Chapter 104: At This Distance, It Is Quite Close!

Today is November 30, 2123. After midnight, it will be December 1, 2123. According to the prophecy, at 6 p.m. on December 1, snowfall will begin across the globe and continue until May 1, 2124. The temperature is likely to drop even further tomorrow.

Thinking of this, Su Miao hesitated to return to her bedroom to sleep. If the wood in the fireplace burned out and the villa’s temperature dropped, it could be fatal. If only there were futuristic technologies like atomic reactors to provide nuclear-powered heating, she wouldn’t have to worry about this.

Su Miao blinked and dismissed the thought. Instead of relying on nuclear energy, she might as well consider using magic. The colder the weather became, the more she envied the witches in anime who could wear cute tops and short skirts, exposing their thighs in blizzards and extreme cold.

“Maybe I should try magical potions?” Su Miao looked at the “Potionology” book before her. This might be a solution. Magical potions related to heat included Blood Boiling Elixir, Heat Generating Elixir, and Stormproof Draught. However, according to the examples in the book, the best ingredients for these potions were dragon blood or flood dragon blood, followed by golden python blood or the blood of tigers, leopards, jackals, and wolves resistant to extreme cold.

The lower the quality of the ingredients, the weaker the potion’s effect. Even so, Su Miao had no materials to experiment with. Moreover, after concocting the potions, she had to consider whether the person who consumed them might overheat, suffer heatstroke, or even spontaneously combust.

She was still recovering from the stimulation caused by the Growth Elixir. Had she not discovered it early, she seriously doubted whether the soybean vines, cabbages, and greens wouldn’t have broken the window glass or even carved holes through the walls. If that happened, finding such a suitable place to live again would become an insurmountable challenge.

On November 30, the myna bird was still asleep, showing no signs of waking up. Su Miao did not disturb it. Out of respect for the impending apocalypse, she conducted a thorough inspection of the villa in the afternoon—reinforcing the necessary areas, waterproofing where needed, and adding foam insulation wherever possible. Additionally, she hung curtains on all the glass windows to help reduce heat loss indoors.

After a busy day, Su Miao went to bed early to conserve her strength for December 1. Before sleeping, she glanced outside and was surprised to see the surroundings as bright as daylight.

“It’s already 10 p.m., right?” Su Miao was stunned. Could this be the phenomenon of the midnight sun? She recalled a geography elective she had taken at university, knowledge rarely used before but suddenly relevant now. She stepped onto the balcony and looked up. The pale sun had disappeared from the sky, yet night had not fallen.

“The sun and moon are out of order...” she murmured. Not daring to think too deeply, Su Miao returned to her bedroom, deciding to deal with any issues after waking.

Around 3 a.m., her alarm clock rang. She got up, added some wood to the fireplace, then went back to sleep. At 6 a.m., she woke again, quickly dressed, refilled the water tanks beside the fireplace, and brushed her teeth and washed her face. The indoor temperature was 12 degrees Celsius.

How cold must it be outside to cause the warm indoor temperature to drop so low? Su Miao tried to open the door but shut it immediately after a brief moment. Unless necessary, she decided not to open the door.

The myna was still asleep. Su Miao had the strange impression that the bird had grown a little larger. “Is it going to mutate again?” she wondered, withdrawing her gaze.

Breakfast was milk and savory pancakes, which she ate simply. Later, she planned to check if the mutant cabbages left outside had been eaten by the rabbits. Fortunately, the vegetables were not too far away; otherwise, with the bitter cold outside, she didn’t know how she would survive.

At 9 a.m., Su Miao, fully equipped, stepped outside. She gazed at the white, foggy sky and prepared to move the truck blocking the front door. But a few seconds later, she was stunned. The truck was frozen to the ground by ice and snow from the past few days, making it impossible to teleport it directly into her magic space.

Reluctantly, she stepped back, removed her right glove, and sent a small blue fireball flying. Boom! The truck was blown into two pieces and hurled away.

