RIACMET chapter 114

 

Seeing Cheng Jing do all this, the rest of the team—including Li Liang—followed suit, even though they already had generators to ensure the air conditioning and fan could run at any time.

Though they were all superpowered and could adapt to and endure harsh climates much better than ordinary people, especially those whose abilities made them completely unafraid of heat,
No one was about to pass up the chance to make life more comfortable.

However, since their location was in the central area, they had to formally apply for renovations like these, undergo the proper approvals, and be supervised by assigned personnel before any construction crew could be let in.

Everyone could only try to find time after work each day to complete the renovations.

Of course, they weren’t the only ones preparing for the extreme heat. All their neighbors were doing the same.

There wasn’t a standard method that everyone followed, so each person had to rely on their own skills and adapt according to their circumstances.

Jiang Nian knew Jing-ge had been busy lately, so he didn’t make any extra demands. He focused on running the shop and cooking for himself. Later, they’d sit down together to drink and have midnight snacks.

Everyone’s daily life remained busy and satisfying. During this period, Minister Wang and Zhou Li gathered the entire team to discuss measures for preparing for extreme heat.

The inner and central districts weren’t too bad, but providing free dorm accommodations in the outer areas was more difficult.

Many people felt that the base had already done a lot by offering free shelter and basic living facilities. They protected even those with the lowest contribution points from zombies—an incredibly generous act in an apocalypse.

In fact, this was an unspoken rule at most base shelters.
This was the end of the world. Where else would you find such lofty moral standards?

The shelter simply provided a roof over one’s head. It did not guarantee how well any given survivor would fare.

The same was true of Base Z, where Jiang Nian had lived in his previous life. The degree of protection from extreme weather was strictly based on personal contribution points.

A harsh class line was drawn based on that minimum division, and many died of heat exposure when temperatures spiked.

But Nancheng Base was different.

Its official principle was to do one’s utmost and never give up on any human life.

Even when facing inevitable losses, they aimed to maximize the survival rate of all survivors while offering baseline protection.

Everyone in the outer districts was treated equally. If you wanted special treatment, you could use your points to rent housing in the inner zones.

For this reason, the leadership implemented measures in line with the base’s capabilities.

At the same time, they encouraged survivors to take action themselves—to prepare however they could and not just wait for death.

Anyone who relied entirely on the base would only end up waiting to die.

It must be said:
The military’s influence was far stronger than that of any other group. The army and civilians stood united, and no one was left to justify the moral blackmail of the authorities.

Those who tried sneaky tactics behind the scenes were often reported by ordinary people and dealt with swiftly. As long as you weren’t stupid or malicious, everyone knew that order was the only guarantee of stability.

As for the prefabricated dormitories in the outer zones, the base made a decision after gathering opinions and having a thorough discussion.

They would build insulated warehouses on top of the prefab dorms. Construction would proceed in stages and sections, effectively adding an extra roof over each dormitory.

Solar panels would be installed on top to generate and store electricity. Although large-scale central air conditioning couldn’t be arranged, specially modified mist sprinklers could be set up.

At that point, they could also use superpowers to cool the space between the insulated structure and the dorms in a controlled way.

From what Jiang Nian knew, there would be a few days at the end of the hottest stretch when the heat would become unbearable.

By the end of that period, people would be exhausted and could collapse from heatstroke at any moment.

To protect people, the base would have to deploy refrigerants, such as liquid nitrogen, during that timeframe.

Nancheng Base had sufficient refrigerant reserves. With assistance from those with water- and wood-type powers and by modifying equipment to control usage rates, it could be managed—at least according to the experts’ calculations.

In cases like this, insulated spaces are essential since refrigerant alone wouldn’t effectively cool a tiny dorm room.

In theory, this seemed feasible and should work when temperatures peaked. Naturally, there would be costs associated with trial and error.

Given the current situation, this was all the base could do. Ultimately, whether someone survived would depend on them.

There would be extreme cold and heat, as well as other disasters, but as long as you made it through one day at a time, there was still hope.

Hardships could only be overcome together. The entire base threw themselves into preparations for the extreme heat to come with determination.

—

It was nearly the end of May.

The day had arrived for Cheng Jing’s team to leave together. They planned to be gone for about a week or ten days.

Zhou Li approved their leave and supplied them with ample weapons and ammunition.

However, when he gathered them to give them routine reminders about the standard use of munitions, he suddenly dropped a bombshell.

“Cheng Jing, who in your team has space storage abilities?”

“… ”

Cheng Jing, who was in the kitchen preparing crayfish and snail noodles for Jiang Nian, immediately tensed up. He subconsciously glanced at the others watching TV in the living room, then lowered his voice.

“What exactly does Minister Zhou mean by this?”

They had taken out so many large items that it was only natural for people to be suspicious, but he neither confirmed nor denied it—and he wasn’t afraid either.

“Oh, I was just asking casually. You should stay vigilant, hahaha…”

Zhou Li laughed loudly on the other end before continuing.

“I don’t mean anything by it, only to remind you that external mutated storage items need to be bound with a drop of your blood.
If you have a superpower, it’s best to infuse both your ability and your blood into it. It’s more secure that way. Otherwise, if you lose it, someone else can easily take it over.”

He’d heard of a few cases like that before.

Cheng Jing nodded.

“All right. Thank you.”

The spatial rings that he and Jiang Nian owned hadn’t been bound in any special way because, once bound, they wouldn’t be able to access each other’s spaces.

They were a matching set acquired when their superpowers awakened, and there was a special link between them.

As long as they held hands and touched their rings together, they could exchange items directly without taking them out.

However, once bound with a drop of blood, just like a weapon recognizing its master, the rings could only be activated by their respective owners.

Noticing that he hadn’t answered directly, Zhou Li showed no displeasure and didn’t press further. Instead, he continued,

“There’s no need to be so tense. I’ve reminded the others in the same way. If you have them bound already, just treat my words as nonsense.”

Very good—his vigilance was as high as ever. It made perfect sense that he had been able to remain steady all this time without falling into any traps. He was dependable.

“…”

Cheng Jing thought for a moment, then asked,

“Is there a way for two people to use each other’s storage spaces?”

“There is, but both of you must be superpowered.”

Zhou Li answered, then explained the method.

“Both people drip blood at the same time and mix it in a single container. Then, the two mutated objects are soaked in or contaminated by the combined blood. Both people then infuse their superpowers into the objects until all the blood in the container is absorbed.”

“Oh…”

Cheng Jing smiled.

“Understood. Thank you, Zhou Li.”

His tone returned to its usual calm, and even the way he addressed Zhou Li changed.

This method was excellent—it could protect the spatial rings while allowing them to continue sharing their spaces.