Chapter 9: In the End, Everything Returns to Silence

Liu Mu seemed to have known something long ago, and even deliberately mentioned that the temperature in the underground garage was low...

The temperature outside was still rising, and Luo Sanlin's anxiety grew, because that girl had not said when this disaster would end.

As for the relevant departments, he had tried long ago, but they could not be contacted at all.

It was not hard to imagine the situation outside; it was likely that all the systems of the entire city had already paralyzed. If this continued, people like Zhu San would only become more numerous...

"Officer Luo, you really have foresight," a sturdy security guard came over and handed him a cigarette, "Luckily you let us put water buckets downstairs today, otherwise we wouldn't even have a mouthful of water to drink right now."

This security guard was named Wang Biao; he used to be a migrant worker, but returned after his wife got lung cancer. After his wife passed away, he lived alone with his daughter. He met Luo Sanlin while asking someone to help him find work, and was just introduced to work as a security guard in the residential complex, and his child was also attending the elementary school in the community.

"The unit issued a fire prevention document; I don't have any foresight," Luo Sanlin was annoyed. He didn't want to smoke, but still lit one with Wang Biao's lighter, "How is Niuniu? Is she okay?"

"She's fine, the little girl is sharp. As soon as she felt something was wrong, she woke me up from the bed. Look," Wang Biao lowered his voice, "We even prepared food and drink. Anyway, it's just the two of us. If you and your wife need anything later, just come find me."

Luo Sanlin looked around and asked strangely, "Where is Niuniu? It's so chaotic, don't let her get lost."

"She won't get lost," Wang Biao smiled, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth, "I put her in the duty booth, right up front."

Luo Sanlin frowned slightly. The duty booth was at the entrance and exit of every floor. The rising temperature made him a bit worried, so he still spoke up to remind him.

Wang Biao thought for a moment, threw away his cigarette butt, and decided to listen to the advice and go pick up the child.

Less than a minute after he left, the people remaining on the second basement level suddenly became noisy, and then a dull explosion was heard.

"The natural gas upstairs exploded! Quick, the building is going to collapse!"

Someone shouted, and people started running outside.

"Don't go out!" Luo Sanlin immediately went to stop them, but he alone could not block the flow of people, "The temperature outside is too high, don't go out!"

He was squeezed against the wall. Explosions kept coming down through the building structure. Compared to the high temperature outside, more people were afraid of being buried underground and rushed out one after another.

Then more screams were heard. Exposed to the high temperature of several hundred degrees, people could not last even a minute.

But the people behind were still running out, and the people outside wanted to come back. The front and back were squeezed together, which evolved into a stampede. It was as if Death had played a malicious joke, destined to take away a batch of lives.

Just as Luo Sanlin reached the entrance of the third floor, he felt the temperature had at least doubled compared to before. Seeing Wang Biao, who was carrying his daughter and coming against the flow, holding a Loudspeaker, he hurriedly squeezed over to help shout.

This chaos lasted for about an hour. It was unknown how many had died, and even more were injured.

The third floor, which originally had nearly a thousand people, had lost nearly half after such a commotion.

"It's over, Officer Luo, it's over!" With wounded people wailing all over the floor, Wang Biao lowered his voice to complain to Luo Sanlin, "I just took a look at the thermometer. Guess how hot it is outside? Over three hundred degrees. There's no way to live!"

Niuniu was also too scared to speak. She had been too hot to bear while staying in the security booth earlier, but she was afraid her father wouldn't find her, so she didn't dare leave. By now, she had no energy left.

"You take the child down first, have them move their positions below, and find a way to get them down too," Luo Sanlin's face was cold, "I'll take a few people to close all the fire doors. I hope the temperature rises more slowly."

After the two discussed and decided, they separated to take action.

The Air Raid Shelter at the paper mill, a few kilometers away from them, was not nearly as chaotic. Although the temperature had risen some, it was, after all, inside a mountain, and the space was large enough. As long as the big door was closed, basically nothing would go wrong.

"I remember our factory has disaster prevention supplies. Are they inside?"

Some people's food was almost gone, and they were eyeing the public supplies, wanting to go into the Air Raid Shelter.

Xu Xiaoxia got anxious as soon as she saw this, her elbow almost poking through her father's big belly, "Quick, quick, think of a way, Dad!"

"This, this, this," Director Xu was also anxious. He wiped his sweat, had an idea, and hurriedly greeted the people who wanted to go inside, "It's by the fire hydrant. See that small door over there? It was replaced just two months ago. It leaks inside, it's very damp and there are rats, why would they put them in there?"