“Brr, so cold!” Su Miao quickly put her furry gloves back on.

Huh?

It didn’t feel as cold as expected. Her palm, which she thought would be numb from the cold, wasn’t. Checking the temperature, it was minus 59 degrees Celsius outside.

Curious, she removed her right glove again. Before her palm could even be exposed to the air for three seconds, she shivered—the skin icy cold, seemingly on the verge of freezing. She hurriedly put the glove back on.

“It must be because I just cast the fireball. It’s just too cold outside,” she thought.

She made her way toward the spot where she had left the soybean vines, cabbages, and other vegetables. The few hundred meters looked close but took her 15 minutes to reach. The endless white landscape caused her to stray slightly off course before finding the spot.

The scene made Su Miao blink in disbelief. Near the soybean vines, large cabbages, and greens lay five or six rabbit carcasses. Judging by the scene, these rabbits didn’t die from eating the vegetables but appeared to have frozen to death after failing to find food.

This was awkward. How could she determine whether the growth elixir she brewed had poisoned the plants?

Pulling her clothes tighter, Su Miao decided to return to the villa for now. But just as she approached the villa’s entrance, she saw a group of people coming up the mountain toward her.

Perhaps spotting her standing by the front door, the group shouted loudly, their excitement palpable.

Su Miao’s heart instantly tightened. So many people—it was terrifying! She quickly retreated inside and shut the door.

If anyone caused trouble, she would open the door just to throw water balloons at them and kill them all.

About forty-five minutes later, the group arrived at the villa’s gate.

“Finally, we found people. It wasn’t easy,” one said.

“Luckily, this stretch of highway was relatively clear. We finally found somewhere inhabited.”

“Yeah, and we have to thank the cold snap for freezing the floods. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have made it here.”

Fifteen people stood at the villa’s gate, rubbing their hands and stamping their feet, all looking quite pleased. For protection, each carried weapons, primarily cold weapons, besides their large backpacks.

“Li Wei, why haven’t you opened the door yet? Are you sure there’s someone inside?” a girl in the group asked.

“It’s probably fear. Times are tough,” Li Wei replied. “Don’t worry. My eyesight is good—I can see clearly from a kilometer away.”

“Look, the chimney is still smoking,” someone pointed out.

Everyone looked up. Indeed, smoke was rising, confirming someone was inside.

“Hello! Could you open the door and let us in?”

“Don’t worry, we’ll only stay for a few days and won’t be a bother.”

“Hey, look! There are plants growing next to this villa. They’re thriving even in such cold weather. Could they be mutant plants?”

“Definitely mutants, but since the residents are fine, it probably won’t be a problem.”

They chatted and laughed, awaiting a response. Su Miao stood silently by the door, giving no answer.

“Should we leave?” a timid young man suggested. “I don’t know why, but I feel uneasy. Anyone living in such a desolate place must be unusual.”

“Don’t panic. I saw clearly—it’s a girl living here,” Li Wei said. “Although she wore a mask, her down jacket is definitely women’s style, easy to recognize.”

Upon hearing this, several young men in the group brightened.

“Don’t get your hopes up. What if others live here too?” Uncle Liu, the oldest in the group, warned.

“Let’s knock!” someone with a cold demeanor said. “I checked the temperature—it’s already minus 65 degrees Celsius. If we don’t find shelter soon, we’ll freeze to death.”

Though he said “knock,” he didn’t move forward. Neither did his two companions. After months of floods, trust between people had eroded completely. Survivors, regardless of gender, were not to be underestimated. They had witnessed too many incidents of opening doors only to be attacked or to attack.

Only Li Wei constantly spoke of “the innate goodness of human nature” and “in the darkest times, we must bring light and trust to all.” The group’s response was a simple, sarcastic “Heh.” Still, Li Wei’s ability to rally such a group with these lofty words was impressive.

