A silent panic quietly spread through the cool air.
“Dad, Mom, Yangyang,”
Lin Wan took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.
“No matter why it came earlier, we’re prepared. That’s the greatest blessing. The most important thing now is to conserve energy and adapt to the heat.”
She pointed at the air conditioner and the ice blocks.
“The air conditioner should stay on for now. Dad, while it’s not too hot yet, let’s install the solar panels on the balcony so they can start charging. But we’re not sure how strong the sunlight will be later or how much the equipment will wear out. My suggestion is to use the air conditioner together with the ice blocks to cool down. When the power goes out later, we’ll rely on the solar charging panels. And if the solar panels stop working, then we’ll use the diesel generator.”
“Wanwan is right.”
Lin Jianguo immediately agreed.
“Shulan, Little Yang, listen to Wanwan’s arrangements. These supplies are our lives.”
Li Shulan nodded quickly.
“Yes, yes, I understand! Just turning it on for a while already feels so much cooler. I’ll prepare a few more basins later and fill them with ice.”
She completely trusted her daughter now. The thought of how their entire family had died tragically in their previous life made her cherish this small bit of coolness even more.
Lin Yang leaned over the ice blocks, almost wanting to bury his face in them.
“Sis, these ice blocks really saved our lives. Just thinking about the people outside…”
He shivered and did not continue.
Lin Wan picked up her phone and prepared to check on the old house. When she had moved out, she had installed a surveillance camera at the entrance specifically to monitor Zhou Qing’s movements.
On the screen, Zhou Qing was knocking on the door.
Knock, knock, knock!
A series of hurried yet somewhat weak knocks broke the brief quiet inside the house.
The whole family turned to look at Lin Wan, unsure what was happening. Lin Wan gestured for everyone to stay silent.
“Who is it?” Lin Wan asked softly into the phone.
Lin Yang’s expression turned strange. He walked over and looked at the phone screen, whispering to his parents.
“It’s… Zhou Qing.”
Everyone’s faces darkened instantly.
The knocking continued through the phone, accompanied by Zhou Qing’s voice, which carried a sobbing tone and obvious weakness.
“Aunt Shulan… Uncle Lin… please open the door… please… it’s so hot… I’m going to die from the heat… let me come in and cool off for a while… just for a moment…”
Li Shulan’s hand clenched instantly, her nails digging into her palm.
Hearing that voice, the accusations her daughter had tearfully made a few days earlier flooded back into her mind. Her heart twisted in pain. The affection she once had for the girl she had watched grow up had already been crushed by hatred and fear.
She stood up abruptly, walked beside Lin Wan, and spoke into the phone with a coldness and distance she had never shown before.
“Zhou Qing? What do you want?”
Outside the door, Zhou Qing seemed surprised that she was met not with a warm welcome but with cold words. She paused, then cried even more pitifully.
“Auntie… it’s too hot outside. My air conditioner is broken… I… I can’t take it anymore. I feel dizzy and want to vomit… please let me come in for a while… just for a moment… The repairman can’t come… I’ll pay. I’ll give you money…”
“Pay?”
Li Shulan’s voice suddenly rose, thick with sarcasm.
“Our house is small. We don’t have space to entertain outsiders! Our air conditioner is broken too! Go find someone else!”
“Auntie! You can’t just watch me die!”
Zhou Qing’s voice now carried despair and a trace of resentment.
“I know your air conditioner isn’t broken. Your house must be cool inside… Where’s Lin Wan? Lin Wan! Open the door! I know I’ve done things wrong before. I’ll apologize to you! You can’t be this heartless!”
Lin Wan’s eyes turned icy.
She looked directly at Zhou Qing on the screen and spoke coldly.
“Zhou Qing, didn’t you hear clearly? We’re not close with you. If you’re hot, stay in your own home. Stop knocking on other people’s doors. Knock again and I’ll call the police for harassment.”
Her voice was not loud, but it was clear, cold, and filled with undisguised disgust as it passed through the speaker.
