At that moment, panic gripped everyone.
In the face of life and death, everything else faded into insignificance.
The entire logistics team had already forgotten about the theft, scattering in all directions, fleeing from the building in a desperate rush.
Meanwhile, Miles lay in bed, deep in thought.
Following the trajectory of past events, he knew that within half an hour, satellites from all major nations would detect the impending threat.
New Planet GH would collide with Earth in two hours, with an impact of utter annihilation.
In the desperate hours that followed, the world's great powers—led by Europe, the United States, and China—would form a coalition, sacrificing unimaginable resources to intercept and slow GH's descent.
Then came the forced detonation of GH.
Using the most powerful nuclear weapons and leveraging the vacuum of space, GH was successfully obliterated just outside the atmosphere.
Thus began the Ice Age.
The shift was sudden.
Most people, with no time to react, would be trapped inside their homes, unprepared for the freeze, let alone stocked with supplies.
Miles watched the clock, whispering, "Half an hour left… I wonder if the Space Agency has detected the anomaly by now. I suppose they're too busy to come after me."
With that, Miles picked up his phone and accessed the villa's control system.
After checking all the safety measures, he sighed, "Every man for himself… may some of them manage to survive."
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
Miles got up and looked out the window at the storage shed before dialing his phone, "Ryan, I know you have a lot of questions right now, but trust me, give it half an hour, and all will be clear."
"Miles, what's going on? I just checked my phone—the logistics park was robbed! Let me out. I need to get back there!"
Go back? Could he really?
Miles sighed, "Trust me, Ryan. Just wait another half hour…"
Ignoring Ryan's protests, Miles hung up.
...
Finally!
When the alarm sounded, the clock displayed noon precisely.
September 11.
The day had arrived.
The promised "Night of the Stars" forecast by the meteorologists was nowhere to be seen; the sky was a terrifying, pitch-black void, with not a trace of light.
But then, in the next moment, a blinding red light blazed across the distant sky, growing closer in seconds and piercing the eyes of everyone who looked.
Through the thick radiation-proof glass, Miles watched the light quietly.
Boom!
A powerful explosion rippled through the earth, shaking it as though the planet itself trembled.
In that instant, the entire world felt the same shiver—a blast infused with the essence of obliteration.
For some reason, a line from an old song floated through Miles' mind: "You and me, heart to heart, sharing one world."
Perhaps, only in this fleeting moment, would humanity finally understand the true weight of those words.
Slowly, the red glow faded, and silence returned to the land.
But a chill wind, from no discernible source, swept in, rapidly stealing warmth. Even within the shelter, Miles felt the temperature plummet.
Unhurried, he took out his phone.
He activated the two massive generators in the basement, switched on the house's air circulation system, and set the temperature to a steady 25 degrees Celsius.
Cracking open a can of iced cola, Miles took a long, satisfying sip.
He knew that in the mere flash of that red light, countless millions around the world would have perished.
Twenty minutes later, the lights of the city began to dim.
While the explosion hadn't hit Earth directly, its residual energy was nothing short of devastating.
Eighty percent of Chicago's power grid failed instantaneously, and passenger jets in flight lost control due to radiation interference.
Lucky, indeed.
Miles could only imagine the unimaginable horror if that collision had been unmitigated.
Half an hour later, snow began to fall.
It started as tiny flurries, then gradually transformed into a blizzard, descending upon the earth like a vast, suffocating shroud of white.
In mere minutes, the entire city lay blanketed in snow.
The northern wind howled outside, its mournful wail recounting the desolation of the catastrophe.
Nature was revealing its most terrifying power, freezing the planet at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Miles gripped the can in his hand, tension creeping into his veins.
Though he knew what was coming, the sight of this frozen landscape was no less chilling.
But the billion-dollar fortress he had built gave him a measure of reassurance, especially as warm air began to circulate through the ventilation system, gently brushing against his face.
Finally, Miles felt his nerves settle.
Meanwhile, locked in the storage room, Ryan's anger had faded entirely.
Peering through the window at Miles, who stood by the second-floor window, Ryan's expression softened with gratitude.
He had no idea the apocalypse was imminent, but he knew the disaster unfolding outside was enough to unsettle his soul. The red light and relentless snowfall… If not for the special glass in the room, the radiation would have killed him.
In just twenty minutes, the blizzard had consumed the entire city.
The news on his phone exploded with updates. The National Weather Service had already issued statements attributing the event to atmospheric pressure changes.
Public broadcasts tried to reassure citizens, describing the abrupt weather as an anomaly, with officials working tirelessly to address the situation.
Teams were dispatched to restore power urgently.
Momentarily reassured, the people suppressed their fear. But others, recognizing the gravity of the situation, couldn't ignore the lingering dread.
The radiation from that one red flash had harmed countless individuals exposed outside, leaving many injured, and some dead.
A mere natural disaster couldn't explain such intense cosmic radiation.
Miles casually skimmed the news, then opened his WeChat group chats.
His company group was in chaos, with the new executive director, Connor, frantically calming employees, repeatedly insisting that no one miss work tomorrow.
Among the flood of red-dotted notifications, Miles noticed a message from Zeki.
"Miles, are you home? That was terrifying… A friend of mine went outside for takeout, and the red light just… killed him."
"Please be safe. If it's okay, could you pick me up tomorrow so I can stay at your place for a few days?"
The best hunters often presented themselves as prey.
Even in the midst of crisis, Zeki hadn't abandoned her "fishing" tactics.
Though he knew she saw him as an easy target, Miles couldn't help but feel a slight warmth in his heart.
After a pause, he replied to Zeki: "It's not convenient here. My advice? Stay home. Don't go anywhere."