My older sister Katie said she missed me and requested I visit her.

The second day at her place, the apocalyptic heatwave arrived.

I fought tooth and nail in the supermarket for food and coolant—she told me I'm shameless and have no self-respect.

I offered a high price in the community chat for supplies—she sneered at me and said that anything stored for so long must be disgusting, contaminated by bacteria.

Yet, she threw herself into the arms of the man living across the hallway just for a bit of food. While cuddled in his arms, she watched me die in the heatwave.

When I opened my eyes again, I heard her on the phone saying she missed me.

Well, keep on missing me!

"Bardhu hits nearly 122 Fahrenheit lately, and even the mosquitoes have disappeared."

"At least 85 dead in Bardhu from extreme heat in the past 24 hours."

"Continuous heatwaves in Bardhu leave 211 dead."

A string of heatwave alerts kept vibrating on my phone, jolting me back to reality.

I instinctively opened my mouth, feeling like a fish craving water on dry land. I grabbed the cup of water on the table and gulped it down. Cool water ran down my chin and onto my skin, and the long-awaited sensation of moisture made me let out a contented sigh.

Even so, the suffocating feeling of every drop of water evaporating out of my body in my previous life was still etched deep into my soul. Only when the cold air from the air-conditioner made me shiver did I finally have the courage to pick up my phone.

As soon as I unlocked it, the screen was flooded with more news reports regarding the heatwaves in Bardhu.

This time in my last life, I hadn't realized anything was wrong and was still scrolling through social media.

Crowds of people with blank stares and cracked lips were gathering by the Grand River, scooping up handfuls of the polluted river water just to drink.

Back then, I was just grossed out by the state of the Grand River and grateful that I was born where I was. Our forefathers didn't just pick the right spot to build a nation, but also continually improved the environment, so we could live as well as possible.

Learning from what happened last time, I started searching for everything I could about heatwaves.

Right then, my sister's message popped up right on time.

"My darling little sister, I miss you! Can you take some time off and come and stay with me for a few days?"

Who would've guessed that this sweet message would become the shackle that cost me my life?

My sister, Katie, and I were orphans. Our parents died in a car accident when we were still in high school, leaving just the two of us behind.

When there were two kids in a family, it was hard to treat everyone exactly the same. Mom used to tell me when I was little that my older sister just had a bad temper, but loved me deep down. She said Katie's attitude was just because she felt left out after I was born and was never able to let it go.

So, I always tried to convince myself that Katie really did love me.

After our parents died, they left us a hefty inheritance and two houses. That was the first time I ever started to feel uncertain.

Katie took the old, rundown apartment in the city center. Even though it was old, it was in a top school district and worth a fortune if she sold it. I kept the newer house my parents bought in the suburbs. While it was in one of the city's most expensive retirement neighborhoods, it still couldn't compare to the city center.

Katie said since she took the old apartment and left me the newer house, I should let her have more of the money. She claimed she was looking out for me and that I should be grateful.

Later on, I learned the real reason she picked the older apartment was that all the rich and powerful locals lived there.

In short, she picked it so it would be easier for her to get herself a rich husband.

I stared at my phone, impassive.

In my previous life, it was this ridiculous sisterhood solidarity that made me pack my bags and head to Katie's place as soon as I finished my work and started my vacation.

After graduating from college, Katie never got a job. She just lived off our inheritance and enjoyed her life like some heiress.

Every day, she would go for walks in the covered walkways in her neighborhood or listen to gossip about who was getting married next.

To keep up her lifestyle, Katie never stocked up on food. She would never buy anything that was considered pre-prepared meals. She always said fresh ingredients were the only way to go, and that keeping supplies around was beneath her.

She liked the delicate, pure flavors you would find in Errodian-style cuisine, insisting that was how the rich were supposed to eat.

If it weren't for me shamelessly fighting the crowds for food back then, neither of us would've lasted even a week.

Most of her money went to pretty clothes and luxury skincare. She always said a woman's best investment was in herself… Turning herself into a delicate bloom.

Katie always thought she was above everyone else. She loved to laugh at me for working hard at my job, even though I had money. She said she would never want to squeeze onto the subway or fight for the elevator like those office workers.

However, because the wiring in the old apartment was quite outdated, she could only install the smallest and weakest of air conditioners. That weak breeze was almost useless against the terrifying heat.

"Sorry, Katie. Work's been crazy lately, so it's going to be hard for me to take any time off."

"I also saw the weather's supposed to get really hot, so just buy enough food for one meal at a time, okay? Otherwise, the food will spoil too easily."

"You can't eat anything that's gone bad with that delicate stomach of yours."

