Chapter 32: Endless Days and Nights

Chen Xin had to install the antenna outside to receive radio waves and to contact the outside world.

He had to wait until the fire outside was extinguished to do that. Chen Xin could only walk out of the bunker when the temperature had cooled down, which according to his calculations, would take at least a month.

However, the EMP shockwave would pass in just a few days.

EMP stood for electromagnetic pulse, it was a sudden high-intensity pulse of electromagnetic radiation that usually lasted a second.

Electromagnetic pulses were usually caused by explosions, lightning, sunspots, electrical conduits, or sparks from electrical equipment. An old TV model would be broken when struck by lightning because of the electromagnetic pulse caused by the lightning which would burn and destroy the TV parts.

It does not last for long under normal circumstances, but an electromagnetic pulse from a meteorite strike would last a bit longer than usual.

Chen Xin waited for days because aside from the big meteorite, there were smaller meteorite bits and debris that kept falling from space.

The meteorite debris and other space matter kept crashing on Earth these days, the ionosphere was constantly disturbed and creating electromagnetic pulses.

The safer method to protect his electronic devices was to wait for a few days.

He would not wait forever for the small debris strikes to be cleared, because it might take a few hundred years for that. The disturbance in the ionosphere would be constant but it would not have a huge impact anymore.

The big meteorite crash affected the ionosphere globally, the small space matters were less effective in comparison. It would not last long and quite frankly irrelevant.

Chen Xin was waiting for the bigger debris to strike, it would last around a week according to his calculations. He would wait for a week before unboxing his electronics.

The EMP shockwave from the small debris strikes was not powerful enough to penetrate underground, his electrical items would not be affected.

He could tell because his lightbulbs had been flickering all day at first, some of the lightbulbs were already burnt, but now they would only flicker once every few hours.

Chen Xin only had to endure it for a few more days but he was extremely bored, he wanted to play video games on his devices.

His underground bunker was not as deep as the others, but the thick soil above it was sufficient to avoid all kinds of disasters. It had also alienated him, he could not hear anything that was going on outside.

Chen Xin was used to being alone because of his work as an author. Truthfully, were it not for his career, he would feel like a military prisoner placed in solitary confinement.

It was way too quiet here. He depended heavily on the lights too. Chen Xin would not be able to tell between day and night if he switched off the lights.

He referred to a mechanical pocket watch and the daily round-up for the time, or else he would be confused on what time it was. He had no idea what day it was or whether it was bright or dark outside.

The sky outside must be covered with dust because of the meteorite crash. They might not see the sun again making it hard to tell the difference between daytime and nighttime.

Chen Xin knocked on his forehead. He suddenly felt like he should have bought a smart window. Not the type that would automatically adjust the lighting and UV rays, but instead a smart window that could artificially display outdoor scenery.

He could change the scenery according to the time, it was a must-have cheerful item for someone like Chen Xin.

The Earth had been destroyed by the wildfires, followed by long nights and the freezing winter solstice, it was obvious that beautiful landscapes did not exist anymore. He wished he had the smart window as a reminder of what Earth once was.

However, it was wishful thinking, he did not think of getting a smart window so he could only gaze at the cold ceiling.

He could not create a smart window with the system. Maybe he might be able to once he upgraded his room, there might be new items following the upgrades. Chen Xin felt like he should prioritize the lighting system.

A lighting system upgrade feature was that it could automatically adjust the brightness and tone according to the time. It was way better than the same stoic bunker light from the fluorescent tube.

He could schedule his time better if he felt the transition in time, he also did not have to live so gloomily anymore.

Chen Xin took out his notebook, flipped to the page that had ‘food’ and ‘medic’ on it. He wrote ‘lights’ on that page.

However, if he upgraded the lights, would his electric usage increase?

He stopped writing and thought about it. He inserted ‘power source’ in front of ‘lights’.

The electric usage in the bunker was not a lot. Plus, his generator was not running at full load either so most of the generated electricity was stored in the battery, but if he upgraded his equipment he might have an increase in electric usage. He had to put upgrading his generator into consideration.

A generator upgrade meant burning more fuel, how long could he last with his three tons of gasoline?

Chen Xin carefully thought about it and realized it was not a big deal. He could wait until it was alright to go outside, trade his vegetables for other resources as he originally planned. Or he could simply upgrade his fuel generator into a black technology device. Both ways could solve his problem.