They could have evacuated earlier, but blind confidence did them in. That region was the most water-starved in the world, so how could it possibly flood? A few days later, it flooded anyway.
Elsewhere, some places vanished quietly with barely a ripple. Africa, though, was a catastrophe in full view. People had just settled down, and with nothing to do all day, everyone scrolled through news and social feeds.
Every day it was this area flooded by this much, that area flooded by that much. At least in China the casualties weren't heavy. Aside from those swallowed by the first day's surge, losses afterward were relatively small.
The government hadn't published a tally of the missing, but high-level big-data estimates suggested that, on that single day across China, about two million people disappeared. In Wu City, including those who refused to leave their high-rise apartments that night, the total missing reached tens of thousands.
Given China's normal baseline of about twenty thousand deaths per day and a new birth every two seconds, even under a disaster this vast the death ratio was still comparatively low. Japan had a ninety-five percent death rate, Africa reached around sixty percent, and most other regions hovered near twenty percent.
Of course, births dropped sharply. The Banana Community had tens of thousands of residents, yet only a few dozen pregnant women. Compared to before the apocalypse, that was a hundredfold decrease. Malnutrition, less sex, and fear of giving birth in the apocalypse all played a part.
Speaking of which, Zhang Bingbing was due soon. Under these conditions, who knew if the delivery would go smoothly? The government's support for pregnant women was the strongest of all. Until recently they could still go to hospitals, but now floods had shut them down. It would take at least a week to reopen. Everyone could only hope Zhang Bingbing held on until then.
After just over a week of flooding, most people had already shifted from terror to numb acceptance. Human adaptability was frightening.
Half the news focused on how miserable Africa was, how backward their policies were, and on how China airlifted home over three thousand volunteers stationed around the world.
"When the nation is in peril, we must defend our own homeland first. The state must also protect the safety of our volunteers. Until the end of the apocalypse, China will send no more volunteers abroad. For friendly nations, China is willing to donate a small amount of food."
It hammered home that Chinese lives were paramount. People applauded.
The latter half of the broadcast showed organized local reconstruction. What surprised Jing Shu was a montage of rescues from around the country, including all kinds of oddball, ingenious saves.
Among them, a clip from Douyin of the shark submarine rescue of a thousand people appeared. It was only ten seconds, but it was enough to send her whole family into a frenzy.
"Incredible, my girl made the news!"
"She really made the news!"
"Isn't that our shark submarine?"
Their laughter filled the villa. Jing Shu grinned as well. Eating together, warm and snug in the villa, the whole family under one roof, it felt wonderful.
Even her old classmates pinged her in the group chat, all @Jing Shu, making a fuss.
She still reminded everyone, "Keep this as quiet as you can. Otherwise I'll be in trouble."
Today was another basketful of nonsense.
That night, Jing Shu took out hotpot from the Cube Space for a little self-reward. She had planned to eat from her stores, but then craved fresh vegetables, then fish and shrimp, then grilled oysters and vermicelli scallops. Fine, do it all. Consider it compensation for a day that beat up her heart.
She didn't idle. While eating, she checked on the two snakes in her space. They insisted on doing shame-shame things almost twenty-four hours a day… cough.
She also modified the bulletproof vests, helmets, and gas masks she had taken from the warehouse, sanding off the original logos and stitching on new patches. It was the best method she had for now. By the time she finished tending the poultry, fish, and shrimp, then inspected the fields in the Cube Space, it was already two in the morning.
"Tonight I can finally sleep well, right?"
So she thought.
… As if!
Emmm, Jing Shu had no idea what karmic debt she owed. She just wanted one good night's sleep without interruptions. Was that really so hard?
At four in the morning, Wu You'ai pushed the door open. She hesitated on whether to wake her, but Jing Shu's deathly gaze was already on her.
Wu You'ai received a Death Stare ×1.
Because of habits from her previous life, Jing Shu woke at the slightest noise. After drinking the Spirit Spring in this life, her hearing was ridiculously sharp. The moment someone neared the door, she heard it. While she screamed silently in her heart not to open it, Wu You'ai had already come in.
"Talk," Jing Shu said, dark circles heavy under her eyes. She had slept two hours.
"Zhang Bingbing's water broke. She's in labor. What do we do? There's no doctor. Also, why does your room smell like hotpot?" Wu You'ai was flustered. At some point, Jing Shu had become the backbone of the household. Whenever something happened, they went to her, and things got handled.
But childbirth… Jing Shu really wasn't an expert. She had only just been thinking about Zhang Bingbing giving birth a few hours ago. She hadn't expected it to be a few hours later.
"That smell means you want hotpot. Tomorrow. We need boiling water. Scissors?"
"Got it! Inhale, exhale… inhale, exhale. Like this, right? I heard the cervix opens one finger at a time, and you can only give birth once it's at ten?"
As Jing Shu dressed carefully, she said, "If it doesn't progress for a day or two, it won't work. Let's go check first. If it looks bad, I'll find help. Either way, this will be the Banana Community's first baby since the apocalypse."
Bundled up, they headed out, scissors in hand. On the way, they discussed how to deliver a baby and frantically searched for information.
You never know until you read. Once you read, you're terrified. Childbirth was scary.
"If the baby won't come out, do we have to cut?" Wu You'ai hissed. "Yikes."
"Remember in The Walking Dead? The main guy's wife got bit. They cut her open and took the baby out. If the mother can't be saved, do we have to do that too?" Wu You'ai's mind ran wild.
"A cesarean. Zhang Bingbing won't be that unlucky. We'll numb her, then take the baby out."
"Great idea. Everyone, make way, I'm doing the dissection and pulling the baby. Should we call in some experienced moms? We're two maiden girls… cough."
Something about that sounded off, but the moment surgery came up, she got excited, especially about "pulling a baby out." "I heard when a new infant is registered, the mother gets 100 virtual coins, and the admin gets 10. I'll take the 10 as my surgical fee. How about it?"
===
We've already reached Chapter 200~! (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)و
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