July 17, Third Day of the Extreme Heat Era
Outdoor temperature: 64°C
The sun hung overhead like a dead star, radiating a suffocating, toxic white glare.
At this temperature, the city was no longer a place for humans to live—it had become a giant pressure cooker in full fermentation.
What collapsed first was not the power grid, but the smell.
Due to the extreme heat, food waste in trash bins turned sour and decomposed within two hours, releasing a nauseating stench.
Even worse were the bodies—those who died of heatstroke on the first day, and elderly people who suffocated alone after power outages.
No one collected the corpses.
Crematoriums had already shut down due to overload and power failure.
A mixture of rotting flesh, sulfur, burning asphalt, and sewer gas began to blanket the once-prosperous city.
Outside the Half-Mountain Villa
In the shadow of a withered bush, two blurred figures curled up in a rocky crevice like dying stray dogs.
“Water… do you have water…”
Lin Wan’s voice was hoarse, like sandpaper scraping metal. Her once-proud influencer face was now covered in dirt and soot.
The most terrifying change was her skin.
Prolonged exposure to heat and humidity, combined with lack of water, had caused dense red heat rashes under her neck, armpits, and thighs. Some areas had been scratched open, oozing yellow pus mixed with sweat, burning painfully.
“Shut up! Save your strength!”
Beside her, Gu Yan was in no better condition.
His expensive suit had long been removed and draped over his head as makeshift shade. He now wore only a sweat-soaked, yellowed shirt.
His lips were cracked and bleeding.
They had been trapped here for three full days.
After their car broke down, they tried to walk down the mountain—but at 80°C ground temperature, they couldn’t go far before retreating. Their shoes melted; their bodies were being roasted alive.
They tried to return to the villa, but the gate remained shut. No matter how they screamed and begged, there was no response inside.
“Brother-in-law… look, there’s water on the leaves…”
Lin Wan suddenly perked up, pointing at a plant in the crack of the rock.
On the leaf were a few droplets of morning dew.
Dirty, contaminated, possibly mixed with dust and insect eggs—but to them, it was nectar.
“Get lost! I saw it first!”
Gu Yan shoved her aside like a mad dog and lunged forward, licking the leaf greedily.
The bitter, earthy droplets slid down his throat, slightly easing the burning pain.
“Gu Yan! You bastard! Didn’t you say you loved me?!” Lin Wan cried out.
“Love? Can love be drunk?” he snapped. “If you hadn’t dragged me here, would I be like this?!”
A gust of wind blew from the villa’s direction.
Instead of decay, it carried a faint scent of rose perfume mixed with freshly baked bread.
Both of them froze.
They inhaled desperately.
“Smells like… soap… and bread…”
Lin Wan swallowed hard, tears falling uncontrollably.
“She’s bathing… she actually still has water to bathe!”
Inside the Half-Mountain Villa
Indoor temperature: 26°C
Lin Chu had just finished a one-hour bubble bath.
She stepped out of the giant circular bathtub, bare feet sinking into a soft, absorbent rug.
In the mirror, her skin was rosy and flawless—completely untouched by the apocalypse outside.
“The smell outside is getting worse,” she murmured.
She wrapped herself in a towel and walked to the fresh-air control panel.
Even with 99% filtration, the psychological disgust still lingered.
“Increase filtration power. Activate negative ion purification mode.”
The system hummed. A fresher forest-like airflow filled the room, completely erasing the faint stench.
She then began her skincare routine calmly and meticulously.
Toners, eye cream, serum, moisturizer—each step slow and precise.
Finally, she picked up a bottle of Jo Malone Red Roses perfume.
“Shhh—”
A fine mist filled the air.
The room instantly became elegant, cold, and floral.
“Gu Yan and the others should be smelling this by now,” she thought with amusement.
“In a sewer, smelling flowers… that’s the cruelest punishment.”
She changed into silk loungewear and walked to the control console.
On the surveillance screen, Gu Yan and Lin Wan were still lying in the shade outside the wall, desperately sniffing toward the villa vents like starving animals.
“Pathetic.”
She shook her head, then took out a bottle of Evian water.
At that moment, her phone vibrated.
[Property Owner Group Chat – 500 Members]
Property Manager:
@All owners Emergency notice! Due to water source depletion and pump station failure, city water supply will be suspended indefinitely starting now. Please conserve water and await rescue!
The chat exploded instantly.
Fear spread like a virus.
No electricity was survivable.
But without water in 60°C heat, no one would last three days.
Lin Chu took a sip of her bottled water calmly.
She glanced at Gu Yan on the monitor… then at the screaming neighbors in the chat.
“Thirsty?”
She tapped her fingers lightly on the table.
“This is just the beginning.”
She switched the screen to the underground reservoir feed.
50 tons of crystal-clear water.
Her private vault.
In the third day of the apocalypse, water had officially become more valuable than gold.
And she, Lin Chu, held the largest “gold vault” in the entire city.