" Jack, listen to me, I don't have much time."
" Sam, the Sam you've always been worried about... he..."
Tom was panting heavily, his emotions running high.
Jack's heart clenched on the other end of the phone.
Could his son really be dead?!
Just as he was about to drop the microphone, Tom finally managed to finish the sentence:
"He didn't disappear at all; he really did run away from home!"
"The FBI saw him walk out of your front door at 1 a. m. He went to a classmate's house and stayed there. Now... now he's in New York, participating in an academic competition with a female classmate Laura!"
"Based on speculation, his main purpose in participating in this competition was to get close to Laura, who is his secret crush!"
"Furthermore, the FBI assured me that they have now lifted surveillance on your wife and son, and they are completely safe..."
"Fuck!" Tom exclaimed, unable to contain his emotions any longer, "My God!!!"
Jack also fell silent.
Is his son alright?
Did he simply not want to go to Miami, so he ran away from home to New York for his crush?
During all the days they worried, and while Tom was trying to find out more, their son was doing well at his classmate's house.
This news...
For a moment, Jack didn't know how to respond.
But it's still good news, isn't it?
New York?
"Okay, I understand. Thank you so much, Tom. I look forward to seeing you and Sam again. I have to call Lucy now."
After getting some more inside information from Tom, Jack hung up the phone and quickly called his wife.
Lucy is still in the hospital and doesn't dare to leave the house. Even when she takes a shower, she needs two nurses to watch her from outside the door to make her feel safe.
Lucy answered the phone quickly after it rang.
Upon recognizing her husband's voice, she immediately and anxiously inquired about the whereabouts of their son.
Jack remained silent for a moment, then recounted what Tom had just said.
Upon hearing this, Lucy felt no anger or blame, but could not help but shed tears again, repeatedly thanking God.
"I'm going to New York. I'm going to bring him back."
Suddenly, Lucy changed her tone, and her whole demeanor seemed to harden.
Jack immediately said, "No, you can't go, it's too late!"
"You need to leave Washington immediately. In ten hours, a massive cryogenic storm cloud will form over North America continent, causing a series of disasters. This is your last chance!"
"But... but!"
" Lucy! Listen to me, I will find our son, please?"
"I promised you I would find our son, and now we have! I will bring him back, I will bring him back..."
Jack kept repeating it, trying to give his wife some confidence.
" Sam will be alright. You're someone Sam and I both care about. You can't stay in Washington any longer."
" Becker and his team might organize the evacuation of Washington residents next. As a doctor at the hospital, you're guaranteed a spot, and you'll be leaving with them... If you encounter any problems, just call this number, Tom will handle everything for you..."
After reiterating one last time that he would go find his son and that Lucy shouldn't worry, Jack reluctantly hung up the phone.
He didn't know if this phone call was their last conversation.
All he knew was that he had had enough of this feeling of knowing everything yet being powerless to do anything about it.
He got up and left the office, found Liu Chunshi, and presented his ideas to him.
"You said you want to go back to New York? You want to go find your son?"
Jack clutched his head, wailing, "It's not just my son, but others too. Here I... I feel nothing but torment. Those who died in the disaster seem to appear in the darkness, questioning why I couldn't have done more, just a little more, even if it was just to save one more person..."
"I see. I understand your thoughts. I felt the same way when I first returned to China from Antarctica, always wanting to contribute as much as possible. Oh, by the way, I haven't told you my story, but that's alright."
Liu Chunshi patted Jack on the shoulder. "I personally appreciate your idea, but the problem now is that we've entered a state of full evacuation. Everyone is in the shelter now, including you."
"We obviously can't open the shelter doors just for you, and after you get out..."
There won't even be a car, let alone a plane to get back to New York...
After listening to Liu Chunshi's words, Jack's mind calmed down a little.
He immediately felt dejected. In this situation, he couldn't possibly swim across the Pacific Ocean in the face of a freezing storm, could he?
It seems he'll have to bother Tom again, but he doesn't know if Tom will be available.
Just then, Liu Chunshi chuckled and said to him unhurriedly, "You don't need to be in such a hurry."
"I just received news that things are starting to waver in your country. If they ask us for help later, out of humanitarian considerations, we should still send assistance, and we might even mobilize some of the resources from our shelter."
Their shelter can be considered the central hub of the Mutual Aid Society in this time and space; most of the important figures are located here.
If a rescue mission is truly necessary, sending a portion of the personnel to lead and organize the effort is a certainty.
"In addition, there are quite a few foreigners in the shelter who are requesting to leave, so we might send them out as well..."
Hearing Liu Chunshi's words, Jack lowered his head in shame.
Those who were clamoring to leave were mostly his compatriots.
These people had previously failed to return home and did not believe in climate catastrophe theories at all. Even his personal persuasion was useless; they just kept insisting on leaving the shelter.
"Please don't just leave them lying around; that will kill them."
"Don't worry, our soldiers will definitely hand these people over to your official authorities when the time comes."
Beep beep beep!
Suddenly, an alarm sounded on the computer.
Liu Chunshi immediately turned around and went back to the computer, skillfully opening it.
The screen displays a letter.
Liu Chunshi quickly finished reading it, and then his expression suddenly turned serious.
Jack, watching with great concern, asked, "Liu, what happened?"
"... Half an hour ago, our soldiers in the British Isles sent back the latest data: a storm has formed there, and the lowest temperature recorded is minus one hundred degrees Celsius!"
"Everything has come true!" Jack muttered to himself. He remembered hearing at the beginning that the lowest temperature during a climate catastrophe would drop to minus one hundred, but he never expected that such an outrageous temperature would be measured so soon.
"We have quite a few soldiers trapped in the storm, mostly those on evacuation missions."
"Well..." Jack's heart tightened, and he stammered.
