Chapter 35: One Day to Go! Strange Phenomena Arise Globally, Causing Panic and Unease.
"Boss! I found it!"
In the Central Control Room, Qian Duoduo's fingers flew like lightning, typing out a dazzling string of code on the keyboard.
On the massive holographic projection screen, real-time meteorological data streams from all over the world instantly popped up.
Every piece of data was shocking.
"At 30 degrees north latitude, the surface temperature has risen abnormally, reaching 45 degrees Celsius!"
"The Antarctic glaciers are melting on a massive scale, and sea levels are rising at an abnormal rate!"
"Sunspot activity indices have broken historical records; global communications will be completely paralyzed within 24 hours!"
Qian Duoduo looked at the global temperature forecast curve on the screen, which was soaring almost vertically at a ninety-degree angle, his chubby face covered in cold sweat.
"Boss... this data model... you're not joking, right?"
"According to the AI simulation, in 24 hours, the global average temperature will exceed 60 degrees Celsius!"
"This isn't a natural disaster, this is clearly the end of the world!"
Lin Xingwan stood in front of the screen, looking at the eerie dark yellow sky, and took a deep breath of the unusually stifling air.
It was no joke.
This was nature's final warning.
There were only twenty-four hours left until the natural disaster fully erupted!
"Huo Yuan."
Lin Xingwan pressed the internal communication button, her voice as cold as ice.
"The Star Fortress is entering the highest alert status. Close all non-essential external channels."
"Notify all peripheral construction personnel to immediately retreat into the underground bunkers and check all life-support systems."
"From now on, without my orders, no one is allowed to leave The Fortress even a single step!"
"Received."
Huo Yuan's voice was brief and powerful.
The entire Star Fortress, like a precision war machine, instantly began operating at high speed.
The heavy explosion-proof alloy doors slowly closed, and the high-voltage electric grid started up silently.
This doomsday fortress, built at a cost of tens of billions, finally bared its ferocious fangs.
Meanwhile, the outside world had fallen into complete chaos.
The panic of the apocalypse, like a plague, was spreading wildly through the network that had not yet been severed.
"Damn! Have you guys seen the news? The water in the Yellow River is almost boiling, and the surface is covered with cooked fish!"
"It's not just the Yellow River! Here, it's raining dead birds; it's pitch black, like it's hailing!"
"The Golden Retriever I've raised for ten years has gone crazy! It almost bit my mom to death just now!"
The endless anomalies emerging all over the world plunged everyone into extreme panic.
Although officials were still desperately trying to debunk the rumors, calling them "normal geological phenomena."
But even a fool could see that an unprecedented catastrophe was about to descend.
Sensitive people had already begun to act.
Major supermarkets across the city were instantly overrun by panicked crowds.
"Stop pushing! You're stepping on someone!"
"Get the fuck out of my way! This case of mineral water is mine!"
People were resorting to violence to snatch a bottle of mineral water or a pack of instant noodles.
Trampling, brawling, and even using knives.
The most primitive evil in human nature was completely unleashed before the apocalypse arrived.
Qian Duoduo switched the surveillance footage from various parts of the city onto the main screen.
Watching the bloody and chaotic scenes on the screen, he couldn't help but dry heave.
"It's... it's fucking crazy."
Lin Xingwan, however, just watched coldly, her heart terrifyingly calm.
This was just an appetizer.
Once the extreme heat truly descended, there would be no water or electricity.
For half a bottle of stinking mineral water, even biological fathers and sons would turn against each other.
She turned around, no longer looking at those nauseating scenes.
Instead, she walked into the resource storage area on the fifth underground floor to begin the final inventory.
Rice, flour, meat, vegetables, medicine, weapons...
Every mountain of supplies increased her sense of security a little more.
In the two-plus months since her rebirth.
She had been like a machine operating at high speed, without resting for a single day.
Now, all preparations were in place.
She could finally wait quietly for the arrival of Judgment Day.
Time ticked away, second by second.
The countdown clock on the wall had its bright red numbers ticking away mercilessly.
10:00:00
09:59:59
...
At dusk.
Lin Xingwan had just finished checking the ammunition reserves in the armory.
The surveillance system on the perimeter of the Central Control Room suddenly emitted an extremely piercing buzz!
"Beep—! Beep—!"
"Boss! We have a situation!"
Qian Duoduo immediately switched the perimeter surveillance footage to the main screen.
On the screen.
In front of the Star Fortress's heavy explosion-proof alloy outer door.
A woman with disheveled hair, dragging a suitcase, was banging on the door frantically with a rock, just like a lunatic.
"Open the door! Lin Xingwan, you little bitch! Open the door for me!"
The woman screamed hysterically while banging on the door.
Lin Xingwan's gaze fell on the woman's face.
It was an extremely terrifying face.
Half of her cheek was covered in ugly scars left by boiling water, looking like a twisted centipede.
It was none other than the vicious stepmother, Zhao Xuelan, who had previously run off with their money and somehow found out the address here!
"Oh, this old hag is quite well-informed."
Lin Xingwan looked at Zhao Xuelan's crazed appearance on the screen, a mocking sneer curling the corner of her lips.
"However, does she think this is her backyard, that she can come whenever she pleases?"
Qian Duoduo leaned in, a hint of schadenfreude on his face.
"Boss, this old witch is crying and making a scene outside, and she's attracted quite a few onlookers."
"Do you want me to activate the external high-voltage electric grid and fry her to a crisp?"
Lin Xingwan waved her hand, a flicker of amusement flashing in her eyes.
"Don't be in a rush."
"Let her make a scene for a while longer; the more people, the better."
She walked slowly to the central console and turned on the external loudspeaker switch.
"As a daughter, I really must properly 'entertain' my 'stepmother' whom I haven't seen in so many years."
Qian Duoduo looked at Lin Xingwan's "friendly" smile and couldn't help but shiver.
He knew that this old hag was probably done for today.
"Boss, she seems to be shouting something."
Qian Duoduo turned up the volume on the surveillance feed.
Zhao Xuelan's sharp, piercing, and venomous voice instantly echoed throughout the Central Control Room.
"Lin Xingwan! You unconscionable ingrate!"
"Your mother died young, and I was the one who raised you! Now that you've made it big, you want to kick me to the curb?!"
"I'm telling you! If you don't open the door and let me in today, I'll die right here! I'll let the whole world see what an unfilial beast you are!"