Chapter 74

Chapter 74

In Haiyun City, winters were pitifully short and not very cold, usually dropping to around ten degrees and warming up again after a week. As soldiers who had been stationed here for years, they found this temperature colder than their typical winters.

It was just above twenty degrees a moment ago, and in less than an hour, it plummeted to five degrees. Such a drastic change in temperature was clearly abnormal.

Feng Chen recalled the previous high temperatures and the relentless downpour that hadn’t stopped, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart.

Lin Fen stared at the horizon, his frown deepening and his expression growing increasingly grave.

“Let’s go, back to the base.”

Feng Chen had only worn a T-shirt when he emerged. Lin Fen asked him, “Do you have any thick clothes?”

Feng Chen shook his head, “No.”

“After we get back, find Yu Yuan. He has some spare clothes left. Take a few and layer up, especially the annoying spirit.”

“Okay.”

When Feng Chen returned to the Haiyun Mountain cave, he saw everyone huddled together under their blankets, evidently suffering from the cold. He didn’t bother to look for Yu Yuan for clothes and went straight to check on Yan Bubu.

Yan Bubu was held in Wu You’s arms, both covered with a blanket, and Wu You was feeding him hot water.

“Brother!” Yan Bubu exclaimed joyfully upon seeing Feng Chen and tried to stand up from under the blanket.

“Don’t move, stay there for now,” Feng Chen stopped Yan Bubu, then turned to Wu You, “Uncle Wu, I have to attend to something over there.”

"Go ahead, I'll take care of Jingjing."

Feng Chen headed towards the area temporarily serving as the military headquarters to find Yu Yuan. Seeing a group of people discussing at the cave entrance, he hesitated and stopped in his tracks.

Yu Yuan, however, turned and saw him, "Qin Shen, come here."

Feng Chen then approached them.

Yu Yuan and the others were wearing thick coats. Seeing Feng Chen in light clothing, Yu Yuan fetched a black cotton jacket from a nearby inflatable bag and handed it to him, "Put this on for now, and later you can find one for Xiao Juanmao."

Feng Chen hesitated for a moment, then plucked up the courage to ask, "Can I take one more?"

He wanted to get one for Wu You as well, who had taken good care of him and Yan Bubu.

Ever perceptive, Yu Yuan immediately understood, "The managers have all been given thick coats. Don't worry, they have extensive duties and need to move around, unlike the general public who can stay wrapped in blankets."

"Alright," Feng Chen didn't say anything further.

Lin Fen had been listening to a report from a military officer. Although the voice wasn't loud, it reached Feng Chen's ears.

"…Cold air has already swept across the eastern side of Muxi Sea, and instruments show that the seawater there is beginning to freeze. The cold front is still moving south, expected to reach Haiyun City in ten days, with temperatures plummeting to minus sixty degrees."

"That low?" Lin Fen asked, frowning.

The officer pondered, "It might get even lower."

"Are you sure?"

The officer nodded slowly but firmly, "Certain."

Everyone who heard this conversation turned pale.

After enduring earthquakes, extreme heat, hurricanes, floods, and tsunamis, Haiyun City was now facing the onslaught of extreme cold. With no underground shelters, no habitable ships, and insufficient winter clothing, surviving a temperature drop in this ventilated cave was impossible for anyone.

Everyone remained silent, their eyes turning towards Lin Fen. In such a state of confusion and panic, only Lin Fen could make a decision.

Lin Fen took a deep breath, his voice low, "Actually, Qin Shen and I just discovered a fully intact cargo ship at the shipyard, capable of carrying all of us."

As soon as he finished speaking, joy spread across the faces of those around him, and Yu Yuan asked excitedly, "The ship is intact?"

Lin Fen nodded, "Yes, it just needs some adjustments to the instruments and some Lythium loaded onto it."

"During the tsunami, we brought out all the Lythium, so power supply won't be an issue," Yu Yuan added.

