"Thank you, Auntie," Jian Ning said without hesitation. She picked up a big apple and handed it to Uncle Li first, then took one for herself and started eating it.

"I've lived most of my life and I've never encountered such extreme weather. I've always heard people predict that humanity will perish in a certain year, that the end of the world is coming."

I always thought it was just a joke. I never took it seriously, but now it seems the apocalypse really has arrived. Temperatures are below -70 degrees Celsius! Who wouldn't freeze to death if they went outside?

If it weren't for these things you and Anping had saved up beforehand, my wife and I would have been dead long ago. Would we still be here eating fruit?

Uncle Li took a big bite of the apple in his hand and sighed.

"It will pass. As long as we persevere, humanity will not become extinct."

But a large number of people won't be able to stick with it. Life is not easy, so let's enjoy each day as it comes." Jian Ning finished the apple in her hand in a few bites.

Suddenly I remembered Cao Xue and Zhang Xiaoqiang on the 15th floor. I wondered what their situation was now, so I picked up the walkie-talkie and called them, but there was no response at all.

I wasn't too worried. Both of them are quite smart and have plenty of supplies. They've probably gone to the heated room near the stadium. Otherwise, in this cold weather, without anything to keep warm, they definitely wouldn't be able to hold on.

"Xiao Ning, your brother said he'll make dumplings for you. Wait here, I'll go get them right away," Aunt Li said to Jian Ning with a smile as she came out of the house.

"That's too much trouble. It's so cold. Let's just have hot pot instead. Everything's ready-made, we just need to wash it. I'll go back and get the ingredients."

Jian Ning didn't really want to eat dumplings; she'd had enough of them in the space these past few days. Right now, she was craving seafood.

Before Aunt Li could say anything, she opened the door and ran out. A little while later, she returned carrying a huge red bucket, a large bag of sliced ​​beef and mutton, and various hot pot ingredients.

Uncle Li has already gone upstairs and cut all the vegetables: bok choy, garland chrysanthemum, spinach, and potatoes—quite a variety.

When Li Mengyao heard that there was hot pot and seafood, she couldn't stay in the house any longer. Her stomach was rumbling with cravings, and she followed Aunt Li around.

We made a hot pot with both spicy and tomato broth. Jian Ning thoroughly enjoyed it. Hot pot is definitely more fun when eaten with a group of people.

Jian Ning doesn't need to wash the dishes after meals. It's so cold outside, and throwing out trash and discharging wastewater is also a problem.

This large family, even if they only eat two meals a day, still generates a lot of kitchen waste.

Aunt Li puts them in garbage bags and throws them downstairs when she goes downstairs.

But the elevator's been out of service for the past couple of days, making it inconvenient to go downstairs. Especially after eating so much shellfish today, there's even more trash.

Thankfully, the weather is cold now, so even if it's left outside for a couple more days, it won't smell.

Jian Ning saw it and scratched her head.

"Brother, I don't know where I can get a kitchen waste disposer. Can you bring one over and install it?"

Although you can't go into the water, you can put a large bucket underneath and use it directly to water the vegetable garden, which will also act as fertilizer.

"Girl, that's a good idea. This way you won't have to go downstairs all the time. You don't know, there's no elevator on the sixteenth floor, and climbing up and down is really tiring."

Thankfully, I'm in good physical condition now. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to keep going.

Seeing his smug look, Jian Ning was speechless.

"Brother, you're not practicing diligently. It's been so long, and you still haven't reached the mid-stage of Qi Refining Level 1. You need to work harder."

"I know, it's just that this day was really busy, and I wasn't free at night either. I didn't have much time to practice. It will be better in the future. I will definitely work hard."

Jian Ning rolled her eyes at him. Li Mengyao was pregnant. They couldn't exercise tonight.

That way, I'll have time to practice. This person has absolutely no initiative; it's unlikely he'll be able to practice any longer.

Suddenly, she remembered her disciple, Xiao Lingfeng. She hadn't even seen him yet since she came out. With his talent, as long as he didn't slack off, he should have reached the second level of Qi Refining by now, even though the spiritual energy outside was thin.

She simply stood up and walked outside: "I'll go check on Xiao Lingfeng's house; see if he's gone out either."

"Not necessarily. I haven't seen him come out these past few days. Let me go with you and we can chat with him."

"It's so boring staying at home all day, Xiao Ning, do you have a pool table or something? I'd like to bring it over so Xiao and I can play a bit."

No, but there are plenty of large arcade games. Want some ping-pong balls? I think I bought two.

"Sure, I'm not picky, but there's no place to put it inside. How about you put it in the hallway? It's a bit cold outside, but we can wear more layers and exercise for a while without any problem."

After hearing Jian Anping's words, Jian Ning went out of the house and put a ping-pong table for him in the hallway outside.

Anyway, no one lives downstairs anymore, so running around upstairs isn't considered disturbing the peace.

"When we arrived at 1603, we knocked twice on the door. Aunt Wang peeked out through the peephole before opening it."

"Anping, Xiaoning, come in quickly, it's been several days since I've seen you two."

"Yes, it's quite cold outside, and I didn't want to come out. Isn't Xiao Lingfeng home?" Upon entering the house, I saw that there was no fire in the living room. The bedroom door was tightly closed.

"He's not here. He hasn't come back for five days. When he left, he said a leader he knew had come. I didn't understand what he was doing with him."

I've been so worried about him these past few days. It's so cold outside, and he wasn't dressed warmly enough when he left. I wonder if he's caught a chill.

"It's alright, my brother Xiao is in good health, so please don't worry, Auntie. Are you out of firewood? I'll go home and get you some." Jian Anping said, turning to leave.

"No need, Ling Feng chopped up a lot of wood when he left."

It's just me and Tian Tian at home, so burning too much firewood would be wasteful. We just stay in the bedroom; as long as it's warm, that's fine. Who knows when this will end in this cold weather, so every little bit helps.

“Auntie, you’re right. Brother Xiao isn’t home, so just call me if you need anything. Sister, let’s go back first.”

The temperature inside the living room is about the same as outside; it's really cold. As Jian Anping said these words, she felt as if her eyebrows were covered in frost. She'd better hurry home and warm up.

"Come in and sit for a while, you've come all this way," Aunt Wang asked warmly.

"No, when Xiao Lingfeng comes back, I'll have him come find me."

"Auntie, please go back inside. We're leaving." After saying that, Jian Ning pushed Jian Anping out of room 1603, took a large game console and a garbage disposal unit from her spatial storage, and placed them at his door.

"You can take this inside and connect it yourself. I'm going back to seclusion for a while. If you need anything, just use this communication talisman to call me. Otherwise, you don't need to call me."

"Okay, remember to eat. Look how thin you've become!"