Earth Era - Chapter 34

Chapter 34: Celebrities

Zhao Huasheng only wanted to save more people; the more, the better. Many people had fallen on this long street; some had died and some had not.

There was no ambulance, no medicine, and no equipment. Zhao Huasheng simply used the first aid knowledge he had learned before and was busy here. A comatose patient was saved by Zhao Huasheng; he woke up but did not move. He is still lying here, looking at the sky slightly. A little girl was awakened by Zhao Huasheng. Her first reaction when she woke up was to cry. Zhao Huasheng held her in his arms, and after comforting her softly, he ran towards the next patient.

Zhao Huasheng’s expression was always very calm, no anxiety, no rage, no disappointment, and no sorrow. Zhao Huasheng was just saving people.

Many people were just unconscious. Even if there were some minor injuries, it didn’t matter. After these people woke up, it seemed that they were infected by Zhao Huasheng, and after stabilizing for a while, they climbed up and followed Zhao Huasheng, participating in the rescue action.

At the beginning, there were only a few people following Zhao Huasheng, only one or two, but this number was rapidly increasing; in less than an hour, it had grown to more than a hundred people. There seemed to be an unspoken understanding between them as they organized themselves to collect the victims, provide simple first aid to prevent the injuries from worsening, clear debris, and extinguish fires to prevent secondary disasters. Among them were also some people with professional medical knowledge who went to the broken pharmacy to get drugs and provide emergency treatment to those with serious injuries…

Chaos spread quickly, but so did peace. The victims were still crying, but it was different here. The wild atmosphere was quickly transformed into tranquility, peace, friendship, strength, mutual aid, and other long-held virtues of human civilization that were silently growing here.

Without realizing it, Zhao Huasheng had become the leader of the group. Under his command, everything was orderly and organized.

Whenever Zhao Huasheng passed by, the injured people placed along the street would smile and thank him. Whenever Zhao Huasheng approached, those who were constantly crying in pain would miraculously calm down. Whenever Zhao Huasheng came, the chaotic situation would quickly become peaceful. It was as if Zhao Huasheng had some magical power.

Meng Zhuo understood where Zhao Huasheng’s power came from. It came from a sentence: “I just want to save people; the more the better.” At this moment, even Meng Zhuo felt admiration for Zhao Huasheng. Such admiration had never been felt before.

The government’s rescue forces had never arrived here, but Zhao Huasheng organized people to collect food and distributed the food and water to the injured. Meng Zhuo saw clearly that after the last piece of bread was given to a little boy, Zhao Huasheng’s hands were already empty. And Meng Zhuo also clearly remembered that since the riots started, Zhao Huasheng had not eaten for at least fourteen or fifteen hours.

Zhao Huasheng was always busy and never rested.

After the solar crisis broke out in this post-apocalyptic world, even in the equatorial zone, it was very cold at night. So Zhao Huasheng organized people to collect a lot of blankets and clothes and put them on the injured, and Meng Zhuo clearly saw that after offering his coat to others, Zhao Huasheng was only left with a thin sweater.

But even so, it was still not enough to resist the cold. So Zhao Huasheng organized people to collect fuel and set up a bonfire on the long street. After leaving all the places near the bonfire, Zhao Huasheng and Meng Zhuo curled up in the dark and cold corner of the wall—at least the corner could help to block the cold wind.

Meng Zhuo seemed to see a new Zhao Huasheng. Or, maybe this was the real Zhao Huasheng.

“I can call a helicopter to rescue us at any time,” Meng Zhuo said.

“No, the people here need me,” Zhao Huasheng said, declining Meng Zhuo’s offer.

Meng Zhuo said, “At least thousands of people will be injured in this riot, and even if you are busy until now, you can only save the lives of less than two hundred people.”

“Two hundred lives, that’s two hundred hopes,” Zhao Huasheng smiled.

Because of the cold wind, Zhao Huasheng had never been able to sleep. In this cold wind, if he fell asleep, he would really be in danger of freezing. Zhao Huasheng took a walk every time he rested, observing the injured people’s arrangements, and using the exercise to delay the cold’s invasion of himself.