As he spoke, he stood up with Xu Xiaoxia's support and took a bunch of keys from his belt, "The custodian isn't here, but I have the keys. Let's get this straight first: the items belong to everyone, and they will be distributed to each household. Don't go looting!"

The veteran employees in technical positions immediately said they wouldn't loot and asked Director Xu to distribute them to everyone.

Old Xu was the financial director of the paper mill. Although he wasn't the only director, anyone in the factory who drew a salary had to give him some face, for fear of being targeted or having their pay docked.

At this moment, they were much more orderly than the people in the residential complex outside. It was mainly because the deep-rooted, upright public-sector mindset had taken hold in their hearts. There might be some petty greed, but in times of major right and wrong, they would still prioritize the interests of everyone.

Director Xu regained his sense of identity and immediately had Xu Xiaoxia organize some younger people to draw water from the fire hydrant to cool off. Then he opened the iron door where the disaster relief supplies were stored, took out some Compressed Biscuits and the like to distribute, and also took out some military-grade bedding.

"We can't easily use the remaining supplies. They are public property. If there is disaster relief later, our factory cannot hold everyone back!"

With such a righteous statement, everyone was convinced.

It was just that the temperature was getting higher and higher, and many people were worried about their families outside, sighing and not feeling fortunate at all.

"I don't know how my son's family is doing. The kid insisted on buying a high-rise. What should we do now? I really want to go over and take a look."

"Look at what? It was all instigated by his wife. Hmph, not only did she look down on us, but she also spent so much money..."

"Oh, you two stop arguing. There are places to take refuge everywhere now. They are grown adults, nothing will happen to them."

That was what they said, but not one of them could truly set their minds at ease.

Outside the Shengli Waste Station, the breakfast street had already experienced several explosions, and the number of casualties could no longer be counted.

Old Man Zhang had an entire building at the end of the street. He usually just collected rent, and the couple lived more prosperously than other families on the street.

Now the couple was hiding in a cellar dug in the backyard to store sweet potatoes and potatoes, and they were already too hot to bear.

"Old woman, hey, old woman, don't sleep, you can't sleep now!"

Old Man Zhang was still wearing a white undershirt and a pair of flip-flops with worn-out soles. He took a gulp of water and sprayed a mouthful onto his wife's face, exhausting himself for a long time.

Both of them were soaked with sweat. Fortunately, they had put two buckets of water from the courtyard well before hiding inside.

"Old man," the old lady woke up faintly, her consciousness already blurred, and she started talking nonsense, "Why are you still wearing that white shirt? Didn't you say I was going to wash it early in the morning? Going to work covered in sweat, won't people laugh at me? Take it off quickly, I'll wash it clean in two rubs... Oh, when are we going to take our wedding photos? I can't sell my hair yet, otherwise I won't be able to braid it, it'll be ugly..."

Old Man Zhang's mind was still clear. Hearing this, he knew that their time was coming to an end, and he couldn't help but shed tears, "Silly girl, what are you saying? Aren't our wedding photos hanging on the head of the bed? You, you look good in any hairstyle. Big braids look good, a bob cut looks good, and a big red hair ribbon looks good. Among the women on our street, you are the best-looking. Old woman, drink some more water. I haven't closed my eyes yet, you can't go first!"

"It's so hot," the old lady took a sip from the ladle handed to her mouth and actually tasted some sweetness, "The sweet water you made is generous with the sugar. The steamed buns you secretly brought me a few days ago also had sugar in them, right? Weren't you afraid your mother would pull your ears? So much sugar, you just wanted to make my mouth sweet, right?"

"Yes, yes, let you eat more sugar so you'll stop nagging me," a wave of dizziness hit his head. Old Man Zhang helped his wife into the recliner and squeezed her already withered hand, yet it felt as white and tender as it did back then, "Old woman, let's go on the road together. When we were dating, we agreed that we would be together wherever we went. We finally kept our word. You must hold onto me tight, don't get lost..."

At the moment of death, the old lady suddenly opened her eyes, her speech exceptionally clear, "Good Heavens, don't let my daughter get hot. She is such a good child!"

Closing her eyes, there was not a sound left in the cellar.

The cursing and wailing everywhere were also gradually disappearing. The sudden explosions, the raging fires, the collapsed houses...

In the end, everything returned to silence...