The Deep Freeze swept through the world on the 13th with a vengeance. Country C's previous day's temperature of 5 degrees F plummeted to -35 degrees F on the exact time that the prophet account predicted. Water pipes bursted all over due to the water expanding into ice, the wires and plastics suddenly became brittle and broke inside the walls and grounds. Without proper insulation built in against the extreme cold during construction, buildings and houses all lost their power and water.

It got too cold too quickly for people to acclimate. For those who were caught unaware, they went to sleep and never woke up. 2% of the world population died on the 13th.

Everyone locked their house down and remained inside. Those that took note of their government's emergency announcement bought plenty of CFP so starving to death wasn't going to be an issue.

The issue was freezing to death.

Long and elegant fingers with strong knuckles stroked the guitar strings emitting lonesome acoustic sounds through the cold morning. Puffs of white air drifted away from the man sitting in front of the window. The air inside the cabin was still freezing cold even though the fireplace was blazing next to him.

His fingers moved languidly while plucking the strings to a song only he knew. It was low and gentle, sweet in it's simple rhythm and melody. One can hear the yearning of the musician playing the song, and the passion as the song reaches a crescendo then lingers for some time before the quiet and soft piece ends.

The stillness of the morning settled into the space, as if the sounds of music never happened.

The man gently placed the guitar back in its case, the stones on his left ring finger glinting and reflecting from the fireplace's light, gold and white.

The man sat back on the couch and tugged the thermal blanket up to cover his wide shoulders before his fingers absentmindedly started playing with the ring. It seems to be a habitual movement the man makes whenever he is deep in thought.

Or when thinking of someone.

Kal can feel the cold but wasn't as affected by it like he had expected to be.

The family cabin is high up in the mountains and dug deep into the earth. The temperature remained constant throughout the year thus was perfect for hot summer getaways and storing wine. At least that's what Kal's ancestors thought over a century ago. They bought the whole mountain and the valley below to build a winery and the cave was to store wine.

Inside the mountain the temperature stays a constant 60 degrees F which was why Kal decided to relocate the whole family to this location. The cabin is actually 2 stories above ground but has 2 basement levels. The staff and their families were situated in the basement 1 level but the rest of the Zhang family reside on level 2.

Around 240 people are living inside the mountain. Only Kal and his bodyguards live above ground.

Kal then brought up the holopad and looked through the data. It was one of a few projects his company is working on. Or was working on before the Deep Freeze. The data shows some abnormal results that some of his scientists have recorded.

Kal read the information meticulously while rubbing the ring when his eyes brightened in sudden revelation.

Kal: What if the conditions were changed...

In another location not far away, a man ran his hands through his hair, messing up the perfect locks but the disheveled look bringing to the owner a sensual and softer feel on an otherwise too masculine face.

The man's eyes were sharp and deep, full of concentration as he looked at the military report in his hands.

The military's food consumption was at a normal and expected rate, energy consumption was higher than estimated, but water consumption is low.

The final height of the wall built was 15 feet, 5 feet higher than what the General planned for this temporary base. But the Artemis Management donated the rest of the raw supplies for the additional height so the General heartily agreed.

The soldiers adjusted very well to the situation, perhaps due to the fact that their families were safe and sound. Unlike living in the military base, they only get to see their families once every few months during their breaks.

But now, after all their tasks were done for the day, they are able to spend a few hours in the evening with their loved ones. Everyone was warm, full, and safe. So the general military population on the base were happy.

Setting aside the holopad, Alex stood up. Turning to the mirror to the side to fix his hair, Alex then grabbed the thin helmet on his desk and left his office. Soldiers who saw him immediately saluted as he made his way past them to the ground floor.

The base required all inhabitants to spend a minimum of 1 hour outside each day. The reason was for everyone to get fresh air and prevent cabin fever. But Artemis Management's real reason was to remind everyone of what is happening right outside their warm cocoon.

People can become complacent once they are safe and comfortable. They tend to create conflict and trouble whenever large groups are confined in a small space. So spending time outside gives them a harsh reminder of what the bunker is protecting them against.

1 month after the Deep Freeze, the Artemis online store was opened to the public. Naturally, consumables like CFs (compressed food) and LPs (liquid pills) were sold. Amongst them were cheaper and thinner sleeping pods, thermal blankets, thermal wear, etc.

After seeing what was available for purchase at 2x the usual price, Alex asked Aria during one of their usual mech training nights if there were any temp suits available for purchase.

