Chapter 55

“Due to the ongoing disaster, cell phones, landlines, and the internet have all lost signal. Most cities in the Western Continent—Xihai City, Sa City, Nanyun City, Nacuo City, and so on—have activated their amateur radio emergency communication networks. Please be advised that the Western Continent Amateur Radio Emergency Communication Network Command Center has been established, with BX77Q serving as the main control station call sign...”

Morning.

Sky and water stretched endlessly in the same pale hue. The houseboat drifted slowly northward, the radio crackling like the boat's lonely soliloquy. At some point, the murky yellow floodwaters beneath the boat had given way to clear, normal water.

When Lin Tu spotted the half-submerged Ferris wheel—dubbed the "Eye of Xihai City"—in the distance, she knew she had left the flooded heart of Xihai City behind and reached the northern suburbs.

Beside the headboard table, the radio emitted a steady hiss of static.

“This is Code Name Sausage. I'm in Nanyun City. I can no longer see Xihai City to the north. I estimate it's completely submerged by now. Nanyun City has become an isolated island. Attention to comrades in the north: a cold wave has hit Nanyun City—temperatures have dropped to below zero...”

“...Sa City has issued a red cold wave alert, with an expected minimum temperature drop of over 16°C within 24 hours... Sa City has issued a red blizzard alert, with snowfall expected to exceed 15mm within 6 hours and continuing... Sa City has issued a red gale alert, with potential winds averaging force 12 or above within 6 hours...”

“Hisssss...”

It was early morning, the coldest part of the day. Huddled in bed, Lin Tu listened to the morning radio for a bit, then cracked open a window. The biting chill that seeped in made her immediately decide to put on her coral fleece pajamas.

Last night, she had stayed up late studying her route. Since she would be heading north for a full four thousand kilometers, and sea conditions along the way were highly unpredictable, the fuel she'd stocked might run out. She would need to periodically pass by surviving human settlements on land or offshore refueling stations. Thus, charting a route with resupply points along the way was crucial.

By the time she'd settled on the first leg of the journey, it was already past midnight. Lin Tu had drifted off to sleep with heavy eyelids. She'd woken naturally at seven that morning, and the Butler had already navigated the boat close to the first destination according to the route she'd set.

The northern suburbs of Xihai City had another name—the industrial district. Several waterproof steel production workshops stood there. Upgrading to [Level 2 House] required collecting 30kg of waterproof steel, so Lin Tu had made it her first stop.

“Two hours to arrival. Xiao Huang has been running on the deck for an hour and is now resting. He used the dog toilet you prepared in advance this morning, no smell. You can take care of it whenever you're ready.” The Butler greeted her enthusiastically the moment it saw she was awake.

Lin Tu nodded. After playing poop-scoop, she started making breakfast.

As someone who'd grown up inland, without the means in childhood or the time in adulthood, she'd only ever seen ocean cruises on TV—and she'd always yearned for one. Though her current situation was far from a vacation, the goal was exactly the same: to live comfortably until she died of old age. So in a sense, she truly was on an ocean cruise.

Today was the first day of that cruise, and Lin Tu planned to celebrate. Considering the cold weather, she went to the freezer and took out a frozen crucian carp, a slice of frozen lean pork, and a portion of pre-sliced black fish fillets.

It was worth noting that the overall shape of the houseboat had been determined before the disaster struck. The boat had two levels. The first level plus the deck totaled about fourteen square meters. Below, inside the hull, there were an additional six square meters.

If this were an ordinary wooden boat, those six square meters would have been consumed by the hull structure itself. But since Lin Tu's cottage had been upgraded, the boat only looked wooden on the outside—its actual materials had nothing to do with wood. So the hull could accommodate six square meters of storage space while still functioning as a boat.

Of those six square meters, four belonged to the freezer. In the remaining two, a washer and dryer were stacked on one side, while on the other side stood a wall-mounted shelving unit piled with several boxes containing cleaning supplies like laundry detergent, liquid detergent, and dish soap, plus toiletries like body wash, shampoo, and conditioner, and more boxes of toothpaste, toothbrushes, facial cleanser, and face towels—the whole rack was packed full.

