A temperature of 38 degrees Celsius is not actually considered extremely hot or unbearable for humans.
In recent years, every summer in many hot cities, the temperature can easily exceed 45 degrees Celsius.
The hottest region in China on record even reached a temperature of 66.7 degrees Celsius. Coincidentally, that was the Turpan Basin in Xinjiang Province, where Gou Fugui and his group jumped from the plane, a region covered by a huge black vortex.
So 38 degrees Celsius isn't really an unbearable high temperature. What made Gou Fugui and Xie Tianlang feel dangerous was the rate at which the temperature rose by 8 degrees Celsius in just five minutes.
If the temperature keeps rising at this rate, forget about saving the world later; whether they can even survive today will depend on luck.
Fortunately, by the time they arrived at the gate of Jinyu Residential Area, the rate of temperature increase had slowed down. Even the glaring sunlight had softened considerably, as if the rapid rise in temperature had been nothing more than an illusion.
At this moment, Xie Tianlang's exposed arms and neck were covered in large beads of sweat from running and direct sunlight. Gou Fugui, the wealthy young master who had been lying still, also had his T-shirt soaked with sweat from the direct sunlight on his back.
But more than her clothes, the wealthy beauty was worried about her long hair. The bald patches on the sides of her ears hadn't grown back properly, and now, with the sun shining directly on her, her scalp was sweating profusely, and her black hair was so hot it could be used to fry an egg.
The wealthy young master felt very sorry for him, and had a terrible premonition that his long hair might not survive in this world.
Just as the wealthy young master was grimacing and deep in thought about the future, the four security guards in the security room quickly opened the door and waved enthusiastically to Xie Tianlang, mainly to the wealthy young master:
"Isn't this the rich young master? Come in and cool off! The weather forecast has been issuing high temperature warnings for the past few days, why are you still running around in broad daylight?"
Gou Fugui raised an eyebrow at the well-built security team leader, who appeared to be in his thirties. He thought to himself, "Look at that warm and friendly smile; the allure of money is truly boundless."
But Gou Fugui did not refuse the security captain's kindness. He jumped off Xie Tianlang's back, threw the electric scooter in his hand to Xie Changgong, and went into the security room to sit on the seat that the young security guard had offered.
The security room was well-air-conditioned, and the cool breeze that hit you as soon as you entered made you feel instantly comfortable.
"Were there any high temperature warnings these past few days? I didn't know that."
Gou Fugui sat in his chair, looking at the monitor screen in front of him, carefully observing the green plants and people's movements in the community.
Then he discovered that there were indeed no people out strolling around the neighborhood. Even when people came out of the apartment buildings, they had already prepared sun umbrellas and sun-protective clothing to cover themselves up completely, giving the sun no chance to shine.
"Young Master, don't you know about the high temperature warning? It's been all over the news in various regions these past two days, and I keep getting high temperature warning text messages from provinces and cities on my phone."
"Perhaps you, rich young master, don't care about these things. After all, your house has a constant temperature air conditioner that automatically controls the temperature, and you don't go out much on weekdays."
Gou Fugui nodded in strong agreement. Rich, handsome, a wealthy shut-in, he once again thanked the world for giving him such a wonderful identity.
After nodding, he took out his phone from his pocket and searched for news related to "high temperature". Pressing the search button, the phone screen instantly displayed many related news reports, and even a live broadcast of a special research report on high temperature records.
Gou Fugui reached out and clicked into the most legitimate-looking live stream. Inside, the host had invited three experts in climate and ecology to scientifically explain the reasons for the warmer weather in early spring, March.
The three experts offered various explanations: one mentioned excessive carbon dioxide emissions, another the greenhouse effect and ozone depletion, and the third suggested that the expanding solar storms were also affecting Earth. Gou Fugui figured they'd covered every possible reason, so that when the actual cause of the abnormally high temperatures was finally discovered, at least one of them would likely be correct.
Regardless of the reasons given by these three experts, they all concluded with reassuring expressions and words that the sudden rise in temperature was not a big deal, and that everyone just needed to take precautions against heatstroke.
Perhaps Earth has entered summer earlier than usual due to some special reason, or perhaps Earth has entered a warm period opposite to the Little Ice Age, but whatever the reason, such a change will not be drastic or rapid.
Yes, climate change is a long and slow process, and during this process, we will find ways to cope with and solve it.
