RIACMET chapter 24

 

Jiang Nian said it casually, but Cheng Jing, who was eating, paused, his eyes lighting up.

“That method is good. I’ll tell the person in charge of the official organization, and they can promote it elsewhere. The sealed houses can be marked, so there’s no need to confirm them again when distributing supplies.”

Then he asked again:

“As for survival and rescue methods in the apocalypse, Niannian, you can tell me. I’ll pass them on to the authorities so they don’t take unnecessary detours.”

The apocalypse had suddenly arrived, and the whole world was in chaos. Countries and cities were now fending for themselves.

The national army was working hard to build rescue bases, but that took time. The more people who could be saved, the better it would be for humanity’s future. If everyone died, no one would be left.

“Okay.”

Jiang Nian had planned to do so anyway. Now that Cheng Jing was personally leading a rescue team, he could bring up what he had intended to mention later sooner. After thinking for a moment, he took out a piece of paper and began writing on it with a pen.

“In my previous life, I summarized some experiences after many people died. Before rescue bases were built, many cities were divided into control zones. For example, a city like Qingyun City, which isn’t very large, can be divided into four districts: east, west, south, and north.”

The city command center building is almost exactly at the center of the four districts. That makes it convenient without needing changes. Everyone suitable for forming rescue teams is organized, and then these people are divided into four teams, each responsible for one of the districts. The number of people and materials distributed depends on the number of survivors in each district.

“Right.”

Cheng Jing touched his chin, thinking seriously.

“This way, rescue teams won’t have to run all over the city, which will reduce casualties. It’ll also be easier to handle things once the extreme cold weather arrives.”

Jiang Nian nodded and continued.

“Yes, but this method doesn’t apply to all cities. It won’t work if people don’t cooperate. The next step after zoning is setting up resettlement sites in each district and managing the survivors as much as possible. This way, private supplies will be fully exposed. Those without supplies will agree, but those with supplies might not…”

Cheng Jing took over:

“The government will distribute fewer supplies in the future, but they’ll distribute them evenly. At that point, people without supplies will feel that those with supplies shouldn’t have distribution rights, but those with supplies won’t give up their rights.”

That’s human nature.

Yes, no method is perfect, but if there’s some order in the chaos, the overall survival rate will be much higher. Even if it’s unfair to a small group, we can only sacrifice the few for the many for now.”

Jiang Nian sighed after speaking. It’s difficult to achieve perfection in public matters.

“Do you agree? We have plenty of supplies,”

Cheng Jing asked with a smile. Anyone who saw what they had would be envious.

Jiang Nian answered without hesitation.

“If you propose this idea to the authorities and it’s implemented, I’ll follow the arrangement. But…”

He smiled slyly mid-sentence.

“You can use your influence to designate Taihe Mingcheng and the surrounding communities as resettlement points. We won’t relocate people from elsewhere. After all, there are few people here, and this area hasn’t been heavily affected. The location is close to the main road, which makes it more convenient for waiting for rescue.”

The key was Cheng Jing’s original security work. No one would suspect their hideout. He just needed to prevent anyone from entering.

“Smart.”

Cheng Jing gave him a thumbs-up. He’d try it. Whether or not it was adopted was up to the government. He only needed to offer suggestions. The “original residents” of the resettlement site wouldn’t move but would accept relocation and follow the rules. That was enough.

…

It was a peaceful night. The next morning, after breakfast, Cheng Jing and Jiang Nian went to the eighth floor first. The couple who had knocked on their door the night before had indeed turned into zombies and were wandering the corridor. When the couple spotted them, they roared and charged.

Cheng Jing shot them both in the head and then cremated them on the spot, burning them to ash. The supernatural fire was so hot that it burned away even the stench.

After dealing with the zombies on the eighth floor, Cheng Jing sent a message to Huang Qian. The three of them then began sealing doors.

Some residents heard the commotion and came out to see what was happening. After learning their purpose, they all supported it. Soon, others spontaneously took action to help.

More than half a month had passed since the apocalypse began, and more and more people with special abilities had emerged.

In a society of mostly elderly residents, a few had awakened powers. Although they were all of the most common physical enhancement type, everyone felt more at ease with their active participation.

Of course, they were all adults who would take responsibility for their actions. Even when following someone with special abilities, they knew how to stay safe and accountable.

More and more people joined in. They were wary of each other, yet they also warmed to each other. At the neighbors’ request, Cheng Jing agreed that, when he wasn’t on a mission, he would work with everyone to clean and seal each building.

With so many people helping, they blocked off and cleaned three buildings in one day, eliminating a lot of zombies. They would continue the next day when Cheng Jing had a break.

After the power outage, the community’s access control system was useless, and the main gate was destroyed. Cheng Jing could only work with a few paranormals who were strong enough to use heavy objects to block the basement stairs and first-floor elevator doors.

This prevented zombies from sneaking into the basement through the community’s outer entrance and climbing up.

Although the basement would become severely affected, as long as it was cleaned in time, it wouldn’t pose a major threat in the short term.

For the three buildings they’d cleaned, Jiang Nian recorded the number of surviving households on each floor in a notebook. If a household was lost, he crossed it out. It was accurate and efficient.

…

The next day, when he went “to work,” Cheng Jing proposed the idea of zoning control. Since more and more people were dying, it was only a matter of time before the survivors gathered together to overcome the difficulties they faced.

After putting forward the suggestion, Cheng Jing reinforced and renovated the doors and windows of two other unoccupied units on the tenth floor, where they lived. He planned to gather all the team members there first, so that no matter what happened later, everyone would be taken care of.

Since Huang Qian didn’t move, the two safe rooms were given to the other six members, who were all men. This made it easier to arrange three people per room.

After setting up the safe houses, they gradually began moving supplies whenever they went out on operations. The other team members finally arrived at their community, but Cheng Jing refused to let them enter the house and visit Jiang Nian in the middle of the night.

After several days of secret preparations, the move was finally complete, and the six team members had officially settled in.

During this time, Cheng Jing revealed some details about Jiang Nian’s nightmare premonitions and supply hoarding to the teammates. Everyone believed him without question. Since the appearance of superpowers, there was nothing strange about nightmare omens.

On the first night after the move, dinner was held at Jiang Nian’s house.

After seeing the house in person, everyone agreed that Jiang Nian’s nickname, “Hamster,” was fitting.