Chapter 584: Prediction

Liam Sterling’s leg injury had fully healed, forcing an early end to his leave. Things were too busy on Rhys Chase’s end, so the moment the cast came off, Liam rushed back to work.

A week later, Liam Sterling showed up in the Undercity, looking completely exhausted. He had been supervising the water plant, so busy he was constantly on his feet and barely had time to eat.

The raw water from the reservoir was disinfected and filtered before being funneled into storage barrels. Once sealed, the barrels were transported to the various shelters.

"Mr. Kendrick, Evelyn! Long time no see. Got any food?"

Evelyn Ford nodded. "Yes. What would you like?"

"Anything. I’m starving," he said, stumbling as if he might collapse at any moment.

Evelyn Ford brought him a plate of food from the kitchen. Liam Sterling took the chopsticks and immediately started scarfing it down.

"Is Rhys Chase working you to the bone? Looking at you, I’d say you haven’t eaten in days."

Liam Sterling nodded. He was eating so fast that he started to choke. He only managed to recover after Ronan Kendrick gave him a firm pat on the back.

"Just been too busy. I haven’t had time to eat for the past two days. If it’s not the equipment malfunctioning, it’s a problem with the water quality tests. I’m losing so much hair... Life as a working stiff is tough," Liam Sterling said, then suddenly let out a belch.

"How many storage barrels can the plant fill in a day?"

"The filtration process is pretty slow. On average, we can only fill eighty barrels a day."

One storage barrel holds twenty cubic meters of water, so eighty barrels is sixteen hundred cubic meters.

Liam Sterling took a sip of chicken soup and patted his stomach contentedly. "Finally, I’m full."

"Mr. Kendrick, Evelyn, there’s something I should mention. The base’s meteorology department says the temperature here has been slowly rising all week. If this trend continues for another week, they estimate the sun will reappear in about two months."

Evelyn Ford had grown numb to such predictions.

’Until the sun actually rises, I won’t believe any man-made predictions.’

"That’s wonderful news." Even though she didn’t buy it, Evelyn Ford still feigned surprise to be supportive.

"Mr. Chase says that other disasters might follow the end of the polar night. He’s already ordered all departments to prepare their defenses. He’s thinking it could be an unknown plague, air pollution, or water contamination."

’No wonder the water plant is churning out drinking water like crazy.’

"Rhys Chase has a point," she said. "Have you heard of sun poison?"

Liam Sterling shook his head. "The sun is poisonous?"

"Of course. When people go without sunlight for too long, their bodies are prone to all sorts of illnesses. And when the sun itself is gone for too long, it gets ’sick’ too. The heat and intense light from the returning sun are extremely toxic to humans. Sun poison is a lot like heatstroke. It doesn’t just burn your skin; the intense heat will essentially cook your internal organs. People exposed to it can die suddenly. And another thing—sun poison contaminates the air and water."

Liam Sterling stared at Evelyn Ford in horror. "Evelyn, you’re not just trying to scare me, are you? You’ve actually experienced this?"

"I’ve been through it twice. I’ve watched people die from the burns."

"Then how do we deal with it?" Liam Sterling’s hands were trembling.

"If the polar night ends and the sun returns, no one should go outside for fifteen days. The intense light can blind you. As soon as it’s over, everyone must be warned to stay inside the shelters or here in the Undercity. After about half a month, the sun poison should have mostly dissipated. Then, as long as you’re wearing a heat-resistant suit, you can go out normally."

"I understand." Liam Sterling shot to his feet. "Mr. Kendrick, Evelyn, I have to report this to Mr. Chase."

"I think you should go get some sleep first."

Liam Sterling shook his head. "I can’t. This is too important. I have to report it immediately."

With that, Liam Sterling hurried away. Watching his unsteady gait, Evelyn Ford’s lips twitched. "He’s so exhausted he can barely stand, but he’s still thinking about work. Liam Sterling really is the ultimate workaholic."

Joking aside, she hadn’t just been trying to scare him. The thought of sun poison’s true danger made Evelyn Ford’s brow furrow.

"Ronan, I’m going to check the space for heat-resistant suits. If we don’t have enough, we’ll need to start getting more ready."

’If sun poison has appeared once or twice, it’ll appear a third time. I hate scrambling at the last minute. It’s best to prepare all our defenses before the disaster actually strikes.’

Once they entered the space, the two began searching for heat-resistant suits. Inside one cardboard box, Evelyn Ford actually found several adult-sized suits, but there were far too few to go around.

Meanwhile, Liam Sterling burst into the administration building. Seeing the look on his face, Rhys Chase thought something had gone wrong at the water plant.

"Mr. Chase, I was just in the Undercity. I had a meal over at Mr. Kendrick’s place, and we were talking about the water plant. Evelyn Ford told me that if the polar night ends suddenly, we have to be on guard against something called ’sun poison’." Liam spoke in a frantic rush, but fortunately, Rhys Chase caught every word.

"Sun poison? What are the symptoms? Is it contagious?"

Liam Sterling quickly relayed, word for word, everything Evelyn Ford had told him.

"The polar night has already gone on for eight months. We can’t afford to be unprepared for sun poison when it ends. Have the medical factory open a few more production lines and rush the production of heat-resistant suits."

Liam Sterling nodded. "Understood. I’ll get it arranged right away."

"You don’t have to. I’ll have Ryan Rowe handle it. You go home and rest for two days. Liam, normal people can’t pull all-nighters indefinitely. You’ll work yourself into an early grave."

Liam Sterling...

"I’m not that tired. Doesn’t Ryan Rowe have other tasks? I’m afraid he won’t be able to handle this on his own."

"Then I’ll get someone else. It’s not like I’m paying you. You don’t have a house to buy or a family to support, so why are you working yourself to death?"

Liam Sterling scratched his head. "I just can’t sit still."

Rhys Chase was at a loss for words.

"As your Commander, I’m ordering you to go home and rest. From now on, you’re only to work five to eight hours a day. Exceed that, and you’ll face punishment."

Liam Sterling blinked. "What kind of punishment?"

"Cleaning toilets."

"In that case, I choose to go rest."

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Lynn Pierce entered with a file, and Liam Sterling tactfully took his leave.

「Four days later.」 The base’s broadcast system suddenly crackled to life. As a familiar female voice began to speak, everyone held their breath and listened intently.

"*Good morning, residents. Today is Sunday, October 25th, of the year XX.*

*Recently, after extensive observation and testing, the base meteorology department has made a significant discovery: temperatures across Frelia are rising daily. Experts believe the sun will rise again in approximately two months.*

*While the return of the sun is cause for celebration, the base broadcast station must remind all residents not to rush outside to feel the sunlight when it first appears. Our bodies will need time to adapt to the heat and intense light after such a long absence. Experts believe the returning sun will carry a toxin, which they have termed ’sun poison.’ Sun poison can burn the skin and eyes and cause severe damage to internal organs. Therefore, on the recommendation of our experts, once the polar night has ended and the sun has risen, all shelters will be sealed for a period of half a month. All residents are to remain indoors.*"