Chapter 77
At two o'clock in the morning, the silence of the deep mountains was broken by a soft rustling sound.
Su Jing woke up from her light sleep, not because of the cold—her cultivation at the second level of Qi Refining made her surrounded by a faint, almost imperceptible spiritual energy, so even under just a thin blanket, she didn't feel the slightest bit of cold. Rather, it was because the sound of the heater coming from the direction of the living room was a little weaker than before she went to sleep.
She got up, put on a beige thin cardigan (purely out of habit, not because she was afraid of the cold), and walked barefoot on the light gray solid wood floor. The floor was warm from the radiators, neither cold nor icy.
Stepping into the living room, the warm atmosphere still enveloped me, and the green number on the wall thermometer remained steadily at "25℃," but the flame of the cast iron heater had indeed weakened.
The red glow from the furnace opening changed from its previous intense intensity to a soft orange. Upon closer inspection, only a small portion of the coal at the bottom of the furnace was still burning; the rest had been reduced to grayish-white ash.
"No wonder the sound was quieter." Su Jing bent down and opened the furnace door. A warm wisp of smoke slowly drifted out, without the pungent smell of coal (the advantage of smokeless coal). She gently shoveled out the ash with a small iron shovel and poured it into the metal ash bucket next to her. The inner wall of the ash bucket had already been lined with fireproof cloth to prevent sparks from igniting it.
I took two pieces of shiny black anthracite from the coal pile by the door. The coal pieces felt heavy in my hand, with a natural sheen on the surface and no dust.
Su Jing gently placed the coal into the furnace. As soon as it touched the remaining embers, the edges of the coal gradually turned red. In less than half a minute, the orange flames rose again, even stronger than before. The red light from the furnace opening became intense again, and the "whooshing" sound of burning resumed its previous rhythm.
She closed the furnace door and adjusted the chimney damper—the damper was half-open, ensuring ventilation without letting heat escape too quickly. Looking up at the thermometer, the number remained at 25°C, unchanged despite the brief addition of coal.
"Outdoor temperature 0℃, humidity 85%, it is snowing, snowfall is moderate, wind force 3, the surface of the moat has formed a thin layer of ice."
An electronic voice came from the doorway of the patrol robot. It had just completed its last night patrol; fine snowflakes clung to its exterior, leaving faint watermarks as they melted. The portable thermometer it held displayed a clearly visible red "0℃" on its screen.
The camera also captured live footage of the courtyard: on the black moat, a thin layer of transparent ice was forming, and snowflakes, like fine goose feathers, gently fell onto the ice, melting instantly and then quickly freezing again.
A thin layer of snow had also accumulated on the solar panels on the west side of the yard. The robot had already started the "snow removal mode" as preset, and the panel showed "snow thickness on solar panels is 1cm, snow removal completion rate is 80%, and it will not affect the backup power supply".
Su Jing walked to the window and wiped away the thin fog on the glass—the double-layered vacuum glass was indeed effective; even at 0°C outside, the inside only fogged slightly. After wiping it clean, the snow scene outside was clearly visible.
The snow in the deep mountains is free from the hustle and bustle of the city, falling quietly and densely: snowflakes land on the steel plates outside the trenches, quickly accumulating into a layer of white;
The red indicator light on the infrared alarm, which sits in the center of the yard, remains conspicuous against the snow and is not covered.
In the distant woods, the bare branches were covered with snow, like they were coated with a layer of white sugar. When the wind blew, the snowflakes fell silently, with only the clear "rustling" sound of snowflakes hitting the glass.
She took out a transparent jade bottle from her spatial storage, inside which was a pale green Qi-gathering pill. Her fingertips traced the cool surface of the bottle—
She had kept this pill specifically for emergencies, and holding it in her hand now felt like holding onto a sense of security.
She raised her hand and put the jade bottle back into her pocket, the indigo aura swirling around her fingertips gently swaying, blending into the warmth of the room.
"Check the chimney for snow accumulation and blockage."
Su Jing gave the patrol robot a command, and the robot immediately turned around and walked toward the chimney on the west side of the prefabricated house. The top of the chimney was equipped with a windproof cap, which was covered with a thin layer of snow. The robot gently swept it off with its mechanical arm to ensure that the smoke could be discharged smoothly and prevent it from flowing back into the house.
Su Jing walked to the door and pulled the thick curtains up most of the way—the curtains were made of thick velvet that she had specially chosen, which could both block out light and enhance warmth. She left only a gap so that she could easily observe the snow conditions outside.
Back in the living room, the housekeeping robot "Chef 2" brought her a cup of warm honey water, the cup still faintly warm. Su Jing took the cup, took a sip, and the sweet honey water slid down her throat, dispelling the slight drowsiness of the late night.
She glanced at the clock on the wall. It was 2:45 a.m., more than nine hours before midnight. The heating was burning brightly, the indoor temperature was stable, and the snow was still falling outside. Everything was under control.
"Recall all outdoor robots, conduct antifreeze checks, and then keep them indoors on standby."
Su Jing gave instructions to the panel, and the patrol robot quickly returned to the room. "Kitchen 1" had already prepared antifreeze spray and began spraying it on the robot's joints to prevent the mechanical parts from freezing due to the low temperature.
Su Jing walked to the cultivation area, sat cross-legged on the wool cushion, and didn't start cultivating immediately. She simply sat quietly, feeling the steady flow of indigo spiritual energy in her dantian, listening to the whooshing of the heater and the rustling of snowflakes. Her heart was at peace—she was waiting, waiting for midnight to arrive at the end of the world.
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