tkworld Chapter 159 Water Storage Containers
Chapter 159 Water Storage Containers
About half an hour later, the sound of a small truck braking came from outside. A young deliveryman in work clothes checked the address and began unloading the goods from the truck. Plastic containers of all sizes and specifications were unloaded one by one. These brand-new containers quickly piled up into a "small mountain of plastic" on the open space of the second-floor warehouse. The deliveryman was very efficient. After counting the items, he had Xu Xiaoyan sign for them and then drove away.
After seeing the deliveryman off, Xu Xiaoyan carefully checked that the door was locked from the inside. She took a deep breath and began the water storage process.
She first piled all the firewood she had previously stored in her space on the second floor, then put all the plastic containers into her space. She quickly ran downstairs, turned on the tap, and clear tap water gushed out. She took out the first empty mineral water bottle, placed it under the tap, and began to fill it. Water flowed into the bottle, the water level slowly rose, and when it was full, she tightened the cap. With a thought, the bottle disappeared and entered her space. Then came the next bottle…
The process was mechanical and repetitive. She was like a tireless porter, shuttling between the kitchen faucet and her thoughts, filling the container, checking for overflow, unscrewing the lid, and putting it away. The constant gurgling of the faucet became the only sound in the room. Her arms began to ache from repeatedly lifting and placing containers, and her legs, which had been standing for too long, were also a little stiff, but she dared not stop for a moment.
Time slipped away quietly amidst the silent yet busy repetition. When she aligned the inlet of the last 200-liter water tank with the faucet and watched the water flow into this behemoth, a complex emotion mixed with fatigue and a sense of accomplishment welled up in her heart.
The water tank filled slowly. She leaned against the wall, rubbing her aching wrists, and waited quietly. When she finally tightened the large sealing cap, she breathed a sigh of relief. This way, even if the extreme cold caused the water supply system to completely collapse or the pipes to freeze and burst, she would not have to worry about the most basic drinking water and the essential domestic water for the time being.
The exhaustion and relaxation left her feeling powerless. She leaned against the wall for a while, and it was then that she suddenly realized that she had made a mistake in her haste and had completely forgotten to look for cat litter to solve the hygiene problem!
"Oh well, it's the same going now. Hopefully, I can still make it in time." She had already made up her mind that if she couldn't buy cat litter at the market, or if the price had skyrocketed, she would just buy some on the app. Even if it was more expensive, there was nothing she could do about it.
Having made up her mind, she picked up the now-empty backpack, prepared to lock the door and head to Taiping Street Market to do this "last" shopping trip.
Just as she inserted the key into the gate lock, her fingers preparing to turn it,
A classic melody, extremely loud and penetrating, suddenly burst forth from the inside pocket of her coat! It was "The East Is Red," a song almost etched into the memories of a generation! The volume was so loud that it even caused a slight echo in the quiet courtyard, appearing particularly abrupt and jarring.
Xu Xiaoyan was completely stunned, as if she had been put on pause! Ever since she exchanged her points for this basic smartphone at the base, it had never rung a call except for the forum transaction notifications and Xie Yingtang's communication request! She had almost forgotten that this thing even had the most basic function of making and receiving calls, and she had never even thought of, or felt the need to change, the factory default ringtone, which was very characteristic of the era.
The sudden, high-decibel ringtone sounded particularly jarring. She quickly released the key, her hand trembling slightly as she reached into her pocket and pulled out the phone that was vibrating wildly, its screen flashing blue light.
The screen displayed an extremely short string of numbers, 006. This format... was definitely not for private communication! It looked more like an internal code or short number from some official system, emergency broadcast, or special department!
She took a deep breath, forced herself to calm down, pressed the green answer button, and quickly held the phone tightly to her ear.
The receiver picked up a cold, monotone, synthesized female voice, devoid of any emotion. The voice, sharp and clear, began to broadcast at an unquestionable pace: "[User ID 154265879, this is the Linchuan Base Integrated Early Warning Department. A special emergency weather alert is now being issued. Please listen carefully.]"
Xu Xiaoyan held her breath. The electronic female voice continued without pause: "[Following an urgent notification from the base's meteorological department and higher authorities, due to the continuous southward movement of a super cold air mass, temperatures in our city and surrounding areas are expected to plummet sharply starting at 10 PM tomorrow night. At that time, the nighttime minimum temperature will drop to -15 degrees Celsius, accompanied by strong cold winds.]"
Minus 15 degrees Celsius! Xu Xiaoyan's fingers tightened around her phone. This temperature far exceeded the local historical record for the same period, and for many people who lacked sufficient heating facilities and reserves, it would be fatal.
But what chilled her to the bone, making her feel as if she had fallen into an ice cave, was the electronic female voice's subsequent, seemingly calm yet terrifying addition: "[Important Note: This cooling process will continue, and the magnitude and duration of the temperature drop are highly uncertain. Meteorological models indicate that the subsequent minimum temperature may drop further to even lower levels... Currently unknown. Repeating, the subsequent minimum temperature and the duration of extreme low temperatures cannot be accurately predicted at present and are subject to significant uncertainty.]"
Unknown! Even official meteorological departments cannot predict how low it will go or how long it will last! This "unknown" is more despairing and powerless than a specific, terrifying number.
After delivering the core information, the electronic female voice paused for about half a second, as if giving listeners time to process the terrifying information, before delivering the standard closing remarks with an almost cold calm: "All residents of the base, please take this very seriously, act immediately, and implement the highest level of cold-weather protection measures to ensure your personal and property safety. Warning information broadcast complete."
"Beep—beep—beep—"
A busy signal rang, and the call was automatically disconnected.
Xu Xiaoyan remained frozen in place, her phone still pressed against her ear, as if the cold electronic voice continued, the monotonous busy tone from the receiver like a ticking countdown, striking her suddenly blank mind.
Tomorrow night at 10 PM... -15 degrees Celsius... Further details unknown... Ongoing...
These keywords kept echoing in her mind. She originally thought that the extreme cold might approach step by step like the usual cold waves, giving her some time to react and make up for any shortcomings. Unexpectedly, reality was far more cruel than she imagined. It didn't come step by step, but directly brought a suffocating countdown!