Chapter 20: Embracing a Life of Ease

Can you imagine what it feels like to have freezing water poured over you when it is over seventy degrees below zero?

Zhang Yi held a large water hose and blasted the small-fry outside his door. With a temperature difference of about one hundred degrees between the indoors and outdoors, the water was still steaming as it exited the hose, but it turned to ice the moment it hit those people!

In the bitter cold, they were all dressed in down jackets and sweaters. The freezing water soaked through them, instantly making them feel as if they had been thrown into an ice cellar.

"Damn it! So cold, I'm freezing to death!"
"Ahhh, stop pouring! Stop it!"

At a time like this, they would rather be given a sound beating than endure the torture of this freezing cold. Their lips turned purple, and some even went into shock on the spot due to the extreme low temperature. Instinctively, they scrambled away from Zhang Yi's doorstep. But in those short dozen seconds, it was enough to soak them from head to toe. Before they could even reach the elevator to escape, their clothes had already frozen stiff.

Seeing them flee, Zhang Yi shut off the tap. He had originally intended to use his crossbow to teach them a lesson, but the reloading speed was too slow, and he risked them firing back through the peephole. This "flooding" method proved much more effective.

After being thoroughly drenched and chilled to the bone, the thugs retreated, lips blue, back to Chen Zhenghao’s apartment. Seeing them return in such a pathetic state, Chen Zhenghao was furious. "Where is that little bastard? Did you bring him back or not?"

The underlings were busy scrambling for blankets and bedsheets to get warm. Their clothes were soaked through and had turned into shards of ice. With a dozen people in the room, there weren't enough supplies to go around; a few of the men had no choice but to strip off their clothes and huddle together for warmth. The scene was somewhat bizarre.

Chen Zhenghao was so enraged that he slammed the table and cursed, "Someone explain to me what the hell is going on!"

Once a few of the men regained some body heat, they tremblingly explained the sequence of events. "That Zhang Yi is too despicable; he used a water hose on us. It’s unbearable! His door is so thick—we hammered at it for a long time and only managed to chip off a little paint."

Chen Zhenghao frowned deeply after hearing this. He had felt the thickness of Zhang Yi's door when he tried to smash it in himself. It seemed that a direct assault would be difficult.

However, a cold smirk soon appeared on his face. "It doesn't matter. Even if his place is an iron turtle, it’s bound to have a weak spot. And I don’t believe he can stay inside forever! You lot, keep watch nearby. As soon as he steps out, kill him!" Chen Zhenghao declared viciously.

His men, all desperate thugs, managed a shivering, sinister laugh at this. Even though they were frozen half to death, they still felt the need to act tough. Yet, they could never have imagined that Zhang Yi had absolutely no intention of leaving his home. Outside was hell, but his apartment was heaven. Why would anyone leave heaven for hell?

...

After dealing with Chen Zhenghao and his lackeys, Zhang Yi went back to playing his games. Although he knew these guys wouldn't give up so easily, they lacked the ability to break into his home. As for going out? Heh, Zhang Yi would never choose that, not even if his life depended on it! He wouldn't take a risk, even if it were one in ten thousand. Isn't it wonderful to just hunker down comfortably at home?

A while later, Zhang Yi walked to the floor-to-ceiling window to observe the scene outside. Some people were actually out with tools, trying to clear the snow. He seemed to spot Uncle You, the security guard—that upright, helpful retired soldier who was always the first to rush into action when trouble arose. The dozen people downstairs were mostly the more agreeable young residents from the neighborhood group chat, while the neighborhood committee members, like Auntie Lin, were nowhere to be seen.

They were laboriously digging through the two-to-three-meter-deep snow, but Zhang Yi knew it was entirely futile. For one thing, just digging a path from the apartment building to the neighborhood gate would take an entire day. And even if they cleared it, so what? The roads outside were completely buried too. Only professional heavy-duty snowplows could clear snow that deep, but in the south, such specialized equipment didn't exist at all.

Leaving had become an impossibility. Moreover, in temperatures of over seventy degrees below zero, they wouldn't last long. Without professional cold-weather gear, their bodies couldn't adapt to such low temperatures. Just half an hour outside carried the risk of frostbite.

Zhang Yi shook his head. These honest folks were indeed pitiful. But since it was their own choice, he couldn't be bothered to say anything. After all, nothing mattered to him now except staying alive.

By the afternoon, Zhang Yi felt a bit hungry, so he retrieved a feast from his interdimensional space. It was a simple meal: a plate of Australian lobster, a portion of Beef Wellington, two Huangshan sesame cakes, and a bottle of cola. He had plenty of such delicacies in his space.

Now that he was a homebody, Zhang Yi’s schedule had become entirely free. In short, he slept when he was tired and ate when he was hungry, with no need to distinguish between day and night.

The heavy snow continued to fall outside the window. Zhang Yi took a moment to look down at the residential building. The people who had been clearing the snow had all gone back inside, and the small patch of ground they had spent so much effort clearing was already covered by snow again. They probably realized by now that their individual strength was no match for nature.

Wearing loungewear, Zhang Yi lay on his sofa, the room temperature a cozy 27 degrees. He turned on the TV to watch the programs. Most television stations across the country had stopped broadcasting, with only a few provincial channels and the national broadcaster still on air. They were mostly showing government announcements and slogans encouraging the public.

"At this moment, our eyes are turned toward Shengjing. The authorities are orchestrating a final, decisive push against the snow disaster!"
"According to reports, due to poor control measures against the snow disaster, the United States has suffered two hundred million victims and tens of millions of deaths!"
"The snow disaster in our country is within a controllable range, and everything is trending for the better."
"We hope everyone remains calm and trusts in the power of the authorities!"

Zhang Yi shook his head. The scale and terror of this disaster were beyond human imagination. While the authorities were trying their best to solve the problems, human strength was simply too insignificant in the face of nature.