Chapter 23: The Extreme Cold Storm

It was unclear how much time had passed before Tang Yingying finally woke up.

She felt as if she had been reborn, her entire body sticky and accompanied by a faint smell of sweat.

"What… happened to me…" Tang Yingying murmured, still dazed.

Zhao Kuo happened to push the door open at that moment and said impatiently, "What happened? Did the fever fry your brain? You suddenly spiked such a high temperature without saying a word. Here, drink this medicine."

With that, he placed a bowl of pitch-black herbal soup by the bedside.

Tang Yingying caught a whiff of the unpleasant odor and immediately pinched her nose, shaking her head. "It's so bitter. I'm not drinking it."

Seeing her in good spirits, Zhao Kuo didn't bother being gentle. He glared at her and said, "I spent over a dozen subway coins on just two bowls of this. If you don't drink it, I'll pour it out."

"How much? Did you say how much?!" Tang Yingying was shocked and quickly picked up the bowl of medicine.

Although it smelled absolutely terrible, the thought of those dozen subway coins made her grit her teeth. Fine, she'd tough it out!

Wuwuwu… It really was so bitter…

As she drank, Tang Yingying cried, while Zhao Kuo sighed helplessly and added a few wooden planks to the stove.

"When we get to the next station, we'll see if there's any medicine. If there is, we'll stock up. Healing items don't do much for illnesses."

After this experience, Zhao Kuo understood the importance of various medications.

Especially common medicines like cold and fever reducers—they were essential for the journey.

If they had fever reducers, they wouldn't have had to go through all that trouble earlier.

"Mhm…" Tang Yingying nodded, putting the bowl down and frowning. "I really can't drink anymore. I feel like I'm going to throw up."

Zhao Kuo glanced at the remaining third of the bowl and nodded. "That should be enough. Let me check."

With that, he reached out his hand.

Tang Yingying shrank back, her face full of wariness. "What… what are you trying to do?"

"If I wanted to do something, I would've done it already. Stop messing around. I'm checking your temperature," Zhao Kuo said, not waiting for her reaction as he reached into the girl's neck.

Hmm, her temperature had dropped significantly, but she still had a slight fever. It should go down after the medicine takes effect.

"Does your head hurt?" Zhao Kuo asked, withdrawing his hand.

Tang Yingying's expression was a bit strange as she shook her head. "A little, but not much. Uh… did you build this?"

"Yeah, while you were sick. If I'd been any slower, you might've already met Buddha," Zhao Kuo joked, which was rare for him.

"If that happened, I'd definitely ask him to take you with me," Tang Yingying pouted.

"Thanks for that. I'll go make dinner. You've been sleeping all afternoon, so we'll have some porridge tonight—something light," Zhao Kuo said, standing up and leaving the small room.

Tang Yingying watched as the door slowly closed, then after a moment, her entire face turned red. She buried her face in her hands and curled up in the corner.

"So embarrassing! So embarrassing! Ahhh…"

Although the meal was supposed to be light, Zhao Kuo still added some fresh meat to the porridge, as nutrition was also important.

The two of them consumed just over two pounds of rice a day, largely because of the energy expended on the treadmill.

Zhao Kuo also gave a pound of rice each to Luo Ping'an and Gu Shan, then stored the remaining rice in the storage box.

In this weather, there was no need to worry about food spoiling.

Zhao Kuo planned to stockpile fifty pounds of rice as emergency rations and sell any excess.

It was worth noting that after the initial difficulties, the trading market had become increasingly abundant, including staples like rice and wheat. However, the prices were exorbitant and not affordable for most people.

Moreover, bartering had become rare, and most transactions required subway coins.

Everyone knew how important subway coins were—they could be used to buy items not available on the trading platform.

The benefits Zhao Kuo had enjoyed upon arriving at Lushan Station were likely gone for good.

But that was fine. He just needed to stay ahead of everyone else.

After finishing her porridge, Tang Yingying didn't go back to sleep. She was still quite energetic, so she pulled out a comic book she'd bought at Lushan Station.

Yes, a comic book—1 subway coin for three books, or 2 subway coins for seven.

Tang Yingying had bought a whopping 70 comic books and novels to pass the time during the journey.

Zhao Kuo understood. Even with someone to talk to, the long journey could get monotonous. Reading comics and novels helped maintain a good mood.

Zhao Kuo sat in the driver's seat, feeling the temperature drop significantly. Even with the stove nearby, he could feel a biting chill.

He draped another sheepskin over his shoulders. To prepare for the cold weather, he had bought two more from Luo Ping'an.

Now, that decision seemed wise.

By now, the subway windows were completely covered in snow, making it impossible to see the path ahead.

Zhao Kuo had no choice but to stop the train and use a wooden plank to scrape the snow and ice off the windshield.

Just then, a system notification sounded in his ears.

[Attention all players: The Extreme Cold Storm will arrive in 30 minutes.]

[Attention all players: The Extreme Cold Storm will arrive in 30 minutes.]

[Attention all players: The Extreme Cold Storm will arrive in 30 minutes.]

The repeated notifications instantly changed Zhao Kuo's expression.

The Extreme Cold Storm—it didn't sound like something to be trifled with. The temperature would likely plummet to -10 or -20 degrees Celsius, making it impossible to operate the subway.

This didn't bode well…

Zhao Kuo glanced at the pitch-black subway tunnel ahead and shook his head.

Returning to the car, Tang Yingying poked her head out of the room. "Did you hear the notification just now?"

"I'm not deaf. You should go back to bed," Zhao Kuo waved her off.

"No, I was just suggesting we boil more water. It doesn't matter if it's dirty—we can fill bottles and use them as hot water bottles. Also, I made two more stoves earlier, but having too many stoves might give us carbon monoxide poisoning."

Tang Yingying stuck out her tongue.

Zhao Kuo had designed the room with ventilation in mind, but too many stoves could indeed lead to carbon monoxide poisoning.

Tang Yingying was right.

Zhao Kuo nodded and went to check the bathroom. The collected water wasn't much—only a few dozen milliliters.

Sighing, he had to boil the purified water from the water condenser and fill two bottles, which he then wrapped in sheepskin to retain heat for a long time.

With the last half hour, Zhao Kuo also made a small bed for himself before curling up on it.

The two of them huddled under the blankets, waiting for the storm to arrive.

Half an hour later.

[The Extreme Cold Storm has arrived. Please stay warm. Temperatures will continue to drop.]

As the howling wind roared outside, they felt the subway car shake violently. The locomotive, which had been running, also stopped due to the extreme cold.

Fortunately, they had prepared in advance, so the temperature in the small room didn't drop drastically.

This was thanks to the two stoves in the small room and the four stoves in the car. Although it consumed a lot of fuel, it created a good insulating layer.

I wonder how cold it is outside now… Zhao Kuo thought, lying in bed. It wasn't exactly comfortable—there was still a bit of a chill.

But compared to others, they were doing alright.