Farm System C35
by MarineTLChapter 35
“At 5 p.m. on March 25, Longxia’s Yun and Yu regions were hit by extremely heavy rainfall. The rain was caused by a leading cold air mass from the direction of Ha’erma. The pH value of the rainwater is 4.7… The rainfall is expected to last for five days. Residents of Yun and Yu should take precautions against acid rain.”
At 7 p.m., Zheng Yunjie turned on Longxia Broadcast. Every news channel was reporting on the rainfall in Longnan.
As he watched, his phone rang.
Old Zhou: “Is it really acid rain over there?”
“It is.”
Zheng Yunjie recalled the earlier taste. The rain wasn’t just sour and metallic—it left a burning sensation on the tongue. Once he realized something was wrong with the rain, he immediately spat it out. Since then, he had brushed his tongue three times…
He rubbed his tongue anxiously. He kept worrying about chemical poisoning—what if he’d contracted acid rain syndrome?
While he fretted, Old Zhou asked again, “Do you have enough supplies? Should I send you some?”
“Three bags of rice. Enough for half a year.”
Old Zhou was a college classmate. They chatted a bit more before Zheng Yunjie opened the flower market group chat.
“South Ring’s been jammed for two hours—can’t move at all.”
“Found a briefcase in front of stall D320. Contact if lost: 130XXXXX. [Image] [Image]”
“This rain isn’t normal. Everyone take precautions. I’ve seen people over in Mali with skin issues.”
“It came down too suddenly.”
…
Each refresh of the group brought twenty new messages. From the photos, some vendors were stuck on the outer ring road, some were still waiting for rides at the market gate. The scene was even more chaotic than earlier.
At 7:50, market management sent out a message: “Notice from Kunshan Municipal Government: From the 25th to the 31st, Kunshan will experience exceptionally heavy rainfall. The Kunshan Flower Market, Bird & Fish Market, and other low-lying areas will be closed for one week. [Image] @everyone.”
“My tablet’s still in the cabinet. They’re just shutting down like that?”
“Put two sandbags at the door—no idea if that’ll be enough…”
“A few days ago they just said to prepare for rain, they never said anything about closing the market.”
…
The vendors panicked instantly.
Half a month earlier, the Kunshan government had issued three notices, warning of extremely heavy rain on the 25th. Municipal workers had gone out to reinforce storefronts along the streets, and residents were instructed to avoid low-lying areas during flood control periods.
Some people responded to the warnings. But with the recent calm weather, many others had grown complacent.
When Zheng Yunjie stocked up on rain gear, he had also bought ten bags of sandbags. Now the sandbags were firmly stacked in front of the flower shop door—but whether they’d help was another question.
He scrolled through the group chat, then walked over to the window.
Outside, the rain pattered steadily against the glass. Ignoring the acid content, it looked like just an ordinary downpour. But thinking of that rusty taste from earlier, he couldn’t help feeling uneasy.
…
“On March 26, Longnan recorded 472 mm of rainfall.”
“Longnan advisory: Residents are urged to stay indoors and avoid unnecessary travel.”
“Longxia climatologists: Ha’erma acid rain will not dilute anytime soon…”
…
For the next two days, news of the Longnan downpour flooded the country.
A local Longnan anchor began livestreaming the rain. During the test, he placed a rose and an apple peel in a bottle of rainwater. The rose slowly withered, and the apple peel rotted within an hour.
After that, he tested a magnesium strip, an orange, and some vegetable leaves.
Finally, he dropped in a piece of marble. It began to dissolve, small bubbles boiling on the surface.
“My scalp is tingling!”
“This is terrifying—what if the acid rain drifts over here?”
“Oh my god…”
…
The livestream instantly shot to number one on the trending charts.
“This is horrifying… Xiaoyuan, isn’t your home in Yun Province?”
At 10 p.m. on March 26, while the nation was glued to the updates, Meng Jiao finished scrolling TreeCat and asked Liu Xiaoyuan, who sat diagonally across from her.
“In Huilong Town,” Liu Xiaoyuan replied, putting her phone down in worry. Her home was in Huilong Town, Yun Province. Ever since Longxia issued the emergency harvesting order, she had been closely following the news.
Her family had four members. Her father worked away from home, her mother stayed home to care for her grandmother. Aside from the money her father sent back, they also grew tomatoes and leafy greens to sell at the local market. A few days ago, when the emergency harvesting notice was issued, they hesitated and didn’t pick the vegetables from their half-mu garden.
