Zhang Ye played his game while snacking on imported treats, thoroughly enjoying his comfortable life.
The entire city of Tianhai—no, over 99% of the entire world—had plunged into a state of power and water outages.
The water issue was slightly easier to manage.
For those who really couldn't bear it, they could at least go outside and dig up snow to melt into water.
But the power outage—that was the real nightmare!
Modern humans had fragile bodies. Making them live in temperatures tens of degrees below zero was essentially a death sentence!
Though, in fairness, this wasn't entirely the government's fault. Most power stations weren't shut down because they were broken, but because the workers simply couldn't get to work.
Zhang Ye remembered that later on, there would still be a small window of power each day—the government didn't want the entire population to freeze to death.
However, those limited amounts of electricity came from nuclear and renewable energy power stations, remnants of 21st-century industry, and the supply was extremely scarce.
At best, it was enough to charge phones or boil some hot water.
High-power appliances like air conditioners and heaters? Not a chance.
At this moment, the residents of the building were wailing in the owner group chat. Fear drove them to huddle together, hoping someone could offer a glimmer of hope.
Meanwhile, Chen Zhenghao—the man whose leg Zhang Ye had broken earlier—was now nearly freezing to death at home, dragging around his shattered limb.
Already injured, now forced to survive in extreme low temperatures, he was suffering doubly.
His little cronies were even worse off.
Although Zhang Ye had only doused them with water from a hose at the time...
In this kind of weather, there was no heating available at all.
Indoor temperatures gradually fell to match the outdoors, reaching minus fifty to sixty degrees Celsius.
Several people had developed high fevers, the lowest being around 39°C, and some had spiked to over 40°C.
They hadn't thought to stock up on medicine, so they didn't have any ibuprofen at home.
And in this weather, going out to buy medicine was out of the question.
All they could do was grit their teeth and endure it.
This was exactly why Zhang Ye hadn't shot them dead on the spot.
Letting them freeze to death slowly in growing despair was far more satisfying than killing them outright!
Zhang Ye sat cross-legged on the carpet, fully absorbed in his game.
Outside was a frozen wasteland, howling northern winds mixed with heavy snow.
But inside his apartment, it was a cozy 27°C, brightly lit, with no shortage of food, drink, or entertainment.
If he had to say what was missing, perhaps it was just the company of a woman.
But Zhang Ye was no lust-driven fool.
He had suffered at the hands of women in his previous life. Now, his top priorities were his own safety and quality of life.
Unless he could ensure absolute safety, he would never let anyone enter his safehouse.
In the apocalypse, human nature was something that couldn't be measured.
He had personally witnessed a woman kill her own husband with a brick—for just a pack of instant noodles.
Just then, Zhang Ye's phone lit up again.
He picked it up with interest and saw that Auntie Lin had tagged everyone in the group chat.
"Due to the current snowstorm, everyone's lives have been severely affected."
"According to official reports, this snowfall will continue for a short while longer."
"In order to help everyone get through this difficult time, and to ensure that people can live with dignity even in hardship…"
"From this moment on, the neighborhood committee will begin collecting the supplies from every household for unified distribution."
"This is an official order. Every household must cooperate! Anyone who acts selfishly and disobeys the organization will be dealt with later!"
"Don't think that just because you're capable, you can oppose us. Remember—every family has its own weaknesses!"
Zhang Ye sneered.
Same tricks as in his previous life.
As a member of the neighborhood committee, Auntie Lin didn't have much power, but she did have access to more information than the average person.
She must have known long ago that the apocalypse was coming, and that the government had already lost control of Tianhai City.
That's why she was trying to use lies and threats to make people hand over their supplies.
But Auntie Lin wasn't particularly clever.
After all, she was just an old woman with a middle school education.
Anyone with a bit of intelligence could see the problems in her statements.
Even if the government were to centralize control, it would never issue such orders.
Still, in this building with over fifty households, there were always some timid people who might obey her out of fear.
Zhang Ye had no intention of getting involved. He just wanted to watch the drama unfold.
Sure enough, this time, because Auntie Lin took a hard stance demanding everyone's supplies, some people were finally pushed to the edge.
Wang Min, who lived on the 15th floor and was also a colleague of Zhang Ye, was known for being a frugal housewife who often brought things home from the warehouse.
This was something all the neighbors knew.
Now that Auntie Lin was trying to seize everyone's supplies, their household was an obvious target.
Wang Min said, "The snow has blocked all the doors, we can't even go outside. Everyone's supplies are barely enough for themselves. And now you want to take everything and redistribute it? Are you serious?"
Another resident, Sun Zhichao, chimed in, "We're all struggling here. It's not easy to have a bit of food saved up. Now you want to confiscate it? That's just too much!"
Auntie Lin gritted her teeth and pressed the voice key hard with her finger.
"I've already said—this is an extraordinary time, and we have to take extraordinary measures!"
"The snowstorm will be over soon, so don't worry. We're just temporarily redistributing the supplies."
"Right now, many families don't have anything to eat. Are you really going to be that selfish?"
"Can't you think about your neighbors just a little?"
Naturally, some families had stockpiled supplies—while others hadn't.
So those who didn't have enough quickly stood up to support Auntie Lin.
"Exactly! We're all neighbors. What's wrong with helping each other at a time like this?"
"It's just some food and drink. It's not like we can't afford it normally—things are only tough for a couple of days!"
"This is a decision from the organization. If you don't follow the rules, you'd better be ready to face the consequences!"
In the WeChat group, the debate between the two sides intensified.
Zhang Ye said nothing. Neither did the so-called "white lotus" Fang Yuqing or Lin Caining.
Because their families actually had plenty of supplies.
But knowing their personalities, they would rather die than hand them over.
Zhang Ye's amusement at watching the show was soon disrupted.
Though he hadn't said a word, Auntie Lin took the initiative to message him privately.
"Xiao Zhang, you work over at the warehouse, right? I'm sure you've got plenty of food and drink stored up at home."
"I still remember how you brought home three cartloads of stuff last time!"
"Now that everyone's in trouble, it's time for you to step up and do your part."
"Don't worry—once the snowstorm ends, we'll definitely return everything to you. Everyone will remember your kindness."
Auntie Lin first stirred up fear in the group chat, causing panic among the timid.
Then she started targeting people one by one.
If she could trick even one household into giving up their supplies, that would be enough to let her and her grandson survive for a few more days!
And of course, Zhang Ye—the warehouse supervisor at Walmart—had now become one of her prime targets.