Reborn in the Apocalypse: A Commoner's Survival Log

Before the cockroach saga was over, the food street on the other side of Xingcheng was plagued by rats crossing the street at night.

After a long day of being cooped up, the people of Changsha finally made it to evening and could go outside for a stroll.

The food street is also a popular destination for locals.

But today, before they had been strolling around for long, a large number of rats suddenly swarmed onto the ground, scaring everyone out of their wits.

The rats scurried and moved through the crowd at incredible speed, seemingly unafraid of being trampled to death, as if some ferocious beast was chasing them.

Some people were so scared that they jumped onto the table and curled up in a ball; some ran so fast that they lost their shoes and didn't dare to go back to pick them up; and some picked up sticks to hit the rats but got bitten.

The children were so frightened by the rats all over the place that they cried.

Soon, videos of the rat infestation in Xingcheng were uploaded online and also became a trending topic.

Zhou Yang saw all these videos. Seeing that the online comments were all just for fun and no one seemed to have any sense of crisis, he could only shake his head and sigh.

Finally, unable to bear it any longer, I commented on the possibility of an earthquake, and without even considering whether I would be ridiculed, I turned off the Douyin video, threw my phone away, and went for a run on my social media.

With the temperature so high now, even walking at night is difficult, so Zhou Yang does all her physical exercise, like running, in the space.

Anyway, there's plenty of space, enough for him to run around in.

*

Nighttime at Xingcheng Ecological Zoo.

From the zoo director to the zookeepers and the security guards, everyone is sticking to their posts.

Since the onset of the sustained high temperatures, many animals have become restless and agitated.

At first, I thought it was just because of the high temperature, so I didn't take it seriously and tried my best to comfort them by giving them plenty of ice.

In the last few days, every night, these animals started making incessant noises and wandering around their territory, very agitated. Some even started tearing at the fence bars, trying to escape.

The zoo couldn't figure out the reason for the incident and could only strengthen management and take strict precautions.

That night, everyone stayed at their posts as usual, taking turns patrolling.

The zookeepers fed the animals one by one, adding ice cubes.

But today, the animals have become even more irritable, showing no interest in food and ignoring the ice. They have been squealing and screaming ever since they saw their keepers.

When the zookeeper ignored them, they started howling one by one.

As if in response, almost in the blink of an eye, the lions in the lion and tiger enclosure suddenly began to ram the glass in front of them, followed by the tigers, then the wolves, pandas, deer, and so on...

All the animals in the zoo went crazy, frantically ramming against doors and glass. Many animals were injured and bleeding, but they still wouldn't stop.

The panda's caretaker couldn't bear to see the panda's distress and opened its enclosure to investigate. The panda kicked him away and stormed out. When anyone tried to stop it, it pounced without hesitation, biting several people in the process.

The zoo spent a lot of manpower and resources to recapture the giant panda.

Just as they were captured here, a hole was chewed in the iron cage of the gray wolves, and all six gray wolves escaped. Except for two that were a step behind and were caught by the zookeepers with their necks caught, the other four escaped from the zoo.

The kindergarten director was so frightened that he immediately called the police. The police then issued a citywide notice, urging citizens to be aware of their safety when traveling and to report to the police immediately if they saw a wolf.

The city was in an uproar that day.

From the cockroach incident to the rat infestation, and then to the zoo riot, the topic trended on social media from morning till night.

While most people were just watching the spectacle, a small group noticed something unusual.

Then people started posting online that something big was about to happen in Changsha, like an earthquake. The events that had been happening in Changsha recently all seemed to match the omens of an impending earthquake.

However, not many people believed it, and even those who did thought it was just a small earthquake and nothing serious.

High school seniors also saw today's news and netizens' speculations.

Although his geography skills weren't great, he knew that small earthquakes couldn't possibly have such large precursors. The last time there were precursors of this magnitude was during the 8.0 magnitude earthquake in Sichuan Province, and even that didn't seem to be as dramatic as the one in Changsha.

He felt a chill run down his spine when he recalled the destructive power of a magnitude 9.0 or higher earthquake that he had read in a blog post.

He immediately rushed out the door and headed for the living room.

"Dad! Mom! We're going to the countryside! To Grandma and Grandpa's house! Hurry, pack your things and let's go now!"

"Chen Xiaoliang! What's wrong with you?!" The middle-aged woman was startled and slapped him. "You have your college entrance exam in a few days, remember? Huh? Going to the countryside! Go study!"

"That's right, listen to your mother, go and study hard. You can visit your grandparents after you finish your college entrance exam."

"An earthquake is coming! What's the point of reading? We're going to die, who cares about the college entrance exam!"

The boy was extremely anxious and immediately showed his parents the blog posts he had saved and today's news.

After the couple finished reading it, they found it absurd.

"How could there be an earthquake? Don't believe everything you read online."

"What if? What if there's an earthquake?"

"That's unlikely..."

"How about staying for two or three days? Just two or three days! I promise it won't interfere with my college entrance exam!"

The boy pleaded with his parents for over an hour, finally persuading them to pack a few simple bags, take his important documents and valuables, and the family of three set off overnight to visit his maternal grandparents, who lived more than 100 kilometers away.

June 1st, Children's Day.

Due to the persistent high temperatures, the economy in various regions has stagnated.

In order to boost economic consumption in Changsha and to appease the public.

After several days of preparation, the Xingcheng Municipal People's Government, together with the Women and Children Protection Association, several kindergartens and primary schools, and many sponsors, held a large-scale Children's Day gala at the Xingcheng Central Square on this evening.

In addition to the usual song, dance, and acrobatic performances, there were also food stalls lining the entire street.

Everyone was getting restless from being cooped up at home for almost a month.

Upon hearing about the event, people from Changsha flocked there with their elderly relatives and children to join in the fun.

The huge square was brightly lit and bustling with people. Colorful lights were everywhere, from the small trees along the roadside to the surrounding shopping malls. Various food stalls were crowded with people, especially the ones selling cold drinks, ice cream and chilled fruit, where long queues had formed.

To alleviate the high temperature, several blowers were set up in the square. Although they still blew out hot air, it was much better than no wind at all.

On stage, performances came one after another. In addition to adult song and dance troupes, acrobatics, and crosstalk performances, there were also song and dance recitations from each kindergarten and primary school.

The program list contains more than 30 programs.

Several shopping malls in the vicinity also launched their own promotions, with various discounts and sales in abundance.

That night, Changsha, which had been feeling stifled by the high temperatures for a long time, returned to its pre-heat-heat-day liveliness.