Xiao Hong was very quiet. When Gu Mian and the others returned to the car, she was leaning against the car window, her eyes staring outside, seemingly looking at something.

Of course, Gu Mian suspected she might want to climb through the car window onto the roof for a joyride.

Today's wind was a bit too fierce; it wasn't a good day for a joyride.

Gu Mian took the driver's seat, while Fatty, carrying his big bag, squeezed in from the back door of the Spirit Car.

Once inside, he immediately pulled a thick down jacket from his bag, wrapped it around himself, and exhaled a sigh of satisfaction.

"Finally, it's not as cold as before," Fatty remarked, his teeth still chattering, indicating he hadn't warmed up yet.

Amidst the clear clacking of his teeth, Fatty continued, "It's such a hardship to be freezing outside in this weather... ACHOO!"

No one here was named Ah-Qiu, and Gu Mian didn't think he was calling out to any 'Ah-Qiu.'

Fatty had just sneezed.

Everyone had a different way of sneezing. Some had to open their mouths wide, producing a deafening sound and splattering saliva everywhere, as if they wanted to devour someone.

Others were more delicate, their sneezes barely audible, with a gentle, almost melodic tone, like a singer who'd accidentally hit a wrong note.

Fatty's sneeze, however, contrasted sharply with his robust figure; it was as dainty as a coy young girl's.

Gu Mian was still thinking about the 'young girl,' when Fatty let out a few more delicate "ACHOO"s.

If anyone present was actually named Ah-Qiu, they might have their soul utterly captivated by Fatty's delicate sneezes.

Just as Fatty pulled out a tissue and pinched his nose, something small and light hit him.

Looking puzzled, he saw it was a box of cold medicine. He recognized this mundane item; it was just ordinary cold medicine, nothing special.

It was Gu Mian who had thrown it.

Gu Mian then tossed a bottle of mineral water to him. "Try some cold medicine first."

This cold medicine wasn't from a supermarket; it was a product from before the global game began. Gu Mian had brought a good amount of medicine when he left home, including this box.

Fatty knew he was prone to catching colds, and falling ill now would be disastrous, so he didn't hesitate. He was about to open the bottle and take the medicine when Gu Mian suddenly raised a hand, stopping him.

Fatty looked at Gu Mian, puzzled.

Gu Mian frowned slightly, seemingly contemplating something. "My class skill increases the effectiveness of medical items fourfold..."

However, Gu Mian wasn't sure if having someone else take medicine counted as part of his class skill.

To be safe, Gu Mian personally took out the pills, put them in Fatty's mouth, and then gave him water to wash them down.

Since Gu Mian had no prior experience in force-feeding water, Fatty nearly choked to death.

After leaving the supermarket, the three of them left Hengdian. They didn't have a specific destination. Chu Changge and Fatty voiced no preferences, and Xiao Hong, being a ghost, was essentially a non-entity in decision-making. She rarely spoke, content to press her face against the car window and stare at the passing chaos.

Fortunately, the car windows were all tightly shut. Otherwise, any unlucky soul who happened to glance their way might be scared half to death.

Gu Mian intentionally drove away from Hengdian, trying to get as far away as possible.

「A few days later, they encountered another roadblock.」

Near Hengdian, the military's preparations meant the roads were mostly clear. Wrecked vehicles had been removed, and traffic lights were gone, making for an exceptionally smooth drive from one end to the other without stopping. But things were different once they left that area.

The roads were choked with vehicles, car upon car creating impassable gridlock. For the past few days, Gu Mian had specifically chosen less congested routes.

Fortunately, the weather grew colder each day, discouraging people from venturing out. Even wrapped in two thick quilts, going outside could chill a person to the bone. This reduced the number of players moving about and, consequently, the number of people entering instances.

Although their Spirit Car could traverse obstacles, it was far too conspicuous. Driving it already attracted enough attention; Gu Mian was reluctant to use its jumping capabilities under the watchful eyes of others.

Today, however, he couldn't find any deserted roads.

After several days, players had somewhat adapted to the falling temperatures and were beginning to venture out, shivering, in search of ticket booths.

They weren't eager to go out, of course. However, staying indoors without electricity and water supply in these freezing temperatures was tantamount to suicide.

Then again, venturing out also risked freezing to death...

Gu Mian parked beside a jumble of haphazardly abandoned cars. At first glance, their Spirit Car didn't particularly stand out.

The Spirit Car blocked the howling wind, but cold air still seeped in through the cracks. Fatty, who couldn't stand the cold, could only rely on his quilt for warmth.

When they were at the supermarket recently, he'd bought a hanging thermometer.

Now, the thermometer, with a ribbon tied into a bow on it, hung from the rearview mirror.

Fatty craned his neck to look. It was minus thirteen degrees Celsius inside the car.

"Terrifying!" Fatty clutched his small quilt tighter, unwilling to even stick his hands out. "It must be even colder outside, right? Probably close to minus twenty?"

The wind hadn't stopped for days, howling incessantly even through the night. Two days ago, a thin layer of snow had even fallen, making everyone wonder if spring would ever arrive.

Just as Gu Mian stopped the car, snowflakes began to drift down again.

Gu Mian paused, then looked out the window. "We definitely can't leave now. Let's stay here for a bit."

Because this area was somewhat remote, the military hadn't extended its control here yet. Everyone Gu Mian saw on the streets looked timid and fearful, as if terrified of some mishap.

Fatty glanced at the date; it was already March 1st.

"By the way," he said worriedly, "if this weather keeps up, people are going to start freezing to death, aren't they?"

While driving these past few days, Gu Mian had seen many people, but none who had frozen to death outdoors.

People weren't stupid. With the weather so cold, they naturally holed up at home, bundled in their thickest clothes and several quilts.

So, even if people did freeze to death, it would happen in their own homes, unseen by others.

It was only in the last two days that more people had started venturing out. Gu Mian figured that after today, they might start seeing 'frozen-to-death bones' on the streets.

If the temperature kept dropping, the 'frozen-to-death bones' in those houses would undoubtedly far outnumber those on the streets.

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