a heavy overcoat, but also forcing himself to wear a black police uniform over it, walked out of the broken window of the building.
The light shining on their faces was from a flashlight.
Upon seeing that they were police officers, Jack and his two companions relaxed slightly and obediently gave a French military salute.
"Where did you three get this sled?" Lund turned off his flashlight and approached the three men.
Based on his years of experience, he had judged that these three people were not particularly dangerous; after all, they were all white, and their demeanor and expressions suggested they were quite relaxed and at ease...
Jack lowered his hands. "We came from Washington."
Lund jumped in surprise. "From Washington?! You're a rescue team!?"
Jack and Frank exchanged a glance. "Well... we can be considered part of the rescue team, but we've gotten separated from the main group."
Lund completely ignored the last sentence. He turned his flashlight back on the sled and found that it indeed had the Mutual Aid Society logo that had been shown on TV. He immediately became excited.
"Come in with us first. Is there anyone else? Just the three of you?"
"That's all," Jack somewhat nervously. "Just the three of us."
"Then hurry up and come in..." Lund grabbed Jack's hand and called people from inside the building to help carry the sled inside as well.
Once inside the building, Jack realized there were quite a few people there.
Dozens of eyes were staring at him.
Lund explained briefly, "We thought you were coming in the dark to launch a sneak attack, so we woke everyone up."
After saying this, he turned to face the others and said excitedly:
"Ladies and gentlemen, the rescue team is here in front of us. They're coming in sleds, and we'll be rescued soon!"
Well...
Upon hearing this, Jack quickly interrupted Lund, putting his arm around his shoulder and backing away. "I already told you, we're barely part of the rescue team."
"Doesn't that mean you're a rescue team?"
"..."
What he said makes a lot of sense.
Jack was momentarily speechless, realizing he hadn't explained himself clearly, and continued, "Listen, we've left the team now. We have other missions. My son is in New York, and I'm going to see him. He's my only son, and I haven't had time to spend with him..."
Lund stared blankly at the middle-aged man in front of him, who was talking non-stop like a machine gun.
Behind Jack, the seasoned Frank stepped forward to take charge, briefly introducing himself as a rescue team that had gotten separated from the main group, hoping everyone wouldn't misunderstand...
Those who were trying to stay awake by hugging their knees were immediately disappointed upon hearing these words.
Frank was relieved to see this.
He was afraid that these people would see the three of them as saviors.
As Lund listened to Jack's machine gun, he gradually began to understand, after initially being confused.
So you can't save us?
Jack shook his head. "The three of us are also taking risks."
"Alright then," Lund sighed, knowing it was all for naught, but he still reminded them, "You'd better wait a bit longer, until dawn before setting off at the same time as us. That way, the chances of being shot by the madman will be minimal."
Jack nodded; he also felt it wasn't very safe, as traveling at night with lights on was too conspicuous.
But then he immediately realized something was amiss and quickly asked, "Where are you headed?"
Lund said, "To Staten Island."
"We'll rejoin your main force."
Jack frowned, instinctively saying, "Are you guys crazy? Didn't the broadcast say you need to stay indoors and keep warm?"
He held his head, glanced at the people around him, and asked again, "Where did you all come from?"
Lund was taken aback by his exaggerated reaction and said woodenly, "We came from the public library."
He also recounted how he and his group had broken away from the library.
Upon hearing this, Jack picked up the map and quickly located the public library.
"It's only about seven kilometers as the crow flies from here. How long did it take you to walk here from the library?"
Lund scratched his head. "About half the day."
We've spent so much time but only covered such a short distance.
On one hand, there was the threat of gunmen, and on the other hand, the weather and terrain were terrible, and many people didn't even know their way around. After all, New York was now covered in at least two layers of ice, and there were no road signs at all.
Jack said in a calm voice, "The straight-line distance from here to the rescue team's location is still twenty-five kilometers. It will take you at least three more days to walk."
"There's absolutely no way you people can hold out for another two days."
Without even looking closely, Jack could tell how exhausted these people were.
He frequently travels to Antarctica, and he knows how tiring it is to walk on the ice sheet in such blizzard conditions.
Lund hesitated, but Jack didn't give him a chance to speak, "I suggest you return to the library as soon as it's light. As you said, you've already set up a shelter there; spending this crisis there is the best option!"
"Furthermore, you should have heard the broadcast from the space station; a terrible storm is expected to hit New York in the next few days..."
"That's a few days from now, and there's no guarantee they'll actually come."
Lund still didn't want to give up, but after the hardships of the day and hearing what Jack said, he couldn't help but hesitate.
Jack's next words were resolute:
"No, that storm is bound to come!"
"Just as if they foresaw the climate catastrophe, this storm they've predicted countless times is bound to arrive in the next few days!"
"I've worked at the Mutual Aid Society, I know the people there. Their techniques and theories are far more advanced than ours, they can't possibly make a mistake!"
"Promise me you'll be back at the library after dawn..."
Although his only mission here was to find his son, Jack couldn't bear to watch so many people walk down a dead end.
Lund grew increasingly hesitant, looking at the people who had followed him out of the library, unsure of what to do next.
Seeing this, Jack stood up, clapped his hands to draw everyone's attention to himself, and cleared his throat:
"Gentlemen, I think you'd better return to the library after daybreak..."
Washington, D. C.
This night seemed exceptionally long.
The cold wind howled outside the window, and the heavy snow pounded against the glass, making Lucy, who was alone in the hospital, very uneasy.
Peter had become bald due to chemotherapy, was fast asleep. Lucy turned off the bedside lamp and then left the ward.
The distant road echoed with the honking of car Horn, but the houses around the hospital remained shrouded in darkness. Everyone else had fled for their lives, leaving her alone in a quiet corner, as if forgotten by the world.
Run for your life...
Thinking about this made Lucy feel uneasy.
I wonder if she and Peter also have a chance to escape?
'Never mind, never mind, don't think about these things...'
Lucy tried to control herself, but if she didn't think about this, she would naturally think about another.
Her husband and her missing son popped into her mind, and the moment they appeared, she wanted to see them. Then she was back to the question of whether she could escape Washington —it was a vicious cycle...
The wind outside the window howled like a ghost.
Lucy was startled, but after regaining her senses, she tightened her clothes and prepared to return to the ward.
Just then, out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly saw a bright light shining in from the window. In that instant, she felt as if she were seeing the sun, and instinctively squinted and shielded her eyes with her hand.
That's definitely the high beam of some kind of large vehicle!
This was the first thought that popped into Lucy's mind.
But the next second, she shuddered as if she had been electrocuted.
High beams?
Is someone here?!