Evidently, Xu Yan had far more experience in this regard than her own daughter.
She walked into the bedroom and came out carrying several long, rectangular wooden boxes.
"You never mentioned it before, but I felt it was necessary to prepare some things, so I took the liberty of buying a few Tang swords and hunting rifles."
Upon hearing this, Xu An's face lit up.
It wasn't that she didn't want to buy them, but she hadn't found a reliable channel. She had originally thought the high temperatures would last until October, so she planned to buy weapons after stockpiling enough supplies.
This way, she could choose the best within the remaining budget.
She hadn't expected the heatwave to break out so suddenly.
"Mom~ I love you to pieces."
Saying this, Xu An took out a Tang sword and examined it in her hand.
The blade, already sharpened, glinted with a terrifying silver light, even in the sweltering heat.
Even in such warm weather, Xu An could vaguely feel the coldness emanating from the blade.
Xu An thought to herself, "This is a blade meant for taking life!"
The scabbard was adorned with simple silver engravings, appearing unremarkable, but she knew it must be quite expensive.
As someone who had practiced martial arts since childhood, she had some understanding of swords.
The moment she held it, she knew it was an exceptional sword, capable of slicing through metal.
In her previous life, she had always been accustomed to fighting alone. Many things she hadn't considered carefully led to her suffering losses and accepting her fate later on.
She felt she should change her behavior. This life was different; her mother was still alive, and Gou Dan was still here.
She was no longer alone!
Mother and daughter discussed and decided that from tomorrow onwards, they would not go out and would begin physical training.
The sudden heatwave caught many people off guard.
As more and more people ventured out, they collapsed on the roadside. The fortunate ones were discovered and rushed to the hospital for treatment, while the unfortunate ones could only await their demise on the spot.
In Xu An's residential complex, a young girl, ignoring warnings, insisted on going out. Upon inquiry, it turned out her company was forcing overtime.
However, less than ten minutes after leaving the complex gate, she collapsed on the roadside. Fortunately, she was discovered and sent to the hospital, but ultimately succumbed to her condition.
The company that had coerced its employees into working was, as expected, sued.
They compensated the victim's family with a large sum of money, but what use was money? A lost life would never return.
Moreover, in the face of the apocalypse, money was merely a string of digits.
With this precedent, the remaining people could only obediently stay at home.
This, however, reduced the burden on the hospitals significantly.
Xu An browsed the overwhelming news at home, with nothing but silent mourning to offer.
Gou Dan, overcome by the heat, lay unmoving by the air conditioner, his appetite even diminishing.
During the earlier house reinforcement, Xu An had installed a layer of insulation panels. She glanced at the thermometer; the indoor temperature was 28 degrees Celsius.
Looking at the leaves outside, yellowed and scorched by the blazing sun, she knew the current temperature was still quite far from the true extreme heat.
She had to make sure both her mother and Gou Dan gradually adapted to this temperature.
Otherwise, when the zombie hordes erupted, the intense heat would instantly render people incapacitated and strip them of their will to resist.
Xu An moved all the ice-making machines and the air cooler.
With more than a month to go, while there was still water and electricity, she intended to store enough ice.
She took out the chilled watermelon, cut one in half, and gave a portion to Gou Dan.
The cold watermelon, entering her stomach, made even her bones sing with contentment.
She took out the pre-made Mango Sago Pomelo dessert from the refrigerator and served a bowl to her mother.
She filled the air cooler with ice and lay down on the cooling mat, munching on watermelon while downloading TV shows and novels.
Earlier, Xu An had told her mother that she wanted to buy some books and study materials. Xu Yan had directly contacted the bookstore manager and cleared out all the books.
Xu An had also bought many tablets, computers, mobile phones, game consoles...
What she needed to do now was to fill these electronic devices with TV shows, movies, variety shows, games, and novels.
After all, there would be no internet in the apocalypse. In her previous life, to pass the time, she could only count zombies on the high walls of the shelter.
It had almost driven her to depression.
As night fell, the heat that had persisted throughout the day finally began to subside.
Although it remained around 30 degrees Celsius, it felt considerably cooler compared to the nearly 50 degrees Celsius during the day.
People who had been cooped up indoors all day finally dared to open their windows for some ventilation.
Many took advantage of the night to head to the 24-hour supermarkets to purchase daily necessities.
With the change in weather, people's daily routines were completely disrupted.
Even the elderly couples who diligently went out for a walk at six in the morning had shifted to a nocturnal lifestyle.
In supermarkets, they were always at the forefront.
Xu Yan watched as her daughter stuck ice packs inside her clothes and prepared to put on her shoes, looking like she was about to head out.
"It's so hot, are you going out?"
"Yes, I'm going to the supermarket with you to buy some supplies."
"Don't we already have so many things? Why are you still buying?"
"It's precisely because we have so many things that I'm going to buy more. We can't just stay home all the time. Having plenty of food and drink while living comfortably will draw attention."
Xu Yan thought about it and agreed; she hadn't considered it thoroughly enough.
She took off her apron and intended to go with Xu An.
Xu An stopped her.
"Mom, you stay home and cook. I'm hungry and want to eat cold noodles with shredded chicken, and also spicy and sour chicken feet!"
Xu Yan flicked her forehead and said with a smile, "Okay, I'll make them for you."
As soon as she stepped out of the building, the heatwave aggressively surged towards her face.
Xu An took a deep breath, stood still for a moment to adjust, and then started walking.
When she reached the entrance of the residential complex, she found quite a few people.
Everyone was dressed lightly, carrying supplies grabbed from the supermarket, and preparing to head home.
Seeing this, Xu An also quickened her pace towards the supermarket.
She didn't linger in the grain and oil section. She pretended to pick up a few small green vegetables and then headed to the snack and beverage aisle, filling two large shopping carts.
Once she had bought enough, Xu An pushed her cart to the checkout counter.
Perhaps due to the continuous high temperatures, the air conditioning in the supermarket was set much lower than usual. Even the supermarket staff were uniformly dressed in heat-resistant clothing.
Xu An also had such clothing in her spatial storage, but it wasn't yet time to take it out and wear it.
Xu An was queuing when a dark shadow flashed before her eyes, and in an instant, she felt a person appear before her.
Someone had cut in line.
Before Xu An could even reprimand the person who cut in, the elderly woman in front of her began to mutter.
"Young people nowadays are so selfish, they don't respect their elders at all. Buying a bunch of junk snacks and not eating properly. I wonder whose family will be unlucky enough to marry such a girl."
Xu An said nothing, directly pushing the woman who had cut in line out of the queue.
The woman who was pushed stumbled back a step, but she didn't hold onto the cloth bag containing her vegetables tightly. It fell to the ground, scattering potatoes covered in dirt.
"Hey! What's wrong with you? Why are you pushing people? Is there no law anymore? You vile girl, how dare you hit someone!"