Chapter 209 - 128: Summer

Chapter 209: Chapter 128: Summer

’This is fine too,’ Xu Mo thought. A stable Jiang City was a more favorable environment for someone like him, who just wanted to be a homebody for a while.

Xu Mo didn’t linger at the guild. He turned and left, returning to his own quiet little courtyard.

Closing the door shut out the clamor of the streets. Xu Mo took a deep breath and assumed his cultivation stance. The qi and blood within him slowly accelerated at his command, like a great dragon gradually awakening.

The setting sun outside the window cast its final rays into the courtyard. After a crisis that had been more of a false alarm and the subsequent victory, Xu Mo’s life seemed poised to return to the daily cycle of cultivation, observation, and waiting.

But only he knew that his strength had never stopped growing, and that his curiosity and desire to explore the world’s secrets had never been truly extinguished by a moment of peace.

The mystery of the Red Star Industrial Zone was still there, silently waiting for Jiang City to explore it.

The days passed steadily, pages of the calendar on the wall turning one by one. The sweltering heat of high summer finally enveloped all of Jiang City without mercy.

The sky was a piercing, brilliant blue. Glaring white sunlight poured down, roasting the streets, rooftops, and even the air until they shimmered and distorted slightly. The air was filled with the smell of dry dust and the faint scent of scorched plants.

For Xu Mo, who had broken through to the Iron Bone Realm, this level of heat was no longer enough to cause him any real discomfort. Having reached this realm in the Thirteen Grand Protectors’ Cross Training, his muscles and bones were strong, and his qi and blood circulated on their own. A stream of gentle, neutralizing energy flowed within him, granting him immense resistance to the ravages of external heat and cold.

The reason Xu Mo truly felt the sun’s virulence wasn’t physical sensation, but his unfailing daily cultivation practice—"Qi Collection".

At dawn, as the first rays of morning pierced the darkness, Xu Mo would punctually begin his Pile Training in the small courtyard. As his Cultivation Technique activated, wisps of gentle yang qi were drawn into his body. This was supposed to be the most tranquil and beneficial part of his daily cultivation.

However, as high summer arrived, the sun’s "firepower" grew more intense by the day. Xu Mo could clearly feel that the world’s yang qi, once gentle and mellow in the morning, had seemingly been imbued with a fiercer, more volatile quality by the season.

This was especially true toward the end of his Qi Collection, when the sun’s light began to grow dazzling. Xu Mo felt the energy he absorbed then carried a faint, scorching violence, like fine, hot sand or boiling water, bringing with it a subtle roasting sensation. ℴ

At first, Xu Mo could endure it by relying on the resilience of his Iron Bone Realm, but as this scorching energy accumulated, it began to cause him a stinging pain and became a burden. If he continued to forcefully perform Qi Collection, it would not only be fruitless but could also leave behind hidden injuries.

Left with no other choice, Xu Mo had to adjust his cultivation rhythm. His daily morning window for "Qi Collection" was drastically shortened. He would often decisively end his practice before the sun revealed its full, blazing face.

It was precisely because of this "unpleasantness" in his cultivation that Xu Mo developed a more direct and "professional" understanding of the fiercely burning star above than the average person—yep, this year’s sun was indeed especially "vicious."

Out on the streets, the power of high summer was even more palpable. Most pedestrians were lightly clothed; men were mostly in undershirts and shorts, while women wore light summer clothes, fanning themselves with all sorts of fans. Beads of sweat rolled down people’s faces and necks, evaporating quickly on the dusty streets.

"...This damned weather. Can’t the higher-ups figure something out and get us some air conditioners? Even fans would be good!" a middle-aged man squatting in the shade of the eaves and vigorously fanning himself with a torn cattail fan complained, his voice listless.

The moment he finished speaking, a middle-aged man with old glasses nearby scoffed and adjusted his frames: "Old Wang, you’re dreaming. Air conditioners? Do you know how much electricity Jiang City generates in a day? Do you know how much it takes to maintain the city wall’s defense system, basic factory production, the Inner City’s lighting, not to mention all those research institutes and command headquarters? The power supply is just barely enough; we’re a long way from having a surplus! Every single kilowatt-hour has to be used for critical needs. How could we waste it on personal comfort?"

"Exactly," chimed in an old man who was also cooling off in the shade. "You think this is like the Golden Age, where every household had refrigerators, color TVs, air conditioners, and washing machines with 24/7 power? Wake up! The fact that we have lights at night, that the factories can run, and that the defense systems are operational is already a huge blessing. Still thinking about air conditioning? Forget about it!"

Old Wang, the one who had complained, was a bit embarrassed by the retort and muttered, "I’m just suffering from the heat, is all. But what about television? I heard the Technology Department could have restored the TV signal long ago. Why don’t they turn it on? It’d be nice to watch the news or some old movies to kill time!"

The man with the glasses sighed, his tone carrying the world-weariness of experience: "Old Wang, you still don’t get it. They don’t turn on the TV signal, not because the technology isn’t there, but because they can’t. Or rather, they don’t dare to turn it on lightly. Think about it. Once the signal is on, how many people won’t be able to resist turning on their TVs? Even if they only watch for two hours a day, what’s the total power consumption for the whole city? Where would that electricity come from? This is the apocalypse. All resources, including electricity, must be carefully budgeted and used where they’re needed most."

This clear and logical explanation immediately silenced the few other neighbors who had also been grumbling. As they thought it over, they realized he was right.

Xu Mo, who had been listening to the conversation from the shadows nearby, couldn’t help but nod slightly. The people of Jiang City were well aware that they weren’t living in a time of peace and prosperity; they understood the value of resources and the necessity of centralized use. This practical, even slightly pessimistic, clarity was precisely the key quality that allowed a community to survive in the apocalypse.

Jiang City’s administration had also clearly managed, through continuous propaganda and education, to instill this philosophy of "survival first, development second, and comfort last" to a certain degree.

Looking up at the glaring white sun, Xu Mo felt the rolling heat waves in the air and was reminded of his own forcibly shortened Qi Collection time. Even a Cultivator like him had to compromise and adapt in the face of nature’s awesome power.

The apocalypse was not just a test for human society, but also a trial that honed the adaptability of every individual. Whether facing extreme heat and cold or the threat of mutations, survival—and striving to live better—was the eternal theme.