Several days passed quickly. The drop in temperature seemed to slow down, continuing to decline steadily at a rate of two degrees per day. Although it was still extremely cold, people at least had some room to adapt.
On the tenth day after the extreme cold descended, the outdoor temperature had dropped to the terrifying level of minus 56°C.
At some point, Rong Hui began to sense an unusual atmosphere.
Originally, everyone comforted themselves by believing that the severe weather would soon pass, staying inside their homes. But as the temperature kept dropping and the heavy snow outside gradually solidified into ice, there was still no sign of improvement. The reassurance people had gained from the government’s supply distribution a few days earlier began to waver.
People gradually realized that this disaster might not end. If that was the case, would the limited supplies they had be enough to survive? Once panic began to spread, social order started to collapse.
Last night, the sound of shattering glass woke Rong Hui from her sleep. Soon afterward came the curses of a man and the screams of a woman, echoing throughout the residential complex for a long time. The night was dark and heavy. Since Rong Hui had already grown accustomed to such noises during the hail period, she did not go downstairs to investigate.
Early the next morning, Rong Hui put on thick clothes and wore a mask before going downstairs to check the situation. This had become something she did every day.
As soon as she stepped out of the building entrance, she saw a group of people gathered in front of the residential complex’s small supermarket. Even though they were shivering from the cold with their heads tucked down like quails, they could not suppress the human instinct to watch a spectacle.
Before Rong Hui even approached, she had a bad feeling. When she moved closer and looked through the crowd, she saw a man lying on the snow, his body frozen into a bluish purple color. Blood from his head had flowed down to his shoulder and frozen into a red line of ice. Without needing to examine him further, it was obvious that the man no longer had any signs of life. His face had turned gray.
“Husband! Open your eyes and look at me! Don’t die, please don’t die! If you die, what will happen to me and the child? Husband, it’s all because of those damned robbers…”
A woman wrapped in thick clothing collapsed over the man’s body, crying and shaking him repeatedly, trying to wake him up. Beside her stood a child about five or six years old. His cheeks were frozen blue as he stared blankly at his grieving mother, his small body trembling constantly.
Through the woman’s cries and the surrounding spectators’ discussions, Rong Hui gradually learned what had happened the previous night.
A group of robbers had come with weapons and looted the residential complex’s supermarket. The owner had been beaten to death while resisting, and the small store had been completely emptied. The owner’s wife and child had survived only because the owner had ordered them to lock themselves inside the bedroom to hide.
Rong Hui remembered this small supermarket. On her first day here, she had bought daily necessities there. Although the store was small, it had everything one needed, rice, flour, cooking oil, grain, and daily goods.
After ten days of disaster, the supermarket had become the closest place to obtain supplies. Rong Hui remembered that when her phone still had power, the business there had been very good, and more than half of the goods had already been sold.
A few days earlier, the owner had announced that the store would temporarily close because there was no way to restock goods.
Yet even so, it had attracted the greed of criminals.
The owner had lost his life. The supplies that the family depended on had all been stolen. Now only the small child remained with his mother, struggling to survive.
It was the first time Rong Hui had faced someone’s death so directly. Looking at the man’s eyes that remained open in death, her mood could not help sinking. Chaos had just begun to appear, and more people would likely be injured or killed in the future.
With a sigh, she walked over to the child who stood there helplessly and took his small hand, bringing him into the supermarket to shelter from the wind and snow.
As soon as they entered, rows of shelves had collapsed everywhere inside the store. Broken glass covered the floor, and traces of blood still remained. It was not difficult to imagine how brutal the scene had been the night before.
Rong Hui crouched down and gently patted the child’s head.
“Little one, you must have been very frightened, right?”
The child’s dark eyes were filled with fear and confusion. He looked at her without speaking. His lips trembled, and the sound of his teeth clattering could be heard.
“Don’t be afraid. The bad people have already left. Let big sister show you something interesting.”
Before she finished speaking, a small oil lamp appeared in Rong Hui’s hand.
The child suddenly felt a warm current pass through his body. The frostbite sores on his face and hands, which had been itching and hurting constantly, disappeared completely. His entire body became warm, and color slowly returned to his pale cheeks.
“Sister, do you know magic?” the child asked blankly.
“Your sister is a magician. This is our secret.” Rong Hui smiled as she stood up and found a mask for the child to wear. The child’s condition had suddenly improved so much that it would be better not to attract unnecessary attention.
The owner’s family lived behind the supermarket. Rong Hui told the child to return to the bedroom to rest. The matters outside were for adults to handle. The grieving mother could not care for the child at the moment.
When Rong Hui stepped back outside, the crowd had already begun discussing how to bury the supermarket owner. Most people believed that the criminals were homeless refugees with nowhere to go, who had resorted to robbery and murder out of desperation.
Rong Hui listened for a while before leaving.
In her heart, she believed that the robbers were probably people from the residential complex itself, or at least someone inside had served as an accomplice. They had launched the attack late at night and emptied the supermarket with astonishing speed, leaving almost no trace. Even the footprints had been covered by heavy snow. It was truly ruthless.
There were too many people in the residential complex, and the situation was becoming dangerous. Rong Hui quietly made a decision that she could no longer stay here.
That night, the supermarket owner’s wife had cried until she had no tears left. She patched the broken glass with newspapers and barely managed to stay inside with her child. Now that they had nothing left, no one would covet them anymore. But they also had no supplies left to survive on. How would they endure the days ahead?
“Mom, today I met a magician sister.”
The obedient child leaned against his mother and unintentionally revealed Rong Hui’s secret. However, children’s words were innocent, and the grieving woman did not take them seriously.
“Knock, knock, knock.”
Suddenly, three knocks sounded against the glass.
The shop owner’s wife immediately hugged the child tightly, her body trembling. Had those robbers returned?
Holding her breath, she listened carefully. Outside there was only the sound of the wind. After the faint knocking, there was no further movement.
After hesitating for a long time, the woman finally decided to open the door and check. After all, they now had nothing left that anyone could steal.
Carefully opening the glass door a small crack, she peeked outside.
No one was there.
Only a large black package lay on the ground.
The woman picked it up in confusion and opened it. To her astonishment, it was filled with heavy compressed biscuits.
Looking around and seeing no one, the shop owner’s wife quickly closed the door and brought the package into the bedroom to inspect it carefully.
The top layer contained a large amount of compressed biscuits. Beneath them were five cans of braised pork, several candles and a lighter, along with a few bottles of anti inflammatory medicine, vitamin C tablets, and frostbite ointment.
It was obvious how thoughtful and generous the unknown giver had been.
The woman covered her mouth in shock and joy as tears streamed down her face. With this large package of supplies, she and her child could at least survive for some time.
The child sitting beside her touched the pile of supplies.
“Mom, the magician sister gave these.”
The woman gently stroked the child’s head. No matter how difficult the world had become, she would continue living with her child.
…