He constantly heard greetings and thanks, which Zhao Huasheng smiled at. He was delighted to see that the strong were giving their clothes to the weak, and the lightly injured were giving their clothes and food to the seriously injured. Zhao Huasheng also saw a bald, strong man take off his coat and forcibly put it on another person despite the other’s refusal.

The bald and strong man, frustrated, yelled, “Take it and don’t waste time, or I’ll hit you.” A sleazy looking young man then split his bread in half and handed it to the eager boy beside him, muttering, “Eat it up before I regret it.”

Zhao Huasheng suddenly felt that the oppressive and explosive atmosphere that had been surrounding him since he arrived at the Equator City had disappeared. At this moment, Zhao Huasheng seemed to have taken off a heavy coat of armor from his body. Although he was tired, hungry, and cold, Zhao Huasheng felt a relaxation that he had never felt before. It was as if he was still in the capital city before the solar crisis broke out, as if he had just returned from a night party with friends.

“Humanity cannot be erased, even if it is temporarily suppressed by madness and cruelty. As long as there is an opportunity, it will come back and occupy people’s hearts again. There must be hope for our human civilization.” Zhao Huasheng sighed.

Far away, there were still continuous explosions coming, and Zhao Huasheng lifted his head to see the western sky illuminated red by the flames. But here, it was still quiet and peaceful.

“I hope after this night passes, we will welcome a new beginning,” Zhao Huasheng thought to himself.

The long night eventually passed, and when the morning sunlight shone upon the land once again, Zhao Huasheng was finally greeted by the much-anticipated arrival of the army, police, and ambulances with blinking red lights. This meant that chaos had passed and order had returned to this land. The injured were taken away in ambulances, while those who were not injured or were lightly injured left on their own. Before they each left, they all came to Zhao Huasheng and sincerely said “thank you,” to him, to which Zhao Huasheng would reply with a smile.

The policemen, soldiers, and paramedics all looked on in surprise. It was clear that they had been running around in a frenzy last night, but they had never seen a place this peaceful before. At the same time, they were all curious about Zhao Huasheng—why was this ordinary-looking young man receiving so much gratitude?

Meng Zhuo patted Zhao Huasheng on the shoulder and said, “Buddy, you’re good,” before heading towards the group of police. After showing his credentials, Meng Zhuo successfully got a police car and drove it to Zhao Huasheng’s side, “Let’s go; you can rest now.”

Zhao Huasheng nodded and then sat in the copilot’s seat. Zhao Huasheng was too tired, and before the car had gone a hundred meters, he had already closed his eyes and drifted off into a dream. At the moment Zhao Huasheng fell asleep, Meng Zhuo slowed down the speed of the car, making the already smooth ride even smoother.

Zhao Huasheng slept until the next day. When he opened his eyes, he saw Meng Zhuo standing by the window, smoking and facing the sunrise, leaving only a broad silhouette for himself. Before Zhao Huasheng made any noise, Meng Zhuo’s words came: “Are you awake?”

“Mm.” Zhao Huasheng said, “What about the riots?”

Meng Zhuo shook his head, throwing his cigarette butt out of the window, and said, “The population of Equator City is too dense, and this riot has spread almost throughout the city. It will be difficult to quell the riot and carry out rescue operations.”

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“Forty thousand people…” Zhao Huasheng was shocked by the number. Although he had expected many people would die, Zhao Huasheng still did not expect so many people to die.

“It wouldn’t have been such a big loss if it hadn’t been for some people with ulterior motives,” Meng Zhuo said. “Not only did they announce the existence of the City of Life, but they also incited people to use firearms to attack government agencies.”

“Of course, these people must die,” Meng Zhuo said coldly. “Only by eliminating these troublemakers can human civilization hope to overcome this solar crisis.”

Zhao Huasheng nodded without speaking.

Meng Zhuo said, “One more thing. You’ve become famous. Your story got released on the internet, and the government wanted to set a positive example after the riots, so not only did they not stop it, they actually gave it a push from behind. So… you now have a high level of recognition, with many supporters and admirers.”