Chapter 681: Chapter 681: Scorching Heat

The mining area in the space had a vast, seemingly inexhaustible supply of ore. Evelyn thought, ’Perhaps the ore appearing after the space upgraded was meant to be my way of helping everyone.’

The ore in the base’s own mining area was nearly depleted. Rhys Chase had sent out numerous search parties, but they had a hard time finding anything other than coal and iron.

If the base wanted to arm every citizen, they couldn’t do it without weapons.

She still had a large cache of ready-made weapons in her space. Most of them had been plundered from the bandit stronghold on Mount Caldera, while another portion had been "liberated" from Country W. It wouldn’t be wise to give these weapons to the base, and Evelyn had no intention of doing so. The ore, however, she could provide free of charge. After all, it was just sitting uselessly in her space. Better to let it be put to its best possible use.

—

The May heat was unbearable. Wendy finally had a day off, and Evelyn had wanted to take her to the mall. But the weather was scorching, and the base’s roads were still just packed dirt. The ground was so hot it felt like it was burning through the soles of your shoes.

After a month of work, Wendy brought home a good amount of supplementary rations. In addition to various vouchers, she had eggs, wild vegetables, and mushrooms.

"A young man collapsed from heatstroke today. He was dead by the time they got him to the hospital. In the last two days alone, nine people have died from it."

Wendy dealt with the god of death every day. Despite not even being fifteen, she carried herself with the composure of a thirty-year-old. She now worked in the hospital’s emergency department, which meant daily overtime and irregular meals. This would cause serious long-term damage to her health. Evelyn urged her to transfer to another department. After all, she was still young and growing; she shouldn’t be working herself to the bone. But Wendy refused. She was completely devoted to the ER, set on making a difference in her role. A transfer was not part of her plan.

"This heat is just torture, but I heard the base is opening factories soon. Most people will be able to get a job inside, so they won’t have to bake in the sun."

"There are only a few tens of thousands of spots in the factories. By the time they’re up and running, summer will be over."

"It’s only May, and it’s already this scorching. The temperature probably won’t drop until August or September."

"I’m just worried the crops in the fields will get scorched to death."

Everyone was worried about the base’s situation. Miles Vaughn brought up the idea of cloud seeding, but the conditions for that were strict. Lately, the skies above Eldoria had been completely clear. You couldn’t make artificial rain without clouds.

Evelyn massaged her temples. "The crops the base planted are all heat-resistant, so they can handle the intense sun. We just need to endure these next few months. Once autumn arrives, the temperature will fall. I still have plenty of water pipes in the space. If the base doesn’t have enough, I can lend them some for a while. Let’s just focus on getting through this crisis."

"I’ll go ask Mr. Chase about the situation, then," Liam Sterling said, also anxious. Back in Frelia, they had experienced severe heatwaves and droughts before. Healthy crops were scorched dead, the base suffered devastating harvest losses, and residents had to ration food and clothing. The misery was indescribable.

Living through that once was enough. They absolutely could not let history repeat itself.

Fortunately, the base still had several planes. For the past few days, they had been using them to spray water over the fields. The crops weren’t really affected. In fact, the potatoes and sweet potatoes planted earlier were now ripe.

After 6:30 p.m., once the sun set, the temperature dropped by more than ten degrees in an instant. Evelyn led everyone out of the space and into their small courtyard to enjoy the cool air. Taylor Vance and Zion Lowell had gone to the game room to play chess. Sliced watermelon sat on the table while a pleasant song played over the base’s public address system, and everyone couldn’t help but hum along.

"Wendy and I are planning to go check out the mall. Anyone want to come?"

The other men all waved her off. Wyatt Vaughn and Joelle Finch, however, had been there once before. The mall was huge and had everything you could imagine, and they were both eager to go again. As soon as Evelyn mentioned it, they quickly stood up.

"We want to go too."

"Alright, let’s go. We’ll take the tricycle."

Wyatt Vaughn wanted to bring Zoe along, but she was busy "communicating" with a little bird that had flown into the yard and didn’t even look up.

"That kid... she’s getting more and more playful."

Evelyn smiled. "Zoe is a smart girl. Being playful means she’s healthy, and that’s a good thing."

Evelyn had the others get in the back, and once they were settled, she started the tricycle. Ronan Kendrick came over to tell her to be safe. He tried not to show it, but his eyes were filled with disappointment.

Evelyn pinched his cheek and whispered, "I’ll make it up to you tonight."

With that, the tricycle pulled away. Ronan Kendrick’s lips curled into a blissful smile.

"Could you two be any more cheesy? Pinching his cheek in front of everyone."

Quincy rubbed his arms in mock disgust. Ronan Kendrick just said, "I enjoy it," then sat down, poured himself a cup of tea, and went back to resting with his eyes closed.

Quincy tutted. "’I’ve never seen someone so lovesick. You’re a lost cause.’"

Meanwhile, Evelyn, Wendy, Wyatt Vaughn, and Joelle Finch arrived at the base’s mall. It was packed with people—a veritable sea of bodies. Evelyn told everyone to hold their bags in front of them to deter pickpockets. She then locked up the tricycle in a corner of the parking area, and the four of them headed in through the mall’s main entrance.

"The first floor is for furniture, the second is for household goods, and the third is for fruits and vegetables. A lot of people have been buying furniture lately. Now that life is more stable, most have saved up some vouchers and want to custom-order things like tables, chairs, and benches."

"Let’s check out the furniture section first. A couple of months ago, the base brought back a lot of lumber from Varden, so they’ve built a ton of furniture. If we see anything nice, we should buy some. Zoe and Annie need desks for their studies, and Wendy’s room needs a bookshelf."

As they entered the furniture section, they saw that the people browsing were all neatly dressed. These were residents who were living relatively comfortable lives. When Evelyn’s group appeared, quite a few heads turned to look at them.

It was Wendy’s first time in this part of the mall, and she was overwhelmed by the selection. After looking around, she had no idea what to choose. All the furniture was made of wood, and the craftsmanship was excellent.

"Wendy, come look at this bookshelf. It’s foldable, has five shelves, and can easily hold a few hundred books. The wood is really solid; it definitely won’t collapse."

Wendy loved it at first sight. The bookshelf was a natural wood color, and she could still smell the fresh scent of the lumber. It was even decorated with exquisite carvings; you could tell the artisan who made it had poured their heart into it.

"Joy Ford, I’m afraid it’ll cost a lot of vouchers."

Evelyn patted her shoulder. "If you like it, just buy it. Don’t worry about the cost. What are vouchers for if not to be spent? It’s not like they’ll multiply if you save them."

Evelyn waved a salesperson over.

"Hello, we’ll take this bookshelf and the two desks next to it."

"Are you sure? Those three pieces are quite expensive."

"Positive. Do you offer home delivery?"

The salesperson nodded. "Of course. Please leave your name and address, and we can have it delivered tonight."

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