The next morning a box was delivered to Alex's room. Inside was a sleek but lightweight temp suit in black.

An invoice was attached for $75,000. He promptly paid for it.

The temp suit looked different and more refined than the ones the Artemis Group wears. It wasn't as bulky and can be worn underneath the clothes. It should be the lightweight version of her temp suit. So Alex wore the suit under his uniform and winter coat. The helmet has a clear glass and oxygen cube that keeps the air inside warm.

As for the rest of the troops, thermal clothing from the store was purchased so everyone can stay a little warmer while outside. $75,000 per suit was too expensive to outfit everyone.

Alex was met by the pure white snow when he walked through the bunker doors. On days when it snows, the snow around the perimeter is required to be plowed. This task was taken on by a group of civilians with snow plows. But most of the time, the weather is bitingly cold and windy.

Hearing the faint clanging sounds of metal striking metal, Alex glanced at the blacksmith's building barely peeking out from behind the bunker.

While the soldiers were building the walls, the Artemis Management sent some building experts from the civilian pool outside to help construct a small building. Alex didn't care what was being built because this wasn't their property but like everyone else, he was curious.

Once completed, he found out it was a blacksmith building. The faint clanging sound started right away, from 6 in the morning until 3 in the afternoon. Even though it may be loud, the majority of the civilians like to hang out around there instead of elsewhere since it's warmer.

In the field to the left of the bunker is the training area where the soldiers lined up and did their morning training. Since the Mech Division is one of the smallest military branches, the requirements were very high. Not everyone can join. So the daily training applies to everyone, from officers to technicians.

Behind him, the door suddenly opened as rushed footsteps ran towards Alex.

Soldier: "MG! There's some unusual activities we caught on the surveillance cameras. Please come inside and take a look!"

Aria unlatched the waist strap and stepped out of the training machine, sweat dripping down her forehead. Popping a LP (liquid pill) into her mouth, she jumped into her bathroom in the G Space, quickly showered and put on an all white outfit before jumping back to her room in the base.

Settling down into the comfortable couch, she combined the fire and air ability to dry her hair. For some reason, controlling her abilities has been very hard for her. Instead of the small bursts of killing power that new ability users have during the ZA, she could maintain a continuous output of power... but it's not very powerful or strong. Once she figured that out, she used every opportunity to use her power, even for mundane things like drying her hair or lighting a candle.

Although her abilities are not acting like how they're supposed to, she pushed down the growing uneasiness in her heart and continued to practice. There's at least 2 years left for her to continue to advance her abilities to the next level.

S3: Aria, there are 2 small groups of people around 40 miles SW of here fighting.

Aria: Put it up on the display.

The empty wall in front of Aria's couch suddenly lit up with multiple screens showing different CCTV views of a main street.

Aria is curious as to why a large group of people were outside at this time. It has only been a little over 1 month since the Deep Freeze, they should still be hunkered down in their houses to keep warm and conserve energy, not making trouble out in the open like this.

On the main screen it shows the two group's conflict from a corner street angle.

There were roughly 100 people fighting one another, both sides evenly matched. Some carried machetes and large blades in their hands as they chased and confronted one another but most used random sticks.

It looked like a small gang war.

Gang wars were not unusual but the base does pay attention to anything that poses a potential threat nearby.

The wounded retreated as their fellow gang members gathered to protect them. But the fighting got more intense.

Finding the fighting dull, Aria decided to have breakfast. Taking out a to-go container using S3's copy and paste function, Aria took out the breakfast burrito and ate it leisurely as she continued to watch the surveillance video. S3's voice broke the silence as another screen was made bigger.

On another street close by where the main fighting was happening, 2 figures were trying to move unnoticed. One of the figure's faces was caught straight on by the CCTV and the screen froze. A thin young teen's eyes were large and scared.

S3: Aria, that is Nan Cao!

Aria: Who is Nan Cao?

Was it just her or did S3 sounded too excited there?

On the screen, S3 displayed the information of the youngster for Aria to see.

Aria's eyes widened in shock and her blood ran cold as she saw the "aka" number next to his name.

Nan Cao's aka was "0014".

Apologies for the late update. Without going into details, a family member tested positive for COVID-19 and every precaution was taken this week. Since there's really nothing that can be done or discussed further, I don't want to make it a big deal here, but figured I needed to explain my brief absence.

Moving on from that update, let's get back to the story.

Who do you think Nan Cao is and why is Aria reacting that way?