Now that my head was finally clearing up, I sent messages one by one with a sneer. Then, I casually applied for annual leave for myself.

After seeing that she had read my messages, I set my phone down on the couch, satisfied.

I picked up the limited-edition figurine I had left on the coffee table. I had waited in line for a long time to get it... It was the only thing Katie ever wanted that I refused to give her.

I smiled as I looked at it.

There are some shows that I couldn't bear to miss.

That afternoon, a local courier delivered the carefully packaged figurine to Katie.

"Katie, sorry I can't keep you company. I'll let my favorite figurine stay with you instead!"

It didn't take long before I saw her post a photo of it right in the center of her living room on her social feed.

At the same time, I opened my phone and pulled up the feed from the security camera. The view of her living room was crystal clear on my screen.

Of course... Since I couldn't watch her suffering from the incoming apocalyptic heatwave in person, I had hidden a camera inside the figurine.

Knowing Katie, she would definitely put it somewhere that was both prominent and safe. The little alcove with a display stand in her living room was the perfect spot.

"Tsk! At least you know your place. I asked you for this so many times, and you never gave it to me. You're so ungrateful.

"What a shame! I was planning to have you over for a few days as my free maid. It's just too hot lately... I don't even have the energy to cook, let alone go out to buy groceries.

"What a waste of a good laborer. Still, at least I have this cute figurine to keep me company."

Her voice came through loud and clear from the video. My hand turned white from how hard I was gripping my phone.

I treated you like a sister, but you saw me as nothing more than a maid!

"Thank you, my sweet little sister! I love you the most! I really like the figurine!"

Right then, another message came in from Katie.

I let out a cold laugh.

Katie had, at the very least, mastered the skill of being duplicitous.

I checked the date—ten days left until the apocalyptic heatwave from my memories arrived. I needed to get everything ready so I could sit under the air conditioner and enjoy the show.

I quickly rented a detached villa in the same neighborhood.

Our neighbourhood was out in the suburbs, so it wasn't very densely populated. Because it was marketed as a high-end retirement community, most of the residents here were wealthy elderly couples. That was also why our security was the best in the whole city.

I only found out in my last life that, after the world was hit by the deadly heatwave, a lot of desperate people showed up.

In the apocalypse, humanity meant little. Everyone answered only to themselves.

But our community was the only one that never got attacked by any looters, all thanks to the top-notch security forces here. It stayed safe until the scientists finally managed to build weather bombs strong enough to fight off the deadly heat, and the heatwave finally ended.

Everyone in our community survived.

After signing a three-month lease, I took a good look around my new villa.

The house came with a huge basement. Honestly, that was the real reason I rented it.

Maybe it was because we were in the suburbs, or maybe the basement was just dug deep enough. Even with a jacket on, I was shivering inside. The place was like a natural icehouse. I silently praised myself, hoping it would be this useful too when the heatwave hit.

Still, I wouldn't put all my hope in just the basement.

With temperatures soaring up to 140 Fahrenheit, even God would feel the heat.

-

For extra safety, I got permission from the property management to reinforce the villa's courtyard walls.

I replaced the gate with a solid iron-forged one. The workers, eager for the extra pay, finished the job quickly and well. The walls were doubled in height and topped with rows of sharp iron barbs, the iron tips gleaming in the burning sun.

With all that, I didn't have to worry about anyone climbing over in desperation. In this heat, the iron would be burning hot—like red-hot branding irons.

"Miss, can I ask why you turned such a nice villa into something like this?"

The day I paid the workers for finishing the work, a man in his twenties finally asked the question everyone was thinking.

I scratched my head awkwardly as I looked at my villa, which now looked a bit like a prison. I chuckled and said, "I have a really coddled cat. I'm afraid she'll sneak out when I'm not paying attention."

Everyone instantly got what I meant.

Behold, here stood another crazy cat lady... Only someone rich would go this far for their pet. The world of the rich was beyond them.

To prepare for power and water outages, I bought many solar panels. I was a science major, so following the instructions to install them was a piece of cake.

With those, I didn't have to worry about losing power when the transformer caught fire in the heat. At least I would have air conditioning.

I also ordered huge water tanks and matching water filters, as well as lots of replacement cartridges to keep the water clean through filtering.

After that, I used my hairless cat as an excuse to buy several more air conditioners at a discounted price from an appliance store that I was friendly with. I installed them in every room and even bought a few standing air conditioning units as backup, just in case one broke.

While paying, I complained to the staff about how hard it was to care for a cat.

I also ordered four large freezers, saying it was to stock up on food for my cat.

It was all about saving money. The more cat food you purchased, the bigger the discount you'd receive.

I had money, true. However, it would never hurt to be smart with it.