Chapter 133: New Connections

For a brief moment after Jack’s announcement, the entire canopy fell silent.

Marg was the first to react.

“Congratulations.”

Henry and Mort smiled and offered their congratulations as well. The others quickly recovered from their surprise, and the atmosphere beneath the canopy gradually became lighter.

“Jack, you really need to think before you act from now on,” Elias said.

“I will,” Jack replied seriously.

Henry smiled. “Either way, this is good news.”

Jack turned toward Megan and found her looking at him as well. Their eyes met briefly, and a smile soon returned to his face.

After a while, Jack asked, “Will those Ashen Hyenas come back?”

“Probably not anytime soon,” Elias said. “They’ll most likely keep tracking the Ashback Elk. One calf isn’t enough to feed the whole pack for several days.”

“But won’t they come back for water?” Megan asked.

Henry shook his head. “They can get water from their prey. They also know how to judge the risks. Unless they’re desperate, they won’t attack humans. Unless...”

“Unless humans become their only option,” Elias finished, looking at Jack. “That’s one of the reasons I stopped you from interfering.”

Jack considered that for a moment before nodding seriously.

“I understand. Thank you, Elias.”

Elias waved it off, then turned to Henry.

“What were all of you doing over by the shelter earlier? I saw the CUEVs going back and forth several times.”

Henry told him how Jack had managed to run water all the way to the agricultural supply center.

Elias looked surprised.

“Water actually came out at the other end?”

“It did, and the flow is stable,” Henry said. “Jack also discovered that the CUEVs have a built-in communication system with an effective range of a thousand kilometers.”

Elias stared at him.

“A thousand kilometers?”

His surprise quickly gave way to excitement.

“That’ll make things much easier from now on.”

“I have an idea,” Jack said. “Tell me if you think it’ll work.”

Everyone turned toward him.

“Can we set every CUEV to the same channel? That way, whether someone is at the trading post, the shelter, the agricultural supply center, or somewhere out in the wasteland, everyone can receive the same messages.”

Dale thought about it.

“We should be able to. When I was setting up the communication system earlier, I saw an option for creating a shared channel.”

“Then add every CUEV to it,” Elias said. “We’ll keep at least one each at the trading post, the shelter, and the agricultural supply center. The rest can still stay in contact with us whenever they’re out.”

“We can leave one at the electronics mall eventually too,” Jack added. “If something happens anywhere, one call over the channel will alert everyone else immediately.”

“We should also teach a few people at the agricultural supply center how to drive them,” Elias said. “Then we won’t have to deliver food every time. They can come and collect it themselves.”

“That works for me,” Jack said.

Dale quickly gathered all the CUEVs parked nearby and created a shared channel using the settings he had found earlier.

The others climbed into different CUEVs and followed his instructions. Before long, every vehicle parked near the shelter and trading post had joined the channel.

Once he confirmed that none had been missed, Dale picked one of the CUEVs at random and tested the communication system.

“Can everyone hear me?”

His voice came through the other CUEVs almost simultaneously.

The people sitting in the different vehicles began answering one after another, and their overlapping voices immediately filled the channel.

Dale had no choice but to tell everyone to be quiet. He then checked each CUEV individually to make sure its communications were working properly.

After confirming that every nearby CUEV could send and receive messages, Dale contacted Noah at the agricultural supply center and told him about the new shared channel.

Following Dale’s instructions, Noah adjusted the settings. After a brief burst of static, his voice came through every CUEV at once.

“Can you hear me?”

“Loud and clear,” Dale replied.

With that, all thirteen CUEVs had joined the same channel. Whether a vehicle was parked at the trading post, the shelter, or the agricultural supply center, or later left with a convoy, it could stay in direct contact with every other CUEV.

Jack walked over to one of the vehicles.

“Noah, how are things over there?”

“Everything’s fine. The person who collapsed from the heat is awake now too.”

“Good,” Jack said. “Pick a few people from the refugees and teach them how to drive a CUEV. From now on, they can come and collect their own food.”

“Got it. I’ll take care of it.”

After ending the call, Noah followed Jack’s instructions and selected several refugees who were still in relatively good condition.

Driving a CUEV wasn’t particularly complicated. Noah first explained how to start the vehicle, steer, accelerate, and slow down. Then he had them take turns sitting in the driver’s seat and moving slowly around the open ground near the warehouse.

They were all stiff and nervous at first.

One refugee misjudged a turn and nearly drove into a stack of empty crates nearby. Fortunately, the CUEV was moving slowly, and Noah told him to stop in time.

“Don’t keep staring at the front wheels,” Noah reminded him from outside. “Look ahead and start turning before you reach it.”

The refugee restarted the CUEV and drove another lap around the open area. He was still clumsy, but at least he stayed on course this time.

