Worldwide Wildfire

"Okay, I'll remember you. Wang Xinning, right? You can find me next time you need something."

The official smiled.

Wang Xinning nodded with a humble smile, then carefully carried his remaining supplies back to his six-person dormitory.

At this time, his roommates were still working outside, sparing him from any questioning.

He laid out the lettuce, sugar, chocolate, medicine, and other goods on the table. Only then did he notice something unexpected in the bag—a photo frame that wasn't part of the transaction.

Picking it up, he saw the familiar face of a little girl with a faint, shy smile.

His daughter.

"Thank you," Wang Xinning whispered, his eyes slightly red. His fingers gently brushed over the glass, then moved to the fresh lettuce, still damp with water droplets.

These were all he had now. His starting capital. His ticket to one day reuniting with his daughter.

On the other side, Su Wu had already moved on from the transaction.

Sorting through the hardware materials he had received, he was surprised to find several valuable components. With the chips he just obtained, he could now fill in key gaps in his shelter renovation. The estimated work time, originally over 1,200 hours, was reduced to less than 20.

"What a good man," Su Wu mused, thinking back to the photo. A man with such a beautiful daughter couldn't be bad. If the opportunity arose, he wouldn't mind helping him again.

The shelter renovation continued without incident.

Like a game, Su Wu simply browsed forum messages and dozed off, letting the process unfold automatically.

As the upgrades progressed, his system panel updated—his shelter level reached Livable Personal Shelter (0%).

The upgrade didn't increase his daily survival point income, but it granted him a one-time bonus of 50 survival points at the nightly settlement.

His savings had grown significantly once again.

June 14

The average surface temperature rose to 57 degrees.

Hardly anyone remained active outside. Many vehicles could no longer function under the extreme heat.

Su Wu stayed inside all day, chatting in forums and group chats.

It might have seemed unproductive, but he gained valuable updates on the world's situation.

During these conversations, he became familiar with a girl named Chen Xin.

She was the one who had previously asked for advice in the Doomsday group—the same girl he had casually suggested move inland.

She had taken his advice.

By sheer coincidence, she had relocated to Jianghe City.

June 17

The surface temperature reached 60 degrees.

The world, except for the North and South Poles, was engulfed in flames.

Toxic smoke billowed into the sky, forming thick, choking clouds. In areas closest to the wildfires, the sky turned an eerie shade of red.

Near Su Wu's farmyard, on the outskirts of Jianghe City, the midday sky was an ominous gray. Even with high beams on, visibility barely extended a hundred meters.

The global inferno had reached the mountains near his farmyard.

Unlike the small forest fire from over a week ago, this time, the flames engulfed the entire mountain range, devouring everything in their path.

And it was spreading toward the city.

"The situation is dangerous."

Su Wu sat in the control center on the second floor of his shelter, remotely controlling the camera installed on the farmyard's roof.

Through the live feed, he saw the mountains behind the gravel beach completely swallowed by an orange-red sea of fire. Even with the thick smoke obscuring the view, the sheer scale of the blaze was terrifying.

It felt like a primitive man facing the vast ocean for the first time, helpless against nature's wrath. Even an aircraft carrier thrown into that inferno would be reduced to molten scrap.

The fire raged on for more than ten hours.

Day turned to night, then night into dawn, yet the flames showed no sign of subsiding.

The smoke thickened, blotting out the sky. Strong winds carried burning branches and embers high into the air, dropping them into villages, factories, and eventually, the city itself.

What started as a few scattered fires quickly spread, forming a solid line of flame that expanded into a raging inferno.

In less than half a day, the entire city was ablaze.

"Warning: toxic gas detected."

"Sealing all external doors. Increasing air purification system power."

Thanks to the gravel beach acting as a natural barrier, the farmyard above Su Wu's shelter remained untouched by the flames.

But the toxic smoke and ash were unavoidable.

The high concentration of airborne toxins pushed the shelter's air purification system to its limits, triggering constant monitoring alerts.

Sitting in the control center, Su Wu noticed the cool breeze from the central air conditioning had grown stronger—compensating for the external pressure.

A twinge of unease crept into his heart.

At this moment, the world outside was completely uninhabitable.

All he had was this small underground space.

Holding his breath, he waited for hours.

Gradually, as the toxic dust settled, the air outside began to stabilize. The purification system returned to normal operation.

Su Wu finally exhaled, his tense nerves loosening.

He downed a glass of ice water, trying to shake off the lingering fear. Then, regaining his composure, he ordered the engineering team to resume excavation of the third underground floor.

Meanwhile, he logged online to gather information.

Only then did he realize—he wasn't the only one who had struggled through those hours.

A massive network outage had occurred. Over three-fifths of the world had lost internet access.

In Jianghe City, almost all urban shelters had gone dark. Only a handful of people in remote suburban areas were still online.

Even for those still connected, survival was far from guaranteed.

One survivor, holed up in a suburban shelter, had only managed to stay alive because he had an oxygen concentrator and enough oxygen tanks.

Everyone else in his shelter—hundreds of people—had suffocated or succumbed to poison gas.