Chapter 36: Volcanic Stone Grilled Sausages

The sudden drop in temperature caught everyone off guard.

If one hadn’t experienced it firsthand, it would be hard to believe that in a southern city in September, the temperature could plunge below zero.

To save gasoline, the SUV’s heater remained off.

Pang Cancan, wrapped tightly in her down jacket, had her driving hands exposed to the cold, forcing her to frequently blow warm breath onto them while vigorously rubbing her left hand over her right.

“Susu, you really have a knack for predicting things! If you hadn’t insisted we bring down jackets and quilts, we’d have frozen to death by the roadside by now!” Her tone was filled with admiration.

On the very first day of the cold snap, some sharp individuals reacted quickly. By the time they passed through towns and counties, the supermarkets were already stripped bare of all cold-weather supplies.

Previously ignored clothing stores had their doors smashed open; the first scavengers left only a few thin summer clothes for those who came later.

Some even dared to break into residential buildings and steal mattresses and bedding from others’ homes—a morally questionable yet resourceful act.

This showed that in the apocalypse, clever people were abundant, and so were the ruthless ones with strong initiative.

“Better safe than sorry,” Susu repeated her usual saying.

She had been driving all night and was now lying in the back seat, covered by a heavy quilt.

Beneath the quilt was a thick python.

It coiled tightly around her body, its slumber lasting longer with each passing moment.

Susu wasn’t sleepy yet; she was holding a map of G City, mentally plotting their next route… Suddenly, the black snake rested its large head against the hollow of her collarbone, nestling in at just the right angle.

Its big head blocked her view, so she tried to push it gently aside but failed, having to raise the map a little to one side.

“The temperature is likely to keep dropping,” she said.

“What?!” Pang Cancan, who hadn’t held her driver’s license for long, was so shocked she skidded the SUV into a massive S-curve on the highway.

Luckily, the road was wide; otherwise, they would have crashed into a roadside ditch.

Clatter.

The vehicle shook violently, and half the snake’s tail slipped out from beneath the quilt, dangling below the seat.

Susu scooped it up and tucked it back under the blanket. “It’s only been a week, and the temperature has already dropped more than twenty degrees. At this rate, next week it might fall to below minus ten.”

“But the temperature in G City has never been this low…” Pang Cancan instinctively objected.

“This is the apocalypse. Anything is possible.”

Indeed, with the apocalypse upon them, what could be absolutely impossible?

Pang Cancan’s face fell. “Then what do we do? If the temperature keeps dropping like this, it’ll be bone-chilling cold outdoors, and the car won’t keep us warm. Should we find a town to take shelter in first?”

Her concern was also a matter for Susu to consider.

In the coming week, temperatures would fall to below minus ten degrees, and heavy, feathery snowflakes would begin to fall, continuing relentlessly for ten to fifteen days, culminating in an extremely rare snow disaster.

Highways and national roads would freeze over with thick ice layers. Many survivors caught without shelter would be trapped, unable to move forward or retreat, freezing to death inside their vehicles.

Others who found refuge would be cut off by snow-blocked roads. Outside, zombies and extreme cold made it impossible to replenish supplies, and most would die of starvation.

Susu’s gaze returned to the map.

At the southwest edge of the provincial capital, several dozen kilometers from G City, nestled halfway up the mountain, there was a hot spring resort.

In her previous life, she had accidentally found it alongside Lin Weiran and the others just as the snow began to fall.

The village contained over a hundred natural hot springs of various sizes—some outdoors, some in mountain caves. Upon entering, they immediately noticed the difference in temperature; it was about ten degrees warmer inside than the outside average!

That stroke of luck helped them endure the relentless snow disaster for over three months, and it was what allowed this ordinary person, Susu, to survive.

Now, there were three options before them.

Either drive straight ahead, with about a fifty percent chance of reaching the southern base before the snow, and an equal chance of being trapped on the road, facing various deaths or extreme wilderness survival;

Or settle in a town, relying on accumulated supplies to tough it out until spring;

Or seek out the hot spring resort. If Lin Weiran and Si Zhe still managed to find it in this life, they would soon reunite for another three months, living closely together day and night.

…

Susu left the choice to Pang Cancan and Le Rui.

Upon hearing about the hot spring resort, Pang Cancan’s eyes lit up. But when she heard Lin Weiran and Si Zhe’s names, her brightness dimmed, and the corners of her mouth twitched twice involuntarily.

“You mean Lin Weiran and Si Zhe know about this place too?”

