Can you imagine what it feels like to be drenched in ice-cold water at minus seventy degrees?Zhang Yi grabbed a thick water hose and sprayed it straight at the thugs outside his door.
The temperature difference between indoors and outdoors was about a hundred degrees Celsius. When the water flowed out, it was still warm and steaming—but the instant it hit those men, it froze solid! The shock was brutal. They were dressed in down jackets and sweaters, but once the freezing water soaked through, it felt as if they'd fallen into an ice cellar.
"F**k! It's freezing! I'm gonna die!""Ahhh—stop spraying! Stop spraying!"
At that moment, they'd rather be beaten half to death than endure that kind of cold torture. Their lips turned purple within seconds, and some even went into shock from the temperature drop. Acting purely on instinct, they fled from Zhang Yi's door as fast as they could.
But within barely ten seconds, they were completely soaked—and before they could even reach the elevator, their clothes had already turned stiff with ice. Zhang Yi watched them stumble away, then turned off the faucet.
He had planned to teach those idiots a lesson with his crossbow. But reloading was too slow, and there was always a chance of them fighting back through the shooting hole. In comparison, drenching them with a blast of water was far more effective.
The gangsters stumbled back to Chen Zhenghao's apartment. When Chen saw their pathetic state, his face twisted in fury."Where's that bastard? Did you catch him or not?"
The underlings ignored him, scrambling for quilts and sheets to keep warm. Their clothes had frozen solid, turning into chunks of ice. A dozen people fought over a few blankets in a ridiculous brawl. When there weren't enough to go around, a few had no choice but to strip off their soaked clothes and huddle together for warmth. The sight was pitiful—and absurd.
That only made Chen Zhenghao angrier. He slammed the table and shouted, "Somebody tell me what the hell happened!"
After regaining a bit of body heat, a few shivering men explained what had gone down."Zhang Yi's a damn psycho! He sprayed us with water—we couldn't take it!""We don't know what his door's made of, either. We hammered it forever and only chipped a bit of paint!"
Chen Zhenghao frowned deeply. When he had hit the door himself, he'd already noticed how sturdy it was. A frontal attack would be useless. Then his expression hardened into a sneer.
"It doesn't matter. Even an iron turtle has a weak spot somewhere.""And I don't believe he can stay inside forever without coming out!""You guys stay close and keep watch. The moment he steps outside—kill him!" he ordered viciously.
The underlings were hardened street thugs. Even while freezing like dogs, they still forced themselves to look tough. Yet none of them could imagine that Zhang Yi had no plans to leave his house at all. The world outside was hell, and his home was heaven—why would he ever walk out of paradise into the abyss?
After dealing with Chen Zhenghao and his gang, Zhang Yi simply went back to his video games. He knew they wouldn't give up easily, but it didn't matter—they couldn't break in. And as for going outside? Not a chance. Even the tiniest risk wasn't worth it. Staying home comfortably was far better.
Before long, Zhang Yi walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window and glanced outside. A few people were clearing snow with shovels and tools. He thought he recognized Uncle You, the retired soldier who worked as a security guard—an honest, kind-hearted man who always stepped forward first. The dozen or so people helping were all good-natured young residents from the owner group.
But the Neighborhood Committee members like Aunt Lin were nowhere in sight.
They worked hard, digging through two to three meters of snow, but Zhang Yi knew it was pointless. Even if they somehow cleared a path from the building to the gate, the streets beyond were buried under the same endless white. Such snow could only be cleared by industrial snowplows—but in the south, there were no such machines.
Going outside was no longer realistic. At minus seventy degrees, even half an hour outdoors meant serious frostbite. Their cold-weather gear was nowhere near enough, and their bodies couldn't handle such extremes.
Zhang Yi shook his head. Those honest people were pitiful, sure—but it was their choice. He didn't bother to intervene. Everything now was about survival, and he only cared about living well himself.
That afternoon, he felt a bit hungry and pulled a full meal from his pocket dimension. Simple by his standards: a plate of Australian lobster, a Wellington steak, two Huangshan sesame cakes, and a bottle of Coke. He had plenty of gourmet food stored away.
These days, Zhang Yi's routine had become completely free-form. He slept when tired, ate when hungry—no difference between day and night.
The blizzard outside still howled relentlessly. Zhang Yi looked down again: the people who'd been clearing snow were gone. The space they'd worked so hard to open had already been buried under another thick layer. Maybe now they understood that human strength meant nothing against nature.
Zhang Yi lay on the sofa in a long-sleeved shirt, the thermostat set to a pleasant 27°C. He turned on the TV.
Most channels had stopped broadcasting; only a few provincial stations and CCTV remained on air, repeating official messages and slogans.
"At this moment, all eyes turn to Shengjing, where authorities are preparing the final offensive against the snow disaster!""Reports indicate that due to ineffective disaster control in the United States, 200 million people have been affected, and tens of millions are dead!""In our country, the situation remains stable and under control—everything is moving in a positive direction.""We urge everyone to remain calm and trust the strength of the authorities!"
Zhang Yi shook his head slowly. The magnitude of this snow disaster was beyond human imagination. Though the authorities were doing everything they could, in the face of nature's power, humanity was simply too small.