Earlier, after the earthquake cracked the mountainside, the "top floor" of the research institute was split in two. Not only were all the mutated creatures previously brought from outside gone, but even the instruments and data left in the institute had fallen into the gaps.
In an apocalypse, instruments are precious but replaceable. Data, once lost, is irreplaceable.
H City Base's professor team was almost completely paralyzed.
For some time, Professor Pei had worried a lot about this. He thought of first recovering the instruments to see if the data could be restored. Some things had backups, after all. But then one disaster after another struck. Instruments couldn't arrive, data couldn't be recovered.
Now, they could do nothing but watch.
Still, it wasn't entirely hopeless. This disaster, if not the whole Blue Star, had at least affected most of China simultaneously.
As long as satellite communications remained intact, H City Base couldn't study, but other bases could, and once the information was shared—
The problem was, after waiting for a week, there was no result.
No results. The previously frost-bitten greens in the fields could only sit there, frozen. No one knew if the soil had problems or whether it could be replanted. Even the plants themselves hadn't changed since they had left.
The frost problem was not over. While everyone was anxious, extreme heat arrived with shocking speed.
Early in the morning, the base detected anomalies and broadcast the warning. Everyone was told that extreme heat was coming, to prepare summer necessities, stay inside the base, and avoid walking on ice.
People expected it would take another two days, but who knew? It was still minus thirty degrees in the morning, and by the afternoon it rose above zero.
In the first five minutes, the temperature shot up from minus thirty degrees to zero. In just half an hour, it climbed from zero to thirty-nine degrees.
A seventy-degree change in temperature. Base residents had heating, which adjusted automatically. Most people barely noticed, though the rapid shift triggered several alarms. Thankfully, nothing was damaged.
Within half an hour, the icy surfaces that could not previously be cleaned melted, water running down the mountainside. The cracking ice sounded like a chorus. Everyone knew high heat had fractured the ice. It wouldn't be long before floods returned.
Inside the base, people were fine. Outside, the situation was dangerous. Few could endure such extreme heat.
Lan Jin and others arrived at the base entrance, peering down through the binoculars Brother Zhang handed them. Trees on the mountains blocked their view, so they could barely see the valley below.
Brother Zhang said, "Go up to the base wall. I am going that way too."
The wall he referred to was the outer defense of the base. It was very tall and outside the protection of the shield. From there, the temperature outside could be felt directly without leaving the base.
After climbing, someone handed them a better binoculars. Lan Jin looked through it. The city closest to the mountains came into sharp focus. Already, someone was walking on the ice.
Lan Jin said, "Someone is on the ice. Doesn't anyone warn them it's unsafe? At this heat, the ice will melt soon. What if they fall? Don't they know any common sense?"
Brother Zhang had noticed this. The broadcast at the foot of the mountain had warned everyone, but no one listened. Just then, the person frolicking on the ice fell into a crevice, and the surrounding ice immediately covered them.
The scene was eerily familiar. When the extreme cold had first arrived, a few idiots had walked on the ice too. Back then, the ice wasn't solid, and they fell in after a few steps. Rescue was impossible, and this event mirrored that.
The difference was timing. One occurred at the start of extreme cold. This one happened at the end of extreme cold, at the start of extreme heat.
With extreme heat, ground temperatures rose rapidly. The ice layer nearest the surface cracked from the heat, melting layer by layer. Ice already fractured loosened in the water and formed streams. If someone fell into a crevice, rescue would be impossible, and it was unclear where the person would drift.
Lan Jin didn't have time to worry about others. The sunlight above felt piercing.
She had not removed her thermal suit before leaving. Designed to stabilize temperatures over a seventy-degree range, the suit was basically thermal underwear. Over it, she wore a full-length ice silk sun-protective outfit. Many people used similar gear during the insect disaster, so it was normal.
Still, wearing the thermal suit, she already felt hot. The thirty-nine degrees she saw earlier must have been far exceeded.
Lan Jin asked, "Brother Zhang, what's the temperature now? Has it risen again?"
Brother Zhang glanced at his small thermometer and frowned. "Sixty-five degrees. Impossible. Maybe the instrument is broken."
Lao Gao immediately objected. "No, this is correct. It's like a sauna, nothing more."
Everyone, except Lan Jin in the thermal suit, was sweating heavily. Short sleeves stuck to backs from sweat. Anyone seeing it would agree, the temperature was real.
Lan Jin asked, "Brother Zhang, do you know the maximum temperature in extreme heat? Will the ultraviolet radiation affect people's skin?"
Those who had seen disaster movies felt uneasy. What if the sun's radiation was abnormal? What if ultraviolet rays harmed them? Knowing the answers in advance would help prevent harm.
Brother Zhang didn't know either. He said, "Extreme heat just arrived today. The sun was present before, but only today is it this strong. There's no base equipment to experiment…"
Ordinary people were always the ones at risk. Some things were better left unsaid to avoid headache.
What he could say was, "The instruments are being arranged to send over as soon as possible. I guess they will wait until the ice melts and then ship by boat."
But he could not mention that shipping by boat wouldn't be much faster than by car. Even without accidents, one week was not enough. If anything unexpected happened…