Font Size:
Day 16 of the apocalypse.
Temperature: 55°C (131°F).
Tomorrow was supposed to be a joyful national celebration for the National Day holiday, and many people had probably made travel plans—but now, everyone was stuck at home.
In the past couple of days, more and more people had jumped on the livestreaming bandwagon for views and clout.
At the same time, more and more people were collapsing.
This was the first time Jiang Yuan had ever heard the term “heatstroke” in such a serious context.
Every news outlet was now warning citizens:
Do not go outside during the day.
Avoid going out even at night.
Working from home was now mandatory.
But the government overlooked one critical fact:
When the air temperature hits 55°C, the ground surface temperature was at least 70°C (158°F).
What does 70°C even mean?
Just stretching your hand into sunlight could burn you.
Even reporters in full sun-protective clothing were doing their best to advise viewers:
Don’t ignore official warnings—stay indoors.
Video platforms were filled with reuploads:
People infected with heatstroke;
Their families screaming and crying in hospital hallways, only to be met with a doctor’s cold:
“Sorry.”
Jiang Yuan’s mom watched the videos, muttering:
“So pitiful… we really shouldn’t go out. Watch over Xiao Nuan closely—don’t let her go anywhere with sunlight.”
All the bedroom windows at home were covered with blackout curtains.
The living room wasn’t, though—her mom was using that limited sunlight to dry vegetables.
The terrace was covered in things too—dried veggies, and even jerky.
Even though she had already stocked up a lot, her mom figured:
“While things are still fresh and available, might as well preserve more.”
Many households in the complex had already installed sunshade nets, organized through group buys in the community chat.
Jiang Yuan had bought some too, but didn’t want to stand out, so she hadn’t put them up yet.
Online, things weren’t any calmer.
This was the highest temperature recorded in the past 100–200 years.
Two major theories were now dominating public discussion:
Humans had destroyed the ecological balance, leading to extreme weather and rising global temperatures.
Now, nature was retaliating.
Humans are fragile, insignificant, and easily wiped out.
The earth had become too hot for humans to survive.
This global-scale heat could signal a mass extinction event, much like when dinosaurs were wiped out.
The apocalypse was already underway.
These posts were going viral—comments and likes were flooding in.
One thread already had 240,000 likes.
Some people were praying for peace,
Some mocked the posters for being alarmists,
And others urged everyone to stock up—just in case.
The WeChat groups were exploding with messages (99+ unread).
Jiang Yuan had joined several:
People had moved from complaining about the heat to being numb.
If you could still go to work, things were tolerable.
If not, then mortgage payments and car loans became nightmares.
For adults, sometimes a single day was enough to break down completely.
Even though it was still 40°C (104°F) at night, Jiang Yuan covered herself in sunscreen and headed out with her dad.
Xiao Nuan stayed home with her mom.
The weather was too strange, and kids had weaker immune systems.
It was safer indoors.
Maybe the doomsday theories were getting to her, but Jiang Yuan felt like the supermarket was much more crowded tonight.
The moment they entered, it was chaos.
Even the central air conditioning didn’t feel cold anymore.
Her dad pointed at some price tags—lots of items had gone up.
Jiang Yuan knew this was a very bad sign.
So the two didn’t hesitate—they grabbed everything they could.
The more you bought now, the safer you’d be later.
Clearly, many others felt the same.
Thankfully, they had come early—
By now, the supermarket was shoulder to shoulder, and the checkout line was utter mayhem.
They used a self-checkout machine, which was much faster.
By the time they left, both were drenched in sweat.
This was a large multi-purpose shopping complex.
In addition to the supermarket:
Jiang Yuan went to the second floor.
Compared to the supermarket madness, this place was dead silent.
No more need for clothes or daily-use items.
She popped into a mother-baby store, buying:
Her mom had warned her:
This kind of heat breeds bacteria fast.
Children’s products weren’t the same as adult ones.
So Jiang Yuan bought out every bottle of floral water, mosquito-repellent bracelets, kids’ soap, and hand sanitizer in the store.
With what they already had at home, they’d be good for ten years—assuming no product expired.
Of course, adults needed supplies too.
These were available in boutique stores—not just pharmacies.
She didn’t hoard too much though, since most of it would expire in 3–5 years.
They had already bought a lot online.
Still, having extra on hand made things easier later.
After finishing up, they went to the third floor, bought over ten cups of bubble tea, and during the wait, she cleared out a bakery and a duck neck shop.
Starting tomorrow, they wouldn’t be going out anymore.
These items didn’t have long shelf lives, but better to buy while you still could.
There might not be another chance.
Her dad also ordered a dozen takeout dishes, and the restaurant owner helped them carry everything downstairs.
They were already carrying four huge supermarket bags,
Now with even more food—just the two of them couldn’t manage.
They hadn’t left anything in the car because they were worried.
While public order still held, minivans were easy to break into.
They couldn’t let their hard-earned supplies get stolen.
They also went to a gas station to refuel.
Gas was now 20 yuan per liter—double the normal price.
Fortunately, their car had a small tank and didn’t need much.
They entered the underground garage, and the elevator stopped at the 1st floor.
That meant they were about to run into people.
No choice—it was still peak hours when crowds were moving.
Two middle-aged women got in, along with a young man and a dog.
Jiang Yuan instinctively stepped back.
She was afraid of dogs—especially this one, which was huge and not on a leash.
Its open mouth looked terrifying, like it might lunge at her any second.
The women were casually complaining about the heat and how the supermarket was jacking up prices.
One woman got off on the 15th floor, and the other on the 16th.
Now only the masked man and his dog remained in the elevator.
Wait—why wasn’t he pressing a floor button?
Jiang Yuan’s heart skipped a beat.
Did he notice something suspicious about them?
He was wearing gray athletic shorts and a short-sleeved shirt,
with muscles faintly visible on his arms and abs.
If it came to a fight, neither she nor her dad would be able to handle him.
Just as she was panicking, the elevator dinged, and the man stepped out with his dog.
Right as Jiang Yuan was spacing out, he suddenly turned around and asked:
“Need a hand?”
Lhaozi[Translator]
To all my lock translations, 5 chapter will be unlocked every sunday for BG novels and 2 chapter unlocked every sundays for BL novels. Weekly update for all my ongoing translations. Support me in Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/lhaozi_23 If you have concerned in all my translations, DM me in Discord: Lhaozi(I'm a member in Shanghai Fantasy discord)