The officer continued, "If we set sail for the central city, considering the cold front's progress and the ship's speed, we'll encounter freezing seawater in fifteen days. As the temperature continues to drop, if most of the sea surface freezes, the ship won't be able to proceed. But by then, we'll be close to the central city, and it will be possible to continue on foot. We can’t delay any longer; the sooner we depart, the better."

Lin Fen immediately gave the order, "We planned to get the ship ready in the next few days, but there's no time to waste. Gao Wei, Liu Yun, gather some sentinels and follow me to start the cargo ship and get it out of the warehouse. We set sail tomorrow at dawn."

"Yes, sir!"

Everyone sprung into action. Lin Fen took a group of sentinels to the shipyard, and Yu Yuan began preparations for departure, directing soldiers to move supplies from the cave down the mountain to the ship.

Feng Chen rummaged through the bag of clothes, looking for a thick jacket that would fit Yan Bubu, but they were all for adults. He settled for a slightly smaller women's cotton jacket and took it to Yan Bubu.

"Brother!" Yan Bubu tried to crawl out from under the blankets, but Feng Chen stopped him, "Don't move, put on the jacket first."

"Haha, a pink jacket, haha, it's so big..." Yan Bubu played with the overly long sleeves, and Feng Chen rolled them up for him.

"What are they talking about?" Wu You, seeing people from the military headquarters hurrying outside and knowing Feng Chen had been listening, asked curiously.

There was no need to hide it, especially since the military was likely to announce it soon, so Feng Chen told him about the impending cold wave and their departure for the central city the next day.

"Oh, then I've got to get busy right away."

Just as Wu You finished speaking, Yu Yuan's voice came from the loudspeaker, "Attention everyone, this is Yu Yuan. I have something important to tell you all."

After enduring so many disasters, everyone, upon hearing that the military was about to make an announcement, braced themselves for more bad news. Those who were initially wrapped in blankets sat up, their faces etched with anxiety.

Yu Yuan stood on a wooden box, megaphone in hand, "I have both bad news and good news. Let's start with the bad news."

The large cave, filled with thousands of people, fell silent, with only Yu Yuan's voice echoing. After zipping up Yan Bubu's cotton jacket, Feng Chen nodded to Wu You and carried Yan Bubu back to their area.

"The bad news is something you've already sensed. In just one hour, the temperature has dropped by about twenty degrees."

"Colonel Yu, are we about to experience extreme cold weather?" someone in the crowd asked loudly.

"I've lived a lifetime and never seen such bizarre weather."

"Where have you not seen it? Wasn't the sudden temperature rise earlier also weird?"

"Can you not argue at a time like this?"

As the crowd began to discuss among themselves, Yu Yuan said, "Yes, you're right. We are about to, or rather, already entering extreme cold weather."

The crowd quieted down again, listening to Yu Yuan continue, "Today's temperature drop is just the beginning. In the next ten days, not only will Haiyun City’s temperature continue to plummet, but our entire planet's temperature will also drop. In other words, we might be on the verge of the planet’s eleventh ice age."

"What? An ice age is coming? How low will the temperatures go?" someone asked in shock.

Yu Yuan replied, "It's unclear, but probably below minus sixty degrees."

"Even lower?"

"Yes."

It was like a boulder dropped in the center of a lake, as the crowd erupted into a loud buzz of discussions. Yu Yuan didn’t try to stop them, allowing everyone to express their agitation and concerns.

"How long will this ice age last? I know in our planet's history, the longest ice age lasted tens of millions of years, and even the shortest lasted several million years."

"What are we going to do? Colonel Yu, we'll freeze to death here."

"Sob... One disaster after another, it never ends. I might as well have been bitten by a zombie."

……

"Quiet, quiet," Yu Yuan called for calm, then addressed the previous question, "It's not entirely accurate to call it an ice age, as this temperature drop came without any warning, and we don't know how long it will last. It might be similar to the previous heatwave, just an abnormal climatic phenomenon that could warm up again in a few years, or even months. We aren't professional meteorologists, so I'm just using the term 'ice age' as a reference. We'll only know the exact duration after reaching the central city."

"Can we still go to the central city?" a woman asked tearfully.

