Chapter 127

At 7 p.m. on June 25th, Liu Wensheng rushed to Jiangcheng Hospital. Three hours earlier, Qin Yun and the Biology Group had landed and entered quarantine. Although the research team showed no signs of infection, they would remain in isolation for two weeks as a safety precaution.

“This way.” Half an hour later, a medical staff member led Liu Wensheng to Qin Yun’s hospital room.

“Commander Liu.” Qin Yun had just finished a blood test. He stood up when he saw Liu Wensheng enter.

“Sit down,” Liu Wensheng gestured for him to remain seated. Due to the unknown virus, both were dressed in full protective gear, following strict safety protocols.

“How are you feeling?” Liu Wensheng asked.

“I’m fine,” Qin Yun replied, rubbing his arm. Aside from the brief sting of the blood draw, he had no symptoms.

“Good.” Liu Wensheng nodded. He had been closely following the twenty-three Weir cases—those patients had all recovered and were discharged, now carrying antibodies against the Hugua Virus.

Liu Wensheng looked at Qin Yun seriously. “The team’s planning wasn’t thorough enough.”

Qin Yun had gone to Borman Town to study the system’s activation conditions. The farm-based approach was sound, but they had underestimated the unpredictability of the research process. If anything had happened to Qin Yun or the team, it would’ve been a loss for both the farm and Longxia.

“I’m really fine,” Qin Yun emphasized, trying to reassure him.

“Once quarantine is over, stay at the farm for a while. No more running around,” Liu Wensheng sighed. His concern wasn’t just because of the Farm System—it came from the genuine care of a senior for a passionate junior.

After chatting for a bit, Qin Yun opened the System Interface.

New Scene Unlocked: [The Beginning of a Disaster].

[The Beginning of a Disaster]: The Beginning of a Disaster. (Yellow)

…

Aside from the color changing from blue to yellow, there was no additional information.

“What do you think?” Liu Wensheng asked.

“Could it be a virus warning?” Qin Yun voiced his suspicion.

He had activated [The Beginning of a Disaster] at Borman Lake. The scene had turned from blue to yellow in the Arctic Circle. If this scene truly signified a disaster, and the color indicated severity, then everything made sense.

“The team is exploring that angle too.”

Recently, the Biology Group had focused their efforts on animal carcasses. Their research showed that the bodies carried large quantities of viral spores. The Shuilan Health Organization had named it the Hugua A1 Virus.

Hugua A1 wasn’t contagious, but in its early stages, it mimicked symptoms of the common cold or stomach flu. If left untreated, it could become life-threatening. The Biology Group had already completed sequencing the virus’s genome and was preparing to compare it with other species’ genetic data for further study.

“That fast?” Qin Yun was surprised by the farm’s speed.

“Let’s hope it’s just a minor virus…” Liu Wensheng sighed.

The Hugua Virus itself wasn’t terrifying—what was frightening was the potential for mutation, leading to human flu, avian flu, or worse. With global temperatures rising, if it reached that point… the effectiveness of treatment would be unknown.

After a while, Liu Wensheng brought in a fruit basket from outside. Inside were several fresh, green cucumbers.

“From the Agricultural Group,” Liu Wensheng said.

“Farm-grown cucumbers?” Qin Yun looked at them. There was a 100-acre plantation on the southern side of the farm, and when he left, the cucumbers had just begun to flower.

Liu Wensheng’s mood lightened. “Grown in Lushui Town.”

Lushui Town was a hundred kilometers from the farm and the only nearby township. In recent weeks, dozens of vegetable crops across the country had ripened. The reason was simple: Improved Fertilizer.

…

“Are these cucumbers still growing, or were they harvested for packing?”

“All harvested.”

…

While Qin Yun was in quarantine, munching on cucumbers, over in Wanjia County at the Tianqin Vegetable Base, Wu Shukuan was directing workers to pick cucumbers. The Tianqin base spanned over 2,000 mu and supplied vegetables to half the county.

