Chapter 484: Accelerated Food Spoilage

Chapter 484: Chapter 484: Accelerated Food Spoilage

Shawn Gardner gritted his teeth. "What about those mutated animals?

That herd of Four Seasons Deer, weren’t they supposed to be kept for research?!"

Another subordinate said in a low voice, "We just got a report from the ground. That herd of deer... followed the RV and left the base."

"What?!"

Shawn Gardner felt like he was going to cough up blood.

His wife’s brother was missing—no sign of him, dead or alive.

Connor Webb, the man he’d recruited to be his weapon, was dead.

Those precious mutated creatures were gone.

Nothing was going right.

He took a deep breath, about to erupt, when there was another knock on his office door.

"Come in!"

A staff member walked in timidly, holding a report. "...Something terrible has happened."

"Speak!"

"The warehouses... The stockpiled supplies are rapidly rotting because of the extreme temperature disaster!

Especially the food. A lot of it has already started to mold and spoil!"

Shawn Gardner was stunned.

’The supplies are rotting?’

Central Base had been stockpiling supplies since its inception—all sorts of food, medicine, and daily necessities, piled up like mountains.

Everyone believed that as long as they had these supplies, the base could hold on.

But no one had considered...

The extreme temperature disaster brought more than just high heat.

It also accelerated decay.

The grain that had been piled in the underground warehouses for ages was now, under the sustained high temperatures, seeing its shelf life shorten at an alarming rate. Things that could originally last for two or three years would now spoil in a few months.

"How long... will the remaining stock last?" Shawn Gardner’s voice was hoarse.

The staff member lowered his head. "A month... at most."

’A month.’

’And after that month?’

’What would the hundreds of thousands of people in the base eat? What would they drink?’

Shawn Gardner slowly sank back into his chair. Staring out at the pitch-black night sky, he felt a profound sense of powerlessness for the first time.

What he didn’t know was that a storm far more terrifying than rotting supplies was brewing within the base.

Factional strife, resource wars, a reshuffling of power...

And he was at the center of it all.

「...」

In the distance, the RV had already disappeared into the vast darkness.

Seraphina Sullivan didn’t know that their early departure had allowed them to narrowly avoid the horrific infighting that was about to engulf the entire Central Base.

The scramble caused by resource scarcity, the backstabbing among the higher-ups, the riots of the survivors...

None of it had anything to do with them anymore.

Outside the window, the night wind howled.

Seraphina Sullivan gazed at the night outside, the corners of her lips curling into a slight smile.

’The road ahead is unknown.’

’But at least, it’s free.’

Before dawn, Seraphina Sullivan and the others finally found a relatively intact residential complex.

It wasn’t a large complex—just seven or eight buildings. Before the extreme temperature disaster, it was likely standard for some middle-class community.

But now, the exterior walls were mottled, the glass was shattered, and the plants in the greenbelts were long since withered and scorched, leaving only bare branches twisted in the darkness.

Seraphina Sullivan didn’t choose to park on the surface—that would be courting death.

She drove the RV directly into the underground parking garage.

The garage was large and empty, with only a few abandoned cars parked askew in the corners, their bodies covered in a thick layer of dust.

The air was filled with a musty smell and the pungent scent of evaporated gasoline, but compared to the terrifying high temperatures that were coming, this place was at least survivable.

"This is it." Seraphina Sullivan parked the vehicle and killed the engine. "After sunrise, the temperature on the surface will be hot enough to cook a person.

We’ll live underground for the time being."

Dexter Luther was the first to jump out, stretching his limbs. He pulled a small, palm-sized pouch from his coat.

It was a piece of Space Equipment he’d gotten from some instance. The capacity wasn’t large, but it was more than enough for miscellaneous items like tents.

He shook the pouch, and several compressed tent packages fell to the ground with a THUMP, THUMP.

"Come on, let’s set up the tents! The sooner we finish, the sooner we can rest!"

Crystal Lynn and Freya Lynn got out of the vehicle as well.

Crystal Lynn took out some thin blankets and daily necessities from her own Space Equipment, while Freya Lynn looked around curiously, her little face filled with novelty—for her, this was probably a wondrous "camping trip."

Matthew Dawson also got out.

Although the wound on his back had healed, he still felt its effects, his movements somewhat stiff. Nevertheless, he proactively went to help Dexter Luther set up the tents.

Only Paul Payne stood there, at a complete loss.

’He didn’t have any Space Equipment.’

’He had nothing.’

In that moment, he felt like a superfluous outsider.

Matthew Dawson glanced at him, walked over, and clapped him on the shoulder. "What are you standing around for? Come help.

You can share a tent with me tonight."

Paul Payne was taken aback for a second, then nodded vigorously and followed.

Freya Lynn, however, wasn’t concerned with adult matters.

She was tilting her head up, staring at the white cloud floating above them in the garage, her eyes sparkling.

"Sister, look! This cloud has been following us! It’s so magical! It can make it snow!"

Crystal Lynn ruffled her sister’s hair, her tone gentle but tinged with exasperation. "Alright, alright, don’t mess with Sullivan’s things. That’s a very important item."

"I know~"

Freya Lynn obediently replied, but she couldn’t resist sneaking a few more glances at the snow-producing cloud.

Seraphina Sullivan didn’t join in setting up the tents.

She stood at the door of the RV, her expression looking a little off.

"What’s wrong?" Flora Sullivan drew near.

Seraphina Sullivan didn’t answer, simply pulling open the small refrigerator in the RV.

A foul stench instantly billowed out!

The smell, like a mix of rotten meat and a sour, fermented odor, rushed straight to her head. Flora Sullivan yelped, "Ah!", clamping a hand over her nose and stumbling backward.

"What’s going on?!"

Seraphina Sullivan’s brow was tightly furrowed.

’The food in the fridge... she had just put it in a few hours ago.’

’Fresh vegetables, prepared meat, and some cooked dishes.’

’It was all food she had prepared for today.’

’Then she had gone to Central Base to carry out the plan to kill Connor Webb.’

’The round trip had only taken a few hours.’

’In just a few hours, everything in the fridge had spoiled?’

She reached for a food container and opened it—the meat inside had already turned blackish-green, its surface covered in a slimy layer of mold. The stench was unbearable.

"Something’s not right."

Seraphina Sullivan immediately realized the gravity of the situation.

She turned and walked toward her own storage area, where she kept some supplies intended for near-term use that hadn’t been put into her Space.

She opened a bag.

The same foul odor hit her.

The meat was spoiled.

The vegetables were rotten.

The food was moldy.

None of it was edible anymore.

"What’s wrong? What’s wrong?"

Dexter Luther and the others heard the commotion and gathered around.

Seraphina Sullivan held up the rotten meat for them to see. "All the food kept outside... it’s all spoiled."

Crystal Lynn’s expression changed, and she immediately rummaged through her backpack.

Her backpack contained some dry rations and snacks she’d prepared for the next few days.

She opened it.

A sour smell wafted out.

The crackers had gone soft and soggy, carrying a damp, musty odor.

The vacuum-sealed bags of jerky had puffed up, a clear sign the contents had gone bad.

"Mine’s spoiled too!" Crystal Lynn’s voice was laced with a hint of panic.

"The stuff in my Space is fine." Dexter Luther pulled out his Space Equipment and took out a few crackers—they were perfectly intact, dry and crisp.