Liu Chunshi comforted them, "It's alright. Those are soldiers from No. 3 Spacetime. They're very experienced in dealing with low-temperature environments, and they're all driving cold-weather vehicles. They can last for more than seven days even at minus 100 degrees Celsius."
"This is enough time to hold out until the storm dissipates."
Jack recalled his days Wandering Spacetime, and the terrifyingly low temperatures on the surface, and immediately felt much more relaxed.
For those soldiers, dealing with frigid conditions is commonplace, and they also have tens or even hundreds of tons of cold-weather vehicles for protection.
He had ridden in such vehicles before and knew that they were far more advanced than those in his time and space; even in such extreme cold conditions, these vehicles could maintain a normal living environment.
"I'll report your situation to Captain Wang Lei, and I'll let you know when the opportunity arises. Now go back and wait for news."
Liu Chunshi patted Jack on the back and watched him leave. Then he took out his personal communication device from the Wandering Spacetime, which was a pair of earphones, and called Wang Lei directly.
After briefly explaining the matter of Jack to Wang Lei, Wang Lei readily agreed, though his tone was somewhat impatient: m.
"Let's see if there's an opportunity then. Our current rescue team is mostly operating in Europe. If we go there, I'll take him and all those other foreigners who keep making a fuss with me..."
Liu Chunshi didn't seem to mind, thanked him, and then brought up other matters:
"Where is the chairman now? I just received a report from Europe; a storm has formed there, and the lowest temperature has been recorded so far."
Wang Lei said, "The chairman has temporarily left this time and space. He's on our side now, probably coordinating matters related to the space station. It must not be easy for such a large guy to travel here."
"Having a space station would be great; then we could establish a global communication network, and there would be no delays in information transmission..."
New York.
After a day of competition, the students gathered together, staring in disbelief at the television.
The above is a report on the California tornado.
Looking at the devastated city on TV after the disaster, everyone instinctively covered their mouths, afraid they would scream.
"How so?"
This kind of climate is really too...
It's become common.
Everyone looked at each other in dismay. Even those who had insisted last night that the climate system was generally stable and that climate catastrophes did not exist had to admit that their views had been slapped hard in the face by reality.
Before the students could finish speaking, the television screen suddenly switched.
Becker appeared on the screen, and after a brief greeting, he began another round of televised speeches:
"The unfortunate events in California have drawn everyone's attention, and we are all praying for them. At this critical moment, we must acknowledge that we are currently facing a bizarre climate situation that could lead to climate catastrophes occurring more frequently than ever before."
Therefore, we have no choice but to issue a Level I meteorological disaster warning to the entire country. We urge everyone to take precautions, pay close attention to the weather, and stock up on sufficient supplies at home...
The die-hards who were previously on the front lines are now urging everyone to take precautions against disasters...
Even students know--
This is a serious matter!
Sam was among the students, but he seemed out of place and didn't fit in with the others. He was currently touching a piece of paper in his pocket.
A flyer he received at Washington airport.
He took it out again and silently recited it in his mind.
"Please head south. Please stock up on your cold-weather supplies, food, water, radios, and batteries..."
Sam was feeling conflicted. He was homesick and missed his mother. He wondered if she had arrived in Miami yet.
Where is Dad?
How are you doing in New Delhi?
Will climate catastrophe affect that place?
It was only then that Sam realized he had unknowingly accepted the idea of climate catastrophe.
" Brian, Laura, let's go!"
Suddenly, Sam grabbed his two classmates and started walking out. (Xxs-2)
The other two were completely bewildered. "Where are we going?"
"Let's go shopping!"
Sam didn't look back, pulled the two of them out of the school, and then the three of them had no choice but to stop.
It was raining heavily outside, and the streets were flooded, indicating that the rain had been going on for a long time.
Brian said, "Maybe we should buy some umbrellas and rain boots first?"
Splash--
The rain outside was pouring down like water from the sky, the dense raindrops looking like a visible wall swaying in the wind.
The weather was extremely bad.
Sam hesitated for a moment, then handed his backpack to Brian for safekeeping. "You guys wait for me here."
Then he ran out alone in the rain!
The two people behind him stood frozen in place. After a long while, Brian shouted at Sam's retreating figure:
"Hey!"
Are you crazy?
" Houston, we've observed a cloud cluster rapidly expanding over North America, and it looks very different from typical clouds. It's very strange. We've already sent the photos back..."
On the International Space Station, Parker and two other astronauts were operating equipment near the window, quickly informing the ground about the cloud formations.
Houston responded immediately.
Parker couldn't help but ask, "Is that a storm cloud? How's the ground situation right now?"
"Not good. The weather has been a bit abnormal lately. Yesterday, California was hit by a tornado, causing significant damage."
"Oh--that's really unfortunate..."
"It's precisely at times like these that we need your information the most; you are the ones who see it most clearly."
"Yes, the view from space is always fascinating." Parker floated completely relaxed in the space station, with a small round window in front of him, and North America below.
However, North America is currently covered by a swirling storm cloud, making it almost impossible to see the ground.
"Even so, she still looks captivating," Parker said, basking in the glow.
Two colleagues operating the equipment nearby joked, "It's fascinating, but if Parker, you'd be just as fascinating as Earth."
"Okay, in order to be a charming man..."
As Parker spoke, he prepared to push himself away from the window with his hand, then he suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong? What are you still looking at?" the other astronauts asked.
Parker blinked twice, pointed diagonally to the side of the window at a very extreme angle, and said hesitantly:
Why do I feel like something suddenly appeared over there?
One astronaut asked in bewilderment, "What? This is space, not your country road. Spacecraft aren't going to suddenly appear out of nowhere."
The other astronaut glanced instinctively at the screen next to him, and then froze...
"I... a big guy is coming up next to us!"