Chapter 42: The Army Returns

The next day, contrary to what most people in the world expected, the temperature did not stop rising but continued to steadily increase as David had predicted. 

By eight in the morning, it had already reached forty degrees, fifty degrees by eleven o'clock, and an astonishing sixty degrees by noon! At this point, the outside world had become unsuitable for survival.

The hail outside had all melted under the extreme heat, submerging the outdoors in rivers. 

However, as time passed, these water streams would eventually evaporate. 

People should have been storing this water, as it was foreseeable that water resources would become extremely precious if the extreme heat continued.

Like Charles, who had stored a large number of ice blocks in buckets and kept them in a completely dark room. 

Although the heat would still seep in and melt the ice, this at least greatly delayed the process. 

They also collected many reflective cloths, placing them upstairs and even covering the main body of the building to reflect and absorb sunlight, slightly cooling the inside.

They found some portable refrigerators in the mall, but there weren't many, and most were broken. Still, having a few that worked was a good thing. 

They had found many solar panels for power generation, but the optimal temperature for solar power is twenty-five degrees. The high temperature of sixty degrees was well beyond that limit, making it too risky to use. 

Therefore, these so-called solar panels were less useful than ordinary generators. However, they only found two diesel generators and not much diesel.

Moreover, diesel generators aren't very effective in high temperatures. Although the indoor environment somewhat blocked the heat, using generators required caution. 

These resources couldn't be used carelessly and had to be conserved.

The extreme cold had lasted over two months, and they didn't know how long this extreme heat would last, but they aimed to sustain for two months. 

Actually, finding more resources than that was unlikely. 

They could sustain for two months only because Charles didn't count all his subordinates. Including everyone, the resources wouldn't be enough for the two hundred-plus people.

So, they either had to let them starve or scavenge later. They couldn't expect David to solve everything, could they? David might be a god, but even gods can't help with everything. If that were the case, the world wouldn't be so cruel.

And...

Charles didn't want to make David feel burdened. So, unless it was a dire situation, Charles wouldn't easily go to David.

Today, David's sign-in reward was food again, a lavish banquet. 

According to the sign-in system, it was like a wedding feast or other ceremonial banquets, with a variety of dishes, appetizers, main courses, drinks, and wines – a total of one hundred tables. 

This was incredibly lavish, enough for David to eat for a very long time. 

Even though David wasn't short on food, the increase in food still excited him. Perhaps this is the feeling of someone who once nearly starved to death, only they know the value of food.

Unfortunately, he still hadn't received the chance to remodel part of his house, as he had wanted to upgrade his windows. 

The broken part had not yet been repaired, and even if he blocked the gap with cloth, the gap still allowed the outside heat to seep in. 

David's house was supposed to be at a normal room temperature, but now it had risen a lot, although certainly not as high as the terrifying sixty degrees outside, but still around thirty degrees.

Since he had the Level 3 wall, it had been a long time since he had experienced this kind of 'abnormal' temperature. 

He thought today would just pass like this, but as the sun set and the sky turned very gloomy, many people appeared outside again.

During the extreme heat, the sun set late, around eight or nine o'clock it was still very bright outside, and only around ten o'clock did the sky suddenly darken. 

David was just about to take a bath and then play games before the sign-in and sleep. But before he could enter the bathroom, he heard a noise from downstairs.

Even though he was on the seventeenth floor, the outside was so quiet that the noise from downstairs reached him. And that noise wasn't small – it was the sound of engines roaring. 

David couldn't help but look out the window, learning from his previous experience to look from a concealed spot, making sure he wouldn't be targeted by a sniper.

Although it was dark, he could still see some scenes below. 

In the darkness of the night, there appeared to be many small boats below, no, those must be military kayaks! The army had come again?

David's heart skipped a beat, not expecting the army to arrive so soon. 

He wondered if Charles and his group could handle them. 

David didn't really have a bad feeling towards the army; after all, they protected the country before the apocalypse. But in the current situation, he was distrustful of everyone. 

Besides, even if the army wanted him to leave his house, he definitely wouldn't.

This house was his dwelling, his nation; he would never leave here! Never! 

Once he left this house, he would feel extremely insecure. So, no one could make him leave this place! 

Once the army took over, they would probably do just that. 

The army was different from Charles's small workshop; they were the main characters, the dominants, and wouldn't humbly negotiate with others.

He could fool Charles because Charles hadn't attacked him initially, but the army wasn't so easily fooled. 

So, if the army took over the building, they would inevitably discover his existence. Living with them wouldn't be as comfortable as being neighbors with Charles. 

Thinking this, he turned to monitor the situation downstairs and even outside, ready to see what these people intended to do. Were they really planning to eradicate Charles's gang of outlaws, or...

Were they planning something else?

"Hope... it goes smoothly," David muttered to himself.