Su Ruanruan quickly checked again. The heat packs were already warming up, and there was not a single gap where cold wind could seep in.
At this moment, she looked like a turtle pulling its head into its shell, completely curled up inside her down jacket.
Although she couldn’t see the time, she had a faint countdown in her mind as the moment drew closer.
Strangely, she felt unusually calm—so calm that her heart didn’t even race.
It was as if she were simply waiting for something ordinary to happen.
Three… two… one…
She silently counted down in her mind.
In the next instant, the temperature plummeted.
It dropped straight to 0°C, and a violent wind swept across the ground.
The gusts howled wildly. Fortunately, she had two thick walls beside her to block it, otherwise she would have been blown away.
Even with all her preparation, she could still feel strands of cold air seeping in through her feet—penetrating everywhere.
She couldn’t imagine how others would survive such a freezing, endless night.
Curses erupted all around her.
“Holy shit, why did it suddenly get so cold!”
“Too cold! This jacket is too short!”
“Wake up! Don’t sleep!”
Su Ruanruan thought inwardly that they should be grateful—they still had the strength to curse.
Many others, however, had already died silently in their sleep.
This night was destined to be sleepless.
To prevent people from falling asleep and freezing to death, soldiers had to beat gongs and drums every hour.
If someone didn’t respond, they would even go around kicking them awake.
They also continuously blasted annoying music through loudspeakers.
The entire temporary rest area was filled with the sound of chattering teeth and trembling breaths.
People cursed, gasped, and shouted in chaos.
Even with heat packs, Su Ruanruan felt as if they were useless under this overwhelming cold wind.
Her head kept nodding, her eyelids growing heavier and heavier.
She kept forcing herself awake.
Don’t sleep… don’t sleep… unless you want to freeze into a block of ice.
“Someone come quickly! The utility pole fell—someone’s trapped under it!”
A loudspeaker voice echoed in the distance.
Several strong men nearby rushed over to help, shouting as they worked together to lift it.
“One, two, three—lift!”
“Here! Another tree fell!”
“Everyone stay away from trees and poles! Stay away from anything that could collapse!”
Soldiers shouted hoarsely through loudspeakers, trying to maintain order.
Because there were no lights, everything was pitch black—lights had been turned off to save power.
A 100,000-person convoy was now trapped in unprecedented chaos.
The freezing wind, the subzero temperature, and the darkness combined into a disaster that threatened human survival itself.
Su Ruanruan stared blankly into the distance. She was too cold to sleep, and too afraid to sleep.
Trash and debris were flying wildly in the air, almost forming what looked like a small tornado.
Realizing this, she jolted awake in alarm.
Without hesitation, she jumped up and squeezed through the crowd with her small frame.
She quickly reached a soldier and, under his shocked gaze, grabbed the loudspeaker from his hand.
“Everyone, group together! Don’t get blown away by the tornado!”
Her voice was clear yet powerful, cutting through the darkness and reaching everyone nearby.
For a brief moment, the world seemed to fall silent.
Then—
“Aah—help!”
A thin woman was suddenly lifted about a meter into the air by the wind.
Flying debris and sharp fragments left bloody scratches across her body.
In the next second, a strong man reached out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her back down with brute force.
Immediately, more than a dozen people rushed in, forming a protective circle and rescuing her.
Everyone quickly realized that in this situation, there was no room for hesitation or distinction between men and women.
People began instinctively forming groups—ten, twenty, even more—clinging tightly together to resist the storm.
Children and the elderly were placed in the center for protection.
Before she knew it, Su Ruanruan was pulled into a group of over twenty people.
Her small frame was naturally placed in the middle for protection.
All she could feel was bodies pressed tightly around her, almost crushing her—but it was warm.
As if even the tornado outside was no longer frightening.
At this time: -15°C. Time: 3 AM.
The night was still long.
Could they survive it?
The wind finally began to weaken around 4 AM, after raging from midnight.
But even after it stopped, debris and broken parts kept falling from the sky, forcing people to find safer places again.
At 7 AM, daylight arrived.
The sun rose from the east, illuminating the land—but bringing no warmth.
The military began counting casualties.
Cries and screams echoed everywhere.
Su Ruanruan stood quietly on her own, feeling out of place among the chaos.
Many people had lost family members overnight—far more than during the extreme heat disaster.
The military issued an order: reorganize, suppress emotions, and continue moving.
Exhausted, the crowd dragged their bodies forward.
Only then did they realize the entire Huicheng had been ravaged by the typhoon.
Frozen corpses lay scattered on the ground, along with garbage, fruit peels, and rotten waste.
Trees and utility poles had collapsed everywhere.
People stood in silence, unable to believe it.
Was this still the Huicheng they had lived in for decades?
Now it looked like a ruined wasteland—like the end of the world.
But this was the end of the world.
Not only for humans—but for every living thing on Earth.
Some broke down crying. Others clung tightly to their families like lifelines.
A soldier stood frozen, murmuring, “Ten thousand… nearly ten thousand dead…”
At noon, they stopped to rest inside the largest park in Huicheng.
It was relatively intact compared to the streets.
People sat on the ground, drinking water and recovering their strength.
Unlike the streets, garbage bins had been overturned everywhere, and trash had been scattered across the city overnight—covering people, buildings, and everything in sight.
Now, everyone was filthy, exhausted, and silent.