After Luo Yuan left, the meeting was reconvened.
Bi Jianping lit a cigarette and lit it for himself. Suddenly, the whole meeting room was filled with smoke and the smell was suffocating.
For a moment, no one spoke. The news that Luo Yuan had just received was like a bolt from the blue. Everyone was still in a daze and it was hard for them to recover from the shock.
When they thought about how the human race was on the brink of extinction, they could not help but feel a sense of despair.
"The situation is much worse than what we expected. We have to be prepared for a long period of time. How many supplies do we have now? I mean, water and food." After a while, Bi Jianping broke the silence and said.
These two were the most important resources. As long as the food and water problems were solved, Hope City would not be in chaos.
"If the electricity cannot be restored, we can probably last for three months." A deputy mayor who was in charge of agriculture said, "Although the agricultural area can still produce, there is no sunlight. Even mutated plants cannot grow normally. The water source of Hope City is groundwater, which also requires electricity. Without electricity, the whole of Hope City will be in a hopeless situation."
"It seems like the most important thing now is to restore the electricity!" Bi Jianping said with a serious face.
"But all our power plants were thermal power plants built on the ground. Now, they have been destroyed and the wreckage may not even be found. There are a few sets of steam turbines in the warehouse, but how do we find the fuel to generate electricity? We are all trapped underground and can't get out unless we demolish all the houses in Hope City! "A deputy mayor who was in charge of industry said as he took a deep puff of his cigarette.
"That's a good plan!" Bi Jianping said, "But even if we burn all the houses in Hope City, how long can we last? We can only see when the storm stops!"
At this moment, the ground shook violently again and a muffled sound was heard above their heads. Everyone's expression changed. Apparently, some part of the building had collapsed. The earthquake lasted for more than 10 seconds before it subsided.
Since yesterday, there had been more than 10 earthquakes. It was so frequent that people were already numb to it. After a while, the meeting continued.
"I think we still have a certain amount of food and water. We can still wait for a while, but we can't delay the problem of keeping warm. The temperature has started to drop rapidly and winter will come in one or two days. In the past, because the temperature was suitable all year round, everyone generally lacked warm clothing. When the time comes, I'm afraid that a large number of people will freeze to death. "The Publicity Minister raised the imminent crisis.
Everyone looked haggard, but there was no way to solve the problem. There was naturally a lot of clothes in stock, but most of them were battle suits made of fiber. Even the cotton blankets were light as if they were weightless. Such clothes would not be able to withstand the cold winter.
"Let me also mention that since last night, the number of suicides has exceeded 20,000. The people are quite pessimistic now, and with the problem of freezing to death mentioned by Comrade Zhou Wenbo, I think we should be more vigilant." Li Feng, the political official, rubbed his eyebrows and said wearily, "Also, we are seriously short of police officers. We must urgently recruit more people."
Everyone was silent, and a feeling of helplessness arose in their hearts.
The current Hope City had completely become an isolated island. The outside world was deteriorating, and the people inside were in a state of panic. The situation was like a tightened steel wire. They could barely maintain order now because of the inertia of order and the concealment of the truth.
If the power system could not be restored, the underground city would be shrouded in darkness, and winter would come. Under the continuous depression and despair, the people in Hope City would collapse, and the public security would deteriorate rapidly. By that time, the remaining tens of thousands of ordinary police officers in Hope City would be like trying to put out a burning cart of firewood with a cup of water.
Moreover, this was only considering the ordinary people …
There were many evolved humans in Hope City, and there was also a department of the Firearms Bureau. This department was completely independent from the city government, and there was no relationship between the two departments. If it was in the past when the reconstruction area was still around, they could still communicate and coordinate with each other. But now, no one was sure if the other party would have other intentions.
What was more troublesome was that the Firearms Bureau of Hope City was under the direct command of that person. With the ability of that person to kill the aliens, all the forces in Hope City combined would not be enough.
Military force was the foundation of all power. Without military force, the existing power would be like a castle in the air.
"I think we should bring Minister Luo into this. We can't exclude him. At least with his presence, the evolved humans would be more stable." At this moment, the head of the organization, Ye Yonglai, finally broke the topic that everyone had been trying to avoid.
"I think it's a good idea. But what position should we assign him? He is a Lieutenant General, and in terms of rank, he is higher than all of us. Moreover, no one can compare to Minister Luo in terms of contributions to mankind. He has saved mankind, and in a sense, he has also saved everyone here! "Bi Jianping said before Ye Yonglai even finished his sentence.
When some people heard this, their expressions couldn't help but change slightly. They vaguely felt that a storm was brewing. Today's decision was bound to be recorded in the annals of history.