Yu Yuan replied decisively, "Yes, that's the good news I have. We found a new ship at the dockyard, needing only minor repairs. Tomorrow, we will all embark on a journey to the central city."

The crowd erupted again, but this time not in despair as before. Now, their cheers were filled with hope and excitement, tears of joy and relief streaming down faces.

Feng Chen and Yan Bubu sat on their bedding, Yan Bubu, although not fully understanding the situation, caught up in the jubilant atmosphere, stood up to cheer and jump on the thick blankets.

"So just hang in there, get through tonight," Yu Yuan's voice was drowned in the cheering. After finishing his announcement, he stepped off the wooden box to assign tasks to the soldiers and managers around him.

"Oh, oh, oh..." Yan Bubu stopped jumping and sat down, asking Feng Chen, "Brother, what are they happy about?"

"Because we can leave here tomorrow," Feng Chen said.

"Leave here? Are we going back to the underground shelter? Oh, oh, yay..."

Feng Chen shook his head, "Not there."

"Then, back to the ship?"

Feng Chen, smiling happily, explained, "Yes, we're going back to a ship. But we're not going to live on it for long. We're taking the ship to a distant place."

Yan Bubu, remembering snippets he had overheard, asked excitedly, "To the central city?"

"Yes, to the central city."

"Wow, the central city! The central city!"

Yan Bubu, having never left Haiyun City since birth, was thrilled at the thought of traveling by ship to the central city, a place he had only seen on television, and began jumping and cheering again.

Despite the unrestrained celebrations, the cooks remembered their duties. They began preparing dinner near the eastern entrance of the cave. Soon, the scent of cooked soybeans mingled with a meaty aroma filled the air.

Considering the hasty evacuation, everyone had left without bringing their meal containers. So, when Feng Chen and the others visited the supply point that afternoon, they collected many disposable bowls and utensils.

As everyone lined up for meal boxes, Feng Chen asked Yan Bubu to wait while he fetched two boxes of food for them.

Yan Bubu sniffed the air, "This meat smells so good..." Unable to resist, he bent down and bit into a piece of meat from the box, his eyes lighting up, "Delicious!"

Feng Chen also picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks and slowly chewed.

He figured it was probably mutant rabbit meat, which was more tender than Green Devourer Shark but gamier. It was edible but not exactly delicious.

Only someone like Yan Bubu, who was not particular about cooking methods and enjoyed meat simply boiled with basic seasonings, could find such joy in this meal.

Before, some people hesitated to eat Green Devourer Shark, insisting on only consuming soybeans. But in times like these, such preferences were no longer a concern. The cooks skipped even the tasting process; as long as it looked edible, it was immediately cooked and served.

"So tasty..." Yan Bubu buried his head in the box again, nibbling another piece of meat, mumbling his sincere praise.

Feng Chen tapped his chopsticks against Yan Bubu's, "Don't bite directly. Use your chopsticks."

"Oh."

Yan Bubu awkwardly held the chopsticks like a spoon, clumsily trying to pick up the piece of meat.

"You're almost seven years old, can't you use chopsticks properly?" Feng Chen asked.

Yan Bubu looked at him innocently, "I can. I'm using them now."

After saying this, he clumsily speared a piece of meat with his chopsticks, shakily bringing it to his mouth. Just as he was about to bite, the piece of meat slid off the bottom of the chopsticks.

Back at home, Feng Chen had often seen Yan Bubu eating, always with his yellow bowl and spoon, sitting under the grape arbor in the front yard, spooning food into his mouth bite after bite.

A little while later, the once full bowl would be empty, down to the last grain.

Later, both at the underground shelter and on the Hive Ship, he continued using a spoon and never really used chopsticks.

"Like this, rest your index finger here, yes, now move this finger down..." Feng Chen decided to teach him how to use chopsticks.

"Okay, I got it."

After a while, Yan Bubu, sweating profusely, asked, "Can't I just use a spoon from now on? I'm really good with a spoon."

"You can use a spoon, but you need to learn to use chopsticks," Feng Chen corrected his technique, "Don't grip so hard, just gently pinch."

