As it turned out, in her eyes, the shelter I had bankrupted myself to build for her was proof that I was trying to climb the social ladder and latch onto the O’Connor family’s power. As for the way I had humbled myself, pleading with her to stay inside and escape the heat? She saw that as humiliation and imprisonment.

Little did she know that she couldn’t even feel how hot it was outside because repeated heatstroke had already damaged her ability to sense temperature, and this was only the beginning of an apocalyptic heatwave.

Before I could say a word, Mark suddenly turned pale. He clutched his chest and collapsed into Janine’s arms.

Janine screamed and caught him, then shot me a furious glare.

“Mark has claustrophobia! Are you trying to kill him by locking him in here? If anything happens to him, I will never forgive you!”

Before I could stop her, she called the bodyguards. Within minutes, they forced the shelter door open.

Mark pretended to gasp for air twice before looking weakly at Janine.

“Janine, Will knows I have claustrophobia, so why did he design a shelter without a single window? He took so much money from the O’Connor family. Is this how he does things?”

Janine’s eyes darkened as they met mine. Then, she gave the order. “Smash this place.”

My body stiffened, but this time, I didn’t stop them. I watched with my own eyes as she destroyed the only true refuge that would have survived the coming apocalyptic heatwave.

Janine brushed the dust off her clothes, her face expressionless.

“Let’s see how you’re going to stop me from going out with Mark now.”

Instead of arguing, I calmly replied, “I won’t stop you anymore. Sunbathing is great. You two should do it more often.”

A flash of surprise crossed her eyes. When she realized I truly had no intention of holding her back, she stomped her foot in anger and stormed off with Mark.

The moment she left, I took out my phone and dialed a number I knew by heart.

“I have a construction plan designed to combat a heatwave. Are you interested?”

With the shelter destroyed, I had no choice but to temporarily move into the basement of the O’Connor family’s old estate to avoid the rising temperatures. I had just set down my luggage when Mark suddenly appeared. He grabbed my hand tightly, his voice trembling.

“Will, I shouldn’t have taken Janine out to sunbathe. Please don’t say anything to Mr. O’Connor. I’m willing to share all my research about the apocalyptic heatwave. I just ask that you treat Janine well.”

His grip tightened. Suddenly, his nails dug into my arm, carving out a bloody scratch. I hissed in pain and shoved him away instinctively.

The next second, a high heel slammed viciously into my lower abdomen. Pain exploded through me. I doubled over, barely able to breathe, as Janine’s furious voice rang in my ears.

“Have you had enough? It was just your stupid shack, and you had to instigate Grandpa to steal the survival plan Mark worked so hard on? This isn’t the first time you’ve gone against him! You’d better explain yourself to me!”

I forced myself to stand, biting down on the pain.

“What’s there to explain?”

This wasn’t the first time Mark had slandered me. However, when had she ever truly listened to my explanation?

“You–”

She clearly hadn’t expected me to talk back. Her face turned livid, and she raised her hand.

“Enough!”

Mr. O'Connor strode into the room, fury written all over his face. He pointed at Janine in disappointment.

“Will has devoted himself to researching survival methods for our family in this apocalypse. How could you hit him?”

Janine let out a cold snort. “He’s greedy and insatiable. A slap is merciful. Grandpa, you messed up! You handed Mark’s plan over to Will to implement. That’s not fair to him!”

Mr. O'Connor’s expression hardened. “What do you know? Will has been researching the heatwave for years. Only by having him verify the plan can I feel at ease. This is an apocalyptic heatwave. Central City is already building a base, and our family must secure a viable survival plan. The position of base leader cannot fall into someone else’s hands.”

He sighed and then looked directly at Janine. “And don’t forget, you were the one who knelt in front of me back then, begging me to agree to your marriage to Will. And now you hit and curse him? What kind of behavior is that?”

Janine’s brow twitched, and when she spoke, her voice came out through clenched teeth.

“That was because I had no idea that he was greedy for money. Grandpa, stop trying to persuade me. No matter what, I won’t let you hand Mark’s plan over to him. He’s not worthy!”

Mr. O'Connor’s face turned red with anger. He was clearly furious.

In the end, he could only turn to me helplessly. “Will, what do you think? Is his plan actually useful? He says we should adapt to the environment by sunbathing and converting a refrigerated warehouse into living quarters. If it works…”

He hesitated, then added, “After all, the shelter you built relies on solar-powered systems. If we produce them on a large scale, it would cost…”

I shook my head. “I’m sorry, Mr. O'Connor. I–”

Before I could finish, Janine cut me off sharply. “His broken little house is nothing but a money-making scheme. How can it even compare to Mark’s refrigerated warehouse? If you can’t decide, Grandpa, then let them sign a bet-on agreement! Once both structures are completed, we’ll conduct a livability evaluation.”

Mr. O'Connor’s eyes lit up at that suggestion. He looked at me expectantly. He had always treated me well. In my previous life, even until the day he died, Janine never dared tell him that she had tortured me to death.

I looked at her coldly. “What do you want to bet on?”

Janine grabbed Mark’s hand and smiled smugly. “If you lose, you’ll break off our engagement and get out of the family! And that’s not all. You’ll kneel and apologize to Mark. From then on, you’ll never dare compete with him again!”

I didn’t hesitate to agree.

In my previous life, she never stopped praising Mark’s refrigerated warehouse. Even after I died, she dragged my corpse into his unfinished warehouse and whipped it for three whole days. However, what she didn’t know was that when the heatwave arrived, the city’s power grid would collapse almost immediately; when that happened, without electricity, the refrigerated warehouse would become even hotter than the outside.

With her grandfather’s support, Janine grew openly intimate with Mark. By the construction site, she wore a cropped tank top and a short skirt, lounging on a recliner.