...
On the way back, Luo Yuan felt that the temperature was getting colder. It was already April, and normally, the temperature in the morning would be around 35 degrees Celsius. But now, it was not even 10 degrees Celsius.
He quickened his pace and walked home. The villa was also dark, and there were only a few simple oil lamps in the living room that were emitting a dim light.
However, it was these dim oil lamps that made Luo Yuan's heart, which had been cold since last night, feel a sense of warmth.
The women's eyes turned red when they saw Luo Yuan. They had been worried ever since they found out that Luo Yuan had gone missing in the reconstruction area. They were afraid that Luo Yuan had met with misfortune. As his women, they had to bear this kind of fear all the time and they were used to it.
"Alright, don't cry. Everything is fine now."
"You haven't eaten yet, right? Let me cook for you!" Huang Jiahui said while wiping her tears.
Luo Yuan nodded and said, "I'm not that hungry, just something will do."
His body now had two sets of energy systems. One was powered by the cold fusion of mitochondria, and the other was powered by leftover food. The former had basically replaced the latter. For him, it did not matter whether he ate or not, but he still could not live without water.
In the afternoon, officials came to visit one after another. What was different from the past was that these people would bring some gifts with them when they came. This time, they all came empty-handed. Everyone was respectful and cautious.
Luo Yuan was confused, but at the same time, he vaguely noticed something. The situation in Hope City seemed to be turbulent, and the clouds were moving in a treacherous manner.
In the evening, Wang Shishi, who had gone out to watch the show, rushed in.
"Brother Luo, did you really kill the aliens and save the reconstruction area?" She was still breathing, blinking her eyes and asking in surprise, as if it was her first time meeting Luo Yuan.
"How did you know?" Luo Yuan was shocked. He did not tell his family about the aliens.
"The government is spreading the news. Could it be that there are really aliens and you killed them?" Wang Shishi said in surprise.
His villa was located in a remote area, and there were very few people living nearby. It was quiet and secluded from the outside world. He listened attentively, and suddenly, all kinds of subtle sounds drilled into his ears. Sure enough, he heard people promoting his deeds from a few kilometers away.
Huang Jiahui and the rest were shocked when they heard what Wang Shishi said. As for Ye Qiuyu, she was so shocked that she covered her mouth.
Luo Yuan had no choice but to briefly tell them about the aliens from the beginning to the end. After that, he ignored the looks of disbelief on the faces of the women as he pondered in his heart.
The government had pushed him to be the hero of mankind and the savior of the world.
Now, all the people in Hope City were panicking and feeling hopeless about the future. The government's promotion of him had undoubtedly injected a shot of hope into the hearts of the people who had already lost hope.
However, to the Hope City's government, it was like drinking poison to quench their thirst. At the same time, it meant that their power had been shaken. This was also the reason when Luo Yuan was still in the reconstruction area, no matter how many achievements he had made, other than the rewards behind his back, there was no promotion at all.
Therefore, other than some of the higher-ups who knew about Luo Yuan, the ordinary people knew nothing about him.
Obviously, the government could no longer maintain the situation and they were ready to give up their power to Luo Yuan.
In fact, even if they held on to their power, Luo Yuan would still force them to give it up.
He was not someone who had a strong desire for power and he was not interested in ruling the reconstruction area.
However, the current situation of mankind seemed to have passed the crisis, but in fact, the crisis was not over yet. Ignoring the long nuclear winter that was coming, the Glassian spaceship might come again. This time, he was lucky enough to kill all the aliens, but he could not guarantee that he would be so lucky next time.
Moreover, if they came again, the power of the aliens would be even more terrifying.
In order to continue the human race, Luo Yuan thought that the only way was to escape to the universe with the Glassian spaceship.
However, he had the highest authority in the spaceship. Unless he died, he would not be able to move it. By then, any decision would have to be made by him. Instead of being hindered and fighting against each other, it was better for him to take the responsibility.
In fact, the government was more anxious than he had imagined. At the same time, the situation in Hope City was even more serious.
The next day, at six o 'clock in the evening, the higher-ups of the government came to his villa for a closed-door meeting.
Other than a few of the participants, no one knew what was said in the meeting. However, when they came out, they were all drenched in cold sweat and their faces were pale. There was a suppressed excitement on their faces.
Initially, Luo Yuan thought that the situation could be delayed for at least 10 days to half a month. He did not expect the situation to be so urgent that it could not be delayed any longer.
At this moment, the government was sitting on a barrel of gunpowder that could explode at any time. It was no wonder that no one tried to take over this hot potato.
