In the blink of an eye, November arrived. Normally, winter would be just around the corner, but the temperature remained abnormally high, and the scorching heat showed no signs of letting up.

Not a single drop of rain had fallen in over six months. The sun baked the earth, leaving the ground parched and cracked. Crops failed completely, and sighs of despair could be heard everywhere, as no one knew when the heatwave would finally end.

Many had perished, unable to endure the heat. The end of every daily news broadcast reported the global death toll, with the figures constantly climbing. The governments of several small nations had collapsed outright, plunging their citizens into a state of anarchy and chaos.

That day, Melody Summers was wearing gloves, helping to clear away the Desert Vines near Crystal Mart. The vines were growing uncontrollably now, spreading everywhere. Residents had taken to wrapping their shoes and legs in old scraps of cloth whenever they went out, fearing they might accidentally get scratched.

Suddenly, Melody Summers heard a piercing alarm, followed by someone shouting, "The back hills are on fire! Quick, put it out!"

Melody Summers shot to her feet.

’The back hills are on fire!’

The Metropolis Residences bordered the suburbs, its villa district built against a mountain and flanked by a pair of connected peaks.

With the recent scorching, abnormally dry weather, trees like pines and firs were prone to secreting flammable oils under the intense sunlight, making them highly susceptible to fire. Coupled with the large accumulation of dry branches in the woods, this was the likely cause of the wildfire.

Panic inevitably flared in Melody Summers’s heart as she quickly reviewed the events of her past life in her mind.

At this same point in her past life, Melody was still with the Lancaster Family, not at The Metropolis Residences. She didn’t know when this fire had started or when it had been extinguished. She only remembered that after moving into the main residential area, she had never heard anyone mention the community being affected by a wildfire. This meant the fire, at the very least, hadn’t reached the front part of the complex.

But she couldn’t be certain. Her entire family lived in the rear villa district, far too close to the hills. She couldn’t risk betting all their lives on it.

Melody Summers hurriedly dropped her tools and ran back to Crystal Mart. "Mom, Uncle," she said to Winnie Summers and Colin Summers, "they say the hills behind the villa district are on fire. We need to go home and check on things."

Winnie Summers and Colin Summers froze for a moment, then grew anxious. The back hills were so close to the villa district; if the fire wasn’t brought under control, their villa could very well be in danger.

Crystal Lynch and her family chimed in. "You should hurry back and check on things. The villa district is too close to the hills. It’s better to be prepared in case the fire spreads. We’ll watch the supermarket for you."

The three of them followed the patrol team back toward the villa district. In the distance, they could faintly see plumes of thick smoke rising over the hills. The smoke billowed and spread under the scorching sun.

A resident on the patrol team told the three of them, "The fire department is already trying to extinguish it, and the property management has gone to help. But the water supply is low, and even the firefighters are running short. This wildfire might be hard to stop. Your villas are too close to the hills. You should see if you can move somewhere else to take shelter for a while."

Melody’s expression turned grave. She had a few fire extinguishers stored at home, but this was a wildfire, and it was raging fiercely. It was nothing a few extinguishers could hope to put out.

When the three of them got home, they gathered their grandmother, Miss Lowell, and her aunt and told them about the fire in the hills.

"We don’t know when they’ll put out this fire, or if it will reach the house," Melody said, her expression grave. "Our whole family needs to evacuate and find shelter for now."

Colin Summers nodded in agreement. "Even if the fire itself doesn’t reach us, the smoke will. If this keeps up, the villa’s solar panels and AC units could be damaged."

Their grandmother’s face clouded with worry. "But we don’t have another house. Where could we possibly go in this heat?"

Melody had already considered this on the way home. She planned to take her family to a hotel in the city for a few days.

In her past life, when the residential areas had rolling blackouts, the Lancaster Family’s generator had broken down. Unable to buy a new one right away, the Lancasters couldn’t stand the heat and took Melody with them to seek refuge at The Nimbus Hotel in the city center.

The Nimbus Hotel was the largest in Anworth. It had its own generators, a dedicated water supply system, and comprehensive facilities. With its large security force, it had become a favored sanctuary for the wealthy during the disaster. Many affluent families moved in with all their relatives for extended stays.

"Let’s move to a hotel for a few days. Mom, Uncle, Aunt, Grandma, Miss Lowell—go pack a bag with some clothes and personal items. Don’t bring too much, or it won’t all fit in the car. Besides, the hotel will have all the basic toiletries, so you don’t need to pack those," Melody told her family.

