Chapter 162 - 154: Hydroelectric Generator
The rain that fell was so sudden.
Like a broken sky, rivers poured down from above.
Under the torrential rain, the raincoats everyone wore were of little use.
Li Yu, after clearing all the Zombies from Weng City, entered the base, where people were coming and going as if everyone had been mobilized to fend off the Zombie Tide together.
The base had a total of 67 people, with 59 of them over the age of 15. Aside from the elderly who were in charge of cooking and taking care of children, nearly everyone else was scheduled in shifts, defending the base around the clock.
54 people, divided into 3 shifts, with 18 people per shift.
Each shift made sure to have someone in charge - those with experience and strength, such as Li Yu, Uncle, Third Uncle, Second Uncle, Li Tie, Li Gang...
From the surveillance room 1 person, front gate 6 people, back gate 4 people, patrol along the wall 4 people, rapid-response team 3 people.
The front gate, back gate, patrols, and rapid-response team would rotate every two hours, as the pressure at each position was different, and at the most stressful front gate, it was hard for one to maintain high-intensity actions for a long time.
Li Yu looked at how everyone organized themselves and implemented the lessons learned from previous Zombie Tides. There was no excessive panic.
The twinge of anxiety in his heart slowly dissipated. It wasn't until this moment that Li Yu finally felt truly safe.
However, it wasn't absolute safety, because at that moment, there were still many Zombies outside!
This Zombie Tide came swiftly and fiercely.
It was uncertain how other Survivors outside would respond, or how other forces would react.
Shaking his head, Li Yu cleared his mind of distractions and took off the protective gear he was wearing. Although this gear provided good protection against Zombies, its joint guards would undoubtedly reduce the wearer's agility when manning the base's walls and fighting off Zombies with spears.
After removing his protective gear, Li Yu saw faces on the wall drenched with what was either sweat or rainwater. But it all fell to the ground mixed with the rain.
Li Yu picked up a spear and followed Second Uncle and others' plans, making his way to the back gate.
The situation with Zombies at the back gate was somewhat better than at the front gate. Li Yu and the others had prepared some loudspeakers outside the base beforehand, and they had also captured some drones.
Now all these could be put into use. Though the transmission of sound wasn't as effective in the heavy rain, it still had some effect.
It was unsure how long this rain would last.
The Zombies outside the base seemed endless. Looking down from the wall, the outside was swarming with Zombies, extending from the woods to the bottom of the wall, starting sparse but quickly becoming densely packed, until the edge was no longer in sight.
"Big Brother, should we turn on the loudspeakers? The front gate is saying they can hardly hold on anymore. There are too many Zombies." Also at the back gate, with a walkie-talkie headset, he shouted at Li Yu. His eyes no longer showed carelessness; now, there was a sense of responsibility.
Li Yu felt somewhat relieved and nodded, saying, "Do it!"
He pressed the button.
Several kilometers away from the base, the sound of loudspeakers erupted. Some Zombies directly headed in that direction, but not all of them did, a large part remained in the rain, not hearing the sound of the loudspeakers, and still lingered at the base's wall without leaving.
Li Yu looked towards the horizon; it was pitch black.
The thunderstorm made the skies too gloomy. Although it had rained heavily before, it had never been this dark.
Li Yu was stabbing zombies with a spear on the perimeter wall when suddenly someone shouted at him from behind: "Xiao Yu! The water level at Mountain Pond has risen a lot. With this rate of rainfall, it won't take half a day before the water overflows. If it overflows, we'll be in big trouble."
It was May, and the early rice harvest had already concluded. Fortunately, the rice was unaffected. Although there was already a stockpile of unthreshed rice grains, without a new harvest in the granary, it's just living off of reserves!
Li Yu glanced back and saw it was Uncle Lai. After thinking for a moment, he finally said: "Open the sluices and let the water out. Haven't we built several trenches at the base of Mountain Pond on the plains? Now we should open them up and divert water away from the base."
The base was situated relatively high up, with two mountains following the plain behind it, logically directing the water flow downward.
Originally, Li Yu's family was in the cement culvert business, so when they first built the foundation, they installed several drainage channels leading out of the base.
These drainpipes were constructed underground, and their outlets were about 200 meters from the base, leading to a minor ravine. The exits were also fenced off with iron railings.
At the base, the drainage outlets were also sealed with fine steel, securing both ends and thus there's no worry that zombies could enter the base through the sewers.
Now, by opening these outlets, the water from Mountain Pond surged downwards relentlessly.
Waves rolled on.
Seeing the rushing water from atop the wall stirred Li Yu's thoughts. Although there was still electricity in the base now, there's no predicting if the downpour would last another week or two. During the last Zombie Tide, the base used previously stored batteries and accumulated solar energy.
But during that period, everyone also dared not waste electricity frivolously.
In the base, Li Yu had previously purchased several hydroelectric generators!
With the elevation difference between Mountain Pond and the plain, coupled with the fierce current,
why not take advantage of this? As soon as the idea struck him, he was ready to act.
He took out the walkie-talkie, shouting towards the front gate: "Xiao Hang, you and Haoran go and install one of the hydroelectric generators from the warehouse at the base of Mountain Pond."
After only a few seconds, a reply came: "Roger that, big brother! Should we install them all?"
"All of them!"
Li Hang had studied mechatronics before and was quite familiar with machinery.
Hearing the words of his elder brother, Li Hang naturally complied, letting the personnel in motion take over his position, then he and Li Haoran, also under mobilization, made their way to the warehouse.
Hearing Li Hang's compliance, Li Yu felt a sense of relief wash over him. Gazing into the ink-black night sky, he felt even more composed. Let it rain, let it rain, even without the sun, we'll still have electricity.
Li Yu was continuously resisting zombies at the rear gate, along with Li Zhengping, his Fourth Uncle, and his cousin Xiao Lue.
Meanwhile, he occasionally observed Li Zhengping and the others. Xiao Lue's father was Armed Police, and thus quite strict with him; Xiao Lue had always been methodical in his actions, clear-headed, and now he was killing zombies swiftly and fiercely.
But the change in Li Zhengping was the most significant. From a clueless and naive boy who only knew how to play previously, it was as if he had matured overnight, becoming more dependable and steady.
Li Yu silently nodded to himself.
....
Time flew by.
It was already 12 midnight, Li Yu let his father take over his post, then he went to rest.
Including himself, Dapao, and Tianlong, who had gone out today, they had all been at the defensive positions and could finally breathe a sigh of relief.