Ark pigeon mode, activated!

After finishing his blueberry pie and drinking some juice to moisten his throat, Camilla suddenly caught a glimpse of an unusual scene.

The flying snow that drifted into the hot ring should have melted and formed a smoke-like state, but there was a small area... that did not seem to melt.

"As I recall... if a thermal ring is not damaged by external factors, its service life is generally 40 to 50 years. If it is carefully maintained, it can last even longer."

Camilla murmured.

Hearing this, Wendy, who was more interested in and knowledgeable about this aspect, immediately spoke up.

"Rushka City's thermal ring undergoes monthly maintenance inspections, and soldiers are stationed near the thermal ring for extended periods of time to ensure its normal operation..."

Her voice gradually lowered, and her eyes followed the direction of Chimilla's gaze, landing on the invisible barrier created by the heat ring not far away.

That not-so-obvious bunch of snowflakes made her face change suddenly.

The heat ring is broken!

The average temperature throughout the Kingdom of Fens has dropped to minus 50 to 60 degrees Celsius. The area around Rushka City is relatively cold, and the average temperature outside the thermal ring is minus 67 degrees!

Such extreme cold will sweep across the entire city in a very short time after the heat ring is damaged, paralyzing it, and then... a large number of unprepared civilians will freeze to death in the wind and snow!

These possibilities, which had already been speculated by others, quickly flashed through her mind.

“H-What should I do!?”

She asked in a trembling voice.

After all, she is still young, and she was a little confused when she encountered such a thing suddenly.

"Leave immediately and inform your family to prepare for the cold. The news of the thermal ring being broken will soon spread, and the corresponding emergency response organization will take over. We don't need to do anything more. We just need to protect ourselves.

As you can imagine, the transportation system will soon be paralyzed, and we will have to run home to warm up first!

Camilla said calmly, and stood up to pay the bill.

Surter and Hiltunen looked at each other. Although their expressions were not good, they were still calm.

The two of them didn't say anything. After exchanging glances, they started playing rock-paper-scissors, without any hesitation, and acted quickly.

Stiltl threw a headscissors, and Hiltunen threw punches, and the latter won.

Hiltunen raised his eyebrows slightly and chuckled.

She asked when Camilla came back after paying the bill.

"Where should we go first?"

"Go directly to my house. It's the closest to my home, so we should be able to arrive before we freeze to death. Afterwards, call your families to let them know you're safe. My family has already prepared cold-weather equipment and sufficient supplies for us to stay there until the thermal loop is repaired."

Camilla spoke quickly, because he was indeed in a hurry, so he spoke very fast.

Once they have reached a place that can shelter them, there is no need to risk rushing back to their homes.

In addition, they are just children and don’t have mobile phones, so they usually communicate through the home phone.

"okay."

Surtel and Hiltunen nodded, then Surtel grabbed Wendy and carried her on his back. Wendy was a little caught off guard and just subconsciously hugged her tightly.

"Eh!? What are you going to do!?"

she asked in surprise.

On the other side, Hiltunen also grabbed Camilla and carried her on her back. Without any explanation, she shouted directly at Surtel.

"go!"

The two of them rushed out of the restaurant in a blink of an eye, running on the street like agile cheetahs, away from the edge of the heat ring. Carrying a person on their backs did not affect their movements at all.

Camilla narrowed her eyes slightly, and the wind blowing towards her became gentle under the influence of an unknown force. Although it was still uncomfortable, it was still acceptable.

He looked back and saw that the slight snowstorm was now expanding, like a pure white waterfall.

In the dark, he seemed to hear the wail of the invisible barrier constructed by the heat ring, like a crack in a glass vessel, a small damage that spreads into cracks all over the body in an instant, and then - collapse!

call! ! !

The strong wind broke through the barrier, carrying endless wind and snow, like thousands of sharp blades raging over the city!

The temperature dropped sharply, frost condensed on the surfaces of many buildings, and the erosion of the severe cold was visible to the naked eye!

Surtel and Hiltunen ignored him and just ran madly, quickly heading towards Camilla's home along the city road that left a deep impression on them.

Faced with this disaster that has swept the entire city and even the entire world, their current power is too weak and there is no possibility of resistance.

After a while, the group successfully arrived at Camilla's house and entered.

Camilla asked Isfiel to close the doors and windows and seal some areas that were prone to heat leakage with wooden boards.

The necessary cold-proof materials have already been prepared, and most of the processes have even been completed. Now you just need to seal some places, leave vents, and then light a fire in the living room fireplace, and the room will become warm.

Before the severe cold could affect the communication equipment, Wendy and the other two quickly called home to inform them of the current situation in Rushka City and their whereabouts, and then went to help Camilla and Isfir prepare for the cold.

After checking several times and confirming that all preparations were complete, Camilla and the others finally relaxed.

Isfir went to make tea, while Camilla, Surtel, Hiltunen, and Wendy sat around the fireplace in the living room on the first floor, looking at each other in silence.

To say I was nervous wasn't really. I was just a little confused at the beginning when I noticed the thermal ring collapsed. Now after a lot of busy work, I have calmed down.

This situation was expected, and the authorities even organized relevant self-rescue training.

No one has ever expected that a thermal ring will be used to its theoretical life limit.

Listening to the faint howling of the wind outside the house, Camilla frowned slightly.

He thought of his aunt Beatrice, who was away from home and didn't know how she was doing now.

……

Chapter 360: Blade Master Tower, this is her past~

Half a day later, through contact with Hiltunen's family, Camila and others learned about the situation outside.

Not only the thermal ring in Rushka City was damaged, but all the countries and regions that can be contacted at present have suffered large-scale thermal ring damage. The losses caused are difficult to estimate!

Some powerful witches discovered that the source of all these changes was that the Pale Mother, the astral consciousness, had suffered a severe blow!