While Noah taught them to drive, the other refugees kept themselves busy. Some organized the water they had collected, some remained inside the makeshift enclosure to care for those who were still weak, and others continued adjusting the PCCUs to concentrate as much cool air as possible around the resting area.

When one refugee returned from outside the warehouse, he reached out and touched the exterior wall, which had been baking beneath the sun.

The moment his palm made contact, he jerked it back.

He stood there studying the wall, then turned toward the hose that was still producing a steady stream of water.

An idea occurred to him.

“What is it?” someone nearby asked.

The refugee pointed at the wall.

“I’m wondering if we can cool the outside of the warehouse.”

“Cool it? What do you mean?”

“As long as Jack leaves the tap open, the water here will keep flowing.” The refugee gestured toward the hose on the ground. “Once all our containers are full, the rest will just run off anyway. We might as well use it to cool down the warehouse.”

“That’s not a bad idea, but how are we supposed to do it? The hose doesn’t reach the outside wall.”

The refugee thought for a moment.

“Let’s look around and see if there are any more hoses like this. If we find some, we can extend the line to the warehouse.”

He paused, then added, “It’ll make collecting water easier too.”

The others nodded. After discussing it briefly, they agreed it was worth trying and split up to search the agricultural supply center for more hose.

The facility had once stored a large amount of agricultural equipment and replacement parts. Jack had already taken all the lightweight fabric lay-flat hose they had found earlier, but there might still be other coils scattered through the remaining storage areas.

After searching for a while, several refugees found a few coils beside a pile of abandoned irrigation equipment. The surfaces were covered in dust, but the connectors showed no obvious damage.

They carried the hoses near the entrance, cleared out the sand and dirt inside, and inspected every section carefully.

Once they were satisfied that the hoses were still usable, they connected one coil to the end of the line delivering water from the convenience store and dragged the rest toward the warehouse wall.

Water quickly entered the newly attached hose. The flattened line gradually swelled, carrying the flow all the way to the wall.

The refugee who had proposed the idea took hold of the end and aimed it at the section receiving direct sunlight.

Clean water poured from the hose and splashed across the scorching wall. A large patch immediately darkened, and a wave of hot, damp vapor rose from the surface.

The people nearby hurriedly stepped back.

“It’s doing something!”

“Don’t stand so close! That steam is hot too!”

The refugee holding the hose nodded and slowly moved along the wall, directing the stream higher up. The others helped pull the hose behind him to keep it from catching on rocks and debris.

The wet area gradually expanded, and water running down the wall pooled across the ground. The sunlight continued evaporating the moisture, but the overheated surface slowly began to cool.

The temperature outside was still unbearable. The refugee spraying the wall lasted only a short while before dropping the hose and hurrying back into the warehouse.

Another refugee who had been waiting nearby immediately went outside, picked up the hose, and continued spraying the wall.

They quickly worked out a rotation. Whenever the person outside could no longer endure the heat, they would return to the warehouse and let the next refugee take over.

Dark trails of water gradually spread along the exterior wall. Whenever one section began drying, someone quickly soaked it again.

Noah had just finished teaching one refugee how to stop the CUEV when he noticed people repeatedly carrying the hose in and out of the warehouse.

He walked over.

“What are you doing?”

The refugee who had first proposed the idea was sitting beside one of the PCCUs, resting. He pointed toward the exterior wall.

“Cooling down the warehouse. Since we have water, we thought we’d see if it helped.”

Noah approached the wall and pressed the back of his hand against the interior surface near the entrance.

The difference wasn't dramatic yet, but compared with the section beside it that was still being baked by the sun, the part they had sprayed was noticeably less hot.

He pulled his hand back and looked at the refugees still spraying the wall outside.

“It’s actually working.”

Noah didn't stop them.

“I’m heading back for a while. My cooling vest is starting to lose its chill. I’ll come back later.”

The refugee nodded.

“All right. Be careful.”

After Noah left, the refugees continued their work.

Some time later, someone inside the makeshift enclosure finally noticed a change.

“Does it feel a little cooler in here?”

The people nearby fell silent and paid closer attention.

More than ten PCCUs were still running, but the section near the exterior wall no longer seemed to radiate as much heat into the enclosure. The cool air blowing across it also lingered longer than before.

One refugee walked over and pressed the back of his hand against the section of interior wall that had been sprayed. Then he hurried to a nearby section that was still dry and tested it as well.

“It really is different. This part isn’t nearly as hot!”

Word quickly reached those working outside.

The refugees, who had gradually begun slowing down from the heat and exhaustion, immediately regained some of their energy. More people volunteered to join the rotation.

Outside the warehouse, dark trails of water continued spreading across the wall.

Inside, as the PCCUs kept running, the suffocating heat gradually began to weaken.