Between the washer and dryer, a ladder led up to the first level of the houseboat. A dirty clothes hamper sat at the foot of the ladder. Lin Tu only needed to open the floor hatch above and toss the dirty clothes down into the hamper, where they'd wait for the next wash.

But enough of that. Lin Tu brought the frozen crucian carp to the kitchen to thaw. The living space had suddenly shrunk back to just eight square meters, but fortunately one shelf had been moved to the lower level, and the bulkiest food supplies had shifted into the freezer, so after some tidying, she could still make everything fit.

The room was arranged much as before. Beside the bed was the locking door that opened onto the stern platform for getting on and off the boat. The door near the kitchen led out to the deck.

The only change was that, for easier access to the deck, Lin Tu had reversed the kitchen's orientation. Now one end of the L-shaped counter butted against the foot of the bed, while the other ran along the same wall as the bed, creating a natural partition between kitchen and living area in the eight-square-meter room. It was packed full, but it looked neat and orderly.

Carrying the frozen fish, pork, and black fish fillets around the counter, Lin Tu dropped them into a basin to thaw.

While waiting, she took out a bag of flour, estimated out a portion into a bowl, dissolved yeast in warm water, and poured it in. After several additions of yeast water and continuous kneading, the flour came together into a smooth dough.

Lin Tu covered the dough with plastic wrap and placed it in the oven along with a cup of warm water, setting the temperature to 35°C for slow fermentation.

Next, she watered the vegetables and fruits on the shelf along with the [Angry Corn], then picked a handful of scallions and a crisp head of baby bok choy, washing them clean and setting them aside.

About twenty minutes had passed by then. The fish hadn't fully thawed, but the pork was already soft.

Lin Tu took out the pork and a cleaver, and with sheer arm strength quickly chopped it into filling. She seasoned it with salt, MSG, soy sauce, sugar, cooking wine, minced scallion, ginger, garlic, and chopped pork skin aspic, mixing thoroughly into a large bowl of filling.

Soon she'd use it, along with the soon-to-rise dough, to make a few dozen pan-fried buns. But first, she needed to deal with the thawed fish.

This fish had been bought fresh at the market the day before the disaster, killed on the spot. It had been frozen for less than a week, so it was still fairly fresh. Lin Tu cleaned the fish, scored it with a knife, heated oil in a pan, and fried it golden on both sides, releasing a rich, savory aroma. Meanwhile, water had come to a boil in another pot. She dropped the fragrant fish into the hot water, adding ginger slices and angelica root.

With the lid on, waiting for the fish soup to develop its flavor, Lin Tu finally got around to making the pan-fried buns. She'd done this often as a child, so her hands were quick and nimble—within no time, a whole steamer tray of buns was ready.

Half went into the freezer for tomorrow. The other half—about twenty-four buns—went into a cold pan with cold oil. Once the bottoms had fried to a crisp golden brown, she poured in flour water until it covered half the buns, put the lid on, and turned the heat to high. When it came to a rolling boil, she reduced it to low and let it steam for two minutes. Then she lifted the lid, turned the heat up to reduce the liquid, and back down to low to crisp the bottoms. Finally, she sprinkled on freshly chopped scallions, black and white sesame seeds, and took them off the heat.

By then, the fish soup had also finished simmering—a milky white.

Lin Tu strained out the fish bits, returned the broth to the pot until it was pure white, then tossed in the thawed black fish fillets. In the short time that followed, she quickly boiled a portion of noodles and blanched the baby bok choy. Finally, she ladled the broth and fish over the noodles—a steaming bowl of fish soup noodles, ready to serve.

She moved her dining table and chair out onto the deck. Though the weather was cold, she'd been heading north the whole time, leaving the cold front behind her, so the temperature where she currently was wasn't too extreme. Sitting on the deck, feeling the sea breeze, eating warm soup noodles and juicy pan-fried buns while gazing at the vast ocean and the distant, half-submerged "Eye of Xihai City"—that other-worldly tourist spot slowly receding behind her—seemed like a fine idea.

Lin Tu took a sip of fish soup, felt warmth spread through her body, and let out a contented sigh.

After breakfast, every pore in her body felt open. She cleaned up the dishes and scraps, rested for about ten minutes, and arrived at her destination.

