Chapter 68
Cody''s yful jab had Steughing, not bothering to rebut. If she was really a jinx, she secretly
wished this icy chill would never arrive.
A quick observation revealed that Jasper was as stoic as ever, and his expression was neither sad
nor happy.
Cooper was a bit restless, and still had not settled down after four hours of training, making
asional whimpering sounds.
Uncertain of when the severe cold would strike, Ste kept the electric nkets, downforters,
and cotton quilts at the ready. She put on thermal clothing before going to sleep. The intense
training during the day had drained her energy. She had nned to stay upte but was soon fast
asleep.
Abruptly, Cooper''s noisy barking and the crackling of the walkie-talkie woke her. Ste opened her
eyes and was hit by the bone-chilling cold. Sharp squeals of rabbits echoed in the room. She
switched on the shlight to find over 20 rabbits huddled in Cooper''s bed, shivering uncontrobly.
"Ste, Ste!" Jasper''s anxious voice came from the walkie-talkie.
"I''m... I’m here." Her teeth were chattering from the cold.
He urged her through the walkie-talkie, "It''s getting cold. Get dressed quickly."
The air felt like a knife, making it hard for her to speak.
Ste brought Cooper and the rabbits into Arcadia. As the warmth enveloped her, her stiff limbs
took a while to thaw.
She quickly pulled on the clothes she had prepared earlier: thermal gear, cashmere sweaters, fur
coats, multiple pairs of socks, snow boots, scarves, and a warm face mask.
She bundled up Cooper in thermal gear, a cashmere sweater, and a fur coat. The two rabbits,
Smoky and Snowy, were also wrapped like little balls. The rest of the rabbits were stuffed into a
foam box lined with several nkets. Whether they survived or not, was up to fate now.
After all these preparations, Ste poured herself a steaming bowl of hot ginger tea, the spicy
warmth spreading through her throat and stomach.
Just as she stepped out of Arcadia, the loud knocking on her door made her ears ring. "Ste!" The
force was so strong that even the stainless steel door seemed to give in.
"I''ming, I''ming!" Ste called out.
As she stepped out, the icy air hit her like a de. The cold air took her breath away, causing sharp
pain in her chest. Cooper was coughing and kept scratching his nose with his paw.
After bringing the rabbit''s nest into the room, Ste hurried to open the door to find Jasper kicking it.
The moment she opened the door, an anxious voice reached her. "Ste, are you alright?" As he
spoke, he wrapped a fur coat tightly around her.
Ste stared at Jasper, who was wearing a giant coat, in surprise. For a moment, she was dazed.
But she quickly snapped back to reality. "I''m fine, I was just stunned by the cold. I thought I had
gone deaf."
"As long as you''re alright." Jasper buttoned up her fur coat and then knocked on the door of room
1803.
The upants of room 1803 had been awakened by his earlier knocking and were now frantically
putting on warmer clothes. "Got it, got it!"
Wrapped in two fur coats, Ste now resembled a ball.
Noticing that Ste was a little slow, Jasper shook her by the shoulders. His expression looked
stern. "Go back to your room and start a fire for warmth."
"Okay." Ste turned to go back to her room.
Jasper reminded her, "Don''t lock the door."
Ste didn''t. Once back in her room, she got the kettle out. Seeing that the door of room 1801 was
still ajar, she quickly went in. "I''ve made some ginger tea. You and Rosie should have some to warm
up."
Rosie was bundled up like a ball on the bed, and her little face was pale from the cold. She was
shivering and couldn''t speak. Jasper picked her up and carefully fed her the hot ginger tea.
"Careful, it''s hot."
After gulping down a full mug, Rosie finally revived. Her lips trembled as if she were about to cry.
"Jasper..."
"Don''t cry. Your tears will freeze and your face will end up getting frostbite."
Ste poured him a cup of tea and hurriedly knocked on the door of room 1803. The three
upants were in a frenzy, putting on warmer clothes. Their hands and feet were freezing and they
were shivering uncontrobly.
Especially Cody, his face was turning purple from the cold.
They wrapped themselves in fur coats and quilts, anything that could keep them warm. The
southerners were shivering, feeling ufortable as if their heart was numb. It took a few cups of
hot ginger tea to revive them.
"Ste, you... you really are a jinx." Cody huddled on the couch, and his teeth were chattering from
the cold. “If it wasn’t for the million you found, we’d all be dead tonight.”
They had bought heavy clothes, quilts, and other warming items to wastefully spend the cheap
paper money. Ironically, it had ended up saving their lives.
Ang and Lukas were hugging each other tightly. Ste warmed up faster, and managed to start a
fire for warmth, still shivering.
Seeing that the three were alright, Ste finally left feeling relieved.
The door of room 1801 was still open, so she went in again. “How’s Rosie?”
Jasper was starting a charcoal stove. “She’s warmed up after the hot ginger tea.”
Rosie was huddled under the nkets, and only her bright eyes visible. "I''m okay. How''s Cooper?"
"Woof!" The long-ignored dog finally found an opportunity to prove his robust physique.
Unfortunately, he was wrapped up so much that his muscles weren''t visible.
Property ? N?velDrama.Org.
Seeing Cooper wearing fur, Rosie instantly felt better and reached out to pet his dark face.
The charcoal stove was lit, warming up the room considerably.
Ste got up to leave, reminding them, "Don''t seal the doors and windows too tight. Leave a little
gap for venttion." In her previous life, people had died from CO poisoning because they had
sealed their rooms too tightly.
Jasper lit two charcoal stoves and handed one to Ste. "You be careful too."
Ste paused, suddenly remembering that she still had his fur coat on. She quickly took it off to
return it.
"Keep it. I''m not as cold as you."
No, apart from her hands, feet, and face, the rest of her body was prettyfortable, probably
thanks to the thermal clothing.
She looked at Cooper, guessing he was probably feeling better too. So, she insisted on returning
the coat. "Don''t get sick. Rosie still needs you to take care of her."
Jasper didn''t refuse again but insisted on giving her the charcoal stove. Unable to refuse his
kindness, Ste epted it.
Knowing everyone on the 18th floor had survived, she finally breathed a sigh of relief. Only then did
she pay attention to the noisesing from the floors below, which were quite loud.
After closing the double doors, Ste hurried back to her room to check the thermometer. Just as
she thought, the room temperature had plummeted to -19 degrees Celsius.
In a coastal city down South where winter averaged a cozy 15 degrees Celsius, and the historical
low had always remained above freezing temperatures. Imagine then, the catastrophe of a drop
from 20 degrees to minus 19 degrees- a chilling fall of nearly 40 degrees.
More terrifying than the cold, however, was the threat of hypothermia. The rapid loss of body heat in
such a brief span of time could cause the core body temperature to plummet, leading to shivering,
respiratory and cardiac failure, among other symptoms. In the worst-case scenario, it could even
result in death.
Indeed, it was not the cold itself but hypothermia that ounted for the massive loss of human life.
Many people didn’t even get the chance to wake up and drifted off to their death in their slumber. In
their dreams, everything was beautiful. The rain had finally ceased and civilization would be
restored.
"Woof!"
Snapping back to reality, Ste got a power cell from Arcadia, along with a space heater, and
electric nket...