For four consecutive days, Xie Ning didn’t leave the house. The several young people spent their entire days in the training room, working on their physical fitness and superpowers.
Her two uncles had joined the base’s Hunting Team, following them to Lanshan day after day to search for resources.
Although they had the sunscreen spray Xie Ning gave them, after a few days, their skin had still been tanned several shades darker.
On the last day of September, Song You’ai went to the water distribution point early as usual.
After getting water and returning home, she brought back some bad news for everyone.
"Because of the high temperatures and lack of water, over thirty people were carried to the infirmary first thing this morning. If this continues, I’m afraid more and more people will die." Song You’ai couldn’t help but sigh.
The high temperature today reached forty-four degrees Celsius. Early in the morning, both of the elders experienced chest tightness and shortness of breath.
They only felt a bit better after taking a cooling agent and drinking a bowl of mung bean soup.
Before she left, Song You’ai had made several blocks of ice for the elders’ room, so the temperature inside was now much better than outside.
"If this keeps up, will the water level in Ta Lake continue to drop?"
"It looks like a major drought is coming."
Everyone gathered together, discussing the matter.
Xie Ning suddenly got up and walked outside, expressionlessly pulling open the villa’s iron gate.
A messy, white-haired head moved, then slowly lifted.
The dark circles under his eyes were extremely heavy.
His dispirited, dirty face was dotted with some unidentifiable flecks of grass.
He was trying his best to look up at her, his expression inexplicably pitiable.
"Hungry..." Yu Tianfeng let out a sound as faint as a mosquito’s buzz.
Xie Ning gave him a cold, merciless glance and moved to shut the gate. "Go beg at someone else’s house!"
A points card was suddenly thrust in front of her face.
"I... I’ll give you all my points! I want noodles, hot ones! A big bowl! The biggest bowl."
Xie Ning really wanted to just kick this guy out.
Unexpectedly, her youngest aunt cried out in alarm from behind her, "Xiao Yu, what happened to you?"
"Auntie, my stomach hurts."
He Shuping quickly went forward to help him up.
When she got closer, she saw large, round beads of sweat dripping from Xiao Yu’s forehead. It was hard to tell if it was from the stomach pain or the heat.
Xie Ning expressionlessly closed the iron gate. Just as she walked over to the man, he shoved a points card into her hand.
"This card is mine, my personal points card. It’s all yours. From now on, can I come to your house for noodles?"
Before Xie Ning could say a word, Song You’ai rushed out to help the man, her face full of concern. "Xiao Yu, why are you so flushed from the heat?"
"Aunt Song, I... it’s the pain. My stomach hurts."
"Why does your stomach hurt? How long has it been since you’ve eaten?"
"More than a day, I think?" Yu Tianfeng said, though he wasn’t entirely sure himself.
In any case, it had probably been a long time from when he was shut in the lab to when he got out.
Xie Ning watched expressionlessly as the two women, fussing over Yu Tianfeng with a constant stream of "Xiao Yu," helped him into the living room.
Soon, a massive bowl of noodles with scrambled eggs was placed in front of Yu Tianfeng.
Xie Ning watched him out of the corner of her eye. Under the two women’s doting gazes, he ate quickly yet elegantly, finishing the entire massive bowl of noodles without leaving even a drop of broth behind.
"Xiao Yu, are you full? Do you want some more?"
"Auntie, Aunt Song, I’m full. Thank you." Yu Tianfeng broke into a smile.
The guy had been cooped up in the lab for days and was scruffy with an unshaven face.
Even so, when his Rui Feng eyes crinkled into a smile, they sparkled, stirring up the maternal affection of the two women.
"Aunt Song, Auntie, your cooking is delicious. I gave my points card to Ningning, so can I come over for meals often from now on?"
"Come over anytime."
"Of course you can."
"Why give us a points card, you silly boy."
Xie Ning silently shot a look at the shameless fellow.
’How could the two women possibly refuse him?’
Yu Tianfeng looked delighted. "Of course you should take it, Aunt Song. I heard the base’s general store is open now, and you can buy things like frozen pork ribs and chicken wings. Please use my points card to go shopping. I should have a lot of points on it."
"I’m always holed up in the lab and have no time to check out the store, so please buy a lot!"
"Aunt Song, I’d love some pork rib soup."
"Of course, of course. I’ll make you pork rib soup later. And I’ll fry some chicken wings for you, too! Just come over for dinner tonight."
"Thank you, Aunt Song. Thank you, Auntie."
Song Kexin turned her head and saw her sister rolling her eyes, and she couldn’t help but cover her mouth to stifle a laugh.
"Ningning, who knows when this base might collapse. Those points are useless if you just hold onto them. Might as well spend them all on things so they don’t go to waste," Yu Tianfeng added, turning to her with a serious expression.
Xie Ning paused in the middle of rolling her eyes. After a long moment, she reluctantly replied, "Got it."
"Aunt Song, I’ll head back to the lab now." Yu Tianfeng stood up, bumping into a large plastic box next to him. He suddenly said, "Oh, right. This is for Grandpa and Grandma."
"They’re getting older, and I’m afraid they can’t take this increasingly hot weather. These are some specially formulated cooling agents I made. They should be better than the regular ones on the market."
"Oh my, Xiao Yu, thank you so much." The more the two women looked at the young man, the more they liked him. They stood up and saw him to the door, repeatedly reminding him to come for dinner that night.
Xie Ning watched the two sisters-in-law as they came back inside, talking and laughing. "Do you want to go to the store?"
"Yes, yes, yes, yes!!" Song Kexin was the first to raise her hand and jump up, cheering loudly.
The four of them took full sun protection measures, sharing umbrellas between them, and headed toward the base store under the forty-four-degree heat.
It was called the base store, but it was actually more like an old state-owned shop from the 70s or 80s.
On the first floor, all the goods were kept inside glass counters, with salesclerks standing behind them, occasionally exchanging a few words with customers.
There were no supermarkets where you could browse and grab whatever you wanted.
Everything was rationed. There were only a few sparse samples on display; for many items, there was just a paper slip with the name written on it inside the glass case.
For instance, a certain brand of cigarettes.
The first floor sold groceries and food, the second floor sold clothing and accessories, and the third floor sold miscellaneous items like electronics and household goods.
The first floor was the busiest, with many people milling around the freezer and drinking water counters.
Wild vegetables dug up from Lanshan were also being sold at a clearly marked price: a small handful cost thirty points.
That small handful probably didn’t even weigh two hundred grams.
Her youngest aunt sighed. "Your older and younger uncles have been going up the mountain with the Hunting Team these past few days, and they’ve been gathering wild vegetables on the side. They said the vegetation on the mountain is gradually withering, all scorched to death by this heat."
Xie Ning nodded.
’If this goes on, ordinary plants will disappear from the world.’
’Only high-temperature-resistant mutated plants will be able to survive in this environment.’
Xie Ning first went to the counter to scan Yu Tianfeng’s points card.
Immediately, Yu Tianfeng’s points card alerted the store manager, who came jogging all the way down.
Xie Ning stared expressionlessly at the six zeroes on the points card’s display, cursing inwardly.
’One million points??’
’This goofball is actually a hidden tycoon...’