Chen Yuan was fully dressed. He sat on the living room sofa, the thermostatic suit set to a comfortable twenty-six degrees Celsius. He glanced at the sky outside. It was eight in the morning, and the world was still a hazy, uniform gray.
He slipped a compressed biscuit into his pocket, turned, and walked out the door. After being cooped up at home for more than ten days, it was time to see the new world.
When he reached the front door, he twisted the handle, only to find the lock had frozen solid. He pulled out his infinite-use lighter and inserted a combustion pellet. Although the lighter was "infinite-use," that referred to the number of ignitions; it still required fuel.
A jet of blue flame shot out, carrying with it an intense heat. Chen Yuan traced circles around the doorknob with the flame. After a short while, the frozen lock cylinder loosened.
He pulled the door open. A torrent of frigid air poured in, but he couldn't feel the cold at all. Inside the apartment, the collision of hot and cold air formed a visible thermal wall, and he could see the warm air from his room continuously pushing outwards.
Locking the door behind him, Chen Yuan gripped the handrail on the stairs and slowly made his way down.
After ten days of continuous snowfall, the world outside was a land of ice and frost. But now, the previously silent streets were teeming with wave after wave of people. They too had been trapped in their homes for ten days, and they too had received the radio announcement.
Carrying large bags and packages on their backs, they moved with urgent steps, all flowing in a great migration toward the shelter.
Chen Yuan rubbed his chin. If he hadn't seen so many people today, he would have truly thought he was the only person left in the world.
He followed the current of people forward. The soft, knee-deep snow had already been trampled into black slush. When he reached the main road, all he could see was a sea of heads. Everyone was bundled in thick down jackets, their eyes filled with desperation.
And then there was Chen Yuan, dressed in his silvery-gray suit that looked no different from a simple windbreaker. He stood out, a figure completely at odds with the crowd. Of course, the most striking difference was that his pace was far more unhurried than anyone else's.
A ten-kilometer journey was not short, especially in a world of ice and snow with no transportation. He could imagine that it would take these people the better part of a day to reach the nearest shelter. But Chen Yuan was in no hurry. With food in his pocket, his heart was at ease.
He didn't know what measures this world would take to deal with an ice age, so he had to see this shelter for himself.
The crowd blotted out the white snow. On the slick, icy road, people fell from time to time. Families, dragging their children and belongings, struggled onward, their only goal to reach the shelter as quickly as possible.
Chen Yuan took it all in. He felt a sigh rise in his chest, but he was powerless to help. He had only just recovered himself. If not for the Apocalypse Store, he would have been a frozen corpse hours ago.
Sell his things to these people? No, he wasn't that foolish. In this kind of extreme environment, not only morality, but law itself had become an empty word. Everyone just wanted to live. The means didn't matter.
Fortunately, his boots were non-slip, allowing him to follow the crowd all the way to the shelter. By his count, the journey had taken six or seven hours.
The shelter was located in the corner of a park. By now, massive spotlights had been set up outside, bathing the area in a harsh glare. Fully armed security personnel were organizing the people into an orderly queue. On an LED screen next to the large gate, the number of remaining beds was clearly displayed. Below it, a map showed the locations of other nearby shelters.
Chen Yuan stood to the side, his gaze turning to an inconspicuous notice board in the corner.
「Shelter Facility Overview:
Bunk Beds: 8637 (Individual beds provided for persons aged 16 and over)
Meals: Two per day. Guaranteed one egg and one cup of milk. One liter of drinking water per person per day.
Public Facilities: Toilets, showers, laundry room, simple exercise room...
Specialized Facilities: Emergency clinic, psychological counseling room...**」
Chen Yuan read it over several times, getting a decent understanding of the shelter. It was exactly as advertised: a place for refuge. The provisions inside could only satisfy the most basic human needs. The thought of being squeezed underground with thousands of other people made him feel a little crazy.
In that moment, he completely abandoned the idea of going inside.
But just because he wasn't going in didn't mean others weren't.
Watching the number of beds on the LED screen steadily decrease, a commotion began to stir in the crowd. The orderly queue, because of a few impatient line-cutters, descended into chaos. Even the heavily armed security personnel didn't dare to get involved rashly. They had no choice but to close one of the two iron entry gates, leaving the crowd to squeeze through the remaining one by their own merit.
But there was one rule they had to enforce: the moment the number of remaining beds hit zero, the park gates had to be shut. No one else could enter, no matter who they were.
Chen Yuan found a relatively high spot nearby and stood there, looking down on the chaos at the entrance. As the minutes ticked by and the number of beds neared zero, the tension in the crowd reached a breaking point. A stampede broke out as everyone madly surged toward the entrance.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
A piercing alarm sounded. The security personnel began to push the heavy iron gates closed.
"Don't waste your time here! There are other shelters! Go now, you might still find a spot!" the security captain shouted through a loudspeaker.
Perhaps it was the sight of the dark muzzles of their guns, or perhaps it was the hope of another chance. The crowd scattered like frightened birds, rushing off towards the shelters they thought gave them the best hope.
Chen Yuan estimated the time. It was likely after six in the evening. For his own safety, he began the journey back home. With the Apocalypse Store, his life was definitely far more comfortable than it would be in the shelter.
The streets on the way back were now completely empty. Chen Yuan quickened his pace, making it home in about four hours.
He stepped inside and locked the door behind him, finally letting out a long breath.
The heating stove radiated waves of warmth, making the room feel like a spring day. Chen Yuan sat on the sofa, panting, and wiped the sweat from his forehead. If not for that compressed biscuit, he never would have been able to make the round trip.
Now, his food and drink problems were solved. But as a man from the south, not being able to bathe was practically a death sentence in itself.
He grabbed a bucket from the kitchen and ran back downstairs. He set a large pot on the heating stove and dumped a bucketful of snow into it. After repeating this several times, he finally had enough water for a bath. Too lazy to go to the bathroom, he just washed himself simply in the living room.
Hooo...
He let out a deep breath, feeling refreshed and clean.
After all this, he picked up the radio, sat back down on the sofa, and began to tune the dial. A static hiss filled the room. After a moment, that familiar male voice came through.
"Attention all citizens. The shelter beds are in short supply. Please make your choices rationally."
"All shelters will be completely closed at midnight tonight."
"Please do not carry large items. The elderly and children will be given priority entry into the shelters."
...
Listening to the voice on the radio, Chen Yuan's face showed no joy of a survivor. Instead, he felt a certain melancholy.
Outside the window, the snow fell endlessly. He didn't know how long this ice age would last. The people who had made it into the shelters... could they really hold out until it was over?
And he himself... how long could he survive?