Shen Feng would never forget the incident of being attacked by a mysterious group of superhumans at sea. It had become a psychological shadow for him, leaving him constantly brooding. He had been in a hurry to get to his destination, exhausting too much energy, and ended up being attacked by thirteen superhumans at sea. If he hadn't had the seeds of the century plant with him, he would have died by now.
These people wore cloaks and masks, making it impossible to discern their identities. All they knew was that they were from China, as their accents were perfectly standard, and only people from China could speak such fluent Chinese. 138 Reading Network
Shen Feng had always wanted to uncover the identities of these people, to regain his honor, and ideally, to find a way to exact revenge. However, there was a crucial problem: he couldn't find them. Shen Feng didn't even know what organization they belonged to. He had heard of the Butian Society in Japan and suspected they were the ones who ambushed him, but he had no proof.
Now, however, a clue had appeared before Shen Feng, immediately invigorating him. By starting with the missing cargo ship, he could likely track down the group that had ambushed him. That would be his time to strike back.
However, to be honest, Shen Feng currently had no means to investigate and could only wait for a later time.
Shen Feng quickly comforted the old man, "Don't worry, if we have the chance in the future, we will definitely teach these Koreans a lesson. We can't spare the time now, but when we do, we will certainly deal with them!"
Yue Hengyi also assured the old man, "Don't worry, we will give you an answer on this matter. These Koreans, who only know how to steal, will definitely be taught a lesson. Let's see if they dare to rob our fishermen again!"
Originally, few people in China had any good feelings towards the Koreans, due to their distorted national pride, which led them to constantly steal China's culture and achievements. It was like a servant coveting the master's possessions and stealing them. Whenever guests visited, they would boast that these were their own belongings, all to show off their own wealth. Unbeknownst to them, this only made the master feel disgusted and want to beat them up at any moment!
Now, the Koreans, facing starvation due to a lack of food, had begun to rob Chinese fishermen. This was utterly unbearable. If it weren't for the ongoing floods in the North China Plain, China's fleet would have already been dispatched to teach them a lesson.
The Koreans, having acted arrogantly for over a month, robbing many fishermen and killing many, found that China had not retaliated, which only made them more brazen. They even threatened to capture the three northeastern provinces and restore the former territory of Goryeo.
Speaking of this, Shen Feng also felt a pang of curiosity and couldn't help but ask, "How is the flood in North China?"
Hearing this question, the old man could only shake his head helplessly. After a long while, he replied, "We've never seen anything so strange. It's already the end of July, and typhoons usually don't reach the north. Yet, a typhoon has arrived. The typhoon blew over North China, bringing a month of heavy rain, and it still hasn't stopped. The rainfall is unprecedented, and I've heard that the entire North China Plain is submerged!"
"Truly one disaster after another. With the arrival of the Little Ice Age, floods and droughts will surely be frequent!" Yue Hengyi sighed helplessly.
"The news has been reporting on the impending Little Ice Age every day. What does that mean? We villagers don't understand much. You two young men are from out of town and must be well-traveled. Tell us about it!" The old man was now interested and sat on the heated brick bed to inquire.
Shen Feng pondered for two minutes and replied, "The Little Ice Age is a period of extreme climate conditions. Overall, the globe is getting colder, but it's not absolute. In tropical regions, temperatures can reach fifty to sixty degrees Celsius, but in winter, areas closer to the north will become increasingly cold! This is accompanied by floods and droughts, directly leading to reduced crop yields!"
Upon receiving this answer, the old man suddenly understood. "I thought it would just be a bit colder, but I didn't expect it to be accompanied by reduced crop yields. That's troublesome. What do you think we in the Northeast should do?"
Shen Feng shrugged helplessly and said, "Go south! If it were peaceful times, we wouldn't have to worry about the Little Ice Age. But in these chaotic times, it's better to go south, at least for the sake of farming. As for staying in the north, alas, it's difficult!"
Receiving Shen Feng's advice, the old man's face became filled with worry. He couldn't help but mutter to himself, "I don't have any relatives or friends in the south to turn to. I've heard that people in the south always eat rice. If I go south, how will I survive?"
China has always had a sense of rural culture, and this culture is based on the household registration system. In ancient times, it was not easy to travel to other places. First, one needed a certificate issued by the township before being allowed to travel, called a "luying" (road permit). This measure directly restricted population mobility. Ordinary people would generally not travel more than a hundred li away, and it was indeed true that people would live and die without ever seeing each other again.
This mindset directly influenced refugee groups. First, they needed to know if they had relatives or friends in a particular place. If they did, then they had a target to seek. However, if there were no relatives in a place, these refugees would hesitate, unsure whether to go to a completely unfamiliar place.
The old man hesitated, unable to make a decision, and could only chat with the two men.
The village chief took the opportunity to report the news of the two superhumans' appearance to his superiors. However, the superiors stated that they had not heard of any superhumans coming. After careful consideration, they thought it might be that the superhumans were carrying out secret missions. After all, many superhumans were directly subordinate to headquarters, and only headquarters could command them. It was normal for subordinates not to know information about superhumans.
"Send me their images, take photos for me, and I'll see who they are!" the superior finally instructed.
