Fu Shiwu couldn't help but agree with Tang Xuhai's words. It was indeed possible that there were unopened barrels of water in their unit.
In units like theirs, every time they needed water, they received many barrels because there were multiple departments and each office had only a few. Hence, the staff from the water station would deliver many barrels each time, allowing them to finish and exchange them. Then, they would take back the empty ones when they returned.
When he first arrived two years ago, Fu Shiwu took on the responsibility of exchanging the water.
As the car arrived at the design institute, Fu Shiwu glanced at the guard's room but found no one there.
After parking, as he ascended the building, there wasn't a soul in sight within the design institute.
"Where is everyone?" Fu Shiwu asked in confusion.
"Where's the water?" Tang Xuhai, hands in pockets, followed closely.
"It's over here." Fu Shiwu led him to the second floor, where several unopened barrels of water were stored behind a few doors, adjacent to their office.
"Not bad, quite a lot," Tang Xuhai nodded in satisfaction.
Units like Fu Shiwu's lacked a staff canteen and didn't have many valuable items. Now, salaries were directly deposited, there was hardly any cash, and as a result, they hadn't suffered any damage whatsoever.
With news of the water contamination just emerging, most people had gone to supermarkets, water stations, or similar places. Units like theirs weren't on most people's minds yet.
As Tang Xuhai started moving the water, Fu Shiwu headed to his own office.
The office was a mess, papers and design drawings scattered on the desks and floors.
Fu Shiwu bent down and picked up a white paper with large shoe prints from the ground.
With one barrel in hand, Tang Xuhai placed the water beside Fu Shiwu's Mazda. He intended to get two more; Fu Shiwu's slim physique wouldn't manage to help him carry them upstairs.
"Tang Xuhai! Look at this!" Fu Shiwu waved a paper as he approached.
"What?" Tang Xuhai squinted, adjusting to the change in lighting.
"Look at what's written here. Do you think they've all moved to this place?" Fu Shiwu said uncertainly.
It was a notice about a relocation site due to a disease outbreak in the city causing disorder. The government decided to set up a command center at a warehouse in the eastern outskirts of Yuncheng.
This command center was purely preventative, stocked with sufficient food and supplies. If the disease became uncontrollable, the populous urban areas would be isolated, and the command center would transform into a temporary relocation site.
The notice was issued a few days ago, back when it wasn't confirmed that the contamination caused by the weather wouldn't spread any disease.
Normally, such notices would only go to major authorities to ensure the city's normal operations. However, the leadership at the design institute had good connections with several government departments, so receiving such a notice early wasn't surprising.
The warehouse in the eastern outskirts was perfect for the design institute.
After reading it, Tang Xuhai stuffed the paper back into Fu Shiwu's hand and casually asked, "Are you going?"
Shaking his head, Fu Shiwu replied, "If it were before the water incident, maybe I would've."
Tang Xuhai smiled, loaded two more barrels into the car's trunk, and placed two more on the back seat.
Setting the command center in the warehouse seemed well thought out. Its location on the outskirts with convenient transportation made it favorable. The warehouse was Yuncheng's largest distribution center, with numerous large warehouses.
It was easy for the government to move some supplies there in advance. But once the drinking water became problematic, could this temporary relocation site handle the influx of people in the city facing a water shortage?
Fu Shiwu wasn't about to risk himself to find out.
Fu Shiwu parked the car in the underground garage. It was too challenging for both of them to return from where they came, carrying four barrels of water on the rope was too difficult.
Tang Xuhai took the lead, and Fu Shiwu climbed up the elevator shaft that was left open.
"Are we climbing to the 18th floor?" Fu Shiwu's voice trembled.
"Pfft!" Tang Xuhai chuckled.
"What's so funny?" Fu Shiwu looked at him displeased.
"Nothing, you don't have to climb to the 18th floor." Tang Xuhai took out a plastic rope he found in Fu Shiwu's car and started tying the four barrels together.
