Chapter 106: The Onset of Extreme Heat

But despite their discomfort, they carefully tried to recall what had happened, only to conclude that a blinding white light had flashed momentarily, after which they knew nothing at all.

“Get the straw curtains out and hang them up to prevent that light from appearing again. Later, contact the base to see if they know anything about this situation,” Jiang Huan instructed. She also advised future patrols to wear sunglasses when going out, and to immediately close their eyes and cover their heads if they sensed the white light. She was determined to find a way to reduce the number of patrol personnel as soon as possible.

Could it be that the next disaster wasn’t the drought everyone had anticipated, but some ominous celestial phenomenon that was extremely harmful to humans?

This new development once again stirred anxiety among those who had already prepared themselves mentally.

Old Lady Wang, however, was more optimistic. From time to time, she recounted stories of the great disaster their parents’ generation had endured, how some had managed to hold on. Since they had food and drink inside the cave and water was nearby—close enough to dig to—the situation was actually quite good. Surely, they would get through this.

Perhaps humanity could conquer nature.

Or perhaps the white light was merely a prelude.

In the days that followed, everyone remained cautious but no more harmful white lights appeared.

Meanwhile, the two patients gradually regained their health. Xie Congzhou found several medicinal herbs on the mountain and used traditional remedies from Xiejia Village to treat their eye conditions. After a few days, the two could stand and walk on their own, fully independent.

Everyone was grateful to Xie Congzhou, but Jiang Huan once again grew curious about his abilities.

His behavior was strikingly similar to that of a wood-element supernatural ability user from an apocalyptic novel reborn in this world—capable of fostering growth and healing. Yet, considering his Nokia phone and his complete ignorance of many modern devices, Jiang Huan dismissed the possibility of him being a reincarnated soul.

She even began to suspect he might have come from an earlier era.

Noticing Jiang Huan’s gaze, Xie Congzhou looked over and met her eyes. “Want to talk?” he asked.

Jiang Huan shook her head. “Nothing much, just thank you for helping them.”

“It’s my duty,” Xie Congzhou replied thoughtfully, then asked, “The heat has become noticeable now. We need to adjust the outdoor patrol schedule.”

Jiang Huan took his reminder seriously and observed the situation.

The daytime temperature had already reached 29 degrees Celsius.

That temperature was certainly not cold.

But how hot was it exactly? Inside the cave, it stayed around 17 or 18 degrees, sometimes even lower. And yet, it had only been just over half a month since the ice melted.

At this rate, last summer had been frozen over, but this autumn and winter might instead be plagued by drought?

The next day, the outside temperature surpassed 30 degrees.

The following day reached 33.

Then 35.

When the temperature outside hit 45 degrees, no one dared leave the air-raid shelter anymore.

Even though there were ventilation shafts and a large entrance, the stifling heat weighed heavily on their spirits. Inside, the temperature hovered around 30 degrees, and any slight movement caused everyone to break out in sweat.

Doctor Wang’s family, worried about dehydration but also concerned that drinking too much water might strain kidneys, began scheduling drinking times for everyone. They even added some supplements to the water, and Jiang Huan herself drank electrolyte beverages.

Every day, everyone sipped on light broths and soups; batches of mung bean porridge were continuously prepared.

Yet, amid this oppressive heat, Jiang Huan found a place suitable for lying down flat.

It was her bedroom.

Whether by some stroke of luck or design, her room seemed like a sanctuary; its temperature was consistently seven or eight degrees cooler than the upper air-raid shelter, maintaining a more comfortable climate.

As the outside temperature soared to 50 degrees, even Jiang Huan’s room rose above 30 degrees. The sanctuary had lost much of its benefit, and the electric fan was once again necessary.

Preparing in advance, she first deployed a motorized fan—a contraption her younger brother had tinkered with—and sent one to the small clinic. She cleared two rooms upstairs to accommodate those who could no longer tolerate the heat or who showed signs of heatstroke, placing one fan in each room.

She also made it known that she had one in her own room.

Liu Ling and Xie Li would occasionally come in to cool off but were careful not to stay more than three hours total each day.

On the night the temperature breached 60 degrees outdoors, someone fainted outside the air-raid shelter and was saved by Xie Congzhou standing at the entrance.

Jiang Huan recognized the fainted person—it was someone familiar.

She had allowed this child to seek refuge in the shelter, so why had he waited until now, risking danger, to come?

The child, nicknamed Monkey, was quickly treated; water and soup were given smoothly. When he regained consciousness and saw Jiang Huan nearby, he burst into heart-wrenching sobs.

“Jiang Jie, I’m still alive! I really am!” he cried. “It was terrifying, so terrifying.”

When the white light appeared, he had just been about to open the door and go outside. Hearing screams, he retreated repeatedly and hid. Only when the outside noise quieted did he dare step out.

After that, most people headed for the air-raid shelter. Once the high heat began, no one could bear staying outside—they all went inside.

But as days passed—one, three, five days—and the temperature exceeded 50 degrees, water supplies became restricted. People no longer had water for daily use, only drinking portions. Chaos erupted inside the shelter.

This was followed by crackdowns on those caught stealing and rampant false accusations.

No one dared to hoard water or food anymore, nor to trust those they had once been close to. The community, which had only recently begun to regain normalcy thanks to support from the capital, was once again engulfed in new struggles brought on by a fresh disaster.

People began to disappear quietly every day.

Monkey couldn’t endure it any longer and wanted to venture out to seek help. On his way back, he saw a corpse drained of blood.

There were footsteps behind him, following closely, but when he looked back, there was nothing.

Frightened and dehydrated by the heat, he managed to stagger all the way back to the shelter before collapsing—by some luck.

“It’s alright now, it’s alright. Stay here for now. I’ll arrange a place for you to stay. Luckily, there’s still a vacant room,” Jiang Huan said.

Monkey had been thoroughly terrified, brushing repeatedly with death. After pulling himself together, he gradually regained his usual cleverness and happily found tasks to do in the shelter. He even shared some information about the base’s current situation.

Learning that despite management crackdowns, ordinary people in the base were still living very poorly, everyone shuddered.

For some reason, this brought to mind Bai Weishuang, who had once suggested they all go down the mountain to live communally.

If they really went down now, even drinking water would be a problem—never mind the air-raid shelter, which still stored ice, with a basin of it placed in each room before sleep.

When the outdoor daytime temperature hit 70 degrees, no one dared stand at the shelter entrance anymore.

The extreme heat had officially arrived.

Every night, as the temperature dropped to the low forties, chunks of ice were carried into the shelter. Once melted, the water was used for daily needs. Drinking water was drawn from the source, purified by Jiang Huan, so water supply remained manageable—they could endure.

Jiang Xi and Jiang Huan’s rooms were next to each other but separated, so people outside couldn’t see Jiang Xi inside. Jiang Huan ran two air-conditioning fans there, plus one in her own room, occasionally adding ice to cool the air, barely keeping the temperature below 32 degrees.

When no one was around, she would release a pile of her stored ice and close the door with her brother to enjoy a brief moment of comfort.