In the early hours, Xu An woke up. She turned over to see that her mother was still asleep.
The bed Xu An had bought earlier finally came in handy. It had to be said that you get what you pay for, and even Xu Yan couldn't stop praising the bed.
Fortunately, the villa Xu Yan had bought was large enough to accommodate two beds in the living room.
Villas consumed more energy, so to save, they chose to sleep in the living room, which also made it easier to deal with any emergencies.
She got up to check the air conditioner's wiring, added more ice to the fan, and refilled the ice buckets placed around the room.
She found the navigation she had previously saved. Although there was no internet now, she had already found all the nearby facilities and taken screenshots.
After just a few steps, she started sweating again. She took out a quick-drying thermal suit from her space and changed into it.
With all this fuss, Xu Yan also woke up.
She got up and looked at her watch. It was 03:25.
"Are you going out?" Xu Yan asked, puzzled.
"Mhm, Mom, you go back to sleep. I'm going for a walk and to check the situation outside."
As they were talking, Gou Dan also woke up and with a running jump, leaped onto Xu An's bed, knocking her over. She smiled and petted Gou Dan's adorably dopey head.
"If you're going out, take Gou Dan with you. It can alert you if anything happens."
Xu An thought about it and realized that animals' keen senses were indeed much stronger than humans' when it came to detecting danger.
So, she put a thermal suit on Gou Dan and prepared to head out.
Luckily, she had ordered a thermal suit for Gou Dan when she had hers made, otherwise, in this weather, Gou Dan's paws would have been scorched bald.
The two, clad in their protective gear, left the house. Before going out, Xu An remembered to remind her mother.
"Mom, remember not to open the curtains or let anyone in. Don't answer the door if someone knocks."
Their door was a password-protected one, and since Xu An knew the password, she wouldn't need Xu Yan to open it.
"Got it. I'm not a child, and neither are you. Be quick and come back soon."
Xu Yan didn't stop her or tell her it was dangerous outside and she shouldn't go.
She had seen Xu An planning something, constantly writing and drawing on paper. Although they had ample supplies now, who wouldn't want more?
Simply hiding was clearly not a viable option.
Her daughter had grown up and could handle things on her own. Xu Yan's role was to silently support her daughter from behind.
As soon as she stepped outside, a wave of heat washed over Xu An.
Even though she hadn't set the indoor temperature too low to adapt to the heat, there was still a huge difference compared to the outside temperature.
Even with her thermal mask and full gear, she still felt the heat burning her skin.
Gou Dan was also circling restlessly on the spot due to the heat, as if adapting to the extreme weather.
Xu An took out her portable thermometer. It read 52 degrees Celsius.
Her brow furrowed. It was even hotter than in the previous few days.
When they were in the high-rise building, the temperature at night had dropped to around 30 degrees Celsius, but today the temperature had climbed again.
Suddenly, Xu An seemed to recall something and quickened her pace, pulling Gou Dan along.
She remembered that in her previous life, during the period when the temperature was dropping, there had been an abnormal surge.
Three days after the temperature rose, the zombie tide had appeared.
"It seems this hasn't changed. The zombie tide should be in three days."
Xu An took out the map she had drawn earlier, found her Mini Wuling Hongguang, and got into the car with Gou Dan, preparing to drive to her destination.
Perhaps because this area was a wealthy district, there were fewer signs of conflict and wrecked vehicles compared to the road they had traveled.
Xu An focused on driving, avoiding looking at the decaying corpses lying by the roadside.
The trees along the road had lost their former vitality, and the earth was parched and groaning.
She didn't stop at all, continuing to drive forward.
It had been less than half a month since the volcanic eruption, yet she felt as if half a century had passed.
The apocalypse was like a heartless executioner, wanting to wipe out humanity without giving them any chance to prepare.
Around them were only small supermarkets. The electronic locks on the glass doors had been smashed and hung uselessly.
Xu An parked the car at the entrance, and with a gentle push, the door opened.
Most of the food inside had already been looted, and what remained had rotted and stank.
After searching, Xu An only found a few cotton gloves that were still useful. She didn't mind and stuffed them into her space, then got back into the car to head to the next destination.
She stopped and started along the way, managing to collect quite a few supplies.
Although there wasn't much food and water, she managed to scavenge a lot from hardware stores and various tool shops.
During her journey, in a pet store, she found several packs of Soft China cigarettes and bottles of Moutai that the owner had cherished.
Of course, she also scooped up all the pet supplies in the store.
Xu An happily stored everything in her space.
Seeing that the time was about right, she prepared to drive towards the gas station, which was her main objective for the day.
Fortunately, she didn't take a wrong turn this time and drove safely to the gas station.
Upon arriving at the gas station, she didn't rush to get out of the car. Instead, she drove around the perimeter to scout, ensuring no one was around before parking at the entrance and getting out with Gou Dan.
Next to gas stations, there were usually small convenience stores. Xu An didn't hold out much hope, but when she pushed the door open and walked in, she was pleasantly surprised.
The supermarket was neatly stacked with cases of snacks and soda.
Along one wall, there was a row of instant noodles and mineral water, self-heating hot pots, and sports drinks—roughly estimated, dozens of boxes.
Gou Dan wagged its tail, circling the room, then seemed to discover something and went further inside.