Wu Shukuan, 52, was the owner of Tianqin Vegetables. In 3028, during the global Acid Rain crisis, the entire 2,000-mu crop was destroyed by acid corrosion.

Over the past two years, Wu Shukuan had converted the base into fields for wheat, sweet potatoes, and tomatoes. Against the backdrop of global agricultural expansion, Tianqin’s income had remained solid.

On May 25th, Improved Fertilizer hit the market. Wu Shukuan was quick to act, ordering enough for all 2,000 mu. He had big ambitions: to rebuild his vegetable empire. Beyond business sense, it was also about his deep-rooted love for vegetables.

He reorganized the greenhouses, built cucumber trellises, and closely monitored the plants… His mind was filled with nothing but cucumbers.

Tianqin had planted Will Cucumbers. Each grew to 15 cm and weighed about 100 grams. With their vibrant color and crisp texture, they had always been a supermarket favorite. Before the Acid Rain, Wanjiazhuang’s baby cucumbers sold for five yuan per jin. Now, they went for twenty-five.

Will Cucumbers matured faster than regular ones. Thanks to advanced cultivation techniques, they were ready by June 23rd.

Since it was his first time growing them, Wu Shukuan hadn’t expected much. But the cucumbers were a uniform emerald green, tender and refreshing… He’d eaten cucumbers with dipping sauce for three days straight and had never tasted any this good.

On June 25th, Wu Shukuan posted about his cucumber base on social media. Within half an hour, nearly a hundred vegetable vendors messaged or called him, and two neighboring village reps came in person to check out the crop.

Over the past two days, 1,500 mu of the 2,000-mu cucumber base had already been pre-ordered. For the first time, he felt just how easy it was to sell vegetables.

By 3 p.m., workers were skillfully harvesting cucumbers. Before long, stacks of cucumber crates filled the area outside the base.

Wu Shukuan had been picking vegetables for a while when the sound of a car engine came from outside the base.

He stepped out to see a tall man just getting out of his vehicle. The man was a buyer from a vegetable company—someone Wu Shukuan had known for twenty years.

“You came by yourself?” Wu Shukuan handed him a bottle of water.

“I don’t trust anyone else to haul this batch of cucumbers,” the man replied.

The Tianqin cucumbers were being bought at seven yuan per jin, sold to supermarkets for ten, and priced at fifteen for direct customers. Fifteen yuan a jin wasn’t exactly cheap, but with the current market price for baby cucumbers sitting at twenty-five, it was more than fair.

They chatted for a bit about the cucumber market before the man pulled two boxes from his pocket. “These are for you.”

Wu Shukuan opened them.

The first box: Constant Temperature Pendant.

The second box: Purification Mask.

“These things are nearly impossible to get. I had to pull some strings just to snag them,” the man grumbled.

Portable mini fridges, air purifiers, high-tech jackets…

Ever since the Dual-Machine Series hit the market, it had maintained a 100% satisfaction rate. With nationwide demand skyrocketing, tech companies like Dongshan and Fengmai were working overtime to expand production lines. Third-party products were expected to launch by August.

“Try them out,” the man urged.

Wu Shukuan didn’t hesitate. He opened the boxes.

The Constant Temperature Pendant gave off a refreshing coolness, and the Purification Mask filtered the air into something crisp and clean.

“Amazing!” Wu Shukuan gave a thumbs-up. He wasn’t one to chase after tech gadgets, but he could tell these products were made with real care.

“I had a cough not long ago—felt way better after wearing this,” the man said, adjusting the mask on his face.

The national average temperature was currently forty-two degrees. The heat had thickened the air, and respiratory cases had jumped 17% over the past month.

They chatted for a while longer as five hundred boxes of cucumbers were loaded up.

After counting them carefully, the man waved Wu Shukuan off. “I’ll get going.”

