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Chapter 8 daybreak

Among evolved humans, there was an unwritten rule—never pry into others’ abilities.

Since the abilities that evolved were often bizarre and beyond imagination, even the most seemingly insignificant power could become a life-saving trump card. Naturally, no one was willing to reveal their hand to others.

In fact, unless absolutely necessary, even using one’s abilities in front of others was considered taboo.

Jack had already mentioned this to Emma—so why was Shirley making such a request now?

“Don’t misunderstand,” Shirley said, perhaps realizing her request might seem inappropriate. She smiled, and though she was no longer young, the faint lines that appeared when she smiled gave her a certain grace. “At my current level, I can’t determine your advanced abilities—only analyze some basic data. Knowing your basic stats could be beneficial for you… Of course, it’s entirely up to you. Want to give it a try?”

“Sure!” Emma agreed readily, extending her arm. “I trust you don’t have any ill intentions.”

—Besides, during the earlier struggle with the Fallen Ones, both she and Jack had revealed their abilities more than once. Neither of them was foolish; she could guess Jack’s abilities, so Jack must have already formed an idea about hers. There was no point in hiding things now.

The sharp, metallic tip of Shirley’s nail gleamed coldly as it lightly touched Emma’s arm. The tip slid smoothly into her skin as if invited—Emma felt only a slight sting before Shirley retracted her nail and said with a smile, “Done.”

She let a single drop of blood fall into her palm, and it disappeared almost instantly. Shirley then closed her eyes. Emma glanced at her arm—the cut was so fine that it had already stopped bleeding.

“Shirley’s ability is still at a basic level, so it might take a while to read your data…” Jack explained, sounding slightly apologetic. “All advanced abilities improve gradually with use. You’ll understand that in time.”

Emma thought about her own strange ability.

So, these weird cards could also level up? What would they become? At the very least, they should allow her to transform objects without limitations, right?

Thinking of this, she recalled how she had absorbed the iron gate twice—though the second time lasted only a second or two. She wondered if today’s quota was already used up. She’d have to find a suitable opportunity to test it…

While waiting for Shirley to finish reading her data, Emma, out of curiosity, struck up a conversation with Jack. After all, he had experienced two new worlds more than she had, and many of his stories were things she had never heard before. She alternated between gasping in amazement, laughing, and feeling nervous. Jack, too, seemed to have missed having such a free-flowing conversation with someone, and the two of them grew closer in no time.

By the time they had talked enough, Shirley was still in the same state—eyes closed, silent.

“How much longer will Shirley take to read the data?” Emma finally asked.

“Uh… looks like it’ll be at least another hour or two,” Jack said, sounding a bit awkward. “When Shirley analyzed my data before, it didn’t take this long…”

“That long?” Emma was startled. She leaned forward, peering out the car window—the deep black of the night had already lightened considerably, and a faint grayish-white hue was beginning to appear in the east. Sitting back, a hint of worry crossed her face.

“What’s wrong? Why does that look?”

“Dawn is almost here,” Emma murmured, turning to Jack. “It’s already so hot at night. Once the sun comes up, the car will be directly exposed to the sunlight… How high will the temperature get then?”

Jack was momentarily speechless, and the two of them stared at each other—Emma rubbed her temples, looking tired. “In two hours, I’m afraid we’ll all be like ducks in an oven.”

Though the car still had enough fuel and electricity to keep the air conditioning running for a while, the cool air felt fragile against the relentless heat outside—and this was just during the night. The poor car’s air conditioner would likely burn out trying to withstand the scorching sun during the day…

“You’re familiar with this area—any ideas?” Jack’s usually relaxed expression now carried a hint of seriousness.

There was, in fact, one possible solution. Near the apartment complex stood the city’s most expensive shopping mall. The building itself had lost its value—its central design featured a tall tropical garden, and to achieve a natural, open aesthetic, the ceiling was made entirely of transparent tempered glass. In the past, strolling under the sunlight amidst the lush greenery had been a pleasant experience, but now it was deadly.

However, the mall’s underground level housed a sprawling imported supermarket. Shielded from direct sunlight and stocked with plenty of food and water…

When Emma explained the situation, Jack’s eyes lit up. “A supermarket? That’s perfect! You have no idea—Shirley and I haven’t eaten proper food in over a year! In the last world, we survived on compressed biscuits and military rations. When things got really bad, we even resorted to chewing tree bark. Ugh, the constipation was unbearable—it felt like carrying rocks in my stomach…”

Emma raised an eyebrow at him—Jack quickly realized he had overshared and coughed awkwardly. “You’re right. We have no idea how much the temperature will rise during the day. We should plan ahead.”

After a brief discussion, the two quickly decided: first, drive the car to the mall’s entrance and find a shaded spot to park. Then, Jack would carry Shirley, and they would head down to the supermarket together. The imported supermarket’s food section took up a large portion of the space, and with the warehouse’s inventory, there should be more than enough supplies for the three of them. Moreover, the supermarket’s location was ideal—if they were lucky, they might even be able to settle there and use it as a base to survive the year…

Emma knew she might be overly optimistic—the reality probably wouldn’t be so ideal. But she never expected that even the first step of their plan—“getting to the mall entrance”—now seemed nearly impossible.

The shopping mall was strategically located on the city’s main artery, in an area known for its nightlife. It was a bustling hub that never slept, with a constant flow of traffic. Coincidentally, this month marked the mall’s “fifth anniversary,” and it was operating 24 hours a day for the entire month—

When the temperature had surged last night, countless people’s first instinct had been to flee here for relief.

Now, the main road was jammed with cars, forming a deafening, endless line that pushed Emma’s car to the very back. Every vehicle that could still move was running—squinting toward the mall, they could just make out the fountain in front of the entrance, where a dense crowd of people lay sprawled on the ground.

It was clear that driving there was out of the question—Emma slammed the steering wheel in frustration, planning to reverse. But as she glanced up, she saw that in the short time they had been talking, new cars had already appeared in the reflection mirror, firmly trapping their Audi in the middle of the traffic.

“The power’s been out for hours—why are people still heading this way?”

Being surrounded by countless hot engines, the disadvantage of the broken window became apparent: the feeble cool air from the air conditioner was no match for the heat pouring in through the gap—Jack’s fair skin was already starting to flush red, making him look like a giant rabbit.

Emma sighed. “They’re probably trying to escape the city… This is a main road—from here, you can access several intercity highways. Let’s wait. The cars behind us will have to move eventually—”

But in the short time it took to say this, a few more cars had joined the end of the line—the lead car, realizing something was wrong ahead, panicked and, without any warning, turned around and crashed into the car behind it, sending up a thick plume of smoke.

Emma gasped softly, then cursed under her breath. The car that had turned around and crashed was a Range Rover, and its massive body now blocked half the road—combined with the wrecked front of the other car, it was clear neither could move. With that, their retreat was completely cut off.

A car that had just arrived in the distance immediately swerved and fled.

Except for Shirley, who was still oblivious, both Emma and Jack sighed. What could they do now? They had no choice but to abandon the car and proceed on foot.

The sky had turned a pale duck-egg blue—not as bright as the daytime, but visibility was no longer an issue.

“How much water do we have left?” Jack asked, licking his dry, chapped lips with concern.

Emma checked her backpack—though she already knew there were no bottles of water left, only three unopened cans of soda, which felt warm to the touch.

Considering their physical condition, she tossed a can to Jack. “We’ve got three of these left. Drink up! It won’t hydrate you, but at least it’ll give you some sugar—we’re going to need the energy soon.”

To her surprise, Jack took a sip and froze, hiccuping as he asked, “What is this?”—apparently, in his original world, Coca-Cola didn’t exist. Watching him finish the drink while smacking his lips, Emma also tossed her empty can aside and asked, “Ready?”

Jack nodded.

She took a deep breath, opened the car door, and stepped out—the air, now dozens of times hotter than before, hit her like a wall.