CHAPTER 281: CHAPTER 279: THE SUDDEN BLIZZARD

In the early morning, when Chen Xin had finished washing up and took the elevator to the observation room on the upper level of the shelter, Han Ping and Han Ze, the two brothers, were huddled around the stove, cooking a pot of thick hot soup. The air was filled with the aroma of food, and the heat emitted from the stove slightly dispelled the cold in the room.

"Good morning, Han Ping and Han Ze. Did you sleep cold last night?" Chen Xin felt the room’s temperature and asked the brothers of the Han Family, who were wearing hastily made exoskeleton protective suits.

"Mr. Chen." Han Ping saw Chen Xin coming in, quickly pulled his brother aside, stood up and greeted Chen Xin: "It was bearable. The room was okay at night, but during the night watch, we had to turn on the heating in our clothes; otherwise, it was unbearable."

Hearing what Han Ping said, Chen Xin gestured for the two to sit down before looking at the observation windows, already blocked by glass, in the observation room. He shook his head helplessly and said, "It’s good that it’s bearable. If you can’t take it, go down and sleep at night. It’s too cold. No one will come here in such adverse weather."

However, Han Ping shook his head and said, "The worse the weather, the more vigilant we must be. People who can come out in this weather are either cruel or unable to survive, both very dangerous, and we must be vigilant."

Facing Han Ping’s attitude, Chen Xin couldn’t say much, but in his heart, he complained about the unexpected blizzard.

After Head Li and Ding Ning came not long ago, the blizzard suddenly hit that night, and the temperature dropped again, plummeting from the previously tolerable minus thirty-something degrees to over seventy degrees below zero, accompanied by winds strong enough to blow over ordinary cars.

The arrival of the blizzard had no warning, as if it whipped up in an instant, sweeping over everything before people could react.

Chen Xin could understand the emergence of such weather. After losing the protection of vegetation and regulation of atmospheric circulation, the entire weather system on Earth’s surface had completely collapsed. The wind lost its barriers and became increasingly fierce, and the appearance of extreme weather was just one impact of the atmospheric system’s collapse.

In the past, winter cold waves in Flame Country would cause nationwide temperature drops. Now, with the weather system collapsed, the cold brought by this blizzard would similarly affect many places. What’s different from the past is that once the temperature drops, it’s hard to rise again.

Because the sunlight, the main source of heat for Blue Star’s surface, has been blocked by dust, even if the blizzard clears, raising the temperature still remains extremely difficult.

Outside the shelter, winds exceeding level twelve were howling by, sweeping up countless flakes of snow. If there were sunlight, one could see a vast white landscape.

However, the snowflakes drifting in the sky at this time were not ice crystals but carbon dioxide that had liquefied and solidified into carbon dioxide snow at low temperatures, commonly known as dry ice.

The extreme cold had clearly exceeded the limits of resistance for most buildings. Even Chen Xin’s upgraded shelter struggled to withstand it, forcing him to turn the heating system to maximum power to ensure the indoor temperature and the survival of plants in the greenhouse.

This made Chen Xin realize a problem with geothermal pumps as heating devices: they are influenced by the temperature of the strata, and there is a limit to temperature rise.

Although his shelter, reaching deep underground, currently has no issues, if the blizzard persists and temperatures don’t rise, while deep strata may not be affected, shallow strata are certain to experience temperature drops.

This would undoubtedly impact geothermal pump equipment relying mainly on shallow strata for heat, reducing heating effectiveness.

Therefore, if the temperature continues to drop, Chen Xin would have to consider other heating methods within the shelter.

Now, the temperature in the upper observation room on the surface had dropped to below twenty degrees, despite Han Ping and Han Ze’s constant use of the stove.

Because of such low temperatures, Chen Xin wanted the two brothers to go down to the shelter. It was just too cold up there, and he worried they wouldn’t be able to withstand it.

But Han Ping insisted on staying up there and continued to keep watch with his brother.

Persuasion didn’t work, so Chen Xin could only let Han Ping stay with his brother on the upper level of the shelter. However, for safety’s sake, Chen Xin prepared a stove and two hastily made protective suits for them to prevent frostbite in the low-temperature environment.

With the protective suits, Han Ping and Han Ze actually found the temperature barely tolerable. After all, it was like wearing an electric blanket, plus they had the stove to cook hot food anytime to replenish body heat. Except for the tough night watches, it was actually okay.

But Han Ping was still a bit worried and asked Chen Xin, "Mr. Chen, if it’s so cold where we have such good conditions, isn’t it colder elsewhere?"

"Other places? If the cold protection isn’t good, it’s not just colder; it can be deadly." Being asked by Han Ping, Chen Xin couldn’t help but shake his head.

Temperatures below forty degrees might be encountered in Flame Country’s north, but seventy below zero is extremely extreme.

In such temperatures, scenes from the movie ’The Day After Tomorrow,’ where helicopters were frozen and dropped, could indeed happen.

Polar temperatures made it difficult to even start a fire, and even with structures to block the cold wind, without a heat source, the temperature drop could freeze to death all life.

The city relies on coal-burning boilers for heating, which should still work in this weather. But most city shelters aren’t the deeply underground type, as most insulation and cold protection were hastily modified three months before the catastrophe, making Chen Xin worry about the situation in the city.

Yet, even Chen Xin wouldn’t dare venture outside in this environment. The blizzard outside was enough to trap any vehicle in a dire state, even his modified tracked RV couldn’t guarantee safety in such conditions.

Perhaps only those heavy transport vehicles from ’Wandering Earth’ could handle such harsh weather?

Thinking this, Chen Xin’s once relaxed attitude from improved survival conditions tightened again, sensing the survival crisis.

Although Chen Xin could provide for himself without worries now, it doesn’t mean he doesn’t face a survival crisis.