Li Wei took a step forward. “I’ll knock.”

He approached and politely knocked. “Hello, could you please open the door?”

He knocked three times, but no response came. The people behind grew impatient.

Inside the villa, Su Miao regretted going out today. If only she had left the truck frozen at the door, she wouldn’t have to face these people so close, knocking.

Yet, they were right about one thing—the chimney was still smoking. Using the fireplace to keep warm inevitably produced smoke, making discovery unavoidable.

Hearing the increasing noise outside, Su Miao shivered. Remembering what Xia Xiao’an had told her, she forced herself to remain calm, treating those outside as pumpkins, and opened the door.

Silence fell instantly. All eyes fixed on Su Miao.

She wore clean clothes, looking as if new. The villa was tidy, seemingly untouched by the apocalypse, just a simple countryside home. Even more astonishing, Su Miao’s complexion was rosy and healthy, unlike these people, some of whom bore frostbite, looking miserable.

Most importantly, Su Miao was stunningly beautiful and adorable. Several young men in the group momentarily forgot the biting cold upon seeing her.

Li Wei was stunned for three seconds before greeting her. “Hello, miss! We’ve traveled far. Could we perhaps stay a little—”

“Get lost,” Su Miao said coldly.

Li Wei froze again, not expecting such polite words from such a pretty girl. It was almost a reward—cough, no, wrong thought. This was reality, not some online anime world.

With a smile, Li Wei said, “Miss, the temperature outside has dropped below minus 60 degrees. If we stay out longer, we’ll freeze to death. Could you please—”

“No,” Su Miao replied firmly.

There were two abandoned villas nearby. Though risky due to potential ground collapse, they were suitable for temporary shelter. Yet these people insisted on her place, and Su Miao simply did not trust them.

“Don’t worry, we only want to stay a short while and will leave soon,” Li Wei persisted politely.

Little did he know, Su Miao was close to drawing her gun. Even when she opened the door, she had already activated a magical spatial array to prevent any sudden attacks.

“Miss, you seem like a good person. Please, have mercy. Let us warm up for a bit and drink some hot water before we leave.”

“Yes, miss, we have girls about fifteen or sixteen years old who are barely holding on.”

“The government says we should help one another and overcome difficulties together.”

“We’re headed to the shelters and won’t stay long.”

As they spoke, two girls in the group approached, ready to enter the villa.

“It’s so warm in here! There’s heating!” they exclaimed, feeling the heat from inside and preparing to step inside.

Others followed, assuming the door was open.

Inside, aside from Su Miao, no one else was present.

Whether or not others lived here, if they got inside, things would be out of control.

Bang!

A gunshot rang out.

The girl who stepped in first was hit in the forehead, blood splattering as she fell lifelessly to the floor.

She was the one who had called out about the heating, holding a screwdriver with a malevolent glare. Su Miao feared such people and would never let them get close.

“Ah!” The other girl stumbled back, screaming in terror.

Li Wei’s face turned pale as the blood splattered on him.

Who would have thought such a pretty, sweet girl would kill with such cold resolve?

He shivered involuntarily.

The rest froze in place, not daring to move.

“How could you kill someone?” Li Wei stammered.

Su Miao pointed her gun at him. “Take the body and leave.”

“All right, miss, please calm down. We’ll leave immediately,” Li Wei said, sorrowful as he looked at the dead girl. “Someone help carry her away.”

Two men in the group nodded and cautiously approached to move the body.

Perhaps Su Miao was too nervous to notice they were carrying steel pipes. Li Wei blocked much of her gun’s line of sight.

The distance was dangerously close.

These days, she needed to visit the hospital. Today’s chapter ends here—about 4,000 words. On the 28th, she plans to go out, likely another 4,000-word chapter. On the 29th, two chapters. On the 30th, a hospital visit again, probably one 4,000-word chapter. Normal updates will resume on the 31st, two daily chapters, with the update time fixed between 6 and 8 p.m.