The crying outside stopped abruptly.
After several seconds of deathly silence, Zhou Qing’s voice suddenly became sharp. The pitiful disguise completely vanished.
“Fine! Fine! Lin Wan! Your whole family is unbelievable! Watching someone die without helping! Cold-blooded animals! Just wait and see!”
Then came the sound of high heels stumbling angrily away down the hallway.
The phone screen returned to silence. Outside the window, the terrifying heatwave seemed to press through the thick walls, delivering its silent threat.
Li Shulan slowly slid down to the floor, her body trembling slightly—whether from anger or lingering fear, it was impossible to tell.
Lin Jianguo walked over and helped his wife up.
“You did the right thing. You can’t show even a bit of softness to someone so heartless.”
“Mom, are you okay?”
Lin Wan crouched down beside her worriedly.
Li Shulan shook her head. After taking a deep breath, she looked up again. Her eyes had become completely firm.
“I’m fine. Mom just… finally saw someone clearly. From now on, even if she dies, I won’t look at her again.”
After this incident, the family felt even more grateful for their foresight and preparation.
By noon, the outdoor temperature had probably exceeded an astonishing fifty degrees. Even with the curtains tightly drawn, the scorching heat could still be felt everywhere.
The air conditioner worked tirelessly together with the ice blocks, maintaining the hard-earned coolness inside the apartment.
Lunch was simple—cold noodles taken directly from the Space Dimension, vacuum-packed braised eggs, and cucumber salad. They drank cooled boiled water.
After eating, Lin Jianguo and Lin Yang checked the charging status of the solar panels. Although the sunlight was brutal, the charging efficiency was better than expected, which reassured everyone a little.
Meanwhile, Li Shulan pulled Lin Wan aside and began sorting the seeds stored in the Space Dimension along with the planting pots they had bought earlier.
“Wanwan, do you think we could take some soil from the Planting Area and plant something else on the balcony? Maybe green onions? Lettuce? Something that grows quickly?”
Lin Wan nodded.
“We can try. Mom, I’ll take some soil and seeds out.”
She concentrated and attempted to take out a small bag of nutrient soil and a packet of lettuce seeds. She handed them to Li Shulan.
Li Shulan poured the soil into a flowerpot, buried the seeds, and poured a little water.
Something magical happened.
The seeds, once buried in the slightly moist soil, seemed to move ever so slightly—almost imperceptibly to the naked eye—as if they were impatient to break through the earth.
“Mom! It works! The soil from the Space Dimension seems suitable for planting outside too!” Lin Wan reported excitedly.
Li Shulan immediately brightened with energy.
“That’s wonderful! That’s wonderful!”
In the afternoon, the temperature reached a horrifying peak. Even with the air conditioner and ice blocks, the indoor temperature still rose slightly, hovering around thirty-five degrees.
Even sitting still made sweat pour down their bodies. The family reduced their movement as much as possible, sitting quietly to conserve energy.
Lin Wan leaned against the ice bucket, resting with her eyes closed. But her ears remained alert, catching any movement outside.
Aside from the low hum of the air conditioner, occasional muffled screams or cries from people could be heard outside the window. But they were quickly swallowed by the oppressive silence.
More often, it was the heartbreaking final wails of car alarms going off in madness, grating on the nerves.
Suddenly—
Boom!
A loud explosion echoed in the distance, sounding like a transformer blowing up. Immediately afterward, waves of desperate shouts and commotion seemed to erupt somewhere within the Residential Community.
Lin Wan’s eyes snapped open. She quickly walked to the balcony covered by black curtains and carefully lifted a tiny gap.
Outside, the sunlight was blindingly white. The air above the road twisted and shimmered like transparent flames. The trees in the community’s greenbelt drooped lifelessly, their leaves already yellowing and curling at the edges.
Farther away, a thick column of black smoke was rising into the sky.
The first day of the Apocalypse had arrived in a brutally direct way.
And the flames had already begun to burn.