It was already mid-February now, almost the twentieth. Even little Qiao Qiao had grown to over three years old, and Nana had just turned one. He was now a fully grown dog.
Speaking of age…
The older and more sensitive Lan Jin and Ling Jiang avoided the subject.
Of course, Lao Gao, who was young but looked older, also had no interest in talking about it. And so, the topic was neatly skipped over.
The next morning.
Dawn had barely broken when Lao Gao roused them from sleep.
He glanced at the sky outside. "Hmm, clear blue skies, air crisp enough to bite. Perfect weather for traveling."
Ling Jiang frowned. "With the sun this bright, won't it melt the ice by the end of the day? What if we can't make it back? Maybe we should wait for a cloudy, colder day instead?"
Lao Gao gave him a look. "Why don't you just say we shouldn't go at all? The sun keeps it from being too cold. Besides, it's well below freezing out there. The ice is rock-hard. There's no way one day of sun is going to melt it. You think it's a hundred degrees outside or something?"
If it really was over a hundred degrees, the ice wouldn't just melt—it might explode from the heat.
What would happen if the ice cracked apart? Lan Jin honestly didn't know. She'd read about such scenes in novels, but fiction wasn't the same as reality. Who could say what the real outcome would be?
When the day came that the ice actually melted, staying inside the building might still be fine. But if they were out there when it happened… the consequences were anyone's guess.
The four of them first stood on the ice to get used to the cold beneath their feet and test their equipment. Only then did they head toward their destination.
Today's goal was still the office buildings.
Last time, they had spent an entire day sweeping just one tower. The rest still needed to be properly searched. And it wasn't as if only the buildings on their side of the road existed—across the street stood another six office towers. Since they were already sweeping here, they couldn't just ignore those.
They had set out early enough that they saw no one at all along the way. The streets were utterly clear, and in just a few minutes they reached their target. Compared to rowing through floodwaters during the rainy season, this was many times faster.
The only downside was that when the water had frozen, the surface wasn't completely smooth. Riding the ice sled was bumpy, but for the sake of supplies, that was a small price to pay.
They found a concealed window, broke it, and climbed inside.
The water level had reached the 23rd floor, which meant there were only a few floors left to check. The work went quickly. In just three days, they had swept every nearby office building clean—and found not a single scrap of supplies.
Ling Jiang sighed. "We should've guessed. Someone must have cleared this area out long ago. No way it would be this empty otherwise."
Still, they refused to return empty-handed. Even without food, office furniture made of wood could be burned for heat. They hauled back tables, chairs, cabinets—anything that could be dismantled for firewood. Soon their stock of wood had grown noticeably.
But wood wasn't food. Lao Gao muttered, "Now what? We've found nothing at all."
Ling Jiang thought for a moment. "It's late today. Tomorrow we can try somewhere farther away. Maybe we'll get lucky. We've just started. No need to get too discouraged."
On the fourth day, they finally moved beyond their neighborhood. Still, they found nothing.
Fifth, sixth, seventh day… An entire week passed with no food in sight. The only thing they had in abundance now was stacked firewood.
Even Lao Gao looked embarrassed. "Damn it. I said I'd find supplies for you all, but there's nothing out there. All we're doing is hauling back wood. Sure, it keeps us alive a few days longer, but that's all."
His frustration grew, though strangely enough, Ling Jiang—usually the one with the shorter temper—remained calm.
"We expected this, didn't we? Not finding supplies is normal. I think we're just searching in the wrong places. This is a commercial district, sure, but there are still plenty of residents here. What if we try another commercial area with fewer people? It's harder for anyone to reach those places, but now we can. That's our advantage. We have ice sleds and skates. Even if it's far, it's worth it if we find food."
While they discussed, they noticed Huang Jinghe sitting silently at the back of the sled, staring at the sky in deep thought.
Lan Jin asked curiously, "What are you looking at?"
Huang Jinghe glanced at her. "Sister Lan, don't you think it's colder now? And the sky's gotten darker. The sun's gone. Feels like… it might rain."
He wasn't an expert at reading the weather, but he could tell the difference between sunny and overcast.
The moment he said it, the other three tilted their heads upward. The temperature really was lower than before, and the light had dimmed.
Lan Jin instantly sensed something was wrong. "We need to head home. Now."
Seeing her expression so grave, Lao Gao and Ling Jiang didn't argue. They turned the sled around and started back. Only once they were on their way did one of them ask, "What's the rush? So the weather changes. Worst case, it rains."
Lan Jin gave a dry laugh. "It's well below zero. Do you think rain would fall as plain water?"
Even if it rained, the drops would freeze the instant they hit the ground.
Small raindrops would turn into pellets of ice. Bigger ones could become hailstones. And if a heavy rain came with strong winds…
Lan Jin shivered. Just imagining it made her chest tighten. Round ice chunks would be bad enough—painful, maybe bloody—but if the rain froze into sharp icicles and those came spearing down on them…
They wouldn't be making it home. They'd be left where they fell.
Maybe she was overthinking it, but why risk it? If it didn't rain, all the better. If it did… getting home as soon as possible was their safest choice.