听到这个好消息后，三个人脸上纷纷露出欣喜之色，心情格外愉悦。经过一番商议，他们决定今日稍作休整，养精蓄锐，待到明日清晨再一同前往湖畔看看，并尝试找个合适的位置垂钓一番。没过多久，徐亮等人精心烹制的饭菜便已大功告成。
They made a delicious tomato and egg stir-fry using canned tomatoes, then heated up two cans of braised beef, and served it with a pot full of fragrant rice. Faced with such a sumptuous meal, everyone ate heartily, thoroughly enjoying this satisfying feast.
After a satisfying meal, Xu Anran picked up a pot and started brewing a steaming bowl of brown sugar ginger soup. Ginger soup is known to dispel chills and ward off the cold. After drinking the ginger soup, everyone felt comfortable and warm, and then began to tidy themselves up and prepare to rest.
Being inside a closed and safe air-raid shelter filled everyone with a sense of security, but one person was left on night watch while the rest quickly fell asleep and enjoyed a peaceful and sweet night.
However, on this quiet night, Xu Anran once again fell into a dream.
The scene in the dream was terrifying—the fish-men who had just landed launched a fierce attack on the surrounding cities without hesitation. Those unfortunate enough to be bitten by the fish-men but miraculously survived were gradually mutated, becoming indistinguishable from them. As time passed, these people gradually lost their reason and their humanity vanished.
Amid this terrifying situation, the battle between the government forces and the murlocs intensified. Although the murlocs were unable to breach the government's fortified bases, some smaller outposts, due to a lack of firearms and ammunition and weak combat capabilities, were unable to withstand the murlocs' fierce offensive.
Under these circumstances, one day, all the fish-men suddenly disappeared. People didn't know what had happened; they had all returned to the sea. Not long after, they learned the reason, but it was too late.
Night fell, and as people gradually adapted to the new weather, a silent danger descended while they slept. It arrived without a sound, freezing everything in its path. It was an extreme cold that destroyed everything in its path. Despite taking precautions to keep warm and setting indoor temperatures to around zero degrees Celsius, many people were still frozen solid in their sleep by the extreme cold, emanating a chilling aura. Even the blazing fires around them seemed to lose their power before this extreme cold, quickly extinguishing themselves.
Xu Anran and the others were not spared either; they were all frozen in the cold cave by the relentless chill. As consciousness gradually returned to reality, Xu Anran suddenly opened her eyes, glanced at the time, and saw it was only two in the morning.
However, after such a harrowing dream, she could no longer fall asleep. So, she gently lifted the covers, slowly stood up, and handed over her shift to Zhao Chang'an, who was on night watch, so that he could go back to his tent to rest.
Xu Anran sat quietly by the warm fire, her arms outstretched, feeling the warmth from the flames. Her thoughts drifted back to the terrifying dream she had just had. Recalling the sudden disappearance of the fish-men in the dream, she secretly speculated: perhaps these creatures sensed some imminent crisis, and thus hastily returned to the deep, boundless ocean for refuge.
This sudden and intense freezing was so rapid that many people perished while still sound asleep. Perhaps only the lucky few who stayed up all night escaped. And if the fish-men were to return to land after the freezing ended, the sparsely populated human population would likely be powerless against them. At that time, what awaits this world will be the complete extinction of humanity.
As dawn broke and the first rays of sunlight appeared, a new day had begun. After breakfast, Xu Anran took advantage of a break to call Uncle Li to go to the valley to discuss the dream she had the previous night. When the two arrived at their destination, she solemnly recounted the dream she had the night before and her analysis of the situation to Uncle Li in detail.
After listening, Uncle Li frowned and asked, "Do you know the exact time?"
Xu Anran frowned slightly, lost in thought, trying hard to recall every detail. After a while, she slowly spoke, "If I remember correctly, it will probably happen in a little over a month. After all, by then, Chang'an and Mingzhu will have left, leaving only the four of us to depend on each other."
Upon hearing this news, Uncle Li pondered for a moment, then said firmly, "In that case, we must race against time to complete the cave's insulation work as soon as possible. Judging from the scene you saw in your dream, this rapid freezing will likely affect the entire Earth, and no matter where you escape to, you will hardly be spared. Therefore, during that period, we absolutely cannot sleep at night!"
“That’s right, just as you said. In the dream, those who couldn’t fall asleep persevered in burning firewood to keep warm and eventually survived. So, as long as we stock up on enough fuel in advance and take effective measures to keep warm, I believe we will be able to get through this crisis safely.”
Uncle Li nodded slightly, indicating his approval. They shared the news with the others, solemnly declaring, "This is crucial intelligence we just received from Old K last night!"
Upon hearing this message, a strong sense of urgency immediately welled up within the people in the cave. They were acutely aware of the extremely dire and difficult situation they faced, but they were fearless. Their only thought was to do everything in their power to protect themselves and their companions from the relentless onslaught of the bitter cold.
Although Zhao Chang'an and Song Mingzhu could have left long before the freezing weather arrived, they did not choose to stand aside. Instead, they resolutely joined everyone's tense, busy, yet orderly preparatory work.
They worked tirelessly in the valley, felling usable trees. Then, they transported the timber to the cave, where the warm environment allowed it to dry quickly. Next, they crafted enormous planks to enhance the cave's insulation; meanwhile, they chopped the remaining small pieces of wood into firewood for later use.
Even amidst the intense preparations, Xu Anran was not idle. She sent detailed information about the freezing incident to both the task group and the main group.
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