Chapter 338: Chapter 338: Precautionary Measures
Yang Xiao personally led Gong Yu, Huang Wen, Qin Yu, and others out of the building, arriving at various places around Nanmu City.
As everyone walked down May 1st Boulevard, the main thoroughfare of Nanmu City, they all felt the snow underfoot beginning to loosen, forming a pit every step they took.
After a year’s worth of freezing and hardening, the snow had originally formed a rigid crust, but now the surface layer had become loose as they stepped on it.
Everyone’s hearts started to get excited.
"Boss, is spring really coming?"
"I’m just looking forward to spring so I can wear dresses," Qin Yu said with a smile.
"You can wear them now too, see if you don’t freeze to death," Deng Xiao teased Qin Yu with a poke.
...
Chatting and laughing along the way, after walking for more than half an hour, they arrived at Kongming Bridge.
Yang Xiao touched the snow on the metal railings of the bridge, which indeed felt a bit moist. Although it had not completely turned to water, this change was already quite noticeable.
The railings absorbed sunlight, causing temperatures to rise quickly, making the snow on them melt easily.
In the past, despite the sunlight shining on the railings, the snow had never melted due to low temperatures across the entire Earth.
"It seems now that the temperature of the whole Earth is rising, and the sun in the sky appears to be more intense than before."
Yang Xiao looked up at the sun in the sky and then stood on the bridge to gaze into the distance.
The world in front of them was still a vast expanse of white.
The Star River had been almost entirely cleared out, and the ice representing the river’s surface was scattered with leftover Ice Fish, which were more than they could ever eat.
Suddenly, Gong Yu said:
"If the ice and snow melt, we may temporarily face a food shortage."
Yang Xiao was taken aback and asked:
"Why?"
"Just think about it, what’s our main food source right now? Ice Fish, and some grain stored before the apocalypse, but after about a year, those grains are almost used up."
"But we still have mountains of Ice Fish, there are so many in Star Moon Lake that they’re frightening, enough to eat for years," Huang Wen said.
"It does seem like a lot now, but once the ice and snow melt, you’ll realize that overnight, these Ice Fish will drastically reduce."
Gong Yu said with a smile.
Yang Xiao was taken aback and patted Gong Yu on the shoulder, saying:
"You really are a top student from Magic City University, always thinking ahead."
Huang Wen, Qin Yu, and others still didn’t understand and looked at Yang Xiao.
"Think about it, what’s the reason the Ice Fish we have now can be preserved and not rot?"
"The weather is so cold right now, with ice and snow everywhere, Earth is like a big refrigerator, naturally it’s easy to preserve things, what’s so strange about that?"
"But, once the weather gets warmer, Earth heats up, and the ice and snow melt, these Ice Fish will rapidly rot within a few days, becoming inedible."
Gong Yu said with a smile.
Everyone heard this and immediately realized the truth.
"What should we do?"
"One year of winter has accumulated a lot of snow on Earth, which won’t melt in just one day. The current cold temperature can last for about one or two more months. This one or two months is the time given to us.
I remember watching a documentary about the lives of the people in Iceland before the apocalypse. They would hang the fish they caught from the sea outside, using the cold air to dry them. This way, the food could be preserved for a long time."
As Yang Xiao spoke, he led everyone forward. After crossing the bridge, they arrived at Nine-tails City, and after passing through Nine-tails City, they entered Xianan University.
It had been a long time since Yang Xiao visited Xianan University. Now there are less than 200 people stationed at Xianan University, all ordinary Genetic Evolvers.
Yang Xiao chatted with the people stationed there. They mentioned that about ten days ago, the ground snow showed signs of loosening, but no one really took it seriously.
Using the Transmission Array, Yang Xiao arrived at Kongming Academy. Kongming Academy’s cave dwellings housed about 800 people, some were the elderly from before, and others were transferred from nearby Star City.
The geothermal air-conditioning in Star City had already stopped working due to the lack of diesel for power generation. On the other hand, the cave at Kongming Academy was quite good. Surrounded by forests, there were plenty of trees to cut down for heating, so some of the people moved in here.
Everyone felt quite emotional returning to their alma mater; Huang Wen, Qin Yu, Deng Xiao, and others even went to the playground to skate. However, because the surface snow began to loosen, skating didn’t feel as smooth as before.
On the return journey, Yang Xiao visited Xianan University, specifically taking the pathway through Xianan University to reach Star River.
The ice in Star River had been turned over, leaving it full of pits and uneven surfaces, the changes in the ice here weren’t particularly noticeable.
Gong Yu said alongside:
"Ice and snow are different. Ice reflects the sun’s rays and absorbs relatively less heat. Moreover, with the entire riverbed being ice and its large mass, there’s temporarily no noticeable change. Snow on land is different, especially the snow piled on buildings because buildings easily absorb the sun’s heat and then conduct it to the snow on top, causing it to melt faster."
Yang Xiao laughed and said:
"You really are an academic ace."
Gong Yu replied, "Isn’t this just middle school physics knowledge?"
Yang Xiao was left speechless.
Two days later, Xia Luo and others gathered and reported what they had observed. Indeed, the snow in various places had begun to loosen, and some even started to melt. However, the ice over Star Moon Lake remained unchanged for the time being.
Yang Xiao said:
"Based on the situation of these two days, we can tentatively conclude a basic fact: the temperature on Earth is slowly rising. Although the nights are still cold and the days are quite chilly, signs of thawing have already appeared. Once the snow melts, we will encounter new situations,
the Ice Fish will become prone to rotting and can’t be preserved. If we lose this main food source, over 40,000 people from the two cities will face starvation. So, starting from now, apart from those digging for Ice Fish, all other people must be mobilized to transport all the Ice Fish previously piled in the rivers and Star Moon Lake to shore, cut open their bellies, remove the innards, and then hang them up for sun drying and wind drying.
This task is very important as it relates to our future food safety. When everyone goes back, we need to mobilize everyone to take this matter seriously. Also, for the stored grains, as soon as the weather warms up, many places will become damp, so we need to be mindful of moisture protection."
"The massive snow melting upstream will slowly flow down. By the time it accumulates to our location, there will definitely be a flood. Fortunately, we in Nanmu City are located in the mid-lower part of Star River, and since our population is relatively small now, everyone should look for a safe place to live during this period. Before the flood arrives, everyone should move in there temporarily to avoid the flood,"
"Once the flood overflows, based on the current situation, it is estimated to last at least a month. During this month or so, is the safety of my food supply assured?"