Chapter 42: The Situation in the Urban Area (Seeking Recommendations and Favorites)
Chen Xin wasn’t much of a drinker, and he didn’t have the habit of drinking normally. But being able to set aside survival pressures and sit down with friends for a drink after the apocalypse was undoubtedly something that soothed his mind and body.
"So you’re saying that the city is relatively stable, and the general situation is still under national control?" While sipping his drink and listening to Mo Qingyan talk about the current situation in the city, Chen Xin finally managed to ease some of his worries.
Mo Qingyan kicked one leg up onto the sofa’s armrest and lay horizontally across the broad sofa, holding her wine glass with both hands as she nodded: "Currently, the three large shelters built by the city government accommodate about one-third of the city’s population, and they have restarted the water plant, power plant, and train station, so basic survival conditions are still guaranteed.
Although we have timed water and power supplies now, with water available for only twelve hours and electricity for eight hours each day, in this current situation, having any water or power supply is already quite rare. I’m also relying on the proximity to both the shopping center and city government’s two shelters to tap into their grid for a bit of water and electricity, to avoid total outages."
Hearing this, Chen Xin couldn’t help but feel a bit envious: "Then your conditions are much better than mine. I just managed to get my water pump working these past two days; I was almost out of water before."
"It’s not as good as you think. Even though the city government tacitly allows us to tap water and electricity, just like before, we have to pay for it; it’s not free." At this point, Mo Qingyan’s face turned a bit unpleasant, and she spat before continuing: "Although the city government is still managing things, the people working below are starting to act recklessly. The guy who came to talk about collecting the water bill actually dared to ask me to sleep with him! Makes me want to shoot both his heads off!"
Although Chen Xin was worried about his friend’s safety in such a situation, seeing her current demeanor, he knew she had already dealt with the trouble.
In the post-apocalyptic world, even though the country can maintain basic order due to thorough preparation, the old moral systems have started to crumble under the threats of the apocalypse, and some dark aspects of human nature have begun to emerge without restraint.
The three large shelters directly controlled by the city government might be fine, but smaller shelters like Mo Qingyan’s home are inevitably targeted and even exploited.