Facing the endless elevator shaft, Fu Shiwu felt helpless; he wanted to help but couldn't manage it.
"How about you put down two barrels in my car first? Once you've finished yours, you can bring the remaining two up?" Fu Shiwu suggested after some thought.
Tang Xuhai looked at him strangely. "How long will one barrel of water last you? Won't it be gone in a day?"
"Exactly! Why do I even have one?" Fu Shiwu widened his eyes in disbelief.
Tang Xuhai raised an eyebrow. "There are four barrels in total, naturally, two are for you."
Fu Shiwu was momentarily speechless, then with a wry smile, he said, "Thank you for considering me, but I have a water purifier at home."
Tang Xuhai finally realized, "Oh, so all four barrels are mine?"
Fu Shiwu felt utterly defeated.
"Why didn't you say so earlier?" Tang Xuhai shook his head, reproachfully saying, "Do you know how much effort it took me to arrange these four barrels?"
Watching his departing figure, Fu Shiwu rolled his eyes and muttered, "Clearly, it's because you didn't ask properly!"
In the end, Tang Xuhai only took one barrel upstairs. Instead of climbing directly to the 18th floor, they exited on the first floor from the elevator door and finally used the elevator!
"I thought you don't take elevators?" Fu Shiwu stared in surprise at Tang Xuhai leaning against the elevator door.
"Why wouldn't I take the elevator?" Tang Xuhai regarded him as though he were made of ice.
"...," Fu Shiwu was speechless; he had thought Tang Xuhai suffered from agoraphobia before.
"I was exercising," Tang Xuhai said lazily, referencing his previous habit of taking the stairs.
Who exercises by climbing stairs in scorching weather?!
"Alright, exercise away," Fu Shiwu nodded, changing the subject, "Can one barrel of water sustain you? Why not bring it along?"
Tang Xuhai confidently replied, "With a water purifier at your place, why go through the hassle of carrying two barrels? And you won't lend me any water?"
Tang Xuhai wore a look of 'I can't believe you're so heartless and cruel!'
Fu Shiwu nearly spat blood!
After an eventful and fruitless discussion, Fu Shiwu wearily returned home.
By this time, people who had been outside were returning, and some discovered the elevator shaft could be accessed. However
, with the increase in people, it became challenging to use the elevator due to the crowd.
Fortunately, there were two elevators, and they shut down one specifically for entering and exiting.
Just when everyone thought the night would pass calmly, the vanished crimson clouds reappeared. Not only that, but it seemed they had gathered enough energy; the crimson clouds parted, forming a faint red canopy over the entire sky!
Before people could recover from this astounding change, black dots descended from the canopy.
"What's that?!"
"Zoom in with the lens!"
"Telescope, fetch my telescope!!"
"My goodness! What are those creatures?!"
"Is that an alien?"
Some felt a sense of danger and sprinted back home, while others, overly excited, ran towards where the black dots were descending. Some even dared to take close-up shots with their phones of these unexpected visitors from the sky.
The beings were about the height of humans, approximately five feet tall, with heads resembling winter melons—broad and large, with narrow facial features.
While they had two eyes and a nose like humans, their mouths were beyond human recognition, more akin to an oral apparatus. Beneath their heads were slender necks, and their shoulders were sloped. Their arms and legs were extremely thin, devoid of any hair or scales. Their hands were more like octopus tentacles, and their feet had thick, pointed nails!
A faint film enveloped these visitors, disappearing as soon as they landed safely.
A young man filming on his phone was ecstatic, muttering, "Once I upload this video, my Weibo will surely explode! The reposts will skyrocket!"
His companion tugged at his clothes anxiously, "Let's go, why do I feel these creatures are dangerous?"
"Why worry?" the man replied, engrossed in his phone, "Looking like plucked chickens, I can take them down easily. Who knows, maybe I'll make it to Huaxia News!"
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