That is, she was floating directly above the flooded waterproof steel workshop.

She surveyed the surroundings and tossed two pieces of raw meat into the water. No sign of giant leeches. Which made sense—this was the suburbs, sparsely populated. The factory workshops mostly used automated assembly lines, employing few people. The only potential crowd-drawer, the Eye of Xihai City, had been closed due to typhoon warnings. And animals? They couldn't exist here at all—the factories had claimed all the land, leaving no space for wildlife.

So there were no giant leeches here, and even the black thread worms that usually swarmed at the scent of blood were scarce—after a long while, only a few had gathered on the meat.

Once she'd reasoned this through, Lin Tu confidently put on her dry suit. A dry suit seals out seawater and is designed specifically for cold-water diving. Its only downsides are the high price and difficult maintenance. If it weren't necessary, she would have preferred the more convenient wetsuit. But the temperature was low, and she didn't want to catch a cold alone out on the sea, so she put on the more troublesome but safer dry suit.

When she entered the water, the dry suit's insulation meant she couldn't feel the cold at all—she even felt somewhat warm.

She looked at the submerged forest of civilized architecture, the wide roads connecting them, and the green belts lining those roads. Schools of fish from nearby seas and rivers were already settling into the roads, shrubs, and buildings—two utterly mismatched familiar scenes combined into one strange, almost surreal sight.

Lin Tu descended slowly and soon found the waterproof steel workshop.

These were crude steel bars that had completed the steelmaking process but hadn't yet been fabricated into products. Lin Tu tried lifting a bundle to test the weight—only to realize she'd overestimated her strength.

She pried open the iron strapping around the bundle and carefully extracted a single steel bar weighing about 6kg. Unfortunately, it exceeded the weight limit of the Single-Use Backpack and couldn't be stored inside.

Somewhat resigned, she set the bar down. She returned to the boat, found a rope, tied one end to the hull, and took the other end back down with her.

This time, she went straight to the workshop. She dragged the steel bar out of the building and tied the rope around it. After securing three bars in a row, she swam back to the surface and hauled them out of the water with ease.

The moment the waterproof steel came into contact with the hull, a notification popped up on her phone's [Anju] app.

—[Detected usable material "Low-Grade Special Steel" for unlocking "Level 2 House". Apply?]

Lin Tu selected "Yes," and the three steel bars melted like sculpting clay and seeped into the houseboat. This time, however, the boat showed no visible change—only the grayed-out [Level 2 House] details in the [Anju] function updated, with the "Low-Grade Special Steel"*30kg requirement reduced to 10.2kg.

Next, Lin Tu repeated the process. She hauled up three more bars to see if the cottage could absorb more "Low-Grade Special Steel." But as expected, once it had absorbed 30kg of waterproof steel, [Anju] stopped sending notifications. The last bar and a half were left over.

Lin Tu let the rope go, and the bars sank back to the bottom.

And just like that, the first material needed to unlock the "Level 2 House" was fully collected.

But she didn't plan to leave just yet. Remembering the bedding factory she'd spotted earlier, she decided to make a side trip to stock up on winter bedding, and maybe scout the industrial area for any other useful supplies.

Before entering the disaster, she'd prepared winter gear just in case, but not much—only two sets of winter clothes for rotation, and a single thick quilt.

This temperature drop was highly unusual. Having experienced another C-level disaster with extreme heat, Lin Tu was keenly aware that this cold snap could easily plunge below zero, perhaps much lower, and could persist for a long time. If so, her current winter supplies would be woefully insufficient.

Worse, with everyone panicking over the cold, even if she found a human settlement, she might not be able to buy winter goods. So scavenging from these underwater factories was the best approach.

After marking several spots on her map, Lin Tu dove back into the water.

This time, the things she wanted to collect weren't heavy—the Single-Use Backpack could hold them easily—so she moved much faster.

At the bedding factory, she found a warehouse full of vacuum-sealed quilts, mattresses, and pillows. She grabbed a full twenty sets of the heaviest ten-jin winter quilts. Next was the padded clothing—this factory and its neighbor seemed to share the same owner, connected as they were, and next door was a padded jacket factory.