Yan Bubu struggled with a soybean, which kept slipping from his chopsticks, leading to multiple failed attempts to pick it up.

"I don't want to eat anymore," he said, looking frustrated at Feng Chen, his brow furrowed and lips pressed tightly together.

Seeing the food in the box getting cold, Feng Chen sighed, "Alright, we can learn chopsticks later."

He took over Yan Bubu's bowl and chopsticks and started feeding him.

After feeding him a piece of meat, Feng Chen hesitated and said, "Yan Bubu, I've seen your classmates, around your age, using chopsticks quite well, and they can do addition and subtraction with double digits. Are you perhaps..."

Yan Bubu, who had been happily eating, suddenly stopped chewing and asked warily, with his mouth full, "What are you trying to say?"

"Nothing, just eat," Feng Chen saw his sharp reaction and thought to himself, how could he be slow? He’s quite clever, indeed.

Because of the cold, everyone wrapped themselves in blankets after dinner, excitedly discussing tomorrow's journey to the central city.

Yan Bubu, leaning against Feng Chen, played with the grasshoppers Wu You had made for him, arranging them on the blanket in two facing lines, pretending they were armies engaged in battle.

After playing for a while, he fetched his cloth bag and took out the empty password box, placing the grasshoppers inside.

Feng Chen noticed a folded square piece of paper at the bottom of the box and asked, "What's this?"

Yan Bubu took out the paper, unfolded it, and said, "Look."

Feng Chen saw the awkward drawing Yan Bubu had made last time.

"See, these are stars, it's not raining anymore. The sky is full of stars, and these are the two of us, not pickled cabbage jars..."

After explaining the drawing again, Yan Bubu carefully folded it back, put it in the password box along with the grasshoppers, and placed it back in the cloth bag.

"These books and notebooks are still wet, what should we do?"

Yan Bubu muttered, reaching out to flip through a notebook. But the paper, weakened by the water, tore easily.

"Ah! My notebook!" Yan Bubu cried out in dismay.

Feng Chen advised, "Don't touch them if they're wet. Let them dry first, and they'll be fine once they're dry."

Although it was already ten o'clock at night, the people in the cave showed no signs of sleepiness. Some even got up, discarding their blankets to perform impromptu comedy sketches, eliciting laughter from the crowd.

There were no mutant creatures causing trouble today, and the soldiers guarding the cave entrances chatted quietly, enjoying a moment of leisure in the joyful and relaxed atmosphere inside the cave.

Only the doctors and nurses were busy, not only treating and prescribing medicine to the sick but also constantly monitoring the three feverish individuals isolated on the platforms, checking their temperatures and changing the solutions in the infusion bags every half hour.

Yan Bubu had been silent for a while, leaning motionlessly against Feng Chen, seemingly engrossed in listening. Feng Chen smiled and turned to look, only to find that Yan Bubu had fallen asleep, his eyes closed.

"Do you want to sleep?" Feng Chen asked softly.

Yan Bubu showed no signs of waking, sleeping soundly. Feng Chen then lifted his arm, intending to lay him down.

Nestled in Feng Chen's arms, Yan Bubu's head rested softly against his chest. Feng Chen carefully laid him down and reached for the blanket to cover him.

As his hand brushed Yan Bubu's cheek, it suddenly paused mid-air, fingers trembling slightly, then slowly moved to touch Yan Bubu's forehead.

His forehead was burning hot.

It wasn't a low fever, but a high fever.

Feng Chen was initially startled, his heart sinking. But he quickly realized that Yan Bubu's fever didn't signify zombification but indicated his transformation into a guide.

Feng Chen himself had experienced several bouts of low fever during his evolution into a sentinel, culminating in a high fever at the most critical stage. He wondered if this high fever would complete Yan Bubu's evolution, formally making him a guide with his own quantum beast.

Looking down at Yan Bubu's feverishly flushed face, Feng Chen pinched his nose, his tone a mix of helplessness and joy, "Annoying spirit, you really are one. Even your evolution picks the worst timing."