“Janine, I specially made this sunscreen for you,” Mark said gently. “You won’t have to worry about getting tanned at all.”

Janine smiled sweetly, allowing him to rub the sunscreen all over her body.

“Mark, you’re so thoughtful. I’ve felt more heat-resistant lately. It must be thanks to you. With you here, I’ll definitely become the leader of the new base!”

As she spoke, her gaze drifted toward me. I acted as if I didn’t notice and kept my head down, focusing on building my shelter.

Sensing her distraction, Mark picked up the sunscreen and walked over to me, wearing a fake smile.

“Will, it’s burning out here, and you’re wearing a jacket. Take it off and put on some sunscreen. It’ll help with the heat.”

I ignored him, but then I caught a familiar scent coming from the sunscreen.

My head snapped up. I grabbed his collar and roared, “What did you put in it?”

Mark snickered as he leaned close to my ear and whispered, “It’s the leaves that grew from the tree planted over your mother’s ashes at the O’Connor family cemetery. I uprooted the entire tree just to boil down this small jar. Go on. See if it smells like your mother.”

A flash of hatred crossed his eyes.

“If your mom hadn’t told Janine that you had a talent for construction, do you think she would’ve ever noticed you? Otherwise, I would’ve seduced her long ago! The O’Connor family’s son-in-law and their fortune can only be mine!”

Rage exploded inside me. I swung my fist and smashed it into his face. Blow after blow, I beat him until his nose was bleeding and his face was bruised and swollen.

Janine rushed over. The moment she saw Mark’s condition, she flew into a fury. The next second, the small bowl of sunscreen shattered against my forehead.

“You’re insane!” she screamed. “Mark kindly offered you sunscreen, and you hit him? I shouldn’t have let him help you at all. I should just let you burn to death in the sun!”

With trembling hands, I wiped my face. The fury in my eyes must have been terrifying, because Janine let out a sharp scream.

“Didn’t you promise me,” I demanded hoarsely, “that if I helped the O'Connor family survive the apocalyptic heatwave, you’d make sure someone took care of my mom’s burial tree for the rest of your life? And this is how you ‘took care’ of it? By letting Mark turn it into sunscreen?”

My eyes were bloodshot as I roared at her. I wanted nothing more than to rush forward and punch Mark a few more times. However, Mark immediately buried himself in Janine’s arms and cried out in pain.

Janine narrowed her eyes. Then, she raised her hand and slapped me so hard my head snapped to the side. Her small face was cold as ice.

“Are you done making a scene?” she said flatly. “Your mom has been dead for so long now. This is an apocalyptic heatwave. That tree might not even survive. Why are you nitpicking with Mark over something so trivial? Besides, I don’t need you to survive the apocalypse anymore. Mark’s shelter plan is a thousand times better than yours. Naturally, there’s no need to honor any promise.”

She shoved me aside and personally tended to Mark’s wounds, her eyes filled with tenderness and admiration as she looked at him.

Watching how she treated him so gently and affectionately, any last hesitation in my heart vanished. If surviving a heatwave were really as easy as Mark claimed, would I have stayed in the lab running simulations without sleeping a wink? Would I have pushed myself so hard that I developed night blindness?

Ever since my mom passed away, I had never planned to live through the apocalypse alone. It was Janine who had once clung to me, crying, saying she didn’t want to die. From that day on, I built the shelter under the blazing heat until my heart nearly stopped from heatstroke. I drank with powerful figures in the construction industry to secure resources, drinking until I was rushed to emergency treatment three times in one night. In the end, all my effort was destroyed by a ridiculous theory of “natural selection” and a glorified refrigerated warehouse.

My vision blurred with blood, and the world in front of me doubled and warped. Finally, I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer. Just before I passed out, I thought I saw Janine rushing toward me in panic.

I had no idea how long I was unconscious for, but a sharp pain jolted me awake. I lifted my head with difficulty, only to meet Janine’s furious face.

At some point, Mark’s refrigerated warehouse had collapsed, and I was being forced to kneel on the rubble by bodyguards. The stones tore into my knees. Blood soaked into the cracks between the rocks.

I looked up in confusion, about to speak when Janine slapped my cheek lightly, almost mockingly. Her voice was icy.

“Quit the act.”

A blood-stained red cloth was thrown onto my face.

“I was wondering why Mark’s finished refrigerated warehouse would collapse for no reason. He knelt in the ruins searching all night and found out that you tampered with the foundations! Mark’s refrigerated warehouse is the key to the O'Connor family’s rise in the apocalypse! If I lose my chance to become the leader of the new base because of this, I will never let you go!”

I tore the red cloth off my face and almost laughed.

Looking hurt, Mark accused me. “Just to win a bet, you’d really go this far? Do you know that dozens of O'Connor family members are depending on my refrigerated warehouse to survive? Luckily, I had them undergo heat-resistance training ahead of time, so they’ll be able to endure the high temperatures for a few more days.”

When I heard that, something suddenly crossed my mind. When Janine slapped my face earlier, her body temperature felt scalding. Her thermoregulation system was already on the verge of collapse.

The sky, which had been dark just moments ago, suddenly brightened. Heat waves rippled through the air. Even my insulated protective suit began to grow hot. My eyes widened as it hit me that tomorrow was the day the apocalyptic heat would fully erupt.

Suppressing the instinct to rush back to my underground shelter, I forced myself to stay calm and turned to Janine.

“There’s going to be an explosive temperature surge today,” I said steadily. “If you want to stay here, that’s your choice. But I’m going back.”

Janine lifted one brow slightly, a conniving smile curving her lips.

“Will,” she said, “you’ll say anything to avoid responsibility. An explosive temperature surge? If it were really rising, wouldn’t we feel it?”