Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 49 Different Problems
"Quick, everyone stop lying there playing on your phones, let's clear the snow from the doorway!"

At the entrance of the Limei Hotel, someone was holding a shovel and loudly calling on others.

Night was about to fall, and the hotel lights were already on.

The lobby on the first floor was densely packed with makeshift beds, and with the people staying in the guest rooms upstairs, the hotel was at least five or six hundred people at the time.

Upon hearing the call to action, someone said with dissatisfaction, "Why are we clearing snow again? Didn't we just do it yesterday?"

"The snow is falling so heavily every day, it just piles up again."

"It's almost a meter tall, it really needs to be cleared out."

"Call those people out of the guest rooms! We can't just be the ones working in the lobby!"

"Cough, cough, cough!"

People were making a racket, and some looked outside. The steps of the hotel entrance were covered with a thick layer of snow.

Although official snowplows were clearing the main roads, they couldn't reach the hotel entrance steps, making it inconvenient for the hotel guests to clear the snow themselves.

"Stop complaining, this is for our own good!"

"Yes, if we don't clear it, and the snow blocks the gate, it will be difficult for the logistics bureau to deliver supplies!"

"Hurry up and bring them out!"

As soon as the door opened, a gust of cold wind, mixed with snowflakes, rushed into the hall.

People tightened their clothes and shivered.

Some people ignored the call to action and simply burrowed into their blankets, not even popping their heads out.

There wasn't much the others could do about those who shirked their duties. Several hot-tempered men, their faces ashen, would have probably already attacked them if it weren't for the armed squad stationed at the hotel.

In the end, it still comes down to self-discipline.

Twenty or thirty people voluntarily took tools and went outside to clear the snow near the hotel entrance steps.

Xu Xiaotian was among them. After the hotel was fully booked, he voluntarily gave his room to a pregnant woman who had come to take refuge, and slept on the floor in the lobby himself.

In this apocalyptic world, especially after experiencing the cruelty of the first rule, very few people are still willing to have children.

However, while everyone is reluctant to have children, they also feel that children are the hope for the future.

Therefore, most people are very considerate when they see a pregnant woman arrive.

Everyone was willing to accept that it could sleep in a warm guest room and even take up more food resources.

"Damn it, look at both sides of the street, they've all turned into walls of ice!"

Among the snow-clearing team at the entrance, someone couldn't help but grumble and curse.

"If we don't clear the snow, in a few days, an ice wall like this will rise up in front of the hotel! Then they'll be completely trapped inside and won't be able to get out!"

Others chimed in, "Yes, some people are too selfish and unwilling to do any work. This isn't for anyone else; ultimately, it's for everyone who's taking refuge here, including ourselves."

"In my opinion, those with guns don't do anything about it!"

"Didn't they say that their only task is to maintain order and nothing else?"

"Alright, alright, we're pretty good at least we still have food to eat and a heater. We've already made it through a few days, let's just hang in there for the rest of the time, cough, hang in there... cough cough, cough cough cough!"

The man was speaking when he suddenly coughed violently. The others looked over and saw that the middle-aged man, who had a refined appearance, had a flushed face and was clearly not feeling well.

"Teacher Feng, what's wrong?"

This refined-looking man is a local junior high school teacher who moved in quite early.

He was the first to propose the mutual aid and sharing session at the Limei Hotel, so everyone is quite familiar with him.

"Teacher Feng, why is your face so red?"

"I touched my forehead... Ouch! It's so hot, Teacher Feng, you have a fever!"

"You're sick and you're still out working? Go inside and rest!"

"Xiaotian, quickly help Teacher Feng inside!"

"Hey!"

Xu Xiaotian agreed and quickly helped the coughing teacher Feng into the room and to her bed on the floor.

"Teacher Feng, you rest. Let me get you some water and some medicine, shall I?"

"Xiaotian, I'm fine." The man covered his head and lay down. "I'll be fine after lying down for a while, no need to trouble yourself."

"That won't do... I'll go get some hot water!"

Xu Xiaotian hurried to the restaurant, only to find that there were quite a few people queuing in front of the direct-supply hot water machine.

Most of these people looked sick and were coughing incessantly, covering their mouths. Some held cups filled with cold medicine granules, while others held a cup in one hand and a strip of cold capsules in the other. Xu Xiaotian then belatedly realized, "The flu might be spreading!"