That night, Luo Yuan entered the city hall and sat in the mayor's office.
The first order that Luo Yuan gave was to gather all the surviving electrical engineers in Hope City, the researchers from various laboratories and a large number of workers. He then activated the space-time bubble and left Hope City.
An hour later, he returned from space with a metal ball with a diameter of five meters in his hand.
This was the deep fusion furnace that he had dismantled from the Glassian spaceship. Together with the accessories, they were packed and transported back by Luo Yuan. It could be considered as recycling.
The Glassian fusion furnace was extremely high-tech and safe. When the energy output stopped, it would automatically go into hibernation mode.
As soon as it was placed on the ground of the city hall that had been cleared, a large number of researchers and engineers who had gathered overnight surrounded it. They were shocked and excited.
Every smooth and complex surface, every part of the special material, and even the inscription of the alien metal attracted everyone's attention.
"Don't look at it. You'll have time to look at it in the future. Now, let's start experimenting. But be careful." Luo Yuan said.
The Glassian civilization and humans were two completely different civilizations. Moreover, no one here had ever come into contact with nuclear fusion before. They could not analyze the technology of the fusion furnace that was directly using thermoelectric conversion.
However, they did not need to understand it at all. As a type of power output device, its basic principle was the same. Both of them output electricity through the positive and negative poles. Moreover, the more advanced the technology, the easier it was to operate.
It had a pitiful number of operation buttons, only three. After fumbling around for a while, he could already understand the specific meaning of the words on the buttons.
Hibernation, shutdown and startup.
When the fusion furnace was shut down, it would completely stop working. The fuel tank would be unlocked and it could be easily opened by pulling on the surface.
According to the analysis of the researchers, the fuel inside was not ordinary hydrogen or the helium-3 that humans used for nuclear fusion. It was a type of ultra-pure water. Of course, this was a deep fusion furnace. Even ordinary pure water would not be a problem.
Looking at the engineers carefully exploring the functions of the buttons, the fusion furnace was quite mature in the Glassian civilization. It was widely used. Even intelligent robots and smart bombs came with miniature nuclear fusion furnaces. They wanted to put one in every item. Therefore, it was very safe and had its own safety protection measures. While the engineers were exploring, they did not cause any danger. However, Luo Yuan felt that it was necessary for him to go to the spaceship. Through the artificial intelligence system, he printed the Glassian language and Chinese into a book to learn.
One could imagine that they would be exposed to more and more Glassian equipment in the future. It would be very troublesome and dangerous if they did not understand the Glassian language. At least, before humans completely absorbed the Glassian technology, the Glassian language would be the most important foreign language.
In the wee hours of the morning, a large number of electrical engineers had already started small-scale experiments. When lights were lit up in the hall, the dimly lit hall suddenly became brightly lit.
"Mayor, its maximum output is amazing. The power is almost endless. Fortunately, it can be adjusted according to the usage. Otherwise, we would not have been able to find a suitable transformer." A chief engineer of the power station who was lucky enough to escape the disaster said to Luo Yuan excitedly.
"When can it be connected to the grid?" Luo Yuan asked. It was already wee hours and the temperature was getting colder. It was already minus 10 degrees Celsius. If this continued, they would probably freeze to death.
"All the circuits in Hope City are still under repair. The electromagnetic pulse during the disaster had destroyed most of the circuit bulbs. We have to check and install it again to ensure that there are no problems before we can connect it to the grid. I think it will be the third afternoon." The chief engineer said to Luo Yuan nervously.
"That's too long. The people can't wait that long." Luo Yuan shook his head and waved his hand.
The deputy mayor, Bi Jianping, who was commanding nearby, quickly ran towards Luo Yuan. He respected and feared Luo Yuan at the same time. It was one thing to hear about it and another to see it with his own eyes. In just an hour, an alien fusion furnace had appeared. This proved that what Luo Yuan had said earlier was true.
"It seems like we need to gather more workers. We need to train them and repair the circuits. During this period of time, start up some of the factories and focus on producing heating equipment and warm clothes. I don't want to see people freeze to death."
The metal smelting and chemical industries that had been destroyed outside were heavily polluted. There were more factories underground. It was not difficult to produce heating equipment.
"I'll get it done now." Bi Jianping said immediately.
"Wait! There's one more thing. " Luo Yuan stopped Bi Jianping and said in a serious tone, "Hope City is in a state of panic now. We can't let the people do nothing in the dark and let their imaginations run wild. We have to get them to move. You can discuss with the others about the specific plan. It's okay even if some resources are wasted. "
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