She had just spoken to her family on the phone. Thunder and lightning were raging over in Yun Province. Her mother was worried about the garden and planned to check on it once the rain let up tomorrow.
“How much could half a mu of vegetables be worth? The acid rain’s bad over there—you should tell your mom not to go,” a roommate said just as Liu Xiaoyuan finished speaking.
“I know,” Liu Xiaoyuan replied awkwardly. She knew the half-mu garden wasn’t worth much. Her roommate didn’t mean anything bad. But knowing her mother’s temperament… she couldn’t help but worry.
“Still raining?”
“Still coming down.”
While Liu Xiaoyuan worried about her family, back in Yuhezi Village, Huilong Town, Zhao Fengxia stared anxiously toward the hill behind the house. Just as Liu Xiaoyuan had guessed, she had been closely watching the garden since the rain started in Yun Province. They sold their vegetables fresh-picked. With the rain intensifying, she was growing more concerned.
“Let’s go back inside.” As she debated, the elderly person in the house came outside leaning on a cane.
“It’s cold out,” Zhao Fengxia guided them back into the chair. Though their home was tiled brick, it sat right at the base of a slope. She went out to check every half hour, afraid of a landslide.
“It rains every year—we’ve never had trouble,” the elder said, motioning for her to relax.
“I know,” Zhao Fengxia replied, looking toward the yard. Yun Province did get rain every year—but this kind of acid rain was a first…
“Fengxia, are you home?” Amid the thunder and lightning, someone called from the gate.
“I’m here,” Zhao Fengxia quickly answered, going to open the door.
“You didn’t see the group chat?” Outside stood the village head, wearing a raincoat and holding a flashlight.
“What group?”
“Forget the group—grab your things. Come stay at the village office with me.”
“How are we getting there?”
“City orders.”
Zhao Fengxia was stunned by the rapid instructions. Under the village head’s urging, she could only pack a few things and take the elder to the village office.
The village office was located on the south side of Yuhezi—on higher ground.
The rain had eased somewhat, and along the way, there were many others like them, dragging their families along. By the time the three arrived at the village headquarters, the hall was already packed with people. Zhao Fengxia and the elderly person were assigned to Room 302 on the third floor. The room was crowded with seven or eight people—some dozing in a sitting position, some on their phones. The entire room radiated exhaustion.
Zhao Fengxia pulled the elderly person into a corner to sit. From the villagers’ conversations, she pieced together what had happened.
A week earlier, the provincial government of Yun Province had issued a notice:
Every town and village must prepare for acid rain prevention and publicize its dangers.
Longnan would experience heavy rainfall from the 23rd to the 25th. All towns and villages must relocate residents from unsafe housing to safer, open areas.
Every town and village must stockpile supplies and conduct necessary flood prevention work.
Urban streets must also prepare for flood defense.
…
…
Upon receiving the flood warning, Yuhezi Village launched into an urgent preparation mode. When the first rain hit yesterday, the village sent out a mass alert, calling everyone to evacuate to the village headquarters.
Except for a few individuals, most people didn’t take it seriously. It wasn’t until the rain intensified in the afternoon that people began arriving in groups to seek shelter. The village chief checked the village roster and, after identifying a few who hadn’t responded, began going door to door.
“There was still rice porridge cooking at home. I said I’d come later, but they dragged me over right away,” grumbled a woman in her fifties. She had arrived around seven and had been complaining about the rice porridge ever since.
“They’re just doing this for our safety.”
“People have two legs. If it really floods, we know how to run,” the woman muttered.
“My house has two floors. What’s there to flood?”
“Ten people to a room—it’s more crowded than a middle school dorm!”
“Seven people in line for the toilet—drives you crazy!”
…
While the woman grumbled, similar complaints echoed across Longnan.
Though acid rain was still falling, apart from the pungent smell, it didn’t seem much different. Longnan, in southeastern Longxia, experiences rain three months out of the year. People had initially found the precaution interesting, but after a night of it, their patience was wearing thin.
“Dear family, we’re currently at Liujiazhuang in Yun Province. Everyone’s lined up for communal food,” said a bald man holding his phone, live-streaming at 1 p.m. on March 27. His name was Liu Qiang, a former outdoor livestreamer in the city who had returned to Liujiazhuang for personal reasons. After spending two days at home, he was relocated to the village’s opera courtyard.
The courtyard spanned over 5,000 square meters. People were sleeping on the ground with blankets.