Susu gave a casual explanation: “They mentioned it on the road. They want to head south, so their route mostly overlaps with ours. If the temperature keeps dropping, they’ll likely come here too, seeking refuge from the snow disaster and cold wave.”

“What do you think? Which route should we take?”

Pang Cancan and Le Rui exchanged a glance and said in unison, “The third one!”

Hot springs! A resort! Much better than dying on the road or being stuck in a town!

With the decision made, Susu stopped hesitating. “Alright, then we’re heading to the hot spring resort.”

They took the last two barrels of gasoline from a remote gas station and drove toward the mountain where the resort was located.

But all their hopes and expectations were dashed the moment they arrived.

At the foot of the mountain stood a long, five-meter barricade, with a guard post beside the road.

Ahead, a car was parked, surrounded by seven or eight burly bandits who were mocking the survivors inside.

“Want to enter the village? Fine! Hand over your supplies and women, and then we might consider letting you in!”

Inside a small sedan sat a family of three who lived around G City. They had been hiding at home since the apocalypse began and were planning to escape the cold by coming here.

No one expected to be intercepted by bandits. The driver’s face changed instantly. “We can give you supplies, but nothing else!”

“Oh? You’re tough! I like a man with backbone—makes killing more fun!” Zhou Gaoming clapped his hands appreciatively, then his eyes suddenly grew cold.

Before he could finish, the steering wheel in the driver’s hands suddenly jerked free and flew up, smashing hard into Zhou Gaoming’s head.

Thud.

His skull was crushed; his head lolled lifelessly against the seatback, eyes wide with terror.

“Ahhh, husband!!”

“Dad!!!”

The woman and child screamed mournfully.

Zhou Gaoming slammed the car roof. “What are you screaming for? If you scream again, I’ll kill you all!”

The screams abruptly stopped, leaving only uncontrollable sobbing.

Zhou Gaoming waved his hand. “Unload all the supplies from the car, throw the man’s body onto the mountain, and bring the woman and child into the village.”

“Yes!”

A lookout suddenly approached. “Brother Zhou! Another car’s coming!”

Zhou Gaoming looked up and saw an SUV approaching on the straight road that led to the mountain base.

“Bring me my binoculars.”

The lookout promptly handed over the binoculars.

Through the lenses, Zhou Gaoming saw the driver—a young girl, no older than eighteen or nineteen, with a fierce look in her eyes and a slight baby fat on her cheeks.

In the passenger seat was a child, harmless in appearance.

Could they be siblings?

Zhou Gaoming’s interest was piqued. “Go, stop that car.”

Several speed-type psychics dashed a few hundred meters ahead, blocking the SUV from both front and back before it could turn around.

Seeing the young girl driving, several men’s eyes gleamed with lust.

Pang Cancan sensed danger immediately and wanted to wake Susu, but the men on the right side acted first, violently smashing the right window.

Shards of glass flew toward Le Rui.

“Watch out!”

Having eaten well and stayed warm lately, Le Rui’s reflexes had improved greatly. The moment the fist struck the window, he activated his ability, raising a thick wall of ice that blocked all the shards, protecting himself and Pang Cancan from injury.

Seeing he was unharmed, Pang Cancan angrily shouted, “Bastards! You’re asking for death!”

Over twenty venomous insects crawled out from all over his body; one clumsily emerged from a pocket in his down jacket. They swarmed out the window, and the fastest one bit the man smashing the window hard on the face.

“What the hell? Ahhh!”

Screams followed as the man collapsed, as expected.

The previously arrogant psychics’ faces changed drastically; they all instinctively stepped back several paces.

“He’s a poison-type psychic!”

“What’s happening?!”

Zhou Gaoming arrived moments later, first seeing his own men foaming at the mouth and lying unconscious.

A subordinate quickly whispered into his ear, “Brother Zhou, that boy is an ice-type psychic, probably second level! The girl is poison-type, but her strength is still unclear!”

Zhou Gaoming frowned.

He looked into the SUV, which contained only two people… no, three. Another woman was sitting up from the back seat.

Through several rows of seats, her features were indistinct.

Le Rui whispered softly, “Susu, sister, we just arrived at the mountain foot, and someone’s blocking our car.”

Blocked? Susu’s drowsiness vanished instantly.

In her previous life, they never encountered any blockade; the resort was empty and unoccupied, and the group reached their destination unhindered.

What had changed?

After thinking hard, she could only conclude the timing was different—they had arrived a week earlier this time.

She took a deep breath, tightly covering the still-sleeping black snake with the quilt.

“Why are they stopping us?”

A pleasant female voice floated from outside the car, making Zhou Gaoming’s ears tingle slightly.