The village chief immediately agreed, but it was already late. Going to take photos now would undoubtedly arouse suspicion, so they could only wait until the next day.
Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi slept on the heated brick bed in the guest room that night. Their glider was parked in the courtyard. After folding the outermost wings, it could barely fit in the courtyard, but it was inconvenient to move around.
The next day, Shen Feng called Yue Hengyi, and they set off. The two carried the glider out of the courtyard and then bid farewell to the old man. Shen Feng dropped a golden button. The old man thought it was just a button and didn't think much of it. However, before leaving, Shen Feng revealed the truth: "Old man, the button is made of gold. In a critical moment, it can be exchanged for a hundred catties of rice and flour. Goodbye!"
After speaking, Yue Hengyi pedaled and set off. Shen Feng summoned a gust of wind, directly lifting them into the sky, flying towards the southwest. With a reference point, Shen Feng found the direction and prepared to land in North China. It would take about half a day to reach it.
The village chief took the opportunity to take photos, but they were not very clear. Just as he was about to retake them, the two had already moved far away. The village chief could only provide the unclear photos to his superiors.
Upon receiving the photos, the superior said nothing, because at this time, his subordinates had already discovered something amiss. Although the appearances of these two were always hidden behind masks, their abilities allowed them to be recognized. These two seemed very similar to two people rumored to be dead!
Yue Hengyi was eager to return home. Sitting on the glider, he gazed at the surrounding beautiful scenery and murmured, "Even though I'm going home, I can finally see my family. And I can finally see Qin Kewei. It's been more than half a year, I wonder if she's gained or lost weight!"
Hearing Yue Hengyi's murmurs beside him, Shen Feng shook his head helplessly and said, "You're lucky. You'll see your family soon. I, on the other hand, have to cross many mountains and rivers to return to Yuzhou. If I want to see my family, I still have to go to Rongcheng. This is a long road!"
"Don't you have a glider? It will only take a day or two at most to reach Yuzhou. Are you complaining about this?" Yue Hengyi asked with a smile.
Shen Feng shrugged and didn't answer. However, the closer they got to the North China Plain, the more Shen Feng felt something was wrong. The sun in the sky had gradually disappeared, replaced by dense dark clouds. As they continued forward, the dark clouds increased, and rain began to fall from the sky. Lightning and thunder could be seen in the distance.
If it were ordinary lightning, it would be fine, but the lightning that appeared in Shen Feng's eyes was not ordinary. He could only see a thin arc of electricity suddenly appear in the sky, and then the heavens and earth seemed to be pierced by white lightning. It was clearly visible that the lightning was striking the ground directly. The thunder rumbled, resounding through the wilderness.
Seeing this, Yue Hengyi also became worried. The power of heaven and earth was too strong. If a thick bolt of lightning struck their remaining glider, wouldn't it kill them directly? He wasn't like Jin Ziju, who could be immune to lightning. If he were struck, it would almost certainly be fatal!
"Brother Feng, won't we be struck by lightning?" Yue Hengyi couldn't help but ask.
"You jinx, don't talk nonsense. If something really happens, I'll kill you!" Shen Feng was also made uneasy by Yue Hengyi's worry. Although he was far from the lightning zone, the altitude was too high, and the glider they were riding was made of aluminum alloy. This was metal, which could also conduct electricity. Flying so high in the sky, they might be struck by lightning.
At this moment, Shen Feng also felt guilty and quickly controlled the glider to descend, saying, "Your jinx has caused trouble. If we continue flying, we're bound to be struck by lightning. Let's go down and take shelter first."
Saying this, the two were about to descend when suddenly, they both saw a vast expanse of white on the land below. They had thought it was a flat area, but upon closer inspection, they realized that the white-reflecting areas on the land were almost entirely submerged in water. It seemed that the news of the North China Plain suffering from floods was true.
"Pitter-patter," hailstones the size of soybeans continuously struck the fabric of the glider, making a piercing sound. The two on the glider were silenced by the scene before them, as almost all they could see was floodwater. In the low-lying areas, the floodwaters were unfathomably deep and still raging. Small hills were crowded with people, who had erected temporary shelters, watching the raging earth.
"Isn't this a plain? Why is there a flood?" Yue Hengyi murmured. In his mind, plains couldn't store water, and now there was a flood, which was difficult to understand.
Shen Feng explained, "This is North China. There isn't much rainfall in normal times, so the drainage facilities are not very good. Once heavy rain arrives, the water cannot be drained, leading to accumulation. Ultimately, if the typhoon doesn't leave, the flood won't recede. You know, a typhoon entering the mainland is something that happens once in several decades!"
Shen Feng knew that the disaster currently occurring in the North China Plain was definitely a natural disaster, an almost unpredictable one. Even if there were meteorological satellites to monitor the typhoon's movements, they couldn't prevent the typhoon from landing!
Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi found a small hill and slowly descended. On the hill, there was still a dense crowd of people. The low-lying areas had basically been submerged. To survive, they could only stay on the mountain, otherwise, if they were swept away by the raging floodwaters, they would surely die.
The two landed their glider and then dismounted, still wearing masks, rarely revealing their faces.
However, at this moment, a person in military uniform walked out from the crowd. This young man walked forward, saying loudly, "Gentlemen, we have been waiting for you for a long time!"