Natural Disasters Strikes: I stockpiled like crazy!

Nanzhi just hoped it would work. Just in case, she had already prepared the insect-repellent serum. It was just that her current stock wasn't enough for everyone. At worst, she could form a mosquito extermination squad and have the survivors retreat to a safer place until the swarm was wiped out.

Meanwhile, on the first floor, Uncle Wang had regained some stamina.

He was one of the secret beneficiaries of the Sunflare Fruit, so the heat didn't feel as intense to him. At 50 degrees Celsius, it only felt like about 39 degrees to his body.

He climbed up to the top floor of the community center, and what he saw made him jump in joy.

He hurried back down and told the survivors on the first floor about what he had seen.

Even though most of them couldn't withstand the heat on the upper floors, they still went up at the risk of heatstroke, all just to catch a glimpse of victory.

And it was worth it.

Even as they nearly collapsed from dizziness on their way back to the first floor, they didn't forget to celebrate.

"They retreated! We won! We won!"

"I can't believe we survived!"

"I really thought I would die last night… hu hu hu!"

Some people fainted on the spot from the intense heat and were carried to the temporary infirmary on the ground floor for treatment. Thankfully, Nanzhi had long prepared medicine for heat-related illnesses, preventing any deaths.

The patients were extremely grateful.

"Eh, what's that?" One of the survivors, whose ability enhanced his eyesight, spotted something in the sky from afar. It was flying toward them.

Nanzhi's eyes narrowed.

Here they come.

As the black swarm drew closer, the enhanced-eyesight ability user finally saw them clearly.

His face turned pale. "Mosquitoes! There are mosquitoes coming!"

What?

They had just defeated the tide, and now mosquitoes were coming?

The survivors hadn't even had time to properly celebrate their victory, and another tide was already approaching?

Their expressions shifted from joy to despair the moment they caught sight of the dark edge of the cloud in the distance.

They must have traced them through the blood of the alien beasts!

"You've got to be kidding me! We just finished the tide!"

"If they hit the community center, none of us will survive!"

"How far are they? Everyone inside! Close the windows!"

Just when the mosquitoes were about a kilometer away from reaching the community center, they suddenly changed course. They turned sharply, their speed even faster than before, as if they had sensed something dangerous ahead and were fleeing from it.

The ability user with enhanced eyesight was dumbfounded. "They… they're turning away!"

The survivors noticed it too.

"Wait—look at the sky."

"…Hey. Are they drifting away?"

"…They're not coming here?"

"I'm not hallucinating, right?"

They kept watching the sky, just to be sure. The mosquito tide continued to drift farther and farther away.

Zhao Lin let out a shaky laugh that quickly turned into a sob. Nearby, Luo Gang, who had been gripping a metal rod tightly, lowered it until the tip rested on the ground before pulling Tao'er into a tight hug.

Wang Bo sat down beside his wife, his legs finally giving out from sheer exhaustion. In the infirmary, Grandpa Meng leaned against the wall and covered his face with both hands, his shoulders trembling from relief.

Some survivors laughed—softly at first, almost in disbelief—the tension shattering like ice thawing after a long winter.

A collective sigh of relief filled the building.

Meanwhile, Nanzhi and her group, who had been monitoring the situation through binoculars on the top floor of the central building, also let out long breaths.

"That was a close call." Baoyin's tense shoulders finally slumped.

"By the way, Sister-in-law, what was that green slimy thing you gave us that scared away those mosquitoes?" Bingwen asked.

"It's the mucus gland extract of a Tier 4 frog," Nanzhi replied calmly.

"No wonder it smells so bad." Even with a face mask and white flower ointment under his nose, Feng Ran could still smell it. "I need a bath after this… and some fried chicken as compensation."

The five of them laughed.

"Alright, alright," Nanzhi chuckled.

"But jokes aside, it's a good thing you had that stuff. Otherwise, we would've had to deal with the mosquitoes head-on," Weihao said seriously.

Hei Qian nodded. Mosquitoes are troublesome. Their hitbox is too small.

Still, one couldn't help but wonder where the swarm had gone.

They could only hope it wouldn't attack another survivors' base.

At around 12:00 noon, Nanzhi finally received the notification.

[Congratulations on completing the second mission: Survive until noon.]

[Reward: 10,000 EXP and 1 Upgrade Card.]

[You completed the second mission with less than 10% casualties.]

[Additional Reward: System Shop unlocked + extra Survival Points.]

[Your current Survival Point balance: 300.]

Nanzhi wiped the sweat from her forehead.

It was really over.

Because of the scorching sun, the aftermath cleanup couldn't begin until the temperature dropped.

To reduce the heat inside the building, they covered the windows with wet sheets. Nanzhi didn't skimp on water and made sure the survivors had enough to avoid dehydration. It was still hot but at least it wasn't as bad as it had been in Longmen Base.

There were still thirteen hours left in the Double EXP Event.

Nanzhi couldn't waste it.

As soon as the temperature dropped to 40 degrees Celsius, she slipped out secretly with Weihao. Little Snowball happily collected the remaining crystal cores from the alien beasts' corpses outside.

Counting the cores she had gained from the tide, Nanzhi felt delighted.

But she knew this wasn't hers alone. She would think of a way to distribute the cores and compensate those who had fought during the tide.

After basking under the sun for too long, the pavement beneath their boots had become scorching hot. Some of the tires on overturned cars had begun to melt, and even the electric wires on wooden posts were softening under the heat.

She needed to develop a heat-resistance serum soon!

Back at the base, Baoyin and the others were left in charge, tasked with guarding the place and reporting any unusual activity. Nanzhi also assigned them several smaller tasks and left enough food for dinner.

Meanwhile, she and Weihao moved across the area. Whenever red dots appeared on her map, Nanzhi would rush in that direction and eliminate the alien beasts hiding inside buildings. Along the way, they gathered supplies and heat-relief equipment such as electric fans. They even passed by a large hardware warehouse.

Everything was stored in her inventory.

Night fell.

The survivors waited nervously by the walls. When no alien beasts returned, grins slowly spread across their faces.

It was truly over.

If the alien beast carcasses weren't cleaned up, the smell would soon become unbearable. With the rising temperature, decomposition was accelerating. In just a few hours, a faint stench of decay had already begun to spread.

Following Nanzhi's instructions, Baoyin, Feng Ran, Hei Qian, and Bingwen informed the survivors that the military base in Pearl City was purchasing alien beast hides and armor. Anyone willing to help skin them would be paid in supplies.

The survivors: !!!

The moment they heard this, they rushed out enthusiastically and quickly formed a cleanup-and-skinning crew.

Meanwhile, Nanzhi and Weihao only returned at 4 a.m. the next morning.

When the Double EXP Event finally ended—

Nanzhi's level jumped straight to 40.