Therefore, please do not panic due to the rising temperatures in March. Simply keep some cooling and anti-inflammatory medications and drinks at home, and avoid going out after 10 AM and before 2 PM. The National Climate Institute is constantly monitoring climate and temperature changes and will issue urgent notifications if any issues arise.
Haha, but I don't think we'll need emergency notifications or alarms anyway.
Then the atmosphere in the live stream room became harmonious and relaxed, and the live stream comments changed from various worries and doubts to complaints about the rising temperature and the fact that it was too hot to go to work or go out to sunbathe.
The wealthy young master then left the live stream.
"So I guess this is the opposite of that Little Ice Age, right? Even if it's hot, we still have to keep working and living, right?" The security captain, who watched the live stream with Gou Fugui, said with a smile, "Young Master, just remember not to go out after 10 a.m. from now on."
Gou Fugui looked up at the security captain, then turned his head to look at Xie Changgong, whom he had bought.
"...That's not necessarily true." Gou Fugui opened the weather forecast on his phone, looked at the displayed low of 7 degrees Celsius and high of 38 degrees Celsius, and pursed his lips. He was certain that the outdoor temperature was already above 38 degrees Celsius, at least reaching 40 degrees Celsius.
Weather forecasts are no longer accurate.
"What do you mean 'not necessarily'?" The security captain was taken aback.
Gou Fugui couldn't tell him that the world might be facing a terrible high-temperature apocalypse, so he could only stand up and say, "Many experts' predictions on live streams are inaccurate. As the old saying goes, it's better to be prepared than not. You should stock up on water and sunscreen when you have time."
After saying this, Gou Fugui led his Xie Changgong towards his own luxury apartment building, while the four security guards in the security room glared at each other.
"I feel like the rich young master is acting a bit strange today."
"There's nothing strange about it, is there? Rich young masters are just like that, doing whatever they want. Not to mention he's a homebody."
"That's true. But Captain, should we buy a few more cases of bottled water to stock up?"
"Alright."
Gou Fugui and Xie Tianlang ran from the security room to his luxury apartment building in just three minutes.
At 10:30 a.m., they returned to the top-floor duplex apartment belonging to the wealthy young master.
Standing in his luxurious mansion, complete with a constant-temperature air conditioner, a built-in refrigerator covering an entire wall, a dressing room, a tea room, a gym, and a study, Xie Tianlang once again felt the malice of the world's consciousness towards him.
Wolf Team was quite confused. He was clearly a hero who had successfully saved the world, and he had worked hard to protect life and find the core in the previous two worlds. So why was he a jobless vagrant in the slums this time instead of in the primeval forest?
Does global consciousness also involve prejudice?
[...]
But the world's consciousness didn't answer him, and Xie, who had weathered many storms, wouldn't waste time on this question. Anyway, what's his belongs to Yuanyuan; he'd sold himself to her, so naturally he has a share in the house.
No problem!
"I'll see if I can find any information about Sanchuan online. It would be best if I could contact him today and get him to come here."
"This doomsday is very likely to be a period of extreme heat and drought, perhaps like the shipwreck, with temperatures gradually rising to unbearable levels. Have you looked at the things in your personal storage space? I remember you brought a lot of food and tools, but not enough water, right?"
"This world may face severe water shortages in the future. Even if we don't lack water resources, we should still store enough. Let's go to the supermarket and shopping mall this afternoon to do some shopping."
Xie Tianlang's words made Gou Fugui realize that he hadn't checked his pocket since arriving here. After all, he went straight to find Xie Tianlang after arriving, and he hadn't sensed anything unusual when he transmigrated. So, the things in his pocket shouldn't be lost, right?
Gou Fugui's expression froze the moment he checked Gou Fugui's pockets.
Inside his enlarged pocket, all the rice, flour, cooking oil, oversized toolbox, gold, silver, and jewelry he had brought were still there, and even a small portion of his weapon box had survived. But the small helicopter, which should have been the most obvious and immediately noticeable item in the pocket, was completely missing.
He blinked, closed his eyes and opened them again, then closed them again and opened them again, but the helicopter he so desperately wanted still didn't appear.
Xie Tianlang noticed something was wrong with the expression on the wealthy and beautiful woman's face: "What's wrong? Is something missing from the space?"
After asking the question, Xie Tianlang paused for a second before speaking with certainty: "Is it that box of special weapons that disappeared?"
