Chapter 52: Chapter 51: When It Rains, It Pours
"Feng? Feng!"
"This is bad! Feng’s not going to make it! We have to get him to a hospital, now!"
On the morning of June 9th, inside the Li Mei Hotel, a crowd of people gathered anxiously around a refined-looking man.
This man, Feng, had come down with a fever a few days ago. He had thought he could recover with plenty of rest, hot water, and medicine, but after several days, his condition had only worsened.
By this morning, someone had checked on him and found him burning up, delirious, and unconscious. This was no longer something medicine could solve; he had to be taken to a hospital.
The question was, how?
"We need to get the authorities to send a car!" someone said. "We can’t take him ourselves!"
"Call the emergency management office! Call the hospital!"
The group conferred, then called the official department. Once connected, they explained the situation.
"Hello? This is the Li Mei Hotel! We have someone who’s critically ill and needs to be hospitalized immediately!"
"Understood. We will coordinate and make arrangements as soon as possible."
"Please hurry, he’s already unconscious!"
After the call, the crowd waited for over half an hour, but no vehicle arrived. They called again, only to receive the same reply: "We are currently experiencing a high volume of assistance requests. We will coordinate and make arrangements as soon as possible."
This was incredibly worrying. Someone went to find the leader of the armed squad stationed in the corner, but he was helpless in the face of such a problem.
"We’re only responsible for handling security matters. I’m afraid we’re powerless to help with anything else," the squad leader said.
He was speaking the truth. In a situation like this, the gun in his hand couldn’t save a life, nor could it magically summon an ambulance.
"If we wait any longer, he might not make it." A man who was close to Feng couldn’t stand it anymore. "I propose we carry him to the hospital!"
The moment the man spoke, the people around him shot him bizarre looks.
"Carry him to the hospital? Are you kidding me? The nearest one is two kilometers away..."
"It’s thirty to forty degrees below zero outside with almost no visibility. Going out there is suicide!"
"So are we just going to stand here and watch him die?!"
Someone walked to the entrance, pointed outside, and said to the man, "Come and see for yourself what it’s like out there!"
Looking out from the hotel entrance, only the main road had relatively little snow, thanks to government-sent crews clearing it around the clock. Beyond the main road, everything was a world of ice and snow.
On the sidewalk across the street, an ice wall over four meters high had formed. These walls stretched on endlessly, like a miniature Great Wall of ice and snow, completely blocking the street-facing shops behind them.
Gazing into the distance, the ceaseless, heavy snowfall reduced visibility to almost nothing. Beyond a vast expanse of white, nothing could be seen clearly.
Even the steps near the hotel entrance, despite dozens of people going out to clear them every day—sweeping, shoveling, and scattering salt—were still coated in many slick, thin layers of ice due to the persistent low temperatures.
Yesterday, when a transport truck came to deliver supplies, two people slipped and fell while going out to retrieve them, nearly breaking bones.
Carrying someone to the hospital in such harsh conditions seemed like a complete fantasy to most people.
With few people supporting the idea, the man who had made the proposal reluctantly gave up. They could only carry Feng back to his room for the time being.
Currently, of the 150 guest rooms in the hotel, over 50 were occupied by patients with colds and fevers. This was a decision made by a vote, intended to let the sick rest peacefully and to quarantine them, preventing the spread of the virus in public spaces like the lobby.
However, this measure wasn’t very effective. New patients appeared every day, and the conditions of some existing patients were worsening. If this continued, it wouldn’t be long before people started dying.
KR-THOOM!!!
SHATTER—
Just as many were feeling anxious about Feng’s unconscious state, a loud bang and the sound of shattering glass from the entrance startled everyone.
Everyone in the lobby looked over in unison, only to see the large sign for the Li Mei Hotel come crashing down, smashing the hotel’s glass doors to pieces.
In an instant, glass shards flew everywhere. Without the thick glass doors to block it, a massive blast of cold air flooded the lobby, making many people shiver uncontrollably and sending the hundreds of people in the lobby into a panic.
"The main door is shattered!"
"Damn it, the snow buildup on top must have been too heavy and brought the sign down!"
"Quick! Block the door! The cold air is getting in!"
People frantically started moving tables and grabbing quilts to block the doorway. However, others disagreed, worrying that if they sealed the door, how would they get supplies later?
The several hundred people in the hotel consumed a massive amount of supplies daily, and the Logistics Support Bureau sent a transport truck every seven or eight days. If they blocked the door now, it would be impossible to go out and clear the snow from the entrance. In just three or four days, an ice wall similar to the one on the sidewalk would form, sealing everyone inside the hotel!
"Hey! We’re in trouble!"
Just then, a shout came from the direction of the restaurant.
