Chapter 7: The Temperature Drops
A blast of icy wind carrying fine shards of sleet blew straight into the supermarket entrance. Chu Yang, who had just leaned halfway outside, shuddered violently, his teeth clicking together uncontrollably.
Instinctively hunching his shoulders, he pulled his thin jacket tighter around himself as goosebumps rippled across his arms.
“Wait, what?” Confused, he held out his hand, palm turned upward. A few drops of freezing liquid hit his skin; it was not ordinary rain, but a mix of slush and sharp ice crystals that pricked his face with a faint sting.
Before he could process the change, a shower of tiny white pellets began pattering down alongside the rain. They rustled against the cracked gray pavement, leaving damp spots that were instantly swallowed by the downpour.
“You’ve got to be kidding me…” Chu Yang muttered, tilting his head toward the sky.
The afternoon, which had seemed clear enough moments before, was now smothered beneath heavy, dark storm clouds. Freezing rain and snow swept down in a tangled flurry.
The air grew brutally cold in minutes. Every breath he exhaled drifted in front of him as thick, pale mist before fading into the gray surroundings.
“This crazy weather… it changes faster than turning a page!” he muttered under his breath, feeling the skin on his face and hands go numb.
The rapid drop in temperature was unnatural, as if they had suddenly walked straight into a deep freezer.
Beside him, Jiang Jue stepped forward without a sound, stopping right where the overhang met the open street. He held out his right hand, catching a few stray flakes and icy drops on his palm.
The moment they touched his warm skin, the snowflakes melted into droplets, yet the bone-deep chill lingered, creeping up from his fingertips.
“It’s sleet, and the temperature is still falling.” Jiang Jue’s voice was low and calm, but the faint furrow between his brows revealed how seriously he took the shift.
An abnormal, sudden freeze was never good news during an apocalypse; it usually signaled unknown dangers. Severe cold could kill just as easily as the infected, and they needed to find proper winter gear immediately.
While Jiang Jue stood lost in thought, Chu Yang’s smug voice broke the quiet: “Heh, good thing I planned ahead!”
Jiang Jue looked over. Chu Yang was grinning broadly, producing a large black umbrella out of thin air. With a crisp pop, he flicked it open, the wide canopy forming a protective dome that shielded him from the icy deluge.
Immediately after, Chu Yang held out a second black umbrella with an eager look, like a kid presenting a prize. “Here, Brother Jiang, this is for you! I picked them up on our way out of the store—didn’t think we’d need them this fast!”
Jiang Jue didn’t take the umbrella right away. Instead, he lifted his gaze and looked steadily at Chu Yang.
The boy’s face was smudged with dust and marked with a few faint scrapes, but none of it hid the clean, handsome lines of his features. His bright eyes were filled with open anticipation, practically begging for a compliment.
Yet, despite his refined, harmless looks, the young man had a habit of throwing around coarse slang with the casual swagger of a street rogue. The sharp contrast gave Jiang Jue a persistent sense of incongruity.
Chu Yang shifted under the intense scrutiny. His arm hesitated in midair, giving the umbrella a small, nervous twitch. “What’s wrong, Brother Jiang? Is there dirt on my face? Or is there something wrong with the umbrella?”
“Watch your language,” Jiang Jue said quietly. His tone was not raised, but it carried an undeniable weight, as though correcting a matter of strict principle.
Chu Yang blinked, momentarily confused, before realizing Jiang Jue was referring to the rough slang he had let slip earlier.
He tried to defend himself, feeling a bit wronged. “I didn’t say anything that bad, did I? It was just a slip of the tongue… It’s not like I cursed your ancestors. Back where I’m from, people talk like that all the time; it doesn’t really mean anything.”
Under Jiang Jue’s calm, unblinking, and overwhelmingly stern gaze, however, Chu Yang’s voice grew softer and softer. In the end, he raised one hand in defeat, adopting an obedient tone. “Fine, fine, my bad! I’ll watch my mouth from now on, I swear!”
Watching Jiang Jue finally accept the umbrella and step out into the thickening slush, Chu Yang trailed behind, muttering under his breath at a volume meant only for himself: “So strict… worse than my old high school teacher. I barely even said anything…”
Complaints aside, he didn’t slow down. Keeping his umbrella steady, he jogged to match the taller man’s stride. Shallow puddles splashed against the hems of his trousers, sending cold moisture soaking through the fabric.