Gou Fugui looked at the weapon crate, which was mostly empty, nodded, and then shook his head: "Some of the weapons are gone, but some guns, slingshots, special darts, marbles, and the like are still there. But... the helicopter is gone."
Xie Tianlang paused in his search, raising his eyebrows as he repeated, "The helicopter is gone?"
Gou Fugui nodded, his expression somewhat helpless.
It seems the world's consciousness felt that bringing a helicopter would be too unfair. After all, in the previous zombie world, Xie Tianlang's helicopter played a crucial role in rescue missions. Otherwise, Gou Fugui wouldn't have considered bringing a helicopter this time.
But in the previous world, Xie Tianlang had skillfully stolen the helicopter from Sanchez, and helicopters were an essential means of transportation from the primeval forest to Asia and back to the primeval forest. World consciousness has no limits.
This world is not something you can seize through your own abilities, and if you want to take advantage of others from the start, that's not allowed.
Xie Tianlang had clearly considered this as well, but the werewolf farmhand showed none of the disappointment or frustration of a wealthy young master. His sharp eyebrows were raised, and his eyes gleamed. "Since they won't let us bring one, we can just steal another one."
Gou Fugui rolled his eyes at Xie Changgong, who casually mentioned wanting to steal the plane, and realized that he and the werewolf were indeed different in quality.
"Do you understand the concept of civilized behavior in a civilized world? What are you robbing? Your master is rich now! It's just a helicopter; buying it is a piece of cake."
"However, I think that given the state of the world, we should buy more practical tools such as heat protection and power generation equipment rather than helicopters."
Helicopters are probably not needed in this world.
Xie Tianlang nodded in agreement, and Gou Fugui then asked him if he had been able to contact Song Sanchuan.
"He must have been held up by something and couldn't go online to send a message right away, but he carries his computer with him and there's nothing wrong with the world right now, so we should be able to contact him tonight."
Gou Fugui nodded and glanced at the clock in the living room.
The current time is 11:00 AM.
He blinked and glanced outside.
Almost as soon as he turned his head, Xie Tianlang said with a smile, "Why don't we go out now? Anyway, a temperature of over 40 degrees Celsius is just the hottest time of summer. Besides, we should at least know what's going on in the world, whether it's morning or evening."
The wealthy young master was pleased with his servant's attentiveness and understanding: "Come on, let me take you shopping! Buy whatever you like!"
They both took precautions against the sun this time, wearing sun-protective clothing and pants with hats, breathable shoes and socks, and also bringing two parasols.
Moreover, he didn't go there on foot; in the underground parking garage of the residential complex, the rich young master had three luxury cars to choose from.
Xie Changgong chose a silver SUV and took his young master out.
I left the residential area at 11:55 AM, and the outdoor temperature was 42 degrees Celsius. In nearly two hours, the temperature rose another 4 degrees.
Xie Tianlang drove towards the central shopping mall ahead. When they arrived, he frowned and said, "If the temperature rises further, driving will become dangerous. Tires could easily burst or engines could spontaneously combust while driving... Let's stay in the mall a little longer."
Gou Fugui stomped his foot, feeling the ground beneath his feet become noticeably hot, and nodded somewhat heavily.
Having only been in this post-apocalyptic world for half a day, he already felt an unease and worry even more profound than in a zombie apocalypse.
And soon, his worries deepened—
After he and Xie Tianlang purchased two carts full of bottled water, daily necessities, and some ready-made food from the supermarket, the lights in the basement supermarket suddenly started flashing wildly.
Before the shoppers in the supermarket could react, a loud bang rang out, sparks flew from the underground mall's electrical circuits, and all the lights went out. The moving walkways, the high-powered air conditioners, and even the music that had been playing throughout the mall all stopped at that moment.
It was as if the entire mall had been put on pause in an instant. After that moment, shoppers, who were shocked by the sight of the mall's complete power outage, began to exclaim in surprise and started running upstairs to leave the mall.
Xie Tianlang immediately pulled Gou Fugui to a corner, and amidst the chaos, Gou Fugui felt the temperature in the mall begin to rise rapidly.
At that moment, chaotic screams erupted from the elevator entrance leading to the first-floor main door:
"Oh no! A car outside has a flat tire!!"
"Why is it so hot?! What temperature is it?!"
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