“Wait,” Wu Shukuan called out. He went back into the base and came out with a case of baijiu, placing it in the man’s trunk. “Picked this up a few days ago. Give it a try.”

“One bottle’s more than enough. I don’t need a whole case just to taste it.”

“I bought too much. Just take it.”

The man couldn’t argue and ended up storing the baijiu properly.

There were six bottles in total, each priced at 520 yuan. Wu Shukuan didn’t say it outright, but the man knew—this was his way of paying him back for the Dual-Machine gear. They might haggle over a few jiao when it came to cucumbers, but as friends, their relationship was easy and warm.

Half an hour later, the man drove off.

Wu Shukuan touched the Purification Mask. Maybe it was just in his head, but the air filtered through the mask felt incredibly comfortable.

…

“Location: Kunshan. We’re at pollution level four.”

“Su Province is forty-two degrees. Even the trash bins smell unbearable.”

“It’s too hot to go outside. I haven’t been shopping in a month…”

…

On July 2nd, the national average temperature reached thirty-eight degrees. In Hai Province and Yun Province, it hit forty-five.

Hot. Stiflingly hot.

That was the one thing netizens across the country could agree on. To cut costs, public indoor spaces—village theaters, community centers—had opened up as summer cooling shelters. Local residents could gather there to escape the heat. While this helped reduce air conditioning expenses, national electricity consumption still rose 20% from June to July. Some regions had already begun rationing power.

Beyond the strain on resources, cities and towns across the country faced another serious issue: many stray animals had died from the relentless heat. Their bodies posed a significant sanitation challenge. On top of that, rats, mosquitoes, and ants were breeding in large numbers.

…

“Hello everyone, I’m Xu Xiucai from First Hospital. It’s an honor to work with you…” On the morning of July 5th at 9 a.m., at the Changping City Bureau of Quality Supervision in Hu Province, Xu Xiucai introduced herself.

Since June 25th, Hu Province had seen an average temperature of forty-one degrees.

Just yesterday afternoon, the provincial health bureau issued an announcement: “Regarding Urban Sanitation and Safety Measures Across the Province.”

The notice stated that due to the continuous high temperatures and the risk of bacterial outbreaks, all cities in the province were required to conduct three large-scale disinfections per month from July to October.

Before the official notice, Changping City had already conducted basic disinfections, but the results had been far from ideal. Now, with the provincial directive in hand, the city’s health bureau held a meeting and decided to mobilize medical personnel, government workers, and residential property managers to coordinate disinfection efforts.

Xu Xiucai, a doctor from Changping First Hospital, was in charge of explaining the disinfection procedures to the Bureau of Quality Supervision. She was accompanied by three nurses from the hospital.

“We need to prepare masks and disinfectant. When spraying, be careful not to get any in your eyes…” After her introduction, Xu Xiucai began walking them through the steps.

Twenty staff members from the bureau were assigned to the task and listened attentively.

By 2 p.m., training was complete. Everyone headed out to disinfect their assigned areas. According to city regulations, they were responsible for one major disinfection per week, while residential property managers and mall staff handled smaller, daily cleanings.

“It’s so hot—three stray cats have already died in our neighborhood.”

“Back in the Acid Rain year, things were bad enough.”

“We’ve got two stray dogs in our complex. I don’t know if they’ll make it…”

…

On the way to their assigned locations, a few workers sighed.

Before the Great Disaster, residents often argued about stray cats and dogs—mostly about them being a nuisance. But these past couple of years had been hard on everyone. Now, seeing the animals die, even those who used to hate them couldn’t help but feel a pang of sorrow.

It wasn’t about stray animals anymore. It was about respect for life.

Xu Xiucai listened quietly and suddenly thought of her son, Liu Shuai. Half a month ago, he had joined the Stray Animal Protection Organization. She didn’t object to his love for animals, but with the current sanitation crisis and extreme heat, she couldn’t help but worry about his health.

“Sigh.” Xu Xiucai gazed out the window, troubled.

These days were just too exhausting.