#496 - Chapter 496: Outside the Green Source Belt 2
It started sometime around June.
The pools, streams, and rivers that were everywhere after the spring thaw have mostly disappeared.
And the last heavy rain was a month and a half ago!
It's been almost two months without rain!
The plants that struggled to grow in the spring are now withering and dying under the scorching sun and drought.
Looking out, the once lush and green mountains and wilderness, which should be thriving in peacetime, now have only scattered patches of green, mostly dry yellow and brownish-gray barren land!
It can be said that the period of growth after the cold disaster and snow melt was a honeymoon survival period for the survivors.
But now, it's back to hell mode.
Fortunately, the zombies are almost nowhere to be seen during the day due to the high temperatures, and even at night, they don't come out as frequently as before.
This has given the survivors a little breathing room.
Like this small group outside the Green Zone, they collected a lot of edible plants during that time, and they also made food by catching some snakes, insects, rats, and ants. They also traded supplies with Green Source for food, which has barely sustained them until now.
However,
hunger can be endured for a long time, but not water.
Someone once did an experiment that showed a healthy person can survive for more than a month without food, as long as they drink water!
But without water, they can only survive for less than a week!
"Brother Yu, we don't have much water left! It's too hard to find water sources outside now. The nearest river to us has dried up and stopped flowing these past few days! We can't keep going like this!"
The scruffy young man complained to his cousin with a worried expression.
They still have a little bit of food left. Although they are still far from being full every day, they at least have something to eat, which can replenish a trace of energy to their bodies.
But they can't go without water!
The weather outside is hellishly hot now. Even when they stay indoors on the second floor like they are now, they are still sweating profusely!
The temperature is over forty degrees Celsius again today!
Even without a thermometer, the stinging sensation on their skin and the difficulty in breathing tell them that the temperature is definitely far beyond the thirty-five or thirty-six degrees of a normal summer!
"When the sun isn't so strong, let's go dig around in that riverbed again. The soil under the riverbed is usually moist. We can take some towels to soak up the water from the mud and collect some to store,"
the middle-aged cousin said helplessly.
There's really no other way. This is the best way to get water he can think of.
Recently, after ten o'clock, the sun has been scorching to an alarming degree until four o'clock in the afternoon. Even if ordinary humans use umbrellas or wear sunscreen clothing, they cannot stay outside for long.
Staying out for a little too long can easily cause dizziness, heatstroke, and collapse.
It is said that many people outside didn't believe it and insisted on going out in the scorching sun to find more supplies and water to cope with this drought that they don't know how long will last, and eventually collapsed on the road to become dinner for the zombies that come out at night to feed.
"Although the water sucked out of that riverbed is hard to drink, with a mouthful of muddy, fishy taste, we can find a way to make some filters! I used to see on TV that using some charcoal, gravel, and filter cloth to filter it can remove most of the impurities, and then boiling it will make it completely safe to store and drink,"
the cousin continued to encourage and advise the partners in the small group.
Many survivors outside have also thought of the suggestions he made at this time. The survivors who can survive to this day have some abilities.
The cousin looked at everyone in the room, all of them were sallow and emaciated.
Especially his son, who is ten years old. He should have been going to school and living a carefree life, but now he has to face this desperate apocalypse with the adults.
"Ah, I'm really sorry, Xiao An,"
he thought to himself.
His son and wife are now his greatest motivation to survive in this world.
Originally, their family of three was happy and harmonious. He worked in Longmen County to earn money to support the family, and his wife stayed at home to take care of the children and handle housework. With the house and car they had already bought, they could be considered to have a carefree life.
But everything was gone after the sudden disaster struck.
He took a few relatives and friends who lived in the same community and hid everywhere to survive. Not only did they have to resist the harassment of zombies, but they also had to avoid those bad survivor people. Survival was extremely difficult.
As a result, some time ago, he heard people say that there was a place called the Green Source Base in Fenghe County where they could trade various supplies for food, and then he brought the small group of people here to continue struggling to survive.
He used to be just an ordinary office worker and did not have any professional skills, so he could not obtain the qualifications of a level 3 personnel.
His points were also not enough to become a level 1 personnel because he didn't contribute much to the transaction.
It's difficult.
The other people in the small group were not much different. At least everyone gathering together could resist zombies and bad survivor people.
In addition, the Green Source Base had cleared this outer area, and those cannibals and survivors who robbed food and killed people were either killed or taken away.
Most of the people outside the Green Zone, like them, valued the fragile order and the small amount of traded supplies here.
At the same time, they were also looking forward to becoming Green Source people one day!
The news that Green Source classified all personnel had already spread. Those who were in the outer layer of the Green Zone naturally knew about it.
Some time ago, some people were kicked out of the original Green Zone, and dozens of new small residential areas were built.
Ten-meter-high wall protection!
How enviable!
And it is said that even level 1 personnel have work and can get two meals a day that can fill their stomachs!
Awesome, isn't it!
Who wouldn't want to join Green Source under these conditions!
"It would be great if we could join Green Source. When I went out to get water and find supplies a few days ago, I met a few people with badges. I recognized them as level 1 personnel at a glance. They looked much better than us. It would be great if we could become level 1 personnel too!"
The young cousin suddenly sighed with envy about what he had seen a few days ago.
Level 1 personnel cannot participate in the construction of the Life Zone every day. The base is not rich enough to forcibly support all personnel.
Therefore, a shift system is adopted for the nearly 1,000 level 1 personnel. Except for some people who have to stay in the small residential area to be on duty, the others can only participate in the construction of the Life Zone every other day.
On the free day, these level 1 personnel need to find supplies and food by themselves, or stay in the small residential area to rest.
Of course, some people who want to be full are willing to go out and find supplies to store, so they often encounter these survivors outside.
There will be special personnel on duty at the gate of the small residential area. Only personnel with badges can enter the small residential area. Outsiders cannot enter, even if they find a badge, because the personnel on duty know almost everyone in their small residential area.
Hearing the young cousin's sigh, the other members of the small group also sighed with helplessness and envy.
Who doesn't want to join there?
It's too difficult.
(End of this chapter)
