Zhang Yi sat lazily on the sofa, yawning from boredom.
While everyone else was enduring hunger and the cold to get by, he was living a life even more comfortable than heaven itself.
His house had the most perfect insulation system and an endless supply of fuel, both of which ensured that his safe house remained at a constant, comfortable temperature all year round.
All he needed to do was make each of his days joyful and carefree.
At that moment, the television had nothing interesting to offer.
Various live broadcasts had also been shut down due to the extreme cold.
After all, his favorite beautiful live streamers certainly couldn't endure temperatures of minus sixty to seventy degrees, let alone over a hundred degrees, just to wear tank tops and dance.
If anyone did, Zhang Yi could only raise his thumb and exclaim, "What a tough person!"
He opened up his own spatial storage and saw a corner filled with gaming consoles and AAA games.
There were hundreds of brand new, unopened PS5s, Switches, and Xboxes.
As for game cartridges, the number was a staggering several tens of thousands.
Zhang Yi took out the latest PS5 and hooked it up to the colossal 100-inch Sony TV in his home to start playing games.
He was playing this year's latest AAA action game, "Bayonetta 3."
He also had other games like "Elden Ring," "The Witcher 3," and "Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice" at his disposal.
All of them were excellent choices for passing the time.
If he complained that the game duration was too short, he could always turn to liver-busting games like "Civilization" and "Cities: Skylines," which could keep him entertained to no end.
Such a life that required no consideration for work or social niceties was even better than before the apocalypse!
Since he was at home, Zhang Yi was just wearing pajamas, snacking and playing games, thoroughly enjoying himself.
After a while, however, his phone rang.
Without thinking, he picked it up and saw that it was that annoying Lin Damei from the neighborhood committee calling him out in the group chat.
"Zhang Yi, the roads are all blocked by heavy snow now. Grab your tools and come out to help clear the snow!"
Her message had an undeniable tone of command to it.
Zhang Yi saw that in the group chat, she was rallying everyone to clear the snow, but there were very few responses.
Unexpectedly, she had approached him directly.
Glancing outside at the heavy snow, the entire first floor was nearly fully covered.
To attempt to clear three meters of snow by hand was almost a pie in the sky.
Moreover, Zhang Yi knew that it was going to snow for at least another three months.
Going out to shovel snow now was futile as the snowfall would quickly replenish any cleared areas.
He instantly replied: "It's freezing cold, one could become an ice popsicle in minutes. Besides, even shoveling snow should wait until it stops."
Others echoed Zhang Yi's sentiments.
"Yeah, with the temperature outside over minus seventy degrees, one could get frostbite in a moment."
"We're not from the northeast, and we aren't equipped with proper cold-weather gear. How could we possibly go out?"
Lin Damei immediately lost her temper.
"What kind of attitude is this? Clearing the snow isn't for me, but for the benefit of us all, isn't it?"
"You are all strong, young men. How can you think about shirking your responsibilities when disaster strikes instead of actively serving the people?"
She targeted Zhang Yi, who had led the opposition against her.
"Zhang Yi, I command you in the name of the neighborhood committee to go out and shovel snow!"
"In this time of crisis, we must unite and follow the organization's orders!"
"Anyone who dares to resist me is opposing the leadership of the neighborhood committee! Once this snow disaster is over, you will be held accountable by the organization!"
Lin Damei once again invoked her status as a member of the neighborhood committee.
The homeowners were furious but didn't dare to speak out.
The snow disaster had just struck, and a semblance of social order still existed, so no one dared to defy it.
Despite the neighborhood committee's apparent lack of power, they wielded some influence over daily affairs, so people were reluctant to provoke them.
Everyone kept silent, none wanting to be the first to stick their necks out.
However, many hoped Zhang Yi would stand up to Lin Damei, to be the spokesperson for the group.
Of course, Zhang Yi was aware of these ostrich-like attitudes, and he smirked with disdain in his heart for them.
But he was not about to suffer in silence.
He decided to have a showdown with Lin Damei.
Skimming through the chat history, he noticed the people Lin Damei tagged were the more amenable young people in the community.
Those who were troubled, prickly, or had any clout were conveniently ignored by her.
Therefore, Zhang Yi openly mocked, "Lin Damei is correct—in the interest of everyone, the neighborhood committee members should be the ones leading the snow-clearing effort."
"Besides, speaking of being young and strong, there are so many people in our community, why have you only called out a few of us?"
"Do you think we're easy to bully? I don't see you calling out those socialites or rich second generations."
"What, you don't dare to say anything to them?"
The other homeowners nodded in satisfaction when they heard Zhang Yi's retort.
"Zhang Yi really speaks for us!"
"Exactly, she's only targeting the honest folks. Why doesn't she approach Chen Zhenhao or Xu Hao?"
The individuals Zhang Yi referred to were known to everyone in the community.
People were well aware of the notable personalities residing in the community, such as Chen Zhenhao, who lived in apartment 601 on the sixth floor. He was a well-known local heavy and ran an earthmoving project with hundreds of people under him.
Then there was Xu Hao from apartment 802 on the eighth floor, whose father was a famous property developer in Tianhai City, with family working in official positions.
Lin Damei hadn't mentioned either of them from start to finish.
Zhang Yi called out Lin Damei's tendency to bully the weak and fear the strong, which left her struggling to save face.
She had not called out those tough individuals because she lacked the courage, and they simply would not bother with her.
People like them have always bullied the soft and feared the hard.
If Zhang Yi had always been this type of character, Lin Damei wouldn't have dared to order him to shovel snow.
She felt embarrassed, and in her anger, made several long voice messages in the group chat.
"Sweeping snow is a public service, for everyone's benefit. Certain individuals make a big fuss out of small matters, having no spirit of dedication!"
"Such people are a blight on our homeowners' group!"
"If you don't want to do it, fine, there are others who will! The consciousness of others is much higher than yours."
"Also, it's not that I'm treating some people differently. There's just no need to tag everyone individually. I hope you all understand this, do not mislead yourselves!"
"If there are any more slanders against me, I will call the police!"
Lin Damei's explanations only made the situation worse, especially her last claim of calling the police, which made Zhang Yi burst into laughter.
Other homeowners, intimidated by Lin Damei's words, began to scare and took their tools out to shovel snow.
But at this point, Zhang Yi wasn't the least bit afraid of her.
Not to mention that her unreasonable behavior wouldn't have the police's support.
Moreover, didn't she realize that society's machinery wasn't operating as normal anyway?