Many jackets still on the assembly line had puffed up waterlogged; some that hadn't been sewn yet had become homes for fish. Swimming through the schools, Lin Tu found the warehouse. The jackets were also vacuum-sealed, and she picked out the heaviest, thickest sets by their labels, stuffing them into the Single-Use Backpack.

Finally, she swam to a warming pad contract factory further away. The water quality there was poor due to the large amounts of warming powder stored on site, and fish were scarce.

Warming pads that got wet would stop working, but the ones already sealed in plastic bags would be unaffected.

After locating the warehouse, Lin Tu swam in through an open high window and found the racks of warming pads. The cardboard boxes had swelled from water damage. She tore them open and tossed packs of warming pads into the Single-Use Backpack, stocking up roughly an entire shelf's worth.

Three factories in a row, and quite a haul. Satisfied, Lin Tu returned to the boat with a fully loaded Single-Use Backpack.

After peeling off her dry suit, she opened a bag of padded clothing and tried it on. Since she'd picked the thickest jackets the factory produced, she actually felt a little warm wearing it. She opened a quilt and wrapped herself in it—same thing, she broke into a sweat, and it felt a bit heavy.

Content, she tidied the vacuum-sealed clothing and quilts she'd just gathered and neatly stacked them on the shelf. She only opened up two jackets to wash and hang dry first.

When that was done, she settled back into her chair, sketching and writing idly, feeling the boat glide forward beneath her.

The next destination was Nacuo City, further north. At her current pace, she'd reach it in about four or five days. After refueling there, she'd leave the Western Continent and enter another country's territory—or more precisely, another country's waters.

—

Meanwhile, in Sa City, temperatures had plummeted from around twenty degrees to seven or eight in a single day.

The temporary shelter was in chaos. Everyone had come seeking refuge at a moment's notice, and few had brought winter clothes. People wrapped themselves in blankets, shivering, grabbing at staff to ask where they could find warm clothing.

The staff were equally helpless. The moment the meteorological station issued the red alert, they'd put in requests for emergency supplies. Who could have predicted the weather would change so abruptly, giving no one time to react?

This weather—this world, really—had become utterly unfamiliar in an instant. It no longer resembled the world people knew.

Someone felt an icy snowflake land on their cheek and looked up dazedly at the thickening flurry falling from the sky, hardly believing it. “It's snowing...”

“It's like the end of the world... Could the apocalypse really be coming?” The same inexpressible dread rose in everyone's hearts.

Outside the shelter further north, as soon as the supply vessel docked, Liu Ge rushed off. Thanks to that rescue team member, he'd managed to get on this iron-hulled, somewhat safer ship, and now he'd made it to this shelter.

The moment he stepped off, before he'd even found his wife and daughter, he spotted a familiar face: “Xiao Yu!”

Meeting an acquaintance in a strange place, Liu Cong shouted excitedly.

Yu Liu stood frowning, arguing with someone. The two seemed to be in the middle of a heated dispute—Yu Liu righteous and stern, the other man utterly indifferent.

“These people—all of them will die!” Liu Cong heard Yu Liu roar as he approached.

“Xiao Yu, the helicopters really aren't enough right now. The airport's at capacity, we can't squeeze anyone in. Even the ships are in short supply—only small boats available. And you know what's in the water right now. How can we risk sending out small craft?”

“I know you're anxious, but we have to take this step by step. Let's first distribute supplies so everyone has food and warmth, and no one freezes or starves to death. Then we talk about the next step—evacuation. Alright?”

The man in a long coat across from Yu Liu patted his shoulder. Noticing Liu Cong approaching, he smiled and nodded at him. “Okay, enough of that. Your friend's here, you two catch up.” With that, he walked away.

Liu Cong watched the man's distinctive retreating figure and asked, “Who was that?”

“My brother.” Yu Liu's face darkened with a sneer. “But you want to know his position? The deputy commander, and he has no vision at all. What a fool.”

Deputy commander! Liu Cong's heart jolted. Such a high rank—and he was Yu Liu's brother?!

He replayed the deputy commander's words in his mind, and understanding dawned. “You want your brother to mobilize helicopters or planes—ships too? For what?”

Yu Liu looked at him. “To evacuate the people from Nanyun City and Sa City.”

“Why?”

