The frozen water pipes had turned obtaining water into a major issue in the neighborhood.

To get drinking water, one had to brave the sub-seventy-degree frigid temperatures outside and collect snow from the first floor.

But even after securing the snow, melting it posed another significant challenge.

Indoors, the temperature hovered around negative fifty or sixty degrees, at which solid ice was as hard as concrete.

Some residents, driven by extreme thirst, resorted to licking the ice, only to have their tongues stick and freeze solid, causing severe injury.

Over the past few days, Zhang Yi, monitoring through surveillance cameras, noticed that Chen Zhenghao's lackeys came snooping around every day.

Clearly, they assumed Zhang Yi would eventually have to come out for water and planned to seize the opportunity to eliminate him.

However, day after day, they never saw Zhang Yi leave his room.

They couldn't possibly imagine the abundance of supplies in Zhang Yi's home.

If he wished, he could live out his days in this room without a worry until his death!

"Chen Zhenghao is still alive? He's quite resilient," Zhang Yi mused to himself.

With an arrow wound in his calf and no proper treatment, Chen Zhenghao's leg was sure to be ruined.

Moreover, the infection could very well cost him his life.

Not to mention, in such extreme cold, any injury could lead to a severe fever.

His survival was nothing short of a miracle!

"Could it be that the virus can't survive in such low temperatures, and that's why he's still alive?" Zhang Yi, not well-versed in medicine, couldn't fathom why Chen Zhenghao was still alive.

But he didn't care much either; who lived or died outside didn't affect him much.

Chen Zhenghao's death was just a matter of time.

...

The next morning, Zhang Yi woke up and groggily reached for his phone.

Checking the chat group messages and browsing forums for updates on the outside world had become his greatest pleasure.

In this apocalypse, watching others struggle desperately in the extreme cold while he lived a heavenly life brought Zhang Yi immense satisfaction.

At the very least, it dispelled his boredom and occasional loneliness.

Compared to those who died from cold and hunger or struggled on the brink of death, he couldn't be more fortunate!

Upon checking his phone, he didn't expect to see messages from Fang Yuqing and Lin Caining first.

Fang Yuqing: "Zhang Yi, I'm sorry, I might have been too cold yesterday, so I was in a bad mood. I shouldn't have lost my temper at you."

"You were right, I was too naive before and didn't realize who truly cared for me."

"Now I see that the person who treated me the best was you. In fact, I really like you too."

"Can you forgive me? Let's live well together from now on!"

"I want to be your woman. Aren't you lonely living by yourself?"

"I can come over and keep you company, so you won't be alone in the apocalypse."

Zhang Yi felt a mix of emotions.

Fang Yuqing, who had always been cold and aloof, had finally dropped all her dignity and pride in the face of disaster.

Even after being mercilessly mocked by Zhang Yi, she had no choice but to swallow her pride and grovel before him.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk."

Shaking his head, Zhang Yi thought about how foolish he had been in his past life.

If he had known she was this type of woman, wouldn't he have easily taken advantage of her?

Fang Yuqing, worthless as she was, insisted on pretending to be a lofty goddess.

Despite being so lowly, she played the part of the pure and innocent!

Zhang Yi replied with a message: "While a rotten pear can quench thirst, I'm not that desperate."

He was a man with ancestral skills at his disposal.

If all else failed, he had plenty of gadgets to use from another dimension!

Those were high-end products, fully realistic, developed by the Land of Cherry Blossoms.

Ah, it wasn't that Zhang Yi wanted them, but Walmart's warehouse simply had too comprehensive a selection.

After closing Fang Yuqing's chat, Zhang Yi opened Lin Caining's messages.

This woman was even bolder than Fang Yuqing.

Perhaps knowing she couldn't compete with Fang Yuqing's looks, she sent several suggestive selfies instead.

Compared to Fang Yuqing, she was much more unrestrained; such actions in the past would have led to her social demise.

Zhang Yi quickly replied: "My heart doesn't flutter, and I even feel like laughing."

Then he ignored her further.

He knew that after seeing the comforts of his home, both women would do anything to get in.

Now that they had abandoned their dignity to beg him, they would surely resort to any means necessary later.

But what of it?

Zhang Yi had spent a fortune to turn his home into a steel fortress, prepared for any eventuality.

...

After receiving Zhang Yi's response, Fang Yuqing and Lin Caining cursed out loud in anger.

They had already cast aside their dignity, humbly begging Zhang Yi.

Especially Lin Caining, who had photographed every possible angle and pose of herself.

To think Zhang Yi said he felt like laughing after seeing her photos?

It was a great humiliation!

Although she didn't have the time or energy to dress up and her looks and figure had suffered, she was still a woman!

Didn't she have any self-respect?

The more they thought about it, the more indignant they became.

Their current lives were hellish, enduring not just hunger but also the extreme cold.

Zhang Yi's home was their last hope!

Fang Yuqing clenched her teeth, her eyes flashing with a fierce determination.

To read the uncut version, go to [pawread.com].

"If all else fails, we'll just barge into his house!"

"I must live in his house; I can't stand this hunger and cold anymore!"

"If it comes to it, killing Zhang Yi is no big deal!"

As long as she could move into Zhang Yi's home, she was willing to do anything!

Though that was her thought, she was, after all, a woman.

If she went to Zhang Yi's house to smash the door, she certainly wouldn't be able to overpower him.

With this in mind, Fang Yuqing's cold gaze turned to the neighboring apartment.

She and Lin Caining had already fallen out, their once superficial sisterhood irreparably torn.

But now, Fang Yuqing needed someone to help her.

So she went next door and said to Lin Caining, "That damned bastard Zhang Yi is just watching us starve and freeze without letting us into his house."

"We can't just sit here and wait to die!"

"Such a nice house isn't fit for him. Let's figure out a way to take it from him!"

Lin Caining's eyes gleamed with greed upon hearing Fang Yuqing's suggestion.

Begging Zhang Yi had been futile, so they had to resort to deception and theft!

"Alright, I agree with you!"

"Why should that scumbag Zhang Yi live in such a nice house!"

"He deserves to be thrown out, to freeze to death, to be eaten by wild dogs!"

"It's us who should be living in his house."