“Brother Jiang, where are we heading now?” Chu Yang fell in beside him, trying his best to sound focused and earnest. “It’s freezing out here. We need to find decent shelter and get our hands on some heavy coats!”
Without breaking his stride, Jiang Jue scanned the buildings lining the avenue—most were either thoroughly looted shops or shuttered residential blocks. His gaze soon settled on a mid-sized shopping mall several streets down that still looked relatively intact.
“Gather winter clothes,” Jiang Jue answered simply, adjusting his direction toward the shopping complex.
There was no telling how long the snowstorm would last, and the air was only growing colder. If they didn’t stockpile enough warm clothing and thick blankets now, freezing to death was only a matter of time. In an apocalypse, preparation meant survival.
Hearing that, Chu Yang shed his playful attitude and nodded in agreement. “Good call! This storm came out of nowhere, and the freeze is ridiculous. Grabbing as many heavy clothes as possible is the smartest move.”
As they walked, he did the math in his head. If he remembered the novel correctly, the temperature would plunge to minus forty or fifty degrees within the next two days. That kind of extreme cold was brutal even for people from the north, let alone southerners who were used to mild winters. Without proper insulation, they wouldn’t stand a chance.
Fighting their way through the slush and wind, the two soon reached the shattered glass doors of the shopping center.
Chu Yang collapsed his umbrella, shook off the accumulated slush, and looked around with curiosity.
The ground-floor atrium was broad and bright, mostly lined with popular fashion boutiques. However, the display windows and racks were filled almost entirely with summer apparel—colorful T-shirts, light summer dresses, and casual shorts—looking completely out of place against the freezing storm outside.
“Man, it’s all light summer stuff…” Chu Yang rubbed his chin, thinking it over. “Then again, if I remember right, the climate goes crazy in this world. In about a month, it’s going to turn scorching hot again, like a roller coaster. These shirts and shorts might actually come in handy later. Better safe than sorry!”
He turned to Jiang Jue. “Brother Jiang, I think we should pack some of these lighter clothes too. We can grab practical sizes for both of us, mostly dark colors since they don’t show dirt easily. What do you think?”
Jiang Jue cast a brief glance across the neatly organized racks and gave a small nod of approval.
Chu Yang went straight to work, moving swiftly between the stores on the main floor. He focused on picking out breathable cotton basics, plain T-shirts, and durable casual pants tailored to both his and Jiang Jue’s builds. While he prioritized dark, practical tones, he also tossed in a few well-cut lighter shirts whenever he spotted them.
While digging through a sportswear outlet for pants in the right sizes, a home goods store in the far corner caught his eye.
His face lit up, and he immediately changed course, heading inside with quick steps. He had just stored an expensive luxury mattress and bed frame, and he was already wondering how he was going to find decent bedding!
The interior was in surprisingly good shape, with plenty of shelves left untouched by previous survivors.
“Jackpot! I was just worrying about having an empty mattress!” Chu Yang rubbed his hands together gleefully and began browsing the displays.
He ran his fingers over the various textiles, checking the quality as he went. “This sky-blue cotton sheet set is soft and breathable, great for warmer days… This gray flannel one is thick and plush, perfect for winter… And this down duvet has plenty of loft; it feels heavy and warm…”
He kept up a steady stream of commentary to himself as he casually swept the duvets, fitted sheets, and plush pillows into his storage dimension, humming a cheerful, tuneless melody under his breath.
At long last, he could say goodbye to sleeping on cold concrete floors. Even during the apocalypse, a person deserved some basic comfort, didn’t they?
Jiang Jue didn’t step inside. Instead, he leaned against the shop’s doorframe with his arms loosely crossed.
Though his posture seemed casual, his eyes remained sharp, steadily monitoring the atrium for any sudden movement.
His gaze drifted past the torn packaging on the floor and settled on the young man inside, who was bending over the display tables with his back turned.
Chu Yang would lift a sheet set to inspect the stitching one moment, then bury his face in a fluffy down quilt to test its softness the next. That attentive, surprisingly domestic side formed a curious contrast with his usual nonstop chatter, as well as the fierce, reckless energy he showed whenever he swung a blade.
