They took things out of the supply bags they received: medicine, spray, protective goggles, face shields, helmet-like hats, gloves, pH test strips, bottled water, and food.
There were only two face masks. Dad wanted to give them to Grandma and Qiqi, but Grandma refused, saying, "You two go out often, so you should use these. I stay at home all the time, so why should I wear these?"
Seeing this, Qiqi also refused, saying, "I don't want it, Mom and Dad can use it."
Qiqi also noticed that her mother's feet were white and bleeding from being soaked in water. She quickly went over to her mother, who was gasping for breath in pain. While washing her feet with water, she said, "It's okay, it doesn't hurt."
Dad frowned as he applied medicine to Mom's face. "The puddles on the road outside are acidic now. If you walk in them too much, the soles will break. You shouldn't go out anymore."
Mom sighed, "Alright, the alkali has already been brought back. I'll try to adjust the water at home. The little water we have at home is all for drinking, we don't have any water for rinsing."
Suddenly, the lights in the room started flickering.
Everyone looked up at the lights.
Dad said in a low voice, "I just saw that the wires are probably corroded in many places."
"Won't there be power outages and internet shutdowns in the future? Just thinking about those images on the sky makes me panic."
Mom said softly, "I wish that anti-acid city really existed. Do you think it would be in our city A? Otherwise, why does the Sky Canopy only appear in our city A and not elsewhere?"
Dad couldn't answer the question either. Just then, a series of exclamations, or rather cheers, came from outside.
"The canopy has reappeared in the sky!"
Dad rushed out, Mom quickly put on her shoes, Grandma suddenly felt stronger, and Qiqi ran out with the adults.
However, she was soon brought back by her grandmother. The two of them peered out the window, while her parents were outside, wearing the only two filter masks on their faces.
In the sky, a giant screen reappeared, this time with the title "The Only Hope in an Acid Rain Apocalypse".
The familiar female voice rang out: "[Hello everyone, this is Wei Zi. Last time we talked about the apocalypse brought by acid rain. You should have already experienced the first acid rain and entered the apocalypse adaptation period.]"
People from the village came out one after another and stood under the sky.
They wore goggles to protect their eyes and face shields to prevent breathing in acidic air that could corrode their respiratory systems. They all stared intently at the sky, and some even took out their phones to take pictures.
At this moment, the entire city of A was bathed in the glow of the sky. The government departments had been waiting for this day and immediately recorded the entire scene and reported it to their superiors.
"This time, the canopy appeared only in City A. City A is indeed a special place."
However, some people in City A couldn't see or hear the video or sound in the sky at all. They panicked and hurriedly asked the people around them, "Can you really see the sky? Is it staged?"
"I can see it, how come you can't see it? Did the acid rain hurt your eyes?"
Those who can't see... There really is nothing in the sky!
After asking each other, they realized that many people couldn't see the canopy, and some couldn't even see the videos and photos that others had taken of it.
In their eyes, all those phones had black screens.
This is absolutely terrifying.
It's as if I'm isolated from some important circle.
Upon further inquiry, it was discovered that these people were the ones who had downvoted Tianmu Video three days prior.
These people!!!
Just a simple dislike, and the consequences are so severe! I just want to go back three days and beat my impulsive self to death!
[The apocalyptic adaptation period is a crucial time and the last chance for self-preservation. I believe you have already begun to experience acid rain and are finding it terrifying.]
[But I must tell you, the acid rain we see now is just an appetizer, lasting only a few hours. In the real apocalypse, acid rain will often last for days, with pH values of a few tenths of a percent, or even negative pH, appearing frequently.]
People were stunned, followed by utter despair.
According to Tianmu, who could survive in this situation?
They are now painstakingly reinforcing their houses like birds building their nests, only to have them all wiped out by an acid rain. They will face the acid rain head-on and be completely wiped out, unless they hide underground!
No, I'm afraid it's not safe underground either!
In the scene depicted on the sky, continuous heavy rain destroyed a city. When it was all over, only an indistinguishable ruin remained, and even the hilltops were rounded off.
This is terrifying, this is absolutely terrifying!
The leaders of City A, as well as those watching the broadcast in other cities, all looked tense, and the atmosphere was solemn and oppressive.
The younger man's nostrils flared, clearly his emotions were at their limit, and he couldn't help but exclaim, "This is a natural disaster aimed at wiping out humanity! This makes absolutely no sense!"
"Quiet!"
The man could only hold his breath and sit back down.
As a city was destroyed on screen, Wei Zi's voice was filled with regret: "[In the face of such natural disasters, humanity is so insignificant, but the heavens are fickle, and humanity is destined to survive; somewhere, there will always be a last glimmer of hope.]"
People were invigorated.
Here it comes! Here comes the important part!
[As I mentioned in the previous video, there exists a place that is like a paradise, untouched by the dangers of acid rain. There, everything is as if the apocalypse never happened, and is even more beautiful than before the apocalypse.]