“See the snow up there?” Yu Liu turned his head toward him. There were things he couldn't explain clearly to a local, but as a player, he knew perfectly well—a C-level disaster's temperature drop wasn't a drizzle. This was a disaster that would genuinely freeze people to death.

The classification of disasters wasn't just about difficulty. It also implied an unspoken rule: the proportion of local deaths in each disaster world differed.

When Yu Liu had noticed via the radio that Nanyun City and Sa City were cooling in sequence, with temperatures dropping the further south one went, while Nacuo City had barely begun to cool, he'd immediately thought of the side quest—entering Noah's Ark at the North Pole.

That meant the Arctic was absolutely safe. Since the cooling was spreading from south to north, the closer to the equator, the lower the survival rate.

It might sound strange, but once you eliminated all impossibilities, whatever remained—however improbable—had to be the truth.

The sooner everyone could move to Nacuo City further north, the safer they'd be.

Yu Liu sighed. “The temperature's going to drop dangerously low. Moving to Nacuo City is the only way to have a real chance of survival.”

Liu Cong didn't know how he'd reached that conclusion, but his expression didn't suggest he was lying, and a chill of fear crept into Liu Cong's heart. “Then... how do we get there?”

“Best would be by plane, though they're hard to come by right now. But I know there's a damaged helicopter stored here. If we can repair it, maybe we can use it.”

“We can save as many as we can. Do you want to come along?”

Liu Cong hesitated, looking at Yu Liu. “I want to find my wife and daughter first...”

“Sister Tang?” Yu Liu smiled faintly. “She's inside.”

—

Not long after, Nanyun City.

Snow fell in blinding sheets. The ground had turned pure white, every building, every exposed car, railing, and billboard buried under a thick layer of snow.

The wind howled, and the world seemed to be wrapped in endless white cotton. In such a blizzard, people could barely open their eyes or see even a few dozen meters ahead.

A group trudged through the snow, sinking calf-deep with each step. They wrenched their legs free with great effort, then pressed onward.

After about half an hour, they finally reached the shore.

A ship was already waiting there.

“Dear God! Has it gotten this bad already?” The port workers only noticed the group when they got close. Huddled together and shivering violently, the workers led them aboard before asking, “We heard on the radio that the temperature had plunged to minus ten and a blizzard was hitting, that you couldn't hold out—but it's even worse than the radio said.”

The thermometer now read minus twenty degrees.

The leader of the group gave a bitter laugh. “It gets worse every day. All facilities have stopped working. Everyone's trapped in their homes, left to fend for themselves. We had no choice.”

“When will this cold snap ever end!”

“Do you have any idea how much this is costing the government? Trillions by now—we ordinary folks can't even imagine it.”

“Forget the costs! We should count ourselves lucky to be alive! If you ask me, this really is the end of the world.”

The group traded lamentations.

“Shut up!” A sharp rebuke came from the back of the crowd. Everyone turned to see a man in a long coat stepping out of the office. “We're in no position to be spreading rumors like this. Haven't I said it? Others can talk, but we absolutely cannot. You'd scare people to death before they freeze!”

The group fell into sheepish silence. After all, the man before them was Deputy Commander Yu, responsible for dispatch and coordination across all of Xihai City, Nanyun City, and Sa City.

In truth, the Deputy Commander wasn't feeling well himself. His brother Yu Liu's words from the other day still rang in his ears—the further south, the harder it would get; temperatures would only keep dropping. Unless everyone was evacuated quickly, everyone still in the south would die!—He knew his brother. He was not the type to act recklessly.

And now the facts seemed to corroborate Yu Liu's words. The Deputy Commander had to consider the possibility.

Could it be... that they really should evacuate everyone to Nacuo City without delay?

The group that had struggled over from Nanyun City began reporting on the situation there. As he listened, the Commander's face grew darker and darker—everything was worse than he'd imagined. If not for his position, he'd have said it himself: the end of the world truly was coming!

When the reports finished, the Commander was silent for a long time.

“What do we do now?” someone asked in a low voice.

“Evacuate everyone in Sa City to Nacuo City immediately!” the Commander ordered decisively. “Everyone else, head to Nanyun City and evacuate everyone who can be evacuated!”