Many people in modern times are already in a sub-healthy state. After entering the post-apocalyptic era, their psychological stress will increase sharply, and their bodies will be more prone to illness.

Given the sudden drop in temperature, it's not surprising that some people will catch the flu.

However, people with the flu can spread rapidly in such a nearly enclosed space where hundreds of people are crammed together, with air conditioning running 24 hours a day.

If one person gets sick, it can quickly spread to others. Listening to the constant coughing, Xu Xiaotian figured that at least dozens of people in the hotel were already sick.

This made him uneasy, and he felt that things would get very bad if things continued like this.

The blizzard has only been going on for a few days, and so many people are already getting sick. What if someone's condition worsens and medication alone isn't working?
In this awful weather, how are we supposed to get someone to the hospital? We don't even know if the hospitals are still operating...

He wasn't the only one who discovered the problem; a commotion was already erupting in the hall outside.

Someone was shouting.

"Isolate them! These coughing people must be locked up in guest rooms and isolated! We absolutely cannot allow them to spread the virus to others at this time!"

……

Under the same night sky, different problems arise in different places.

Although Guan Tong was not troubled by infectious diseases at this time, he also had his own problems.

He stared at the road ahead, and as time passed, the two cylindrical beams of light grew brighter, indicating that the truck was getting closer.

He could even hear the "boom...spit..." sound, which was clearly the sound of a large truck.

Guan Tong remained vigilant while also feeling somewhat curious.

The rules have been in effect for several days now, and the snow on the roads is already quite thick and icy.

Driving outside at this hour, aren't you afraid of getting stuck in a snowdrift? Or having your wheels slip and drive into a ditch?
Guan Tong was worried about skidding when he first started driving under the rules, let alone now that four days have passed.

Anyone who dares to drive outside at this hour, at the very least, has a lot of guts!

"And judging from the looks of it, the driver came here because Mingdao Mountain is deserted and has little snowfall."

There is no other reason for anyone to take such a huge risk driving a large truck to such a remote and desolate place.

Appeared!
Just then, Guan Tong saw the car appear with his naked eye.

Just as he guessed, it was a large cargo truck, and the two cylindrical beams of light were emitted from the two headlights on the front of the truck.

Guan Tong had heard many truck drivers modify their headlights, but he didn't know if this one had been modified. However, the light was indeed bright enough to illuminate the surrounding area as if it were daytime.

"Ku-chi!"

The truck braked and stopped at the edge of the road, not far from the end of the path that Guan Tong had cleared with a folding shovel.

Because of the high enough position of the seat, the driver in the car must have seen the path that Guan Tong had cleared, and with the headlights shining on him.

Guan Tong glanced at his personal panel. His mental energy had been used up during the day by writing, and it had only recovered to less than a third.

If you summon a shadow, it can last for about 30 seconds.

He put on his hood, silently picked up the pair of pliers he had brought from the self-service supply point, and walked out along the path.

In any case, since the truck driver discovered this side road, contact between the two parties was inevitable.

Guan Tong wanted to go over and see if she could have a friendly conversation with the visitor.

If the person who comes has good intentions, then he doesn't mind if both parties cooperate and get through the remaining time of the rules together.

If the other party has ulterior motives, his experience with gang kidnappings and previous conflicts at supply depots has given him sufficient awareness to fight.

There was no movement from the front of the car at this time, and the driver, for some unknown reason, did not open the door and get out.

Just as Guan Tong was about to finish walking down the path and arrived in front of the car, the car door opened with a "whoosh," and a slightly petite figure jumped out of the car first, stepping on the floor mat.

"Ouch!"

Guan Tong was slightly taken aback when she saw the little girl with the ponytail jump down; the latter looked exactly like a primary school student of about ten years old.

The little girl jumped down and saw Guan Tong. Startled, she immediately shouted, "Mommy! Someone's there!"

"Nana, don't be afraid!"

Immediately afterwards, a middle-aged woman wearing a cotton-padded coat also quickly got out of the car.

She held a flashlight in one hand and a crowbar in the other. After getting out of the car, she shielded her daughter behind her and nervously shone the flashlight on Guan Tong's face.

Guan Tong raised her hand to block the bright light and said, "Don't shine it in my eyes. Turn off the flashlight. The headlights on your truck are enough to illuminate the area."

(End of this chapter)