Chapter 1592 - Imminent Disaster
Chapter 1592
Imminent Disaster
The door was slowly opened from the outside. A gust of cold wind blew in as soon as a crack appeared, making Wang Ma and Xiao Zhiqing shudder.
Few women dressed in trench coats walked in, and they were Lin Ruoxi, An Xin, and the rest. On their bodies were bits of snow.
“Oh, miss, is it still snowing out there? You have snowflakes on your hair.” Wang Ma quickly stood up and brushed off the snow on Lin Ruoxi’s hair.
As she cast a worried gaze outside the house, she saw that the plants on the island had wilted. Many trees had also died from the cold. The bare branches were nothing like the lush vegetation in the summer.
Lin Ruoxi shook her head and brushed off the snow on her shoulders. Flashing Wang Ma with a comforting smile, she said, “It’s not snowing outside. The Middle East was snowing when we flew in from China.”
“Oh, I see… All right, come and have a seat first. Tell us the situation in China now,” Wang Ma urged. It was then she remembered the ladies did not take the plane but instead flew out.
Everyone sat on the couch and chairs in the living room and started recounting the events back in China.
A few days ago, all the ladies except for Xiao Zhiqing went back to China to check on Yang Chen and also deal with their respective matters.
Lin Ruoxi, An Xin, and Tang Wan had multinational companies with tens of thousands of employees, be it Yu Lei International, An Clan Group, or the Tang clan’s Maple Group.
As the presidents of their companies, they only needed to make some important decisions and did not need to show up at the company frequently. Hence, it did not matter where they stayed.
However, due to the extreme cold weather, governments all over the world were trying their best to maintain the stability of the country and the safety of the citizens. The companies couldn’t operate normally.
Moreover, transportation itself had changed drastically.
Other than the tropical countries or the warmer regions, more than eighty percent of the airports worldwide could no longer operate like normal, and more than sixty percent of airports had shut down.
Furthermore, over ninety percent of railways were ruined, and many tracks were covered with snow or frozen.
The roads were the same. In some areas, the engine of the cars could not even be ignited, or they were just broken from the cold.
Under such circumstances, the employees could not go to work, and the factories had stopped operating. Naturally, as the employers, they had to deal with the crisis appropriately.
Not only did they have to cooperate with the government to let their employees take breaks, but they also had to give material aid.
At such a critical juncture, they did not have to send them money, but instead food, spare fuels, and warmth equipment. After all, the employees would not have a chance to spend the money.
As for Zhenxiu, Liu Mingyu, and the Cai sisters, they went to meet their families and tried to bring them to the island or send them to tropical areas.
Hui Lin’s worldwide concert tour was canceled because of the harsh weather. With nothing to do, she returned to Beijing and helped out the Lin clan.
As a government official in China, Li Jingjing had been staying in the country and would occasionally report domestic affairs to the other ladies. In short, she was busy with both work and personal matters.
“Half of China is frozen. Everyone has run to the southern region, and the rich went to the tropical regions. If this goes on, even the temperature in the southern region will go below zero,” Rose explained.
“What… what should we do? If that happens, many people will die,” Wang Ma said worriedly.
Frowning, Cai Ning replied, “I’m afraid people will starve before that, or even be beaten to death. Right now, other than the malls and shops that are operating under the government’s control, the rest are closed. The owners are in hiding instead of running their businesses. Some management has stored some food to sell to the citizens. As for the hotels and motels, they are fully booked because of the large-scale migration. Even the inns are packed. The crime rate has been increasing due to a lack of police and army force. Many cases of robbery, arson, and homicide over food and accommodation have occurred. Since transportation isn’t convenient, the police can’t take action in time. The media are too busy to report about these matters. The local citizens in the southern region are complaining incessantly. Most of their places have been robbed by the outlanders. If conflicts continue to brew, trouble will entail sooner or later.”
The others fell into stunned silence upon hearing her words. The sights they had witnessed back in the country were unbearable.
However, conscience and law meant nothing before the instincts of survival.
Although those situations only happened among ordinary citizens and the poor, there was no telling the same would happen to the rich if the whole world turned into a frozen land.
The rich were also human and were, in fact, more vulnerable than normal citizens. There was a chance that they would be more merciless to survive.
“Don’t they have an army? Why did the government send soldiers out to subdue those who are wreaking havoc in society? Plenty of innocents will die,” Su Xin asked puzzledly.
A wry smile touched Tang Wan’s lips. “Army? At the end of the day, they’re still human and have family and friends of their own. Many of those who escape to the south are their relatives so how could they hold them at gunpoint. That might have worked if only one or two places were affected. However, the whole country is in turmoil. The soldiers were unable to remain at the base. Other than the Beijing military zone, soldiers in the other bases have returned home, according to what I know. Officers are powerless to control them because they refuse to listen. In fact, some were killed by soldiers for attempting to intervene.”
“What!? That serious?” Upon hearing that, Wang Ma turned to Lin Ruoxi and asked, “Miss, did you visit your in-laws? Aren’t Xuehua and Commander Yang in the Jiangnan military zone?”
Lin Ruoxi nodded. “I went, but they’ve returned to Beijing. They’re safe now. However, the Jiangnan military zone is in a mess. Other than a handful of navy and special forces, the rest are out of control. A lot of soldiers fled the troop after being dispatched.”
Wang Ma sighed in relief. “As long as they’re fine. This is a disaster. I wonder if our country can brace through it.”
The ladies kept quiet. Although they had returned to the country to deal with some important matters and ascertained their families’ safety, it would only be the start of the tragedy if the temperature continued to drop.
“Is there any news about Sir?”
Seeing that no one was mentioning Yang Chen, Su Xin could not help but ask.
Their ladies’ expressions were grim. Concern, dejection, and resentment were evident in their eyes.
“No. My sister and I have asked our father. Ling Xuzi from Hongmeng met him once two weeks ago. He said Hongmeng in his hot water, so my father is in charge of the Yellow Flame Iron Brigade for now. Hubby hasn’t appeared since he fought with Luo Qianqiu two months ago. The rumors in Hongmeng said that he couldn’t have lost to Luo Qianqiu, but the latter survived while he went missing,” Cai Yan answered.
“Luo Qianqiu is seizing the opportunity to subdue the three major clans and all the other vassal clans while the Ning and Xiao clans are in weakened states. The elders in Hongmeng suffered grave losses when besieging Hubby, so I’m worried that Luo Qianqiu would target Hongmeng afterward,” Cai Ning said.
“What a jerk. He had to have used some shady method to harm Hubby. “I’m sure Hubby will be fine!” Xiao Zhiqing despised the Luo clan to the core of his being.
The ladies forced a smile. Although they also wished Yang Chen would be fine, they had no clue about his whereabouts. Only Luo Qianqiu would know, but they could not question him.
“All right. There’s nothing we can do other than wait and trust him, can we?” Lin Ruoxi appeared to be very collected. She rose to her feet and asked, “Wang Ma, where did Lanlan run off to? I don’t see her.”