The scene then reappears with its pictorial style: ranches, mountains, gardens, houses, sun-drenched streets, and happy-looking people.
The Song'an County Middle School had become a shelter, housing many people who stared blankly at the sky.
"Where is this? I really want to go."
The young teacher stared at the screen, frowning. "In this picture, there seems to be a dome in the sky. Is this dome protecting against acid rain?"
The student asked, "Does such a city exist? This art style seems a bit fantastical. Could it be that this place doesn't even exist yet?"
"Wait a minute!" a student pointed at the screen. "Did you guys just see that? There's a statue in that garden square! I remember seeing that statue in the last video too!"
The other students immediately took out their phones, found the previous video, and compared it with the previous one. "It's true, there was a similar statue at the entrance of the ranch in the last video. There were words under the statue, but damn it, I can't see what it says!"
The young teacher's eyes flashed. The statues that appeared twice, and the words under the statues, could they be hinting at something?
I know everyone longs to live in this place, but unfortunately, I don't know where it is either.
[All I can tell you is that during the post-apocalyptic adaptation period, someone used a less-than-honorable method to continuously accumulate initial capital and then gradually built this acid-resistant city.]
People were in an uproar.
A buzz of discussion erupted immediately.
"One person! It was actually built by one person! Could one person create such a place?"
"'A not-so-honorable method'? What kind of method is it? I'd like to hear it too!"
"So, the accumulation was completed in just one month of the post-apocalyptic adaptation period? How is that even possible!"
"Where exactly is this person? Tell me clearly!"
"I have a feeling this person is in our city, A. Otherwise, why would they send the video here?"
"I think the opposite is true. It's precisely because that person isn't in City A that the video was uploaded here. Otherwise, wouldn't that person have found out?"
Ordinary people were talking about it, saying all sorts of things, and some even started observing the people around them, hoping that the chosen one was right next to them so they could hitch a ride on this incredible wealth.
Some people have already started analyzing it.
There is no shortage of smart people in this world. If a junior high school student can find a statue, others can naturally find it too.
Although the images are in a pictorial style and may not be very realistic, the iconic statues that appear in various places must reveal some information.
Whose statues will appear in various parts of the city?
They are either the founders or the leaders of the city.
And all of this points to that mysterious person.
At the Public Security Bureau of City A, Jiang Ying looked up at the sky with an anxious expression. "How can we find someone with just this one sentence?"
My colleague came over and said, "You're being discharged today? Why didn't you stay a couple more days?"
Jiang Ying shook her head. "The hospital is full of patients with acid rain, and there are no beds available. Anyway, no traces of sedatives were detected in my body, so I was discharged."
Jiang Ying asked, "Where's that fat guy?"
"I think he's still locked up. I've been so busy these past few days, who has time to deal with him?"
The two exchanged a few words, but didn't focus on the cripple, and continued to look at the sky.
[If that's too broad a scope, here's another clue: this person really enjoys staring at women, especially attractive ones, and all his success stems from women.]
Jiang Ying pondered, "Does he like staring at the opposite sex? Men?"
My colleague said, "Women can stare at men too, and men can be described as beautiful. Anyway, it feels a bit like a pervert."
A pervert? Jiang Ying suddenly thought of that fat man with the lewd behavior and expression that night.
She had no idea what tricks that fat man had used. If there hadn't been a lot of people around, including her colleagues, she probably would have really been caught off guard.
This is an utter disgrace!
What's even more shameful is that the next day, she couldn't help thinking about that guy, especially wanting to go to him and snuggle in his arms. As she thought about it, she couldn't help but feel short of breath and her body getting hot.
Jiang Ying's face twisted as she stopped thinking, so embarrassed she wanted to disappear into the ground. Luckily, no one knew what she was thinking, otherwise she would have been really mortified.
The hospitals in City A were filled with patients suffering from acid rain, mainly those who insisted on staying outdoors that night and risking their lives. Yun Eryaozi was one of them.
His entire body was corroded by acid rain and covered in ointment. His esophagus was also severely corroded, making it impossible for him to eat. At this moment, he kept staring out the window, muttering, "What...what are you saying...?"
He downvoted the Sky Screen three days ago, and now he can't see anything. His friend was recording while saying, "Don't worry, I'll explain it to you in detail later. Hey, I told you to have some respect for others."
Yun Eryaozi shed tears of regret. If he had known, he wouldn't have liked the negative comments or started the live stream. Now things have turned out like this, and he can't even see the sky screen anymore.
The hospital is mostly filled with people like him. It's because they don't trust Tianmu and hold it in contempt that they criticize it and act recklessly.
Seeing others looking up at the sky and discussing its contents, while they knew nothing, it was as if they had become deaf and blind, excluded from the celestial canopy.
I regret it now, I regret it so much.