Chapter 58

“Jinghe’s lowest temperature on the 30th was -3°C, highest 13°C… It’s unbelievable!”

“Located in Shan Province, I had to wear two pairs of down pants today when I went out.”

“I’m from Qin Zhuang, and these past few days have been both cold and damp.”

At 2 PM on the 30th, #Central North Rain Stopped# and #Central North Temperature# topped the trending charts. According to meteorological data, between September 23rd and 30th, the average temperature in the Central North ranged from -3°C to 15°C, with the western part of Shan Province and the northern part of Qin Zhuang reaching a nighttime low of -10°C. While -10°C to -15°C is normal in winter, experiencing such low temperatures in late September was highly abnormal!

“Plant corrosion, reduced respiration and photosynthesis, will definitely affect temperatures.”

“It’s not just the temperature—now, Maricopa acid rain disease is caused by excessive sulfur dioxide in the air, leading to oxygen deprivation.”

“Wait, isn’t oxygen produced through plant photosynthesis?”

Acid rain can corrode the soil. Over the past five months, residents have focused on the food crisis, thinking that solving the food crisis would fix everything. But now, the global ecosystem and oxygen supply are also serious issues.

“Are we going to get acid rain disease?” one netizen anxiously asked. According to international media reports, 23% of Maricopa’s residents had been experiencing rapid breathing, chronic pharyngitis, and other respiratory issues.

Excessive sulfur dioxide can affect human respiration. Now that sulfur dioxide levels were rising and oxygen levels in the air were decreasing… people immediately realized the terrifying implications!

“My throat has been scratchy—could this be a sign of acid rain disease?”

“Can acid rain disease be contagious?!”

Netizens were now desperately gasping for air. Air is something people usually take for granted unless they’re intentionally focused on breathing. But with the global acid rain issue, everyone suddenly realized how precious air had become.

“Can we make a home oxygen bar?”

“Do online oxygen bottles work?”

“I’m planning to buy some plants. Should I go for pothos or lettuce?”

Over the next five hours, key hashtags like #HowToCreateHomeOxygenBars# and #GlobalOxygenCrisis# continued to rise. Along with that, orders for products like Longbao hydrogen peroxide and portable oxygen tanks also surged.

The temperature drop in the Central North served as a wake-up call to everyone—global acid rain meant they were facing not just a food crisis and vegetable shortages, but other urgent threats too!

“This storm affected seven provinces, with 70% of vegetation damaged, and several underground bridges in Shan Province were flooded…”

While the country was focused on the Central North disaster, at Fengshan Farm, Liu Wensheng looked exhausted. According to Longxia’s data, this disaster didn’t cause any casualties, but it did result in a large-scale cold and frost damage. Cold and frost damage is a type of disaster caused by extreme cold weather, and now, with the freezing temperatures combined with acid rain, the rate of plant corrosion in the Central North was growing exponentially.

“We still can’t compete…” Liu Wensheng muttered with some frustration. Since the March rainstorms, Longxia had been anticipating the effects of acid rain.

The food crisis, vegetation degradation, water pollution, and oxygen depletion—these were all potential dangers brought about by acid rain. Over the past year, Longxia had not only focused on food research but had also collaborated with research institutes in various provinces to protect a certain number of rare plant and animal species in advance. Longxia had been preparing for this disaster, but it arrived too quickly and too violently. The consequences were much worse than they had anticipated.

After venting his frustration, Liu Wensheng turned to Qin Yun and said, “I’m heading back for a few days.”

Although the Central North storms hadn’t caused casualties, they had heavily impacted the local flora and fauna, and Liu Wensheng needed to handle post-disaster recovery work.

At 3 PM, Liu Wensheng left, and Qin Yun stood there, dazed, gazing at the vast farmlands.

Since receiving the news about the Central North disaster, he had been silent. In his past life, he had been reborn on July 10th, and the most vivid memory from that time was the global food crisis. After his rebirth, he had focused on addressing the food crisis, believing that solving it would resolve Longxia’s predicament.

