Chapter 13: The Arrival of the Ice Age

Page (1/3)

Zhang Yi had emptied the entire South China Walmart warehouse! The goods worth tens of billions had all been transferred into his extra-dimensional space. Yet he pretended to know nothing and immediately reported the situation to Walmart’s senior management.

Soon, the news spread throughout Walmart’s South China regional leadership. A large group of executives, shocked beyond belief, rushed to the scene and reported the incident to the authorities.

Tom Watson, the general manager of the South China warehouse, turned paler than snow upon seeing the empty warehouse. “Oh my God! How am I supposed to explain this to headquarters?”

In fact, Walmart’s headquarters in the United States had already issued orders demanding that all goods be transported back to the country as quickly as possible. It was said this was a directive from the top echelons of the U.S., and the ship they sent was about to dock at Tianhai Port.

At this point, everything was ruined!

On the other side, Zhang Yi was not worried at all about being exposed. After all, it was inconceivable that a warehouse filled with goods worth tens of billions could vanish within just two hours.

Even if the police launched a full-scale investigation, it would be impossible to uncover anything in such a short time.

Besides, Walmart was a foreign enterprise, not a state-owned company, so the intensity of the investigation was naturally limited.

Still, Zhang Yi feigned nervousness and fear, cooperating with the police investigation.

After a night of interrogation, Zhang Yi was released.

The police were equally suspicious. They reviewed footage from inside and outside the warehouse. Although the internal cameras had been turned off, it was impossible to remove millions of cubic meters of goods without leaving any traces.

Yet, the external surveillance showed no sign of any vehicles passing by.

In other words, the goods worth tens of billions had either vanished into thin air or... it was an inside job by Walmart itself.

Logically, the latter seemed far more plausible.

Unless there was some supernatural phenomenon, there was no explanation for how millions of cubic meters of goods could disappear within two hours.

As for Zhang Yi, an ordinary employee, while he aroused some suspicion, the unexplained disappearance of the goods wasn’t primarily due to internal staff.

Since Walmart was a foreign company with no official ties to China, and the case was so massive, the police investigation proceeded slowly.

Fearing international repercussions, the investigation became a game of passing the buck.

It would be difficult to get to the bottom of this, not in three days but perhaps not even in three months!

Zhang Yi was ordered not to leave Tianhai City for the time being and to cooperate fully with both the police and Walmart’s internal investigation.

He complied fully and was then released.

Page (2/3)

After returning home, Zhang Yi glanced outside through the blinds of the floor-to-ceiling window.

It was December 10th, just two days before the Ice Age was set to arrive.

For the next few days, all he needed to do was stay home and go nowhere—he could effortlessly win at life from here on.

Thinking about the goods worth tens of billions stored in his extra-dimensional space, covering nearly all his life’s needs, Zhang Yi felt deeply reassured.

He lay down in his bedroom, exhausted after a night of busy interrogations and cooperation.

...

He slept until evening. Turning on the TV, he saw the news reporting on the South China Walmart warehouse theft.

Due to the massive loss and the bizarre circumstances, news stations nationwide were competing to cover the story.

“That big of a warehouse emptied out in just a few hours? It must be an inside job!”

“Definitely done by someone within—likely Walmart’s own executives, to defraud insurance.”

“That’s millions of cubic meters of goods! Even with large trucks, it would be impossible to haul it all away overnight.”

Zhang Yi smiled faintly. No one would know the truth before the apocalypse.

In the following two days, Zhang Yi stayed home, going nowhere.

He knew time was running out for the world.

For safety, he wouldn’t leave his room without permission.

During this period, police and Walmart’s investigators called him in for questioning several times.

Though they suspected Zhang Yi had acted oddly that night, the short investigation time and lack of solid evidence meant they could only suspect, not arrest him.

Some acquaintances messaged Zhang Yi asking for inside information, but he skillfully dodged their questions.

Finally, December 12th arrived.

The gamma rays passed over Blue Star at 2 a.m.—a mere instant, but the impact on the planet was devastating.

Several hours before, Zhang Yi had sealed his room completely and started a fire in the fireplace.

Soon, with energy resources depleted, air conditioning and heating would fail entirely.

All warmth would have to come from the most primitive means.

At two o’clock, he sat on the sofa by the huge window, holding a bottle of beer, staring intently outside.

Suddenly, a flash of white light appeared on the horizon. Though it was midnight, the earth brightened as if it were dusk.

But this brightness lasted only two seconds before fading away.

Most people were already asleep and unaware of the momentary change.

But Zhang Yi, knowing what it signified, felt an icy chill run down his spine.

He gulped down the beer; the refreshing Budweiser steadied him.

He tossed a few more premium logs into the fireplace.

Turning on the TV, he watched the programs while waiting for the world to change.

Page (3/3)

Just minutes later, dense snowflakes began to fall outside.

At first, they were the size of fingernails, but within two minutes, they grew into heavy, goose-feather-sized flakes!

The wind outside howled as the snow quickly transformed into a terrifying storm.

Suddenly, the entire city was blanketed under a relentless snowfall!

This was the power of nature—it never warns before it changes.

Zhang Yi’s heart tightened.

Though his safe house was perfectly constructed, having survived one ice apocalypse before, he couldn’t help but worry.

Would his eight-million-yuan safe house withstand the impending severe drop in temperature?

However, as the fireplace blazed fiercely, the indoor temperature grew incredibly warm, even somewhat hot.

He glanced at the room thermometer—it read 32.6°C.

Looking outside, the snow had already buried the entire city.

His heart settled somewhat.

He reduced the charcoal in the fireplace; it was too warm inside to be comfortable.

Zhang Yi didn’t rush to sleep; he wanted to observe the unfolding changes.

As for resting, there would be plenty of time later—no need to work anymore, after all.

Within half an hour, snow had piled thickly on the balcony.

Zhang Yi checked the news on his phone and saw that reports of the sudden temperature plunge had gone viral online.

The internet was filled with complaints. Netizens grumbled that winter had come too early and they hadn’t prepared warm clothes.

“This damn weather, it’s already below minus ten degrees!”

“Tomorrow the roads will probably be frozen solid—how can we even go to work?”

But some were happy.

“Such heavy snow means no work tomorrow, haha!”

Especially those in the south were excited, posting photos with the snow.

They claimed they had never seen snow this heavy in the south.

Zhang Yi shook his head. This was only the beginning.

The heavy snow would last at least three months, and temperatures would keep dropping.

By then, no one would be in the mood to enjoy the snow.