Chapter 71: Report to the Police First

Words : 1185 Updated : Sep 12th, 2025

Chapter 71: Chapter 71: Report to the Police FirstEven though Mo Qingyan was a bit puzzled by Chen Xin’s question, she still answered him: "Plants? Photosynthesis? I do have a green plant box in my bedroom. Why are you suddenly asking about food?" "The sky is covered by a dust cloud and has lost sunlight. How do plants perform photosynthesis? Without photosynthesis, where does the oxygen in the atmosphere come from?" Chen Xin’s voice was very calm, stating a fact, but it still made Mo Qingyan’s heart race: "Although 70% of the oxygen in the atmosphere comes from ocean ecosystems, even algae need sunlight to produce oxygen, and now there’s no sunlight." "You mean the oxygen in the atmosphere could disappear?" Mo Qingyan asked Chen Xin, a bit panicked. Although Mo Qingyan couldn’t see it, Chen Xin nodded: "If we lose the photosynthetic conversion of carbon dioxide by ecosystems, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will quickly rise, while the oxygen content will continue to decline. Moreover, we don’t have to wait for the oxygen to disappear; if the oxygen content in the atmosphere drops below 10%, humans will suffocate." "Ah! What are we going to do?" Mo Qingyan quickly sought help from Chen Xin, her voice inevitably filled with panic. In the face of such a planetary-scale disaster or environmental catastrophe, individual power is utterly unable to make any changes. After all, this book is just a slightly unserious science fiction novel, not some fantasy novel that disregards even basic physical laws. "Planting grass is a solution to the problem." Chen Xin half-jokingly replied, and then explained: "Since you have a green plant box, this problem isn’t really hard to solve. The oxygen required for an adult’s normal breathing needs about ten thousand average-sized leaves for photosynthesis. Calculating with tomato plants with 250 leaves each, you would need more than 40 tomato plants, covering an area of about 50 square meters." At this point, Chen Xin laughed as it was the first time he had seen Mo Qingyan so flustered. After laughing, he continued: "So as long as you make a big enough planting greenhouse in your basement, it will be enough to ensure the oxygen you need for daily life, and it can also provide you with enough vegetables and food." "Ah! So that’s what it is! No wonder when A-Ning and I visited you last time, it didn’t feel stuffy at all! It wasn’t because of good ventilation; it was because you had plants producing oxygen!" Hearing Chen Xin say this, Mo Qingyan finally realized. At the same time, Mo Qingyan realized that the reason she felt the air in her bedroom was good lately wasn’t because there was good ventilation, but because of the green plant box in her room that she kept under a grow light. This situation, however, gave Mo Qingyan new worries. She asked Chen Xin: "Ah Xin, what about the shelter? The government shelter houses tens of thousands of people; if they run out of oxygen, won’t they all die?" "If you can think of this issue, don’t you think the country can too? The government should have a contingency plan." Chen Xin wasn’t worried about this, as he didn’t think the country would overlook this issue like he did. If so many national experts and scholars can’t come up with a disaster response plan that can handle most issues within three months of early warning, then these people are absolutely squandering their positions. Hearing Chen Xin say this, Mo Qingyan realized she was worrying over nothing. If the nation couldn’t handle such a catastrophe affecting everyone, she alone certainly couldn’t do anything either. However, Mo Qingyan still asked Chen Xin: "The government shelters are backed by the nation, but what about private shelters like ours? Ah Xin, you’ve got a greenhouse, but what should I do? Will I really need to bring A-Ning and Qingxin to your place?" "This isn’t too hard to solve. If I had realized this issue beforehand, a few grow lights and a couple of water tanks before the disaster could have solved the problem, but now..." Chen Xin hesitated for a moment, but still told Mo Qingyan: "You can try setting up a big water tank to cultivate algae. Algae have a fast metabolic rate, and with adequate lighting, they can quickly release oxygen, which is more efficient than plants. However, doing this will consume a lot of water and electricity for lighting, but since the city government is still supplying water and electricity, ensuring the survival needs for the three of you shouldn’t be a problem." "Cultivate algae? How exactly should I do that?" Hearing Chen Xin say this, Mo Qingyan relaxed and instead asked how to cultivate algae. "Use grating boards to cultivate them, keep the surface moist, and continuously illuminate them with grow lights." As Chen Xin spoke with Mo Qingyan, he opened his computer and searched through the files. Chen Xin remembered that when he was writing a book, he found information about a German ecological experiment building. It introduced how Germans used algae to create biofacades in buildings’ surfaces for photosynthesis to cultivate biomass, which was used for biogas reactions, and in turn, generated carbon dioxide for the biofacade’s cyclical use. The main factor that allowed this cycle to exist was the sunlight that prompted algae to photosynthesize and multiply massively. Now without sunlight, they could only make up for it with grow lights. However, using algae-produced biomass for biogas power generation is definitely insufficient for the consumption of grow lights, requiring additional energy supplements. Fortunately, Mo Qingyan’s place hadn’t lost water or electricity. As long as water and electricity supply was guaranteed, she could set up such a system and ensure the survival of herself, Mo Qingxin, and Ding Ning. Chen Xin explained to Mo Qingyan in detail the principles of the system and roughly how to make it. Mo Qingyan recorded everything Chen Xin said and planned to set up such a bio-oxygen production device in her shelter later. "Thanks, Ah Xin! If it weren’t for your reminder, I might have suffocated before realizing this issue." Mo Qingyan thanked Chen Xin, but didn’t forget to add: "Weren’t you eyeing my wine? I’ll give you a box of Gold Rum as a trade for these materials." Hearing Mo Qingyan say this, Chen Xin was a bit surprised: "Do you really need to be so specific with me?" "They say even between brothers, accounts should be settled clearly. Even if we’re like brothers, it’s still better to have clear accounts," Mo Qingyan said with a smile, but very seriously: "Although Ah Xin, you don’t mind if I take advantage of this, in this apocalypse, it’s better for everyone to be clear to avoid conflicts." Hearing Mo Qingyan say this, Chen Xin didn’t offer any objection, and after talking about whether to inform the survival group, he said to her: "By the way, Long-Niang, can you tell Ah Lan that I found survivors in a supermarket in the direction of the high-speed rail station..."

Chapter 71: Report to the Police First

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