Chapter 81: The Rain Stops
He Wang sat on the toilet, contemplating life.
Something felt off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
Staring at the unchanged bathroom, he instinctively looked out the window.
Then—his pupils shrank in shock!
He finally realized what was wrong!
The world… was far too quiet!
After the extreme heat had passed, there had always been endless torrential rain.
Except for Su Chen, who lived in the soundproofed Normadisen, everyone else was constantly surrounded by the deafening sound of rainfall!
But this morning, the familiar whoosh of rain was suddenly gone!
The silence of the world was what made He Wang feel so uneasy!
Without even pulling up his pants, he pushed open the bathroom window.
Sure enough—the downpour outside had stopped.
Although the sky remained overcast and gloomy, the usual deluge of rain was nowhere to be seen!
As more survivors woke up, they too noticed that the rain had ceased.
Many rushed out of their shelters, cheering with excitement in the open square.
Surely now that the rain had stopped, the floodwaters would gradually recede.
When that time came, not only would the survivors be able to go out and search for supplies, but perhaps even the world order would begin to return!
Leaders like Gao Qiqiang, Song Linfei, and Xia Bowen all shared the same hopeful thoughts.
He Wang and Sun Yuan were no different.
"Brother Su, what do you think?"He Wang expressed his thoughts, looking at Su Chen expectantly.
Su Chen couldn't help but chuckle, shaking his head.
"If you ask me, only the heavy rain has ended. The apocalypse… that's not going anywhere."
"Huh? Brother Su, why would you say that?"Sun Yuan couldn't help but ask.
Su Chen thought for a moment and decided to reveal a bit more about the apocalyptic future.
"The extreme heat and rain were just the beginning. Next comes the deep freeze… and after that, the zombie virus."
"That's when the true end of the world begins."
If it were just one disaster—say, just heatwaves or just rain—then maybe things would go back to normal afterward.
But with four different catastrophes one after the other, there was no going back.
He Wang and Sun Yuan stared at him with their mouths agape.
If someone else had said this, they wouldn't believe it even if beaten half to death.
But coming from Su Chen, they couldn't help but believe.
After all, he had prepared the Normadisen ahead of time, stockpiled a massive amount of supplies… everything pointed to his foresight.
"How do you know all this?"He Wang asked instinctively.
Before Su Chen could respond, He Wang quickly waved it off.
"Never mind. I was just asking. You don't have to answer."
After spending so much time with him, He Wang knew Su Chen's character well.
If Su Chen wanted to tell them the truth, he would've done it long ago.
Since he hadn't, that meant he didn't want to—and there was no need to push him.
Su Chen appreciated He Wang's nature—loyal, respectful of boundaries, and knowing when to advance and when to retreat.
He smiled slightly.
"One day, I'll tell you everything."
He knew both of them had long been curious about how he could produce supplies daily.
They had just been holding back and never asked.
Su Chen didn't plan to hide everything from them forever. But now wasn't the right time.
He didn't trust them enough yet to entrust his life to them.
"All right."
Although the two were a little disappointed, they didn't say much.
"By the way, in no more than two days, the deep freeze will hit."
"Use this time to renovate the hotel," Su Chen reminded them.
When the cold snap arrived, temperatures would swing to the opposite extreme—just like the previous heatwave.
Snow would fall, and biting winds would howl.
Without sufficient insulation and heating, people would freeze to death in the bitter cold!
"Got it. We'll get to work immediately!"
Seeing Su Chen's serious expression, the two dared not delay and nodded quickly.
After the discussion, He Wang and Sun Yuan left and ordered their people to gather everyone.
Before long, all the survivors in the hotel had assembled in the lobby.
"Starting today, within the next two days, you need to use all the insulation materials we've collected to renovate the hotel inside and out…"
He Wang relayed Su Chen's instructions to the crowd.
Everyone was stunned.
After days of endless rain, the skies had finally cleared, and it was summer now.
In their minds, it wouldn't be long before the temperature climbed again.
Why was Su Chen asking them to winter-proof the hotel?
Seeing the confused expressions, He Wang and Sun Yuan didn't explain much—just ordered them to follow instructions.
After all this time under Su Chen's leadership, the survivors had already become obedient.
Despite their confusion, they began working without complaint.
They boarded up most of the windows with wooden planks, layered with bedding and another layer of wood.
Just like that, a basic thermal barrier was in place.
In addition, He Wang and Sun Yuan sent people into the forest outside the hotel to cut down trees.
They planned to build fireplaces inside the rooms to survive the cold.
On Phoenix Mountain, the Youlton Hotel where Su Chen was based had become a key focus for the other survivor groups.
When they learned that Su Chen's people had left the hotel to cut wood in the back mountain, all the rival leaders were stunned.
"What's that Su Chen up to this time?"Gao Qiqiang muttered, stroking his chin.
"Boss Qiang, Su Chen's people are out of the hotel—this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Should we…"Zhao Xiong made a slicing gesture.
"Boss Gao, Boss Zhao, maybe we shouldn't act rashly,"A Biao quickly advised.
"What if it's a trap?"
"A Biao's right. We can't be reckless."
After failing twice already, Gao Qiqiang had grown extremely wary of Su Chen.
Even if Su Chen was brought to him, tied up and helpless, he'd still suspect Su Chen had some scheme up his sleeve.
On the other side, leaders like Gao Xiangjun and Xia Bowen were equally confused.
"What do you think, Yingying?"In a meeting room, Song Linfei turned to Lin Yingying.
He had just received news about Su Chen's latest activities and immediately called a meeting.
Among everyone present, Lin Yingying knew Su Chen best—so he had no choice but to ask her.
Lin Yingying paused for a moment and said softly,
"If you ask me, Su Chen never does anything without a reason."
Back when Su Chen hoarded supplies and medicines, many people thought he was crazy.
But look at him now—how far-sighted he's turned out to be!
"Yingying, aren't you praising that guy a bit too much?"Zhou Shixian said.