At 1:20, Liu Qiang received a steamed bun and a bowl of communal stew.
“Harma Storm isn’t going to sweep the whole country, right?”
“I went to buy instant noodles today. People were going nuts.”
“My mom already put ten bags of rice on the balcony, afraid there won’t be enough food if disaster strikes.”
…
Liu Qiang’s livestream had over seventy viewers, all discussing the rainstorm.
Though rainfall in Yun Province and neighboring areas was heavy, it hadn’t reached disaster-level. Watching Longnan’s situation, people were concerned about the acid rain but also felt that Longxia’s response was overly cautious.
Half an hour later, Liu Qiang finished his meal. The rain had eased, and the sun peeked through the clouds.
“Weren’t we supposed to have a torrential downpour?”
“Doesn’t feel like it…”
Comments flooded in. The weather forecast had predicted heavy rain from the 27th to the 29th in Longnan, only stopping on the 31st.
“Let me show you the countryside after the acid rain,” Liu Qiang said, panning his phone around.
After two days of acid rain, the trees were still trees, the grass still grass. Aside from the murky water, things didn’t look all that different.
As Liu Qiang wandered, he saw a middle-aged man arguing with the village chief: “I just want to go back home for a couple of days. This is a lawful society—you can’t stop me from leaving.”
The village chief tried to reason with him. “Your home’s in a low area, and the structure’s unsafe. You’re safer staying in the courtyard.”
“But the rain’s stopped! I still can’t go?”
“No.”
The man kicked at a nearby tree, but had no choice but to remain in the courtyard.
“You guys are really strict…” Viewers in the livestream looked at each other in disbelief.
“Seriously strict.”
Liu Qiang sighed. He had tried to apply for permission to leave the day before and was rejected.
“It’s just acid rain. They’re going overboard.”
“Even the disaster zones in Mali weren’t this restrictive.”
“Eat what you want, drink what you want. This acid rain doesn’t seem to be doing much…”
…
Liu Qiang was thoroughly frustrated, and he wasn’t alone. Many residents were equally agitated. The rain had weakened, but thousands of people were still packed together. No one understood what the government was waiting for. If there really was a flood, people have legs—they’d run. They wouldn’t all drown.
While the complaints mounted, at 8 p.m. on March 27, heavy rain suddenly pounded down across Longnan.
Rain slammed down like hail. Mud and rocks washed down from the mountains, trees were split in half by fierce winds, and water poured down from mountaintops. Low-lying farmland and houses were completely submerged.
Villagers huddled on higher ground, watching the beast-like force descend. Only then did they realize: the government had been waiting. Waiting for a natural storm that no human power could resist…
…
“Word from Longnan—they’ve been hit,” Liu Wensheng said quietly as Longnan was struck by flooding.
The government had issued a disaster warning a month ago and advised evacuation to safe zones. Though the evacuation was only semi-mandatory, Longxia had taken it seriously. Still, when the flood actually came, it was brutal.
“Where else is flooding next?” Liu Wensheng asked Qin Yun.
Qin Yun shook her head.
“Nowhere?”
“No… everywhere.”
Qin Yun recalled his past life. Back then, the Ha’erma disaster had come suddenly. Many people died or disappeared in the floods. It was a painful catastrophe for Longxia. Afterward, Longxia immediately launched rescue efforts.
Burned hands, bacterial infections, Ha’erma chemical illnesses…
One problem after another emerged in Longnan’s disaster zone.
Floods aren’t terrifying. Acid rain isn’t terrifying. But floods that come after acid rain… are a catastrophe for humanity.
After the flooding in Longnan, the country experienced a brief calm. But soon, Longdong, Longxi… the Harma Storm raged again. Wherever Ha’erma passed, heavy rainfall followed.
The torrential downpours triggered floods of all sizes.
Qin Yun’s memory only lingered on the initial disaster and the continuous waves of destruction that followed.
By the time he was reborn, 80% of the country had already been swept by heavy rainfall. At first, people sought refuge in provinces untouched by disaster. But as Harma Storm accelerated, there were virtually no truly safe provinces left in the country.
After Ha’erma passed, there would be a brief period of mild weather. During this time, residents nationwide completely gave up resistance, clinging to the hope of survival amid the ongoing disasters.
Longxia’s Yun and Yu provinces were where Ha’erma’s devastation began. The government had started stockpiling and rescue preparations in Longnan six months ago. Half a month prior, they gradually notified residents that the storm would be like before—but some things… had changed.
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