Apocalypse Park

Oops it's dawn

In the world of evolved humans, there is an unspoken rule: never pry into someone else's abilities. Since each evolved ability is unique and unimaginable, even the most inconspicuous power could be someone's hidden trump card, capable of saving their life. Naturally, no one wants to expose their trump card to others. In fact, unless absolutely necessary, using one's abilities in front of others is also frowned upon.

Landon had mentioned this to Emma before, so why was Amanda making such a request now?

“Don’t misunderstand,” Amanda said with a soft smile, perhaps realizing her request might seem inappropriate. She wasn’t young anymore, and the smile etched faint lines on her face. “At my current level, I can’t decipher your advanced abilities—just some basic data. Knowing your own basic data would be helpful for you too, but of course, it’s entirely up to you. Care to give it a try?”

“Sure!” Emma replied without hesitation, extending her arm. “I trust you both have no ill intentions.”

Amanda's sharp, metal-like nails glinted coldly as she gently touched Emma’s arm. The nail seemed to glide effortlessly into her skin, causing only the slightest prick of pain before Amanda swiftly retracted it with a smile. “All done.”

She collected a drop of Emma's blood into her palm, where it vanished instantly. Amanda then closed her eyes.

Emma glanced at her arm, noting that the tiny cut had already stopped bleeding.

“Since Amanda's abilities are still in the early stages, it might take a while for her to read your data,” Landon explained, somewhat sheepishly. “All advanced abilities level up over time with use. You’ll see for yourself eventually.”

Emma thought of her own peculiar ability. So, even these strange cards would level up? What could they become? At the very least, she hoped she would be able to transform objects without any limitations. The thought reminded her of the two iron gates she had collected. Even though the second one had only lasted for a mere second or two, she wondered if she had already hit her daily limit. She’d have to find an opportunity to test that out later.

While waiting for Amanda to finish analyzing the data, Emma chatted with Landon out of curiosity. He had seen two more worlds than she had, and his experiences—often unheard of in her own life—left her astonished, amused, and at times anxious. Landon seemed to relish the opportunity for a good conversation, and soon enough, the two had grown quite close.

After what felt like a long time, Emma finally glanced at Amanda. She remained in the same position, eyes closed, silent.

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

"Well... it looks like it might take at least another hour or two," Landon responded with a bit of embarrassment. "When Amanda analyzed my data, it didn’t take this long."

“So long?” Emma was surprised. She glanced at the car window and saw that the dark night had faded considerably, with a faint gray appearing in the east.

Settling back into her seat, a faint worry crept onto her face.

“What’s wrong? Why the look?”

“The sun’s about to rise,” Emma muttered, turning to Landon. “It’s already so hot at night. Once the sun comes up, and the car is baking in the sunlight, what’s the temperature going to be like?”

Landon was momentarily speechless, and the two exchanged troubled glances. Rubbing her temples, Emma said, “In another two hours, I’m afraid we’ll be roasting like ducks in an oven.”

Though the car’s energy reserves were sufficient to keep the air conditioning running for a while, it seemed fragile in the face of the intense heat outside—even at night. The poor air conditioner, at this rate, might burn itself out long before it could stand up to the scorching daytime heat.

“Do you know this area well? Is there any other option?” Landon asked, his usual carefree expression darkening a little.

There was one solution. Nearby the apartment complex was the city’s most expensive shopping mall. It was now rendered useless because the mall's central area had been designed with towering tropical plants, all beneath a ceiling of transparent glass for natural lighting. It used to be an enjoyable experience, strolling through the lush greenery with sunlight filtering down, but now it was a deathtrap.

However, the mall’s basement housed a large imported supermarket. Not only would it be shielded from direct sunlight, but it also had ample food and water.

Emma explained the mall's layout to Landon, and he immediately grew excited. “A supermarket! That’s fantastic! You have no idea—Amanda and I haven’t had a proper meal in over a year! In the last world, we survived on ration bars and military dry packs. It got so bad at one point that we even gnawed on tree bark. I can’t tell you how miserable it was—the constipation was unbearable, felt like I had rocks in my gut—”

Emma raised an eyebrow at him. Landon, realizing he had said too much, coughed awkwardly and continued, “You’re right, though. We have no idea how much hotter it’ll get during the day, so we need to plan ahead.”

After a brief discussion, they quickly came to a decision: drive the car to the mall’s entrance, park it in a shaded spot, and then Landon would carry Amanda down to the supermarket. The store was large, with plenty of food in stock. Three people could easily survive off its supplies for a long time.

And the supermarket was perfectly located. With some luck, they might even be able to set it up as a base and ride out a relatively stable year.

Emma knew she might be overly optimistic, and things likely wouldn’t go so smoothly. But she never imagined that even the first step—simply reaching the mall entrance—would seem almost impossible.

The mall was situated on the main thoroughfare in the heart of the city. This area was known for being a sleepless part of town, bustling with activity day and night. Coincidentally, this month marked the mall’s fifth anniversary, and the entire month had been celebrated with 24-hour sales.

When temperatures soared last night, countless people had the same idea—to flock to the mall to cool off.

Now, the main road was clogged with a roaring line of vehicles, pushing Emma’s car far back from the front. Every car that could still start was idling, and from their vantage point, the mall entrance was barely visible. The area around the fountain was packed with people lying on the ground.

Driving there was impossible. Emma slammed her hand on the steering wheel and prepared to reverse, but when she glanced in the rearview mirror, she saw that more cars had arrived behind them, blocking them in.

“How are people still coming this way after so many hours of power outages?”

Surrounded by the scorching heat of countless engines, the disadvantage of the broken window became painfully clear. The pitiful amount of cool air from the air conditioner was no match for the heat pouring in through the cracks. Landon’s fair skin had already begun to flush red, making him look like a giant rabbit.

In just a few short sentences, more cars had arrived at the tail end of the jam. The lead car, upon noticing the situation ahead, panicked, spun around without warning, and crashed headlong into another car coming up from behind, sending a plume of smoke into the air.

Emma gasped softly and then cursed under her breath.

The car that had spun around and crashed was a massive Range Rover, now lying across the road, blocking nearly half of it. Adding to the chaos, the other car’s hood was smashed, rendering it immobile. With the path completely blocked, there was no retreat.

A newly arrived car quickly turned around and fled.

Both Emma and Landon sighed. Was there any other option now?

They would have to abandon the car and walk.

The sky had taken on a pale duck-egg blue color. Though it wasn’t fully bright yet, visibility was no longer an issue.

“How much water do we have left?” Landon asked, licking his dry, cracked lips with a hint of worry.

Emma checked her backpack. Though she already knew without looking, the answer wasn’t good—no more bottled water. Just three unopened cans of cola, still warm to the touch.

Given their condition, she tossed a can of cola to Landon. “We’ve got three cans left—better drink up! If we can’t rehydrate with water, at least we can get some sugar. We’re going to need the energy.”

Landon opened the can and, after just one sip, looked bewildered. Between burps, he asked, “What is this?” Apparently, in his previous world, there was no Coca-Cola.

Seeing him smack his lips in wonder as he finished the drink, Emma tossed aside her own empty can and asked, “Ready?”

Landon nodded.

Taking a deep breath, she opened the car door and stepped out. The heat outside was now even more intense, like a blast from a furnace.