Chapter 30: Chapter 30: Rising Temperatures

Melody Summers’s family finished clearing the debris from their villa’s entrance. They didn’t waste any time and immediately installed the solar panels on the roof.

Melody Summers knew this windstorm was just the beginning. It was like an advance warning to humanity from the heavens. With the end of the windstorm, a year-long period of extreme heat had quietly descended.

After finishing up, Melody Summers headed to Crystal Mart. She saw the store was already running on the generator she had left there earlier, and the freezers and refrigerators inside were operating smoothly.

A few other residents were in the supermarket, lined up in front of a power strip to charge their phones and power banks. They seemed a little sheepish about it, and all of them bought a lot of items in the store.

Just then, two trucks pulled up to the supermarket’s entrance, carrying a newly ordered shipment of food and supplies.

Finn Lynch and the others quickly went to help the delivery crew unload, hauling box after box of goods into the storeroom.

Just then, a woman shopping in the fresh produce section complained, "Hey, boss! Why are the vegetables so expensive today? Who can possibly afford to eat them?"

Crystal Lynch replied, "It’s because our own cost was high. We had to haul this batch back from the farmers’ market ourselves a few days ago, and now the market is completely out of stock. Once these are sold, we won’t be able to get any more."

Hearing this, the delivery driver chimed in, "You should buy vegetables while you can. The market next to my neighborhood is completely out. It’s not easy to find any for sale, so you’re lucky."

The woman asked doubtfully, "The tornadoes have passed, haven’t they? How could there be no vegetables?"

The delivery driver replied, "The recent tornadoes destroyed all the vegetable fields. The farmers have tilled the soil again, but they have to sow new seeds and plant seedlings. There won’t be any fresh vegetables on the market until the new crops are ready, and that will take at least twenty days or so."

"Leafy greens will need at least twenty-odd days, but legumes will take more than a month. Eggplants and the like will take even longer—over two months. So for the foreseeable future, vegetable prices are going to be high, and they could be out of stock at any moment."

’We won’t even have twenty days,’ Melody Summers thought. ’Once the extreme heat hits, the only vegetables available will be the expensive indoor-grown ones. There won’t be any affordable produce on the market.’

The woman huffed. "Well then, my family just won’t eat vegetables for a few days. We’ll figure it out later."

With that, the woman left the supermarket.

The delivery driver, however, grabbed a bag and filled it with plenty of vegetables. He brought them to the register to pay—he knew what was going on, and this price was already a steal.

After the driver checked out, Melody Summers thought for a moment before pulling Crystal Lynch aside to whisper, "Crystal, I’ve noticed the power grid in the complex isn’t very stable. We’ll probably have frequent outages during the peak usage period in the summer. Your family should really get a generator or some solar panels, just in case. A home generator isn’t too expensive these days, just a few thousand for one. They don’t run too loud and last a long time."

Crystal Lynch considered it for a moment, then nodded. "You have a point. This blackout has been a real headache. I’ll ask my dad to buy a generator, and we’ll stock up on some gasoline and diesel too." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Melody Summers was relieved to hear that. The Lynch Family was in the long-haul trucking business, so they surely had better access to gasoline and diesel than she did.

*

On her way home, Melody Summers saw a group of workers in coveralls huddled together, discussing something.

Curious, Melody Summers approached them and spotted Hollis from the sales office in the crowd.

Hollis remembered her and greeted her warmly, "Miss Summers! With the heavy winds these last few days, is your home okay?"

"Thanks for asking, we’re fine," Melody Summers said with a smile. "What’s going on here?"

"Electrical maintenance," Hollis replied. "The power has been out for several days, and the repair crew has finally made it to our complex. We’ve had electricians come to overhaul the entire electrical system and replace all the outdated equipment."

Melody Summers felt a sense of relief. The upcoming heatwave would inevitably lead to a massive surge in electricity consumption, putting a huge strain on the grid’s capacity. Having The Metropolis Residences arrange for an overhaul ahead of time would prevent a lot of potential problems.

As Melody Summers returned to the villa section of the complex, she saw a number of luxury cars driving in and out. She paused for a moment, then it dawned on her. The windstorm this week must have caused damage downtown, so some of the wealthier residents were remembering their unused villas in The Metropolis Residences and moving in temporarily.

As Melody continued home, she saw workers carrying luggage in and out of a few villas near her house. It seemed she was getting new neighbors.

When Melody got home, she opened up the resident group chat and saw the homeowners were already deep in discussion:

"4-2009 Nina: @Property Management, why isn’t the power back on yet?"

"Property Management: The technicians are working on it now. We expect power to be restored either today or tomorrow. We ask all residents to please be patient."

"4-1209 Goofing Off: Has anyone else noticed how hot it’s been the last couple of days? Is this temperature normal for April?"

"2-1908 Coco: It really is hot. Maybe the windstorm a few days ago blew all the clouds away."

"5-1706 Adian: Has anyone else noticed the prices at Crystal Mart are way more expensive? The vegetables cost several times more than they did a few days ago. Isn’t Property Management going to step in?"

"4-2009 Nina: I thought the prices were too high, so I went to the farmers’ market myself, but I didn’t realize it would be closed. Ugh, my family just spent a fortune replacing our windows and doors, then paid to have all the debris and rubble cleaned out of the house. Our TV and sofa in the living room are both broken, and we don’t have the money for new ones. Now we can’t even buy vegetables... I don’t know how we’re supposed to get by."

"5-2602 North Window: It’s so hot, you can feel it more on the higher floors. Hurry up and get the power back on! It’s hard to breathe in my apartment without the AC."

"..."

Melody Summers silently closed the app on her phone. The temperature was definitely creeping up. It wouldn’t be long before she’d need to run the AC.

Back in her room, Melody Summers went straight into her space.

The various vegetables in the garden plot were thriving and ripening in succession. Nearby, a small patch of honeysuckle had also begun to sprout.

The fruit trees in the grove were in full bloom, attracting swarms of bees and butterflies.

Melody Summers harvested some of the ripe tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, eggplants, and green beans from her fields.

This was more than her family could possibly eat, so Melody decided to sell the surplus secretly at Crystal Mart. With vegetable prices being so high lately, it would be a shame not to cash in.

It was a far cry from her one-hundred-million goal, but it was income nonetheless.

Thinking of the one hundred million required to unlock the space, Melody Summers couldn’t help but sigh. Where on earth was she going to get that kind of money?

Melody then took some feed to the animal pens, filling every trough to the brim.

The chicks that had hatched previously were growing up strong. The young hens would start laying in a little while, which meant she would be able to harvest more eggs. As for the young roosters, she’d make them into soup once they were big enough.

The first batch of duck eggs had also hatched recently. A few little ducklings were now paddling around the pond after their mother.

The rabbits multiplied the fastest. She had started with only three, and now the colony had grown to over a dozen. Melody gave them a lot more licorice root.

The gestation periods for the cattle and sheep were longer, so there was no sign of any new arrivals yet.

The miniature pigs had also grown several sizes larger. Melody had been itching to butcher a few of the young boars for a while now. The old farmer who’d sold them to her said that miniature pigs were tastiest when roasted at this size. The young sows, of course, had to be kept for breeding.

But then she remembered the three freezers at home, all neatly packed with frozen meat they hadn’t even finished, and she decided against it.

The moment she exited the space, Melody Summers saw a small white cat perched on her bed, staring at her with a completely blank expression.

Melody: "..."