Her family members nodded and hurried to their rooms to pack. Meanwhile, Melody picked up her phone to book the hotel.

Small, ordinary inns had long since gone out of business from the water and power shortages. Only a few large hotels were still in operation. But the prices were exorbitant. Even the most basic single room went for 100,000 a night—a price far beyond the reach of the average person.

Luckily, Melody still had the money from selling the Pink Diamond. Gritting her teeth, she winced at the cost but booked a three-bedroom luxury suite at The Nimbus Hotel for 500,000 a night. ’It’s safer for the whole family to stay together,’ she thought, ’and it’ll be easier to look after everyone.’

Since she didn’t know when the fire would be extinguished, Melody booked the suite for half a month, costing a total of 7.5 million.

Just as Melody finished booking the hotel, she got a call from Sophie Thorne.

Melody answered the call, and Sophie Thorne’s voice came through the receiver. "Melody, I heard there’s a wildfire in the hills next to The Metropolis Residences. Do you and your family want to come with me to the city center to wait it out?" 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Not wanting to impose, Melody replied, "That’s all right, Sophie. I just booked us a hotel room. Don’t worry about us."

Sophie replied, "All right. Well, stay safe, and call me anytime if you need anything."

Melody nodded. "Okay, you too."

After she hung up, she found her family had already finished packing. They had each packed only a few changes of clothes and some personal items, nothing extra.

Melody unplugged all the appliances in the villa, leaving only the generator that powered the freezers running.

Colin Summers climbed onto the roof to dismantle the solar panels and put them away. For good measure, he also cut the power to the outdoor air conditioning unit.

Melody found a box and emptied the perishable food from the refrigerator. She also harvested the ripe vegetables from their garden plot. Finally, she netted all the fish and shrimp from the backyard pond, placing them into two plastic bags with a bit of water.

"Now all the vegetables and fruit trees in the yard are going to die in the heat," her grandmother sighed in resignation.

"We can always replant when we get back," Miss Lowell comforted her. "Safety comes first right now."

Melody filled the car with gas, scooped up Albus, and set off with her family.

The group first stopped by Crystal Mart to say goodbye to the Lynchs.

Winnie Summers looked a little embarrassed as she spoke to the Lynchs. "We have to go away for a few days to wait this out. Sorry to trouble you with the supermarket in the meantime."

The Lynchs all looked concerned. Crystal Lynch stepped forward. "Miss Winnie, do you have a place to go? Why don’t you stay at our house for a few days?"

Finn Lynch quickly nodded in agreement. "Yes, come stay with us. We have two empty rooms." He was planning to sleep in the living room with his son to give the rooms to the Summers Family.

Shawn Lynch nodded as well. "We can clear out the study to make another room. Fitting six people won’t be a problem."

Just then, Melody carried the box of vegetables and bags of fish and shrimp into the mart. Hearing their offer, she smiled and shook her head. "Mr. Lynch, Lynch, Crystal, thank you for your kindness, but there are six of us. It would be an inconvenience for so many people to crowd your home. I’ve already found a place for us to stay, so please don’t worry. We’ll be back as soon as the wildfire is out."

After leaving the vegetables, fish, and shrimp with the Lynch family, Melody went to the emergency management office next door.

She retrieved numerous fire extinguishers from her basement and gave them all to Manager Grant at the property management center, hoping they could help with the firefighting efforts. Though it was just a drop in the bucket, it was better than nothing. If the fire spread this way, they might be of some use.

Manager Grant accepted them and thanked Melody profusely; firefighting supplies were incredibly scarce these days.

With everything taken care of, Melody drove her family toward The Nimbus Hotel in the city center.

*

The roads were empty. With the sun high in the sky, everyone was hiding indoors to escape the heat. Melody felt as if the very air outside was roiling and boiling. The plants in the greenbelts were withered and brown, with not a trace of green to be seen.

Occasionally, she saw a few buses still in operation, crammed with commuters heading to work. A family like Melody’s, still able to drive a private car, was a rare sight.

The group arrived at The Nimbus Hotel. After showing their reservation details, a security guard directed them to park in the underground garage. They then prepared to head inside to check in.

Just as Melody got out of the car, a figure emerged from the shadows of a nearby vehicle. In just a few steps, he was standing right in front of her.

Startled, Melody eyed the man warily.

The man appeared to be in his early thirties. He flashed a friendly smile at Melody. "Hello, miss. We’re from the Oceanus Hotel across the street. We’re running a special—check-in is just 1,000 a night. That’s much cheaper than The Nimbus Hotel. Would you consider staying with us instead?"