Chapter 13: The Ice Age Arrives
Zhang Yi emptied the entire South China Walmart warehouse!
Goods worth tens of billions entered his interdimensional space.
Feigning ignorance, he immediately reported the theft to Walmart’s senior management.
News of the theft quickly spread throughout Walmart’s South China division.
A large group of senior executives, shocked, rushed to the scene and reported the incident to the police.
Tom Watson, the general manager of the South China warehouse, turned pale upon seeing the empty warehouse.
“Oh, my God! How will I explain this to headquarters?”
In fact, Walmart’s headquarters in the United States had already issued orders, demanding the rapid transfer of all supplies back to the country.
Now, everything was ruined!
On the other hand, Zhang Yi wasn’t worried about being exposed.
It was too unbelievable that goods worth tens of billions disappeared from an entire warehouse in just two hours.
Even if the police investigated thoroughly, they wouldn’t uncover the truth quickly.
Moreover, Walmart was a foreign company, not a state-owned enterprise, so the investigation wouldn’t have been as rigorous.
Nonetheless, Zhang Yi pretended to be nervous and scared, cooperating with the police investigation.
After a night of questioning, Zhang Yi was released.
The police were also skeptical.
Despite the internal cameras being disabled, the absence of evidence of vehicles around the warehouse perplexed the case.
Either the goods vanished into thin air, or Walmart orchestrated an inside job.
Logically, the latter seemed more plausible.
Without supernatural phenomena, it was impossible to explain how millions of cubic meters of goods disappeared in two hours.
While Zhang Yi and other ordinary employees were somewhat suