Chapter 104: Racing Against Time

Near noon, the convoy finally appeared in the distance.

Cass and the others had successfully brought back four more CUEVs from the factory, bringing the total near the convenience store to thirteen.

Jack had been looking forward to their return, but Cass brought back less encouraging news.

“It’s not looking great,” Cass said. “We tested quite a few vehicles in the outdoor lot, but many of them were completely unresponsive. We eventually checked the ones under the shelters. That’s where we found these four, but plenty of those wouldn’t start either.”

“Did you test all the ones outside?” Jack asked.

“No. There were too many. We only checked some of them.”

Jack looked at the four CUEVs they had brought back, feeling somewhat disappointed.

Megan had just finished teaching Elias how to drive and returned in time to hear their conversation.

“Don’t be too disappointed,” she said. “With these four, we already have thirteen CUEVs. That’s more than enough for now. We can deal with the rest after the heat wave passes.”

Jack thought about it and realized she was right.

Thirteen CUEVs were already enough for their current needs. The vehicles left at the factory weren’t going anywhere, so there was no reason to worry about them now.

With Cass’s group back, Elias began reorganizing everyone’s work.

The younger workers were divided into two groups. One would demolish the trading post and recover as much usable wood as possible, while the other continued dismantling wooden pallets.

The middle-aged workers gathered at the shelter site to assemble the support columns under Warren’s direction.

Warren remained in charge of the shelter construction, while Oscar oversaw the demolition of the trading post and marked the pieces of wood that could be removed intact.

Walter and Colt prepared the wiring and electrical components needed for the shelter.

Henry, Elias, Hal, and Mort would handle the supply runs to the electronics mall. The women continued with their existing assignments.

Once the work had been divided, Elias addressed everyone.

“Any objections? If not, eat lunch first. We’ll start as soon as everyone is finished.”

No one objected, and the group dispersed for lunch.

The meal was still bread, canned beef, and boiled potatoes. Everyone ate quickly before returning to their assigned work areas.

The younger workers began removing the reusable wood from the trading post. Oscar had already marked each section, and they took the pieces apart as carefully as they could.

The cracked and crumbling sun-dried bricks were no longer usable. Those were pulled down and cleared to one side.

The second group continued dismantling the wooden pallets from the storage room. The boards were sent to the shelter site, where Dean, Warren’s son Grant, Harris, Marlin, Gordon, and Thomas began joining them together into support columns.

Jack continued digging postholes with the children’s excavator.

Meanwhile, Henry and the others prepared to leave.

Two CUEVs were waiting beside the road. Henry and Elias took the driver’s seats. Hal rode with Henry, while Mort sat beside Elias to guide him.

Elias had only just learned how to drive, and his first start was still a little rough. Once he caught up with Henry’s vehicle, the two CUEVs left the convenience store.

They would stop at the agricultural supply center to install cargo beds, then continue to the electronics mall for supplies.

After seeing them off, Jack returned to the shelter site.

The first assembled support column had already been carried to one of the postholes. Warren was checking its position.

“Raise it first,” Warren instructed. “Keep it steady while we pack the clay around it. Don’t let go until it’s secure.”

Several of the middle-aged workers lifted the column together and slowly lowered it into the hole. Once Warren confirmed that it was standing straight, they began adding clay and packing it down layer by layer.

The demolition of the trading post was also underway nearby.

Recovered wood arrived at the shelter site one piece after another, while Vane and Reed continued carrying wooden pallets out of the storage room.

The open ground was busy in every direction.

The trading post came down faster than expected. Once all the usable wood had been recovered and sent to the shelter site, the younger workers joined the construction team and continued working under Warren’s direction.

Marg found Jack soon afterward.

“What are we going to do about the growing area? It isn’t only the potatoes anymore. The wheat, soybeans, corn, and sorghum have all sprouted too. Once the heat wave arrives, I’m afraid none of them will survive.”

Jack had no immediate answer.

Losing the potato plants wouldn’t matter much. They could simply plant more once the heat wave passed. With an unlimited supply of potatoes, there was no reason to worry about the loss.

The wheat, soybeans, corn, and sorghum were different. They had gone through a great deal of trouble to recover those seeds, and there weren’t many of them to begin with.

Jack looked toward the growing area.

“When Hal gets back, I’ll ask him if there’s any way to save them.”

Marg nodded and was about to leave when a commotion broke out at the shelter site.

Someone shouted that Warren had collapsed.

Jack started toward them, but Nolan and Simon were already carrying Warren beneath the canopy.

They laid him down in the shade. His eyes were closed, his face was flushed, and sweat covered his forehead and neck. His breathing was much faster than usual.

“He was still directing us while we raised the columns,” Nolan said. “Then he took a few steps and suddenly collapsed. I think the heat got to him.”

“Meg!”

Jack shouted toward the convenience store.

Megan arrived shortly afterward. As soon as she saw Warren, she crouched beside him, checked his breathing and pulse, then felt his forehead and the side of his neck.

“Remove his outer layer. Everyone else, give him some room. Don’t crowd around him.”

Nolan loosened Warren’s outer clothing while Marg brought over ice water and a clean cloth.

Megan soaked the cloth and placed it against Warren’s neck and under his arms. She also turned two Portable Climate Control Units toward him.

“He’s still unconscious, so don’t give him anything to drink. Keep cooling him down.”

Marg stayed beside Warren, replacing the cloth whenever it grew warm, while Megan closely monitored his breathing and response.

After a while, his breathing gradually steadied, and the redness in his face began to fade.

Only then did Megan breathe a little easier.

“We can’t keep going like this,” she told Jack. “The workload is too heavy, and the weather is already this hot. It’s not just older people like Warren who might collapse. Even the younger workers won’t last long if they keep pushing themselves like this.”

Jack gave a bitter smile.

“Then what can we do? We can’t stop building the shelter.”

“Start by preparing more lightly salted water,” Megan said after thinking it over. “Everyone is sweating too much. Plain water isn’t enough.”

“All right.”

Jack sent Marg back to the convenience store for salt. He also had Ruth and Edith move the food preparation area closer to the canopy so everyone could eat, drink, and take short breaks there without constantly walking back and forth.

He then asked Susan and Ray to prepare more ice and bring all of it to the shelter site.

With those arrangements in place, Jack returned to Warren’s side.

A short while later, Warren’s eyelids moved, and he slowly opened his eyes.

“What happened?”

“You passed out from the heat,” Jack said.

Warren took a moment to understand what had happened, then planted a hand on the ground and tried to sit up.

Jack immediately pressed him back down by the shoulder.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“They’re still working on the shelter. I need to keep an eye on the construction.”

“Stay down,” Jack said irritably. “Grant is still there, isn’t he?”

“But they...”

“No buts. You lost consciousness just now. You need to keep cooling down and rest.”

Warren had no choice but to give in.

“All right.”

Jack looked beyond the canopy at the glaring sunlight.

“We can’t keep working during the day. Not in this heat.”

“Then what do we do?” Warren asked. “We can’t stop construction.”

Jack was quiet for a moment.

“We change the schedule.”

“What do you mean?”

“Everyone stops now and goes back to rest,” Jack said. “We’ll resume work after sunset. From now on, we sleep during the day and work at night.”

Warren thought it over.

“That could work. We have plenty of lighting, so working at night might not be any slower.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do.”

Jack gathered everyone beneath the canopy and announced the new schedule. Starting that day, construction would stop during daylight hours and resume after sunset.

No one objected.

Everyone put away their tools, moved the unfinished support columns aside, and returned to their tents to rest.

Once the work area had cleared, Jack returned to the convenience store and began counting the mobile energy cells and PCCUs among the stored equipment.

Megan came back not long afterward and found him crouched beside the rows of machines.

“What are you counting?”

“The energy cells and PCCUs,” Jack said. “From now on, everyone will work at night and sleep during the day. But the tents get far too hot during daylight hours. No one will be able to rest properly, so I’m going to distribute the PCCUs.”

“That makes sense,” Megan said. “If they don’t rest properly during the day, they won’t have enough energy to work at night.”

They counted all the occupied tents, along with the temporary treatment room. Altogether, they would need nineteen PCCUs.

Since each mobile energy cell could power two PCCUs, ten energy cells would be enough.

Once they finished counting, Jack called over a few people who hadn’t gone to rest and asked them to help move the equipment outside.

“One PCCU for each tent,” Jack told them. “Every two tents will share one energy cell. When you come out to work at night, bring the energy cells back so I can recharge them.”

They distributed the equipment according to the locations of the tents, and everyone carried their assigned units back.

One PCCU after another came to life. Cool air finally began flowing through the tents, driving away the heat trapped inside.

The open ground, noisy for most of the day, gradually fell silent.

Everyone took the opportunity to rest. Once the sun went down, they would return to the shelter site and resume construction.

Jack and Megan went back to the second floor of the convenience store. After working for most of the day, both were exhausted. They washed up and returned to their rooms to lie down.

Meanwhile, more than three thousand kilometers away, the heat wave continued to expand.

The high-pressure system above the region kept strengthening and was gradually merging with another nearby high-pressure area. At the same time, a vast mass of hot, dry air continued flowing into the system, pushing its affected area far beyond the system’s original prediction.

The heat wave had not yet reached the convenience store, but the local weather was already beginning to change.

The occasional winds grew weaker, and there were fewer clouds than in the days before. The sun remained high in the sky, and even as evening approached, the temperature showed no sign of dropping as much as usual.

Everyone was asleep, unaware of the changes outside.

By evening, people began waking inside their tents.

On the second floor of the convenience store, Jack and Megan had changed their clothes and were about to go downstairs when the system’s voice sounded in Jack’s mind.

“Human, this system has bad news for you.”

Jack stopped.

“What bad news?”

“According to the latest detection, the heat wave has largely formed. Its affected area is now far greater than originally predicted.”

Jack immediately tensed.

“How did that happen?”

The system was silent for a moment before answering.

“The high-pressure system above the region where the heat wave formed continues to strengthen and is gradually merging with another nearby high-pressure area. At the same time, a massive body of hot, dry air continues to flow into the system, causing both the affected area and the intensity of the heat wave to increase.”

Jack’s expression turned grim.

Before he could ask anything else, the system spoke again. This time, its tone was even more solemn.

“Human, an emergency mission is now being issued.”

“Mission: Lead everyone through the heat wave crisis.”

“Time limit: Until the heat wave has completely dissipated.”

“Success: You may select one existing item in the convenience store and convert it into an unlimited supply.”

“Failure: Death.”

Jack stood there without saying a word.

Megan had already reached the stairs when she noticed he wasn’t following. She turned and found him standing in place with a miserable expression.

“What did LOSS say this time?”

Jack pulled himself together and told her that the heat wave was still expanding. Then he told her about the emergency mission.

“Is there something wrong with it?” The more Jack spoke, the more aggrieved he sounded. “It actually gave me a mission at a time like this.”

Megan didn’t join him in complaining.

“I think that’s good news.”

Jack stared at her.

“Think about it,” Megan said. “Mission or no mission, we still have to face the heat wave. Now, if we survive, we’ll also receive a reward. How is that not a good thing?”

Jack opened his mouth but found nothing to argue with.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Megan continued, “but I have a feeling we’ll make it through.”

Jack lowered his head and thought about what she had said.

She was right.

The mission hadn’t made the heat wave any more dangerous. The failure condition didn’t change anything either. If they couldn’t survive the heat wave, they would die whether the mission existed or not.

Some of the anxiety finally left him.

“Thank you, Meg.”

Jack nodded firmly.

“You knocked some sense into me.”

Megan smiled.

“Come on. Let’s see how everyone’s preparations are going.”

They went downstairs and headed toward the shelter site.

The sky was already growing dark. Everyone was bringing out the tools they had put away earlier, while the streetlights and temporary work lights came on one after another.

Jack had just reached the construction area when two CUEVs appeared in the distance.

The vehicles sped toward them, their cargo beds packed full.

Before either CUEV had come to a complete stop, Henry’s laughter carried across the construction site.

“Jack, do you know what we found?”