Chapter 24

The environmental effects of the meteorite impact would linger and devastate the Earth for the next dozens or even hundreds of years to come. Earth’s surface would be devoid of sunlight and temperatures would drop to sub-zero. For animals and plants alike, it was impossible to survive in such an environment. Naturally, farming and food production were out of the question.

In that situation where there was a shortage of supplies, many things such as cold-proof clothing, food to fill your stomach, fuel for heating, and bunkers to take refuge in would become very in demand. People would start becoming inured to murder, even if for a little bit of food.

Even before the meteorite struck, millions of people were already dying every year because of hunger.

In those war-torn countries that were ravaged by starvation, even human beings themselves could become dinner for others. Let alone the act of killing people for their food?

If it were not for Master Druid Yuan’s seminal discovery of hybrid rice, Vermillion would suffer from a food crisis just like other countries around the world.

The food problem was a worldwide problem. As the world began to lose sunlight and became colder, it spelled the end of the global food production chain.

When food production came to a halt, most countries in the world would plunge into a food crisis and their population would soon starve to death.

This was because a considerable number of countries around the world had not solved their food security issues. They were usually dependent on imports, and no one could provide them with food once disaster struck.

Under such circumstances, the more populous the place, the faster the consumption of reserve supplies. Any materials that may still exist in the outside world would become highly desirable.

No one would say no to a surplus of supplies that guaranteed their survival.

However…in a post-apocalypse world where morality, law, and order were lost, whoever had the biggest fist naturally stole the right to procure and hoard materials.

In fact, to decide what to eat in the coming days was a problem for mankind. Without food from farmlands, human beings could not survive by relying on the reserves alone.

The bunkers that the country had built should have a certain amount of materials in reserve, which would allow production to resume to an extent. After all, Chen Xin had a greenhouse farm in his bunker. He did not believe that the country was underequipped to accomplish that.

Even so, a greenhouse farm could only provide a very scarce amount of vegetables and fruits. It was impractical to grow food in large-scale greenhouses at that time.

At the very least, for the first few years of the natural disaster, it would be unrealistic to build a large-scale greenhouse farming system. It was also not cost-effective.

It was important to know that although hybrid rice had a high yield, it was still a plant. Farming consumed a lot of water resources. Obtaining sufficient water resources was a huge problem in itself in the apocalyptic world, given the subzero temperatures.

In truth, the state had no plans to construct large-scale greenhouses to grow food. According to the information released by the state to official government bunkers, the state would start growing mushrooms and raising rats to ensure future food security for the refugees.

Compared with traditional crops that required sunlight and a lot of water, mushrooms were much easier to grow. As long as the culture could be kept in a humid environment and the darkroom could maintain a temperature of about 18-20 degrees, its growing conditions would be met.

Although mushrooms were not as delicious as fruits and vegetables, edible fungi were rich in fat, protein, sugar, dietary fiber, and various vitamins, which could meet the nutritional needs of the human body.

As for raising mice, it was a better way to obtain meat resources than raising other poultry and livestock. After all, mice were known to have high vitality, and it could be fed with minimal food resources.

As long as the breeding environment was clean and hygienic, a stable meat source could be obtained.

Nevertheless, even if those two plans could ensure a food supply, it would still be barely enough.

After all, only the main bunkers in major cities were equipped with those facilities when they were built. Other bunkers in residential areas that were overhauled from underground air-raid shelters may not have had time to get those facilities installed.

Even if there was, the projects would take a certain amount of time to fulfill the demand. In the early days of the doomsday era, most bunkers would still rely on stockpiled materials to survive.

Unfortunately… the material reserves were limited.

As the calamity approached, the country had indeed built many bunkers, successfully migrated most people into them, and saved the lives of many in the first wave of disasters caused by the meteorite impacts.

However, that also created another problem, that was, a higher population meant more material consumption.

Survival would inevitably depend on the rate of consumption of food and water. In a shortage of supply, various social problems would arise as a result.

The various disasters caused by the meteorite impact would destroy most of the communication facilities on the surface of Earth. The level of human communication was likely to regress to the era of telegraphs and wired telephones. Mobile phones and wireless communication would be rendered useless.

When communication was poor, and everyone stayed in a closed and relatively independent environment, it was foreseeable that those communities would form their small circles. When the cat’s away, the mice will play.

Until the country regained control, the chaos could not be stopped. The dark side of human nature would be exposed as well.

When would the country be able to resume production, construction, and rebuild social order? It was up in the air. Moreover, in the case of any extremities, the dangers of the outside world could rise exponentially.

Just like the rescue team in “The Wandering Earth”, they were equipped with exoskeletal armor and heavy firepower to perform rescue missions on the surface. Their firepower was not intended for petty reasons like breaking glass.

In that situation, if Chen Xin did not have the means to protect himself and the bunker, he would certainly be unable to defend himself against foreign enemies. Then everything he had would become irresistible in the eyes of others.

For Chen Xin, the 30 years before his life were peaceful years. He lived in the most secure country in the world, and he had never worried about his safety.

Given that the doomsday era had arrived, that was a problem he had to worry about.

Fortunately, playing survival games outdoors in the past had equipped Chen Xin with things that he could use to deal with possible dangers.

A katana, a recurve bow, and two daggers. Those weapons would undoubtedly be confiscated by the police if wielded during peaceful times. Nonetheless, they gave Chen Xin a great sense of security in that doomsday era, as they could be used as a wilderness survival tool or self-defense tool.

Especially since Chen Xin discovered that those weapons installed in the cabinet could be upgraded together with the cabinet as a whole, he felt even more confident.