Chapter 40 A Desperate Start! Lin Xingwan Eats Chilled Watermelon in an Air-Conditioned Room
"The fresh produce warehouse in the west of the city?"
Lin Xingwan swallowed the last bite of her steak and wiped the corners of her mouth.
She had no interest in the frantic shouting on the radio.
"Those rotten fish and spoiled shrimp should have stunk yesterday; whoever wants to fight over them can go ahead."
She stood up and walked to the double-door refrigerator that occupied half the wall.
This refrigerator was connected to The Fortress's independent power supply, and it was ice-cold.
Pulling open the cabinet door, a wave of white cold mist poured out.
It was packed with various pre-cut fresh fruits and high-end desserts.
Lin Xingwan took out half a black-skinned watermelon that was chilled to the point of having a thin layer of frost.
She then casually picked up an exquisite small silver spoon.
"However, since they've gone to draw the fire, other places in the west of the city should be quite empty."
She carried the watermelon to the living room and nestled comfortably into the leather sofa.
She used the small spoon to precisely scoop out the sweetest piece of watermelon heart from the very center and put it into her mouth.
The cold, sweet juice instantly burst in her mouth.
This was simply the most luxurious indulgence in this hellish heat.
Lin Xingwan narrowed her eyes contentedly and pressed the remote control on the coffee table.
A huge holographic projection screen lit up.
Qian Duoduo, being extremely sensible, had densely filled the screen with footage from surveillance cameras across the city that had not yet been paralyzed.
"Boss Huo, would you like to sit down and watch the show together?"
Lin Xingwan patted the empty spot on the sofa beside her and tilted her chin towards Huo Yuan.
Huo Yuan didn't stand on ceremony and sat down right next to her.
He didn't look at the screen, but instead stared at the watermelon in Lin Xingwan's hands, his Adam's apple bobbing.
Lin Xingwan felt a bit creeped out by his intense, unblinking gaze.
"If you want to eat, go get some yourself."
Huo Yuan suddenly leaned in, opened his mouth, and without any hesitation, bit off the piece of watermelon that Lin Xingwan had just scooped up on her spoon.
His warm lips even intentionally brushed against the small silver spoon.
"You..." Lin Xingwan was stunned for a moment, a rare flash of red crossing her cheeks.
"Hmm, quite sweet."
Huo Yuan leaned back against the chair, a wicked smile curling the corners of his mouth, before turning his gaze to the big screen.
On the screen, the outside world had completely turned into a desperate start.
Ten o'clock in the morning.
That blood-red sun hung high in the sky like a giant furnace.
The number on the outdoor thermometer was stuck firmly at sixty-five degrees!
There was not a breath of wind.
The air seemed to have turned into viscous glue; taking a breath into one's lungs felt searingly painful.
In the surveillance footage, a twenty-four-hour convenience store had been smashed to pieces.
The security door had been violently pried open, and glass was shattered all over the floor.
Dozens of shirtless men, their faces flushed red from the heat, were fighting each other like mad dogs inside.
"Get lost! This bottle of water is mine!"
A fat man was clutching a bottle of Nongfu Spring that only had half left, being frantically beaten on the ground by three or four people.
Someone picked up a piece of broken glass and stabbed it directly into the fat man's thigh.
Fresh blood gushed out instantly, but the fat man still protected the water bottle tightly, refusing to let go.
Nearby, a frail woman holding a withered child knelt on the ground, crying out in despair.
"Please, give me a sip of water... My child is dying..."
No one paid her any mind.
In this sixty-five-degree heat, morality and conscience had long since evaporated completely.
The scene shifted.
On a stretch of asphalt road with no shelter whatsoever.
The road surface had completely melted, and the black asphalt was emitting acrid, toxic smoke.
A few people were moving along the road like zombies.
Suddenly, one of the old men's legs went weak, and he fell straight down.
His face pressed directly onto the scorching asphalt.
"Ahhh—!"
Even through the screen, Lin Xingwan could imagine that heart-wrenching scream.
The old man's skin was instantly scalded raw, but he didn't even have the strength to crawl up.
He could only twitch in pain on the ground a few times before falling completely silent.
Just like that, he was "fried" alive by the road surface.
Such tragedies were playing out in every corner of the city.
Official rescue teams couldn't be deployed at all; the tires of the fire trucks exploded as soon as they left the garage.
The entire city had completely fallen into paralysis and chaotic madness.
"How miserable." Lin Xingwan scooped a spoonful of watermelon with an expressionless face and commented.
But there wasn't even a shred of sympathy in her tone.
In her past life, she had also been like a dead dog on that road, begging desperately in the extreme cold.
Back then, who had ever pitied her?
In The Apocalypse, sympathy was the cheapest and most fatal thing.
"Looking at their looting routes, most are concentrated on grabbing water and food." Huo Yuan stared at the screen and pointed out a few surveillance feeds.
"But those shops selling outdoor equipment and hardware building materials haven't been touched at all."
He turned to look at Lin Xingwan. "Wanwan, you just said, go and harvest?"
"That's right." Lin Xingwan swallowed the cold watermelon and took out a city map she had drawn a long time ago.
She had drawn several red circles at the locations of the logistics park in the west of the city and a few large wholesale markets.
"While these idiots are still breaking each other's heads over a bottle of water."
"We will drive the armored vehicle and sweep up all those good things that no one cares about."
"And by the way, test The Fortress's actual combat defense capabilities."
This strong contrast between heaven and hell pushed the thrill of hoarding deep within her heart to its peak.
What could be more exhilarating than being in The Apocalypse, where others are unable to live and unable to die, while she could drive an invincible armored vehicle and go on a zero-dollar shopping spree everywhere?
Just as Lin Xingwan was planning the next "stocking route," the encrypted satellite phone on the coffee table suddenly let out a harsh vibration.
This phone had been specially modified by Qian Duoduo, and only the core personnel inside The Fortress knew the number.
How could an outsider be calling in?
Lin Xingwan frowned slightly, pressed the answer button, and casually turned on the video call.
The screen flickered.
A face covered in sweat, looking disheveled, and even sporting a few bruises, appeared on the screen.
The background was a dark, narrow, musty basement.
"Wanwan... Wanwan! Save me!"
Gu Zichen!
He actually hadn't died!
Gu Zichen faced the screen, crying with snot and tears streaming down his face, as if grabbing onto a life-saving straw.
His signature slicked-back greasy hair was now plastered to his scalp by sweat, looking incredibly disgusting.
"Wanwan, do you have electricity there? Do you have water?"
He stared fixedly at the half of the chilled, mist-emitting watermelon in Lin Xingwan's hand in the background of the screen, swallowing his saliva frantically.
His eyes were full of the greed of a starving wolf.
"I... I'm about to die of thirst! It's full of lunatics outside!"
"Wanwan, tell me where you are? I'll come find you right away!"
He seemed to have completely forgotten that a few days ago, Lin Xingwan had just gifted him a kick to his family jewels.
"As long as you let me in, I... I swear, I will treat you well from now on!"