Everything was silent, except for the faint "crackling" sound of objects freezing as the snow line advanced.
The snow line, as it advanced, seemed alive, wielding the grim reaper's scythe, harvesting lives.
Wangcai, tail tucked, paced nervously indoors. Gu Qingcheng heard it, pulled it into the covers, and Wangcai shivered.
It had been restless moments ago, jumping around, but now it was still.
When real danger arrived, animals were more instinctive and sensitive than humans.
It sensed this terrifying supernatural power, more dreadful than when it was hit by a car.
For a moment, the only sounds in the room were the "crackling" of the charcoal fire and the slight hum of the electric heater.
"Crack, crack... crackle..."
The sound of the advancing snow line grew closer, reaching the door of the side room. It paused briefly, as if it were a living person aware of someone inside.
But only briefly. Then, without hesitation, it moved forward.
After a "crackling" sound that froze everything, the temperature dropped noticeably, and a blast of cold wind swept through.
Even huddled under the warm down comforter, everyone felt a persistent chill on their bodies.
It was a coldness like never before.
There were no words to describe it.
Gu Qingcheng, peeking through a sliver in the quilt, watched as the flames in the charcoal brazier went from blue to "poof," extinguished as if doused with water, leaving the charcoal surface gray and white.
The electric heater initially held strong, glowing red, but soon, struck by the extreme cold, it ceased power transmission, and the heater grew cold...
She hadn't expected the extreme cold to be so terrifying!
A chill ran down Gu Qingcheng's spine. No, this couldn't be happening. Had all her preparations been in vain?
At the thought, her body trembled involuntarily.
Fortunately, her mother was beside her.
Hu Lanfang held her daughter, and they shared warmth.
Her intention, of course, was to transfer all her body heat to her daughter.
But fortunately, the underfloor heating was still valiantly providing warmth.
The good food and drink provided to the laborers had not been in vain; everyone had worked diligently, and the heating system continued to supply warmth to the rooms, fiercely resisting the extreme cold.
After a long, long time...
The worst outcome did not occur.
They heard the snow line continue to advance towards Yashan Mountain behind the house, still with its "crackling" footsteps, resolutely climbing the mountain range and heading further away, mercilessly claiming all life.
Gu Chaobei finally called out:
"Wife, Qingcheng, how are you both?"
His voice held a hint of daze and fear, as if he was afraid his wife and daughter wouldn't make it.
"We're fine, Dad. How are you and Migua?"
"Yes, it suddenly got very cold for a while, but it's better now. I think we've adapted." Hu Lanfang replied.
Gu Qingcheng pulled the quilt open a bit wider, trying to survey the room, but immediately closed it again, as the biting cold pierced through the gap like a dagger.
The down comforter covered the two women and the dog, huddled together, sharing warmth. It was effective, at least ensuring their bodies wouldn't freeze.
"We're alright too. We should have made it through. What's the temperature outside now?"
Gu Chaobei asked his daughter. He knew she could see the thermometer in the Mountain Cat Supermarket.
"Oh my god, it's minus 80 degrees outside, and minus 30 degrees indoors."
Gu Qingcheng, knowing her family was safe, finally had the leisure to check the thermometer.
Gu Qingcheng felt speechless. As far as she knew, there was a village within the Arctic Circle on Earth called Oymyakon, where the temperature was usually around minus 50 degrees Celsius, reaching minus 70 degrees Celsius in extreme conditions. This was already the coldest human habitation.
Unexpectedly, they were experiencing minus 80 degrees Celsius today! They had set a record!
Fortunately, the indoor insulation measures had worked, keeping their indoor temperature at minus 30 degrees Celsius, withstanding this deadly extreme cold.
At this temperature, though dangerous, it wouldn't kill a living person unless they were naked and running around without any thermal protection.
Gu Chaobei clearly knew about these things too. He breathed a sigh of relief and said:
"Then it's fine. We can move around indoors. I'll relight the charcoal brazier."
Gu Chaobei first extended his hand out of the down comforter. Feeling that he could bear it, he then emerged from the covers and walked to the charcoal brazier. Yet, these few steps made his body tremble with cold.
Seeing this, Gu Qingcheng got out of bed to help relight the brazier.
To their delight, the charcoal hadn't completely extinguished; only the surface charcoal had frozen. After adding a few more pieces of oily wood, it soon reignited.
They had made extensive preparations, and the rich, oily splinters were one of them. Throwing these into the brazier, a flame quickly sprang up, igniting the surrounding charcoal.
With all four charcoal braziers relit, the temperature slowly began to rise.
"The temperature is rising. It's minus 20 degrees now. The danger should have passed."
Gu Qingcheng was constantly monitoring the thermometer.
To allow her family to see the thermometer, she had bought one from the supermarket and stuck it on the dining room wall.
Hu Lanfang then peeked out from under the quilt, relieved, and said:
"That was terrifying. It felt like a monster was staring at us from outside the door, ready to gnaw us to death with its icy jaws. It was so frightening.
Before, when Qingcheng was preparing all these things, I didn't take it seriously. I never expected it to be this cruel. If Qingcheng hadn't prepared in advance, we would all have frozen to death."
As she spoke, Migua also crawled out from under the down comforter. He hadn't yet realized the severity of the situation.
But when he quietly opened the door to the side room and saw the scene outside, he was stunned.
Outside the house, both the eaves and the courtyard were covered in frost, transforming the old house into a world of glazed ice.
It was beautiful, but it was the beauty of a world kissed by death.
Migua, startled, quickly closed the door. It was too cold.
A blast of cold air made his head suddenly feel unwell.
Gu Qingcheng remembered the villagers in Taoyuan Village who were fleeing famine. Fortunately, she had given them down jackets before. Those jackets could withstand temperatures of minus ten degrees Celsius; she hoped they were of some help.
This was a natural disaster. Even with her supermarket system, she couldn't save so many people.
Just like themselves, they thought they were well-prepared, but when the natural disaster struck, they realized their preparations were still crude and insufficient.
Having experienced a real extreme cold disaster, Gu Qingcheng realized that her cold-weather plan still had many areas that needed improvement.
Gu Qingcheng took out four long down jackets from storage for everyone.
These hooded, long down jackets were like sturdy quilts. After putting them on, the warmth around them slowly returned.
Gu Qingcheng also made one for Wangcai.
However, since there were no dog-specific down jackets, she had to modify one herself. She shortened the sleeves, re-sewed the cut cuffs, and put it on Wangcai, creating a down jacket for the dog.