Apocalypse Queen: My Space, My Rules Chapter 36: You've Earned It

Why was she so lacking in confidence?

Well, she had lived through the apocalypse and seen the scale and firepower of military bases. She understood that a privately built base was nothing more than a joke.

Military bases possessed high-end weapons and overwhelming transportation capabilities that private bases could never even dream of. What could a private base possibly use to compete?

Forget military bases. Even a random official base was packed with hidden talents and rare resources that would leave you dazzled.

Mariella just happened to have a storage space advantage that made stockpiling easier. With that alone, she didn't dare get arrogant enough to think about building her own base in the apocalypse.

When ability doesn't match ambition, the result is destruction.

...

By evening, the temperature didn't drop with the setting sun. Instead, it climbed to a terrifying 113 degrees.

The meteorological station issued dozens of extreme heat warnings in a row, officially announcing work and school closures. Citizens were told to stay indoors to avoid heatstroke and sunstroke.

Mariella's pickup truck had been left running the whole time, so the inside stayed relatively cool.

She drove back to the club with Lucky.

The central air conditioning in the club was running at full power, but it still felt humid and suffocating.

Even so, Chandler and the team had pushed through and completed their training for the day. Now they were eating chilled watermelon.

The TV showed overcrowded hospitals, while outside, ambulances and private cars rushed nonstop through the streets.

More and more people were collapsing from the heat and being rushed in for emergency treatment.

Fortunately, the bodyguards were in good physical condition. Combined with the central AC and chilled watermelon, none of them had suffered heatstroke.

When Mariella returned and saw that not a single bodyguard was missing, she raised an eyebrow. "No one left?"

The nine who had been called out that morning immediately started trembling, shooting pleading looks at Chandler.

Chandler answered for them. "They've all promised to cut ties completely with their previous affiliations. It won't happen again."

Mariella wiped the sweat off her forehead, thinking that the ventilation system at Celestine Ridge was far more effective. They needed to move in as soon as possible.

"Get a good rest tonight. The evaluation is at 8 a.m. tomorrow."

After saying that, she turned to Chandler again. "Bring out the air coolers I bought, and get the freezers running for ice."

Chandler immediately had two people carry out two large freezers from storage, remove the packaging, and plug them in to start making ice.

All 20 air coolers were turned on, but the air blowing out was still hot.

It wasn't until they added large chunks of ice from the freezers that a faint, refreshing coolness finally began to spread.

Only then did everyone feel like they could breathe again, praising in unison, "You're a genius, Ms. Townsend!"

Before this, they hadn't understood why she suddenly bought so many large freezers and air coolers. Now it all made sense.

Their boss clearly had connections and insider information about the coming heatwave.

The way they looked at her now carried even more respect. She was a boss with both money and connections.

They had to hold onto this opportunity tightly.

Mariella had two air coolers moved into the captain's office and filled them with plenty of ice.

Everyone thought she was going to talk to Chandler, but instead, she waved at Number One first.

"Number One, come in here with me."

Number One thought he had misheard and pointed at himself.

"Yes, you," Mariella confirmed.

The other bodyguards exchanged knowing looks, while only Chandler remained calm.

"Number One, bring the files Ms. Townsend asked you to download," Chandler reminded him.

Only then did Number One realize she was calling him in to check on the task she had assigned that morning.

He glanced at Chandler and saw that his expression remained steady, showing no particular reaction.

As long as the captain isn't bothered, that's good.

Truth be told, I don't want any friction with the captain over petty jealousy. We aren't even in the same lane.

...

Inside the office, the AC was set to maximum, and the two air coolers were filled with enough ice.

The oppressive heat gradually faded, and the temperature finally dropped.

Mariella reviewed the videos and e-books that Number One had downloaded. The volume was decent, but the catalog organization was a bit messy.

"Reorganize the catalog into clearer categories and compile it again. Also, prioritize downloading medical and agricultural instructional videos, along with digital resource libraries. If possible, mirror the entire national e-book archive."

Number One nodded at each instruction. "There's a lot of content. It'll probably take about two days."

"No rush. Quality comes first," Mariella said. She found Number One steady and reliable in both work and personality.

Aside from Chandler, he was the most dependable one.

Number One nodded. "Understood."

"Pack up and get back to work. And stay late tonight," Mariella added, transferring him a bonus. "You've earned it."