She wished she could jump straight into a river and take a proper bath, but in this situation, she didn’t even dare to extend her hands.
Su Ruanruan felt like she had been doused in filth; even her breathing carried a foul stench.
Fortunately, the low temperature had frozen the residue on her body.
She was internally going insane, but outwardly remained calm and composed.
Today was October 31st—the first day of the extreme cold disaster. The temperature had dropped to -20°C.
Su Ruanruan took out a bottle of mineral water from her backpack. The moment she touched it, she froze—it had already turned into ice.
In an instant, the cold spread through her entire body. She shivered and quickly put it back into her bag.
Her nose was red from the cold. The wind kept slicing past her face like blades.
It ravaged her skin, and even the air she breathed was freezing cold—circulating through her body only to remain cold again.
Gradually, her limbs began to stiffen, her consciousness blurring, her vision fading.
No!
She snapped awake in panic, unable to believe she had almost fallen asleep while sitting.
Once asleep, slow blood circulation in such temperatures would easily lead to death.
She grit her teeth and bit down on her tongue.
Blood filled her mouth, and the sharp pain jolted her entire body awake.
Using the oversized down jacket as cover, she quietly peeled off the now-cold heat packs and tossed them into her space.
She replaced them with new ones, sticking them all over her body without caring about safety anymore.
As long as she didn’t freeze to death, anything was fine.
She also changed out her dirty thermal underwear and put on a fresh, warm set.
Then she turned her back, pretending to sleep—while her consciousness entered her space to eat.
Inside the floating spatial world, her mind drifted.
What should I eat…?
It had to be hot. It had to replenish energy. It had to be filling.
After scanning through her supplies, she wanted everything—luosifen, wontons, rice noodles.
Anything with soup was perfect. One sip of hot broth could warm her entire body.
Since she couldn’t decide… then she’d eat them all.
So she did.
She controlled her consciousness, opening the model house in her space.
Her mind “sat” at the dining table as she took out luosifen, wontons, and rice noodles.
A bite of noodles, then a plump wonton, followed by a sip of hot soup.
Perfect.
She let out a satisfied sigh.
She had only recently discovered that her consciousness could enter the space and even eat inside it—while the warmth and fullness would transfer to her real body.
After finishing, she finally felt alive again.
Leaning against the wall, she rested for a while, her stomach full and warm.
Then she turned her head and saw a thin woman beside her, slumped against the wall, breathing weakly.
She looked like she might fall asleep.
In this weather, falling asleep meant death.
Sigh. Saving a life is better than building seven levels of pagodas.
Su Ruanruan reached out and pushed the woman over.
Then she calmly turned away as if nothing had happened.
“Who pushed me!” the woman shouted, jolting awake.
Su Ruanruan ignored her and looked around.
A large group of people sat on the ground, trembling from the cold.
This wouldn’t do—they would freeze to death like this.
They needed fires. The military should light bonfires during rest.
Su Ruanruan was never one to hesitate.
She immediately got up and found a familiar soldier, explaining her suggestion.
The soldier agreed, and they went to report it together.
Everyone is freezing to death… yet the authorities still can’t think of a solution.
Soon, she followed the soldier to the front of the convoy.
Thirty military SUVs formed a circle, enclosing several large tents that looked thick and warm, glowing faintly from within.
The soldier approached one tent and shook the bell hanging outside, respectfully saying, “Sir—”
Before he could finish, a gust of wind lifted the curtain slightly.
Su Ruanruan clearly saw inside:
Flickering firelight. Laughter. Warmth.
She immediately said, “No need to report. Let’s go.”
She pulled the soldier away.
It was obvious—the government wasn’t powerless.
They simply weren’t willing to use precious fuel resources for the lowest-tier survivors.
She wasn’t surprised. That was human nature. Society always had hierarchy.
Those with power enjoyed warmth and comfort.
Those without could only lie on the cold ground and endure the freezing wind.
The soldier beside her reddened slightly at the eyes.
Su Ruanruan said calmly, “It’s fine. We’ll find our own way.”
At that moment, she became even more determined to form her own team.
She didn’t want to be controlled.
Nor did she want to live forever under inequality and neglect.
Only by becoming strong enough could she protect those she wanted to protect.
The soldier nodded seriously and gathered a small team to collect lighters from nearby shops.
Su Ruanruan naturally followed as well—she needed movement anyway.
The group of about ten people entered the largest park in Huicheng and searched the small supermarkets there.
Inside, everything was in chaos.
Goods were scattered everywhere—salt spilled across the floor, sunflower seed shells covering the ground.
There weren’t many usable supplies left. Everyone split up to search.
Su Ruanruan’s partner was a tall man wearing a women’s white down jacket, fully wrapped up except for his eyes, which were cold and indifferent.
He glanced at her briefly, then walked ahead.
Su Ruanruan frowned slightly. He looked familiar…
After thinking for a moment, she suddenly realized—
Holy shit. Isn’t this Lu An from her past life?
The rumored top-tier powerhouse.
They said there was always a ten-meter-tall giant orange cat beside him. His ability was unknown—only that he was extremely dangerous.
Su Ruanruan instinctively looked around.
Where’s the cat? Where’s the ten-meter cat?
Oh right—global mutation hadn’t started yet.
No cat.
She rubbed her nose and followed him to search for supplies.
But all they could find were scattered leftovers—let alone something as rare as a lighter.