"The pipes aren’t working! The water’s out!"
"What?!"
"We’re finished! The pipes must have frozen! I knew it. With the temperature so low outside, it was only a matter of time before the pipes froze..."
"What do we do now? Do we have enough drinking water left? Should we contact the support bureau to send water right away?"
When it rains, it pours. The string of accidents threw the entire hotel into chaos. People were distraught, and panic spread like wildfire.
"Everyone, calm down!" At the critical moment, the armed squad leader stepped forward and shouted, "Don’t panic! We’ll handle these problems one by one!"
...
「Apocalypse Rules Strategy Research Room, conference room.」
Due to the severe and volatile nature of the current Rule, this was already the third emergency meeting.
An analyst stood before a large screen, explaining the information gathered from all over the country.
"As of yesterday, June 8th, this Rule has caused a six-figure number of recordable casualties. The casualties are mainly concentrated in rural areas surrounding megacities. The primary cause of death is building collapses due to snow accumulation, burying large numbers of people beyond the reach of rescue."
"In the ten megacities with populations exceeding ten million, the number of recorded casualties is not yet high. However, this number is rising rapidly over time, due to supply issues with basic utilities like water and electricity."
"Let’s take Wuming City, the megacity with the highest number of recorded casualties, as an example. For years, the city has invested heavily in developing new energy sources, with a portion of its power supplied by wind and solar.
After the Rule began, cloud cover blocked direct sunlight, severely impacting the efficiency of its solar panels. At the same time, a large number of the city’s wind turbines froze over in the blizzard, unable to operate and generate electricity. This ultimately led to a massive power deficit in the city."
"In areas with power shortages, people were unable to use air conditioners or electric heaters for warmth, and chaos quickly erupted in the Gathering Points. Despite suppression by armed squads, several conflicts still broke out, resulting in bloodshed and casualties."
"Currently, the city has initiated city-wide power rationing, supplying electricity to different zones during different time slots. It is worth noting that other megacities may soon face similar crises."
The analyst paused, switched to another chart, and continued, "The persistent low temperatures have also caused a large number of water mains within the city to freeze and burst, leading to water supply issues. This is especially prevalent in several southern megacities, where heating cables were not buried underground, resulting in a significant increase in frozen pipes."
"Finally, there’s the issue of supply transportation. Warehouses across the country had stockpiled large quantities of living supplies in advance, enough to meet people’s survival needs. However, during transport, the exits of many Gathering Points were not cleared in time and became buried in snow or blocked by ice walls, preventing supplies from being delivered successfully."
"However, some cities have managed to partially solve this problem by deploying drilling vehicles to create snow tunnels... Currently, according to our analysis department’s findings, the greatest risk of mass casualties remains the danger of building collapse."
The analyst said grimly, "It’s not just brick-and-mud houses in the countryside that are collapsing under the weight of the snow. A large number of shops in the cities have also been crushed in recent days. Yesterday, in Fengnan City, a stadium serving as a Gathering Point for over a thousand people was crushed by snow during the night. The roof caved in, the blizzard poured in, and almost no one inside survived..."
"Damned shoddy construction! They must have cut corners when building it!" a hot-tempered scientist cursed. "The people in charge of construction and oversight—arrest them all! They deserve the death penalty!"
"The top priority right now is to immediately notify the Emergency Management Bureaus everywhere. Have them coordinate resources and ensure the safety of buildings at the Gathering Points, no matter the cost!"
"Exactly. We can’t just clear the snow on the main roads; we have to deal with the snow accumulating on the roofs of these Gathering Point buildings. The amount of snowfall in these cities is just too great. Snowflakes look light, but when they pile up, the weight is deadly!"
"Based on density calculations, just a foot of snow on a hundred-square-meter flat surface can create a total weight measured in tons! And with the rate of snowfall in the megacities, it only takes a single day and night to reach that level."
The director, Gao Liangwei, said, "Immediately sync this information with the local Emergency Management Bureaus and have them handle it. And reiterate that ensuring the survival of the populace is the highest priority. No amount of resources is too great a cost for that."
After speaking, Gao Liangwei remembered something. He turned to a person in the white uniform of the Security Bureau and asked, "Regarding that mass kidnapping case targeting High Spirit Users, what’s the current status of the investigation?"
"The Security Bureau chief over in Yunhua has identified a key person of interest. However, due to the blizzard Rule, they haven’t been able to investigate further. Besides, they only have witness testimony right now; the chain of evidence is incomplete."
"My opinion is to arrest them now," Gao Liangwei said without hesitation. "In this situation, we don’t have the luxury of deliberation. Delays breed trouble. Evidence can be gathered later. Control the person first, find out the motive for the kidnappings, and see if there are any other accomplices."
