Chapter 379: Chapter 379: Conspiracy Theories

Just as the steamed seafood was ready, Colin Summers and Winnie Summers happened to get home.

"Wow!" Colin Summers smelled the fragrant seafood the moment he walked in. He strode to the dining table, looked at the feast of seafood covering it, and couldn’t help but exclaim, "So much seafood! These mantis shrimp are huge!"

Winnie Summers followed him over. Seeing the seafood on the table, she also sighed in appreciation, "It smells amazing!"

Grace Sutton brought over the various dipping sauces she had prepared and said to the two, "Why are you back so late? It must be freezing outside, right? Go change your clothes and wash your hands. We can start eating!"

After they had washed up, the family sat around the table and began to enjoy the sumptuous seafood feast.

Melody Summers eagerly picked up a mantis shrimp, peeled off the shell, and revealed the tender meat inside.

She took the small saucer next to her, spooned a bit of the special sauce, drizzled it evenly over the shrimp, and popped it into her mouth. An intense seafood flavor instantly flooded her senses, the taste of the shrimp and the sauce blending together perfectly.

Melody Summers’s eyes lit up. ’Mmm, delicious!’

’The meat is succulent, the texture is perfectly springy. This is amazing!’

Colin Summers cracked open a crab and praised it as he ate, "This crab is delicious. It’s so full of roe!"

Grace Sutton peeled a shrimp, dipped it in sauce, and put it in her mouth. "They are," she said while chewing. "This seafood was all still fresh when it arrived, so of course it tastes good!"

Colin Summers was a little surprised to hear that. "Fresh? Our city isn’t coastal... Besides, with all this snow outside, how did it get delivered?!"

Winnie Summers, who was peeling shrimp for Melody Summers, looked up when she heard their conversation and answered, "Apparently, it was delivered by drone."

Winnie Summers had been shocked when she first got the call from Sophie Thorne, too. When Sophie told her that Roman Rhodes had bought some seafood for her, she had assumed someone was delivering it in person and immediately refused—the snow outside was too heavy to drive in, and a person would freeze solid after just a short while.

She only relaxed after Sophie Thorne explained it was a drone delivery.

Grace Sutton was puzzled by this. She asked, "A drone?... How did a drone fly all the way to our door?"

Colin Summers was completely clueless as well. He frowned and said, "Yeah, when we came back, we saw that the snow had blocked the entrance to the apartment building. How did the drone get in?"

Listening to her family’s discussion, Melody Summers felt her scalp tingle.

She quickly changed the subject. "Mom, Uncle, did things go smoothly for you today? How are the arrangements for the complex’s heating coming along?"

At this, Winnie Summers shook her head helplessly and replied, "The situation isn’t looking good. We ran tests all day, and if we want to reach the standard temperature for central heating, this batch of coal will be used up very quickly..."

The nationally regulated standard for heating requires an indoor temperature of no less than 18 degrees Celsius, but it’s too cold outside right now, around minus 40 or 50 degrees. That’s a temperature difference of 60 to 70 degrees.

Colin Summers added, "The emergency management office discussed it and decided to temporarily keep the heating temperature at around three or four degrees above zero. That way, the coal supply will last a bit longer."

Speaking of which, Colin Summers couldn’t help but sigh. "Sigh, luckily our complex is newly built with good insulation. For those older communities without proper insulation, this cold disaster is going to be incredibly difficult to get through..."

Melody Summers nodded. Being able to keep the indoor temperature around three or four degrees was already pretty good. While it was still cold, as long as you bundled up, you wouldn’t freeze to death.

After dinner, Melody Summers took out her phone and continued scrolling through the residents’ group chat. She saw that everyone was still talking about the blizzard and the heating:

"@6-2102 A Happy Family: Holy crap, is it still snowing outside? If this keeps up, the entire first floor will be buried in a few days, right?"

"@7-408 Gone with the Wind: @6-2102 A Happy Family We don’t have to wait a few days. You probably can’t see clearly from the upper floors, but the first floor is already pretty much buried."

"@2-1908 Coco: At this rate, the snow will probably reach the second floor by tomorrow morning."

"@7-901 Adventurous Lawson: @2-1908 Coco Huh? Oh my god, are you saying it can bury one floor every two days on average? If it keeps up at this rate, my place on the 9th floor is in danger too!!!" 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"@7-901 Adventurous Lawson: I don’t want to be buried! I saw the property management guys arranging for people to clear the snow for the past few days. How come no one’s out there shoveling today?"

"@4-1209 Slacking Off: @7-901 Adventurous Lawson It’s minus 40 or 50 degrees outside right now, and there’s a blizzard. And you’re asking why they aren’t clearing snow? Are the property management staff not human?"

"@2-1908 Coco: @7-901 Adventurous Lawson Because clearing it now would just be a pointless effort. The speed of shoveling probably can’t even keep up with the speed of the snowfall."

"@7-901 Adventurous Lawson: Fine, I get it. I hope this snow stops soon. Please don’t let my apartment get buried!!"

"@3-1007 Kiki, Mom of Two: @7-901 Adventurous Lawson Don’t overthink it. The ninth floor is thirty or forty meters off the ground. If that actually got buried, it would be a catastrophe."

"@3-1007 Kiki, Mom of Two: Besides, so what if we get buried? The building has insulation, and the heat is on. Are you really afraid of freezing to death?"

"@4-2009 Nina: Speaking of the heating, is this as warm as it’s going to get? I waited all afternoon for the temperature to rise, but it never did. It’s still really cold in my apartment."

"@2-1908 Coco: @4-2009 Nina I asked property management. The heating will only go up to three or four degrees this time. If it gets any warmer, the coal won’t last."

"@4-1009 Lowell On Deadline: @4-2009 Nina I think it’s much better now. This morning, my hands were so cold I couldn’t even type. I wanted to just grab the charcoal out of the stove. I’ve finally thawed out."

"@4-2009 Nina: @2-1908 Coco Three or four degrees? No way, absolutely not. My thermometer says it’s still below zero."

"@2-1908 Coco: @4-2009 Nina Do you have large floor-to-ceiling windows in your room?"

"@4-2009 Nina: @2-1908 Coco Yes, how did you know? I had one of my walls converted into a floor-to-ceiling window."

"@2-1908 Coco: @4-2009 Nina Glass and walls don’t have the same insulating properties. A room with a large floor-to-ceiling window will be exceptionally cold. You should move to a different room quickly."

"@4-2009 Nina: @2-1908 Coco Oh, so that’s why. No wonder my place is so cold. I’ll go to the guest room then!"

"@4-1009 Lowell On Deadline: Hey, have you guys seen the trending topics? The heating in our complex is trending!"

"@3-1007 Kiki, Mom of Two: @4-1009 Lowell On Deadline What do you mean? It’s just heating, why would it be trending? Isn’t the heating city-wide?"

"@2-1908 Coco: @3-1007 Kiki, Mom of Two No, this time our complex is providing its own heating. It seems like nowhere else has started yet."

"@4-1009 Lowell On Deadline: [Image]"

"@4-1009 Lowell On Deadline: [Image]"

"@4-1009 Lowell On Deadline: No other residential complexes have heating, only ours. The comment section for the trending topic absolutely blew up!"

"@4-1009 Lowell On Deadline: Netizens are all spouting conspiracy theories about our complex now, saying we’re getting special treatment. They’re sure it’s because a high-ranking official lives here!"

"@4-1209 Slacking Off: I saw the trending topic too... All I can say is, the netizens this year really have some issues..."