Chapter 89 Preparation

• A few months had passed since Lucy’s first talk with Captain Ildren, and the atmosphere at the government headquarters had shifted. The nation, still gripped by the Freeze and its many consequences, was now on the brink of understanding just how much worse things could become. It was during these months that meteorologists and researchers, after painstaking collaboration with other countries, had confirmed the anomaly Lucy had foreseen.
• The satellite connection that had been re-established between the West and other nations offered a glimmer of hope in the midst of chaos. Atmospheric observations confirmed the unrelenting blizzard Lucy had warned about — what the researchers now called the White Siege — was indeed imminent. Data showed that it could last anywhere from three to four months. But that wasn’t the only threat looming. The terrifying predictions Lucy had made — an endless night followed by a solar freeze — were still under investigation, but no one was willing to take the risk of dismissing her warnings outright.
• Inside a high-ceilinged meeting room, government officials sat in a heavy silence, the weight of the conversation pressing down on them.