"3-1007 Kiki, Mom of Two: @6-702 The Lover The temperature can’t be rising, right? There’s a blizzard raging outside, and the wind is insane. When it hits your face, it hurts worse than a knife cutting into your flesh."

"3-1007 Kiki, Mom of Two: I just went out on the balcony to get some snow to boil, and I was only out there for two or three minutes, but my hands went completely numb from the cold. It took forever for the feeling to come back!"

"4-1009 Lowell On Deadline: @3-1007 Kiki, Mom of Two You went out to get snow without gloves? It’s like forty or fifty below zero out there! I’m wearing gloves and a hat even inside my apartment! You’ve got some serious guts."

"3-1007 Kiki, Mom of Two: @4-1009 Lowell On Deadline Sigh, I didn’t think it would be this bad... I figured, you know, we humans are warm-blooded animals, a few minutes shouldn’t be a problem. Who could’ve known it’d turn out like this..."

"4-2201 Youth Without Regrets: You guys should all be more careful. My hometown is in the northernmost part of the country, and the winters there are brutal. Every year, lots of people get their hands and feet ruined by frostbite because they weren’t bundled up enough. What’s worse is that even after it heals, it’ll act up again every winter. This is no joke!"

"3-1007 Kiki, Mom of Two: @4-2201 Youth Without Regrets Really? That’s terrifying! I’m never going out without gloves again."

"4-1209 Slacking Off: @6-702 The Lover It’s not your imagination. It really isn’t as cold now, because the heating is on."

"4-1009 Lowell On Deadline: @4-1209 Slacking Off You must be hallucinating too. How could the heating be on? If it really were on, the city’s trending topics would have blown up by now. Everyone is desperately waiting for the heat to come on."

"4-1209 Slacking Off: @4-1009 Lowell On Deadline If you don’t believe me, go touch your radiator. My place has underfloor heating, and I can definitely feel the floor is warm now."

"4-1009 Lowell On Deadline: @4-1209 Slacking Off For real? Okay, I’ll go check now, but you better not be messing with me. It took me forever to build up this little bit of warmth under my covers. The second I get out of bed, it’ll all be gone..."

"6-702 The Lover: It’s true! I checked! The radiator pipe is really warm! The government turned on the heating!"

"4-2009 Nina: Oh my god, the heating is really on! I’m saved! I was so cold I’d already started writing my will! I thought I wasn’t going to make it!"

"5-601 Ocean: @4-2009 Nina Pfft, who were you planning to leave your will to? If you froze to death, you think anyone else would survive?"

"4-2009 Nina: @5-601 Ocean Hey! What kind of way is that to talk?! Who are you trying to jinx?!"

"5-601 Ocean: @4-2009 Nina Pfft, I’m just telling it like it is. Why are you getting so worked up? Besides, you were already writing a will. You’re really worried about someone cursing you?"

"7-408 Gone with the Wind: Alright, alright, stop fighting, both of you. Why are you always arguing? The heating is on, that’s great news. Can’t you talk about something happy for a change?"

"4-1009 Lowell On Deadline: The heating might be on, but the temperature is still a little low... I don’t have underfloor heating, and the radiator pipes are just lukewarm. It’s not helping much. Can they turn the temperature up a bit?"

"2-1908 Coco: It’s always like this when the heating first comes on. It should get warmer later. Let’s just wait a bit longer!"

"..."

After scrolling through the group chat messages, Grandma spoke up. "Since the complex has heating now, should we turn off our wall-mounted boiler and switch to the external supply? We could save some gas that way."

Melody Summers shook her head and replied, "Let’s not switch yet, Grandma. The temperature from the complex’s heating is too low right now. We should wait a little longer."

Grandma nodded. She thought Melody had a point. Judging from the chat, the complex’s heating was indeed still very weak, so it wasn’t a good time to switch.

...

After lunch, Melody Summers went back to her bedroom, locked the door, and entered the Arcadian Space again.

This time, she chose the beach of the Arcadian Sea as her arrival point.

The moment Melody Summers’s feet touched the sand, she saw a crab directly in front of her.

The crab was quite large and was currently scuttling imperiously across the beach.

When it saw Melody Summers suddenly appear before it, the crab hastily waved its pincers, making a threatening display.

Melody Summers paid it no mind. She wasn’t here to forage on the beach today; she had no interest in these small shrimp and crabs.

She ran along the pier to the yacht, skillfully checked all its equipment, and after ensuring everything was in working order, she filled the fuel tank.

With a roar of the engine, Melody Summers steered the yacht slowly away from the pier, heading out toward the distant sea.

The yacht carved a beautiful arc across the water’s surface as waves lapped against the hull, sending up little bursts of spray.

After traveling for some distance, Melody Summers came up to the deck, carrying a water tank and a fishing net she had found in the cabin.

The sea stretched to the horizon, and the wind blew against her face, carrying the salty tang of the ocean.

Melody Summers took out the fishing net and, following a tutorial, mounted and secured it to the yacht. Then, she cast the net out into the sea.

The net spread open in the water and sank beneath the waves in moments.

Albus stared at the sea for a moment, then turned to Melody Summers and asked:

"Host, is that all it takes? Will this really catch fish?"

Melody Summers stroked her chin and replied, "From the fishing videos I’ve watched, this is how they do it... You cast the net, wait for a while, and when you pull it up, it’s a big, bulging bag... Anyway, let’s just give it a try!"

The girl and the cat waited quietly on the deck, enjoying the sea breeze. When it was time to pull in the net, Melody Summers took a deep breath and prepared to haul it in.

Melody Summers slowly turned the crank on the winch and suddenly felt a strong resistance.

A thrill of joy went through her. She turned to Albus and said, "I can feel it, this is heavy! There must be a ton of stuff in the net!"

’Even if I don’t know what’s in it, at least it’s not an empty net!’ she added silently to herself.

’Not coming up empty is a victory in itself! Even if it’s just some kelp and seaweed, that’d be great!’

The net gradually surfaced. What was once an empty net had transformed into a large, bulging sphere, the bag filled with all sorts of fish and shrimp.

"What a huge haul!" Melody Summers cried out in pleasant surprise. "Quick, I can’t pull it up! White, hurry and help me!"

Hearing this, Albus immediately used the power of the space to help Melody Summers move the net bag onto the deck.

The moment the net bag was opened, a waterfall of fish and shrimp poured out, piling up into a small mountain on the deck!

Some of the sea fish were full of life, flopping wildly the instant they hit the deck. They slapped their tails against the deck panels repeatedly, making a SLAP, SLAP sound.

Albus leaped nimbly into the pile of fish and pinned down an escaping eel with his paw.

"Wow!"

Melody Summers exclaimed in amazement. She then bent down and rummaged through the small mountain of fish and shrimp, discovering that the majority of the catch was sand crabs and mantis shrimp, along with various kinds of fish.

The sand crabs were the most plentiful part of the harvest. They lay in a heap on the deck, motionless.

Melody Summers frowned slightly at the sight, asking with some confusion, "Did these crabs die the moment they were caught?"

’Dead crabs can’t be sold for money...’

At that thought, Melody Summers frowned and picked up a sand crab to inspect it.