The Ice Age had begun its prelude.
In Tianhai City to the south, a heavy snowfall of goose feathers had begun, prompting a flurry of online discussions; some complained, while others rejoiced.
Yet none of them knew that this snowfall and the plummeting temperatures were not temporary phenomena but would persist and expand.
Ultimately, bringing a disaster unfathomable for all.
However, at this moment, Zhang Yi lay comfortably on the couch at home, reveling in the warmth of over 30 degrees in his safe house while sipping on a chilled Budweiser, the epitome of contentment.
Suddenly, his phone began to ring.
Upon checking, he saw messages flooding his chat groups—the alumni group, interest groups, and the homeowners' group of his residential community.
"My god, why is there suddenly so much snow? The weather forecast didn't mention this!"
"I woke up in the middle of the night freezing! Had to quickly turn on the heating."
"Don't even mention it, our crappy heater is hardly effective; it's been a while and it's getting colder."
"I don't know how long this cold weather will last, I haven't even bought my winter clothes yet!"
Everyone was chattering, expressing their feelings in a heated discussion.
However, Zhang Yi could sense that most people did not take the sudden drop in temperature seriously; some even found it pleasantly surprising.
Zhang Yi knew very well that this was only temporary.
Yawning, he decided not to continue reading.
Returning to his warm bed, Zhang Yi pulled the swan feather duvet over himself and comfortably closed his eyes.
His bed, a luxury item relocated from a Walmart warehouse, was exceedingly comfortable.
Especially the mattress, rumored to be the same model used by a female celebrity, worth three million.
Outside, the goose feather snow fell heavily, and the winds howled while the fireplace in the room blazed cosily, creating a pleasant temperature.
In such comfortable surroundings, Zhang Yi quickly drifted off to sleep.
...
The following day, Zhang Yi was woken early by the ring of his phone.
Opening his eyes, he saw that it was a call from Bai Lianhua, Fang Yuqing.
Having his good dream interrupted, Zhang Yi was understandably not in the best mood.
Picking up the phone, he grumpily asked, "Hello? What are you calling me so early for?"
Fang Yuqing was momentarily taken aback by Zhang Yi's icy tone.
However, she quickly said, "Zhang Yi, it's so cold outside today! When you stockpiled supplies before, did you know it was going to get this cold?"
Fang Yuqing's voice trembled, as if she was trying hard to endure something.
Hearing this, the corners of Zhang Yi's mouth twisted into a mocking smile.
As expected, this white lotus would not come without reason.
He lazily replied, "I just overheard it from a friend, but I never expected it to get this cold."
He threw off the duvet, feeling overly warm in the heated room, even breaking a sweat.
Slipping on his slippers, he walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, where the familiar scene outside made his eyes narrow.
The heavy snow had submerged the entire city; he could no longer see the streets or the roadside shrubs.
He could barely make out the silhouettes of city buildings, with many first floors nearly drowned in the snow.
And the snow continued, with goose feather-like flakes still incessantly falling, showing no sign of stopping.
On the phone, Fang Yuqing was still speaking, "No wonder you stocked up so much. Zhang Yi, you really should have told me about this."
Zhang Yi frowned, not expecting her to have the audacity to blame him.
He hung up the phone abruptly and tossed it aside.
Then he proceeded to take a leisurely hot shower in the bathroom.
Afterward, he took out a top-grade A5 Wagyu beef from space and decided to have steak with pasta for breakfast.
While eating, he turned on the TV to watch.
The temperature had only just begun to drop, and there was no power outage yet, so the television was still operational.
Even if there was a power outage, Zhang Yi had prepared various backup power supplies, as well as dozens of generators and a huge supply of gasoline.
In terms of energy, he was set for at least three hundred years!
After turning on the TV, Zhang Yi first switched to the morning news channel.
Although he was a person reborn and aware of the outside situation, watching the news was still a form of entertainment during times like these.
The news anchors were surprisingly donned in thick down coats, an odd sight given that television studios typically had generous central heating and were prioritized during power outages.
The need for anchors to wear down coats indicated that the temperature had reached a point where even the central heating couldn't fully fend off the chill.
The female anchor faced the camera, attempting to maintain a steady tone: "Last night, a strong cold front struck various parts of the globe, causing a dramatic change in temperatures worldwide. The temperatures plummeted by 70 to 100 degrees Celsius."
"The meteorological department is currently investigating the cause of this cold snap."
"In the coming days, everyone should take care to keep warm and avoid frostbite."
"If unnecessary, please do not go outside."
"The authorities will properly solve this problem, and we hope everyone will not panic."
"Do not spread or believe rumors, and certainly do not engage in the panic buying of supplies. The snow disaster will soon pass."
Hearing the presenter's words, Zhang Yi scoffed dismissively.
After the Ice Age, survival depended solely on oneself. Foolishly doing nothing at home would undoubtedly lead to an early demise.
In the upper right corner of the TV screen, the outdoor temperature of Tianhai City was displayed as minus 65 degrees Celsius!
The day before, the highest temperature in Tianhai City had been 15 degrees Celsius, which meant an abrupt decrease of 80 degrees!
Zhang Yi shrugged; this level of temperature drop was identical to what he had experienced in his previous life.
However, at the current moment, he was wearing pajamas, sipping red wine, and eating steak with pasta, utterly indifferent to the cold outside.
After all, having spent eight million on constructing his safe house, where he had particularly emphasized its insulation, the indoor temperature hardly fluctuated.
At this point, Zhang Yi's phone rang again.
Curious, he wanted to see what those neighbors, who had once scoffed at him, were discussing.
The first message he saw was from Fang Yuqing.
"Zhang Yi, why did you suddenly hang up on me?!"
"There's such heavy snow outside; I can't go out. You bought a lot of food, didn't you? Could you lend me some until the snow disaster is over? I will return it to you then."
Zhang Yi raised an eyebrow, a cold smile tugging at his lips.
That white lotus was smart enough to know that with such heavy snow, food would become extremely expensive.
She didn't want to risk the sub-zero temperatures of minus sixty or seventy degrees to go out, so she was looking to Zhang Yi for food.
But Zhang Yi was aware that the Ice Age disaster would last a considerable time, and would clearly not be over quickly.
Moreover, he never intended to give Fang Yuqing a morsel to eat!
In his previous life, he had been beguiled by this white lotus, giving away many of his stored food supplies to her.
In the end, she not only caused his death but also planned to take his ribs to brew soup!
Such a woman, Zhang Yi now only wished to toy with her and then watch her die a miserable death.
With this thought, a sneering smile appeared on his lips as he messaged Fang Yuqing.
"If you had said so earlier, but I've already almost finished all the food I stocked up on. Look, I just fried this steak this morning!"
After saying this, Zhang Yi even took a selfie with himself in pajamas and the steak and red wine on the table, and deliberately sent it to Fang Yuqing.