Survive the Heat Apocalypse! (2)

The following weekend, I happily kept the air conditioner running at a constant temperature 24/7, slept until I naturally woke up, and then spent my time at home watching shows and playing games. When it was time to eat, I’d make myself a dish and simmer some soup, comfortably enjoying a staycation at home.

That was until Monday.

…

I was sleeping soundly when suddenly my phone rang, waking me up. It was a call from my colleague, Huang Ling.

"Qingqing, why didn’t you come to work today?"

"I took some time off—a long leave. You won’t see me until next month."

I let out a long yawn.

Huang Ling sounded shocked. "Seriously? HR said you used up all your annual leave and compensatory time off. I couldn’t believe it. Did something happen at home?"

She’s the one I’m closest to in the company.

I quickly sat up.

"No, it’s nothing like that. It’s just too hot, and I didn’t feel like going to work. I wanted to take a break. Don’t worry."

"Sis, not going to work just because it’s hot? Are you crazy? It’s not like it’s the end of the world."

"Apocalyptic heat—haven’t you heard of it?" I chuckled.

"Tsk, I’m so jealous that you can take time off now. I’ve still got to wrap up my project, or I’d want to take leave too. Do you know that on my way to work this morning, my hand got sunburned?"

Huang Ling complained a bit more before hanging up.

I looked at the time. It was 8:45 a.m.

Was the sun really that harsh this early?

I got out of bed, pulled open the blackout curtains, and opened the window to feel the temperature. Immediately, a wave of heat hit me, and everything in sight seemed distorted.

Damn!

I quickly closed the window and drew the curtains.

This is ridiculous—it’s way too hot!

How are people supposed to survive if they have to work outside?

I checked the weather forecast, which showed 39 degrees Celsius, but it quickly refreshed to 40 degrees, with predictions of rising temperatures over the next few hours.

10 a.m., 41 degrees. 11 a.m., 41 degrees. 12 p.m., 42 degrees. 1 p.m., 43 degrees. 2 p.m., 43 degrees.

Am I losing my mind, or is the weather forecast?

Yesterday’s high was still 40 degrees, and today it’s going to reach 43?

With growing unease, I quickly made myself a simple breakfast and ate it, then decided to take out the trash while the temperature was still somewhat bearable.

As I opened the door, I bumped into Xiao Chen from the property management, who was just knocking on the door across from mine.

"Perfect timing, you’re here too. Let’s hear this together."

He turned to see me and smiled.

I smiled back and looked at the neighbor I had never met before.

It was a man with slightly long hair and dark circles under his eyes, who seemed like he had just woken up.

We exchanged a quick nod when our eyes met.

"Here’s the situation," Xiao Chen began, "due to the extreme heat over the next few days, there’s a high chance of power outages. If the power goes out, don’t panic. Our community has solar power equipment, but it takes about 10 minutes to start up after an outage. Also, during this time, please try to conserve electricity. Keep your air conditioners set above 26 degrees."

"Will there be water outages too?" I asked.

"We’re not sure yet, but it’s best to stock up on drinking water. This heatwave is pretty insane, and we can’t guarantee anything. Sorry for the inconvenience. Here’s a flyer with more details."

"Got it," the man across the hall nodded, taking the flyer before shutting the door.

He didn’t seem like a very polite person.

Xiao Chen didn’t seem bothered. He handed me a flyer, and I asked if he wanted to come in and rest for a bit, but he declined, saying he needed to quickly notify the other residents on this floor in person to make sure everyone got the message.

"Were you about to take out the trash? I can take it for you," he offered.

He even took the trash bag from my hands.

The 20 yuan per square meter property management fee is definitely worth it—the community’s facilities are quite advanced, and the service is excellent and attentive.

After he left, I went back inside and saw that the communication screen by the door indeed displayed a warning about possible power outages due to the heatwave, just like the flyer. If Xiao Chen hadn’t knocked, I probably wouldn’t have noticed.

Ee-oo, ee-oo, ee-oo...

The sound of ambulances and fire trucks was particularly frequent today.

As I sat on the couch enjoying the air conditioning and eating an ice cream bar, I felt a twinge of guilt.

The news on TV began to roll out reports of extreme heat waves causing various disasters across the country, with one video being pushed to the top.

It showed a reporter who, for the first thirty seconds, was standing outside under the blazing sun without a hat, insisting on doing a live broadcast. At the thirty-first second, smoke suddenly started coming out of his head, and then his hair actually caught on fire. Fortunately, a staff member nearby quickly doused it with a bottle of water.

"Thank you for your concern; I’m okay. During extreme heat, avoid using too much hair gel, and don’t stay in the sun too long," was the top comment.

I wanted to laugh but couldn’t quite manage it.

I had a nagging feeling that something was seriously wrong with the world.

43 degrees, 44 degrees, 45 degrees...

Sure enough, over the next few days, the temperature continued to rise. A week later, the daytime high reached an astonishing 46 degrees, and even at midnight, it was still a scorching 39 degrees.

All outdoor work had been suspended, almost all companies had switched to remote work, and only a few essential workers were still hanging on.

Yesterday’s top news was about a mother who fell on the street while carrying her feverish child, both of them suffering burns from the hot pavement. Today’s top story was about a heroic electrician who died of heatstroke while working in the extreme heat. Countless people were silently offering white flowers online.

No one used the candle emoji anymore—it was just too hot.

As the heatwave persisted, power outages became more common, and news of people dying from the heat became more frequent.

The government activated emergency measures, opening all air-conditioned school auditoriums, gymnasiums, and shopping malls as 24-hour shelters for people without air conditioning. But the death toll kept rising as the temperature climbed.

Hospitals were overflowing, fires were breaking out in cities and villages, and social media was flooded with videos of people pleading for help.

Ever since I took time off, I’ve been calling my parents every day to check on them. Even though they live in the mountains, the temperature there had recently hit 40 degrees. Today, when I called, I found out they had finally turned on the air conditioning.

"Qingqing, don’t worry about us. Just make sure you keep the air conditioner on and don’t worry about the electricity bill. Your mom and dad have money."

Now, they were the ones urging me to use the AC.

"I’ve got it running, don’t worry," I assured them.

"Do you have enough to eat? Should we send you some food? Who knows when this disaster will end," my mom asked, sounding anxious.

"I’ve got plenty. Didn’t I tell you? I stocked up on a ton of food before I took time off. I’ve got enough to last three months, plus the property management delivers food every day."

After the call, I even took new photos of the contents of my two refrigerators and sent them to my parents.

With such severe weather, I hadn’t had much of an appetite these days, so I hadn’t eaten much. The only things missing from the fridge were some fruits and vegetables. After rearranging things a bit, both refrigerators still looked fully stocked.

Bzzz...

Just as I finished taking pictures and sending them off, the TV suddenly went black, and the entire room fell silent.

I tried flipping the light switch a few times to confirm that the power had gone out. Fortunately, Xiao Chen from the property management had given me a heads-up, so I wasn’t too worried.

With the AC off, the temperature quickly started rising, and the air became stuffy. Every breath felt hotter than the last.

Within minutes, I was drenched in sweat. I quickly grabbed an ice cream bar from the fridge and sat on the floor, eating it while waiting for the power to come back on.

I finished one ice cream, but the power still hadn’t come back.

So, I ate another.

Still no power.

I started to get restless and was about to use the intercom to call the property management when—

Ding-dong, ding-dong.

The doorbell rang.

Through the peephole, I saw it was the man from across the hall. He still had those dark circles under his eyes, and he was sweating heavily as he stood at my door.