The construction of the thermal ring has always relied on part of the power of the Pale Mother. Once there is a problem with the Pale Mother, the thermal ring will inevitably be affected!

But the problem is that we also rely on the Pale Mother to resist the inexplicable terror in the starry sky!

Now, the Pale Mother can finally not hold on any longer!

The sun was about to go out, so it was not surprising that the Pale Mother could not hold on, but... it was too early.

Many underground cities have not been completed, and this time the population may be reduced by more than half.

The extreme cold will destroy most ecosystems, animals will die, plants will wither, and all areas except those protected by supernatural powers will become death zones.

Then, with resources becoming scarce and oxygen levels decreasing, humanity will eventually reach its end...

These are a little too far for Camilla and others who are stuck at home.

Camilla tried to turn on the TV to watch the news. At present, the TV can still be used and receive signals from the outside world, but it will not be long before the severe cold makes it useless.

Most modern mechanical equipment cannot work at temperatures as low as dozens of degrees below zero. Simple thermal expansion and contraction are extremely fatal.

The news urgently reported the failure of the thermal ring, calling on the public to take emergency shelter, prepare for the cold, and wait for the thermal ring to be repaired.

Camilla felt that the heat ring could indeed recover. After all, the Pale Mother was only seriously injured and not dead, but it was hard to say how long it would take.

It doesn't take ten days or half a month, just a few hours is enough to freeze a large number of people to death.

In the severe cold of dozens of degrees below zero, not to mention whether your body will get frostbite, even breathing is a fatal problem!

After watching TV for a while, Camilla turned it off.

There's nothing nutritious in the news, so it's better not to listen to it.

He returned to sit by the fireplace and warmed himself by the fire with Wendy and the others.

Although they were indoors, they were all wearing thicker clothes. They had run in the cold wind for a while on their way back, which was quite uncomfortable. It took them a long time to recover after drinking hot tea.

Hiltunen was still talking on the phone with her sister, trying to get more information before the line was completely cut off.

After a while, the call was disconnected. It was not a normal hang-up, but it was broken and could no longer be dialed. I didn't know what went wrong.

Hiltunen had no choice but to put down the phone and go back to the fireplace.

He picked up the tea, took a sip, and after tidying his words, he spoke.

"The Pale Mother has found the source of all the changes..."

Hearing this, Camilla, Wendy and Surtel couldn't help but look over.

"She sensed an incredibly vast being. Perhaps it was some kind of life form, perhaps not. The Pale Mother felt its illusory form filling the starry sky and slowly moving. The sun began to burn out after being enveloped by its body!"

If the sun is engulfed, how can the planets orbiting it be spared?

When the sky falls, there are tall people to hold it up. Now the strongest Pale Mother can't bear it anymore, and the pressure is transferred to the people below.

Without a solution, humans would not be able to survive even if they escaped to the center of the earth.

Camilla and the others were silent, not knowing what they were thinking.

It's not just one sun that's extinguished...

"By the way, although that being is so enormous that it cannot be observed by ordinary means, the Pale Mother still managed to sense its general form. It should be in the shape of a snake. The Pale Mother decided to call it the Dark Serpent!"

Hiltunen said slowly.

Camilla raised his eyebrows slightly. The name of the Dark Serpent made him feel vaguely familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere.

He always believed in his feelings. Since it was familiar, he must have seen it before!

However, as far as he could remember, he had never left the vicinity of Rushka City, at most he had gone for a picnic. How could he have possibly seen the Dark Serpent?!

Moreover, the Dark Serpent's immeasurable and terrifying physique can be seen with the naked eye!?

Did I see it in a dream?

Camilla recalled some dreams that he had a vague memory of, but did not find any similar figures.

He rarely dreams.

Unable to find the source of the familiarity, he turned his attention to other things.

In the current situation, it seems that it is useless for him to encourage Hiltunen and Surter to work hard, as the gap is too big.

It is useless to rely on force to solve the problem of the dark snake. You have to think of other means.

What he was very concerned about was whether the planet they lived on was already inside the body of the Dark Serpent?

If so, in what state does the Dark Serpent exist?

This is very important.

But now that he has been cut off from the outside world, he has nowhere to ask even if he wants to know.

Surter and Hiltunen might be able to withstand the extreme cold outside, but Camilla would not ask them to go out into an environment of dozens of degrees below zero for such a thing.

If you are not careful, people may die.

It would be fine if he had some clues that could really help him solve the problem of the Dark Serpent, but he had no idea at the moment.

After a brief chat, Camilla and the others fell silent again.

Sitting around the fireplace and warming up will only make you sleepy and there is really no interest in talking.

When it was dinner time, they went to eat together.

Isfir had prepared dinner and didn't need their help.

The power is out now, but small generators and other equipment placed indoors can still be used and can temporarily power the home appliances. However, we still need to pay attention to saving energy, as no one knows how long this disaster will last.

Therefore, not long after dark, Camilla and his companions went to bed.

The fireplace here is constantly burning, and the heat spreads throughout the house. It is blocked by walls covered with several layers of insulation material. The heat accumulates, making the room not as cold as the outside world, but the warmest place is still by the fireplace, not in the bedroom.

So, Camilla and a few others brought bed sheets, quilts and other items to the fireplace, moved the stools and small tea table around the fireplace, and slept on the floor.

Several people were huddled together, and although it was a bit stuffy, it was warm and comfortable in this cold night.

Isfir did not sleep with them. As the only adult here, she had a lot of chores to do, but she was not in a hurry and dealt with them one by one slowly.

A few days passed in a flash, and a layer of solid ice gradually climbed up outside the house. The sky became increasingly dark and gloomy, and the sunlight was so weak that one could barely distinguish between day and night.