But after a year of preparation, he now understood how naive that thought had been. Food was only one part of the acid rain problem. While he had confidence in solving the food crisis, the plant crisis, nutritional crisis, oxygen crisis… any one of these challenges felt like an insurmountable mountain.

After a year of hard work, Longxia had managed to temporarily solve the food crisis, but beyond that… Qin Yun wasn’t sure he had the confidence to face what was coming next.

“Secretary Qin?” In his daze, a young man walked over.

“Assistant Zheng.” Qin Yun stood up to greet him. The young man was Zheng Hairui, Assistant to Academician Zhou Yuanheng, primarily responsible for scheduling and record-keeping.

“Didn’t you go to the rice fields?” Zheng Hairui asked. The hybrid rice was now at a crucial stage, and during this time, Qin Yun would usually be inspecting the rice fields.

Qin Yun smiled faintly. “I’ll go later.”

Zheng Hairui didn’t suspect anything and handed a small package to Qin Yun. “These are the letters for this month.”

Since the success of the Fengshuang 003 research project, the residents had learned that Fengshan Farm and Longxia were cooperating in research. Since then, the farm had received letters from all over the country, which were first sent to Lushui Town, then filtered by the contact staff, and delivered to the farm.

Qin Yun took the package, which contained more than twenty letters.

“I’ll head over first, I’ll be back soon,” Zheng Hairui waved and left.

Qin Yun sat down on the ground and began opening the letters.

“Hello, I’m a high school student from Lanmei County, Jiang Province. My family grew Fengshuang corn this year, and we are looking forward to a good harvest next year.”

“Thank you to the researchers. Longfeng wheat tastes great, and Zhongzhi sweet potatoes are also very delicious…”

“I’ve been waiting for Zhongzhi potato starch to be available again. I hope it will be restocked soon.”

Fengshan Farm was still the name associated with mystery. Netizens speculated that the farm was a research base set up by a national scientific research team, which would also explain Longfeng 001, Zhongzhi 002, and other acid rain-resistant seeds.

90% of the guesses matched, and based on this speculation, many letters expressed gratitude towards the research team.

Qin Yun read through each letter one by one. At the end, there was a child’s hand-drawn picture. In the picture, a golden ear of wheat was drawn, and a seven-year-old boy was hugging it. In the top-right corner, the sun was drawn, and in the center, the words “Thank you, Farm, for the food” were written in bold characters.

Qin Yun wasn’t accustomed to expressing his emotions, but as he looked at the crooked six characters, he couldn’t help but become lost in thought.

The agricultural research team, the biological group, the farm system analysis group… At this moment, each team was working diligently in their own roles, their eyes full of determination. None of them had let the news from the Central North affect their morale.

Qin Yun once again thought about the interview with Zhou Yuanheng: “My body can last for another two years, but Longxia cannot go a day without food. If the team researches for one more day, Longxia may be able to solve the food crisis sooner…”

For researchers, there is no such thing as impossibility; they only seek opportunities amid difficulties.

Qin Yun put the envelope away. Today was October 2nd, and while he no longer had the prophetic foresight, if the food crisis of July could be solved, then as long as they didn’t give up, everything was still possible.

Over the next three days, Qin Yun adjusted his state and continued diligently with his rice research.

…

“Can it still be saved?”

“Apply some wound ointment, but it can’t get wet for the next couple of days.”

While the farm was operating normally, at Chang’an Mountain Wildlife Park, Zhao Chuangang looked at the animal in front of him with concern. It was a one-year-old emu, and its left wing had turned black in half due to the previous wound and the inflammation caused by acid rain.

Zhao Chuangang bandaged the emu’s wound and glanced anxiously outside. He had previously been worried about the zoo being flooded. Now, the zoo hadn’t been flooded, but a more serious problem had occurred—the trees and soil on Chang’an Mountain were covered in frost… This was cold damage caused by low temperatures in plants.

The Chang’an Mountain Zoo covered an area of 10,000 acres, with natural forests occupying 70%. When he arrived, he took a quick look, and at least 70% of the forest had been affected by the cold damage. This was the nearly 5,000 acres of forest area…