Eugene couldn't help but think of Dorothy. He can't let anyone else get her. After all, such a beautiful and charming woman, how could he allow someone else to take her away?
Ding! At that moment, he received a message.
Well, isn't this a coincidence?
The message was from Dorothy.
Eugene picked it up and frowned as he read it.
Dorothy said she had been invited by her best girlfriend to visit her villa and stay for a while.
"When are you coming back?" Eugene messaged back.
"At least half a month!" Dorothy replied, complaining, "Erica is a hardcore doomsday enthusiast. She started building her doomsday fortress two years ago, and it's finally completed these days. She invited me over as a guest, and I couldn't refuse!"
"Oh my, why would someone be so obsessed with doomsday? Spending nearly a hundred million to build a fortress in the mountains!" Eugene was speechless.
He did know about some doomsday enthusiasts who turned their basements into shelters and even found canned doomsday food online. But he never imagined that there would be someone in the country willing to spend a hundred million to build a doomsday fortress.
It's just... hitting the jackpot.
But wait, isn't this guy trying to steal my girl?
Can Eugene stop it?
His relationship with Dorothy was still ambiguous, not yet lovers, so what right did he have to stop her?
Even if they were lovers, Dorothy going to support her girlfriend, isn't it reasonable?
"I'm not talking to you anymore, I need to pack up, the car is already here," Dorothy messaged back, and then there was no more sound.
Obviously, she had gone busy with her own affairs.
Eugene smiled and put his phone aside.
May 31st.
At night, Eugene tossed and turned, with a stray dog lying beside him.
This was the stray dog he picked up near the warehouse.
At first, this stray dog would sneakily eat his food, but later Eugene just decided to feed it. Gradually, he eliminated its guard, and eventually, on the third day before the disaster, it completely relied on Eugene and followed him home.
Eugene felt that after the disaster, animals were more reliable than humans, so he would rather adopt a dog.
The doomsday is coming.
He felt somewhat like a woman carrying a child for ten months, waiting for the excitement of giving birth.
Maybe when he returns, the doomsday won't come?
He worried, not knowing how long had passed, and finally fell asleep.
A night passed, a new day came.
Eugene ate breakfast, but couldn't taste anything.
The closer it got to 9 o'clock, the more nervous he became.
8 o'clock, 8:30, 8:50.
It's time, 9 o'clock!
Eugene sat by the window and looked up at the sky.
However, there was no hail falling.
Eugene was stunned. Could it be that after he returned, the disaster really didn't come?
That would be quite funny.
But it didn't matter, he had enough supplies to last him several lifetimes, and he also had spatial abilities, he could make a difference.
Bang!
At that moment, there was a loud noise, something heavy hitting the glass.
Eugene was startled and looked out the window.
There was a fist-sized hail on the ground!
This wasn't a toy made by some mischievous kid from their home fridge; the strange thing about this hail was that it was dark green.
Hail!
Eugene's heart tightened suddenly, then relaxed.
The doomsday, as promised, had arrived!
Bang!
Another hailstone fell, this time hitting the roof, making a metallic clang, the previously clear sky quickly darkened, and even mist rose.
Eugene smiled. The entire villa had been renovated; not only fist-sized hailstones, even ones as big as a person's head wouldn't pose a threat.
Glass? It wasn't ordinary glass but specially made. Even if struck with a large sledgehammer, it wouldn't crack, let alone break. Moreover, he could raise steel plates as additional protection, turning it into a fortress.
While hail didn't fall too fast, being hit by one wasn't a joke. If it hit someone's head... well, it could crack open like a flower.
The whole community was chaotic. People outside were hit by hailstones and started crying for help. Cars and electric vehicles were also being pounded, setting off alarm bells. How could the community not be lively?
Even though Eugene had closed the door, the room's temperature visibly dropped. This year had been hot, with temperatures exceeding 30 degrees Celsius by the end of May. People who couldn't stand the heat had to turn on the air conditioner to sleep at night. But now, the temperature was rapidly dropping from 32 degrees, quickly plummeting below 20 degrees.
Just an hour later, the temperature had dropped by 15 degrees! Everyone who had been wearing short sleeves now had to dig out sweaters.
By midday, the temperature had dropped by another 5 degrees.
Eugene had already lit the fireplace, throwing in a pile of firewood. The indoor temperature quickly rose by over 20 degrees, warm as spring, even a bit hot. So, he let some cold air in.
One was because it was too hot, and two, it was dry, needing some moist air to reduce the dryness.
Comfortable!
Ding, ding, ding! The phone received several messages in a row. Eugene checked, they were from Dorothy and Nora, both expressing shock at the sudden hailstorm. Fortunately, they were indoors when the hail fell. Eugene chatted with them for a while before everyone went about their business.
Eugene turned on the TV. In his previous life, he didn't have this leisure. He was either taking care of his foster son or doing household chores, busy all the time.
Many TV stations were broadcasting news about the sudden hailstorm. The hail was toxic! This had been discovered. Experts on the news were loudly warning people not to touch or lick the hail out of curiosity. It could cause anything from mild stomach upsets to instant death, not a joke.
Eugene switched to CBS; it was the most authoritative at a time like this. CBS was also broadcasting news, connecting with three experts, specializing in climate, chemistry, and astronomy.
The astronomer speculated that this bizarre and toxic hail might be related to the mysterious cosmic rays from deep space in the past few days, affecting Earth in unknown ways. The climate expert speculated that the Earth had already entered an ice age prematurely. Although the temperature wouldn't drop drastically immediately, preparations needed to be made. It would be at least 10 degrees lower than a normal winter.
The chemist was analyzing the liquid formed from the hail but couldn't determine what toxins were present in the water. They could only issue a warning: never drink water contaminated by toxic hail.
After the three experts unanimously warned, they emphasized not to go out! Hail itself was very dangerous, let alone if it was toxic. So, don't go out, at least until the hail stops.
Eugene shook his head. Wishes were beautiful, but reality was cruel. At least for the past 15 days after the disaster, the hail hadn't stopped. It had diminished somewhat, both in intensity and size, but without prior preparation, few households had ample food and clean water.
He took out several dishes from the alternate dimension and placed them on the table—meat, shrimp, vegetables, and a soup. He ate while the stray dog ate what Eugene ate.
After eating and resting for a while, he started exercising. This habit had to be maintained. After finishing his workout, he took a shower.
Currently, he was using a water tank with a capacity of 5 cubic meters, so as long as Eugene ensured the tank continuously had water, the faucets at home wouldn't stop, and there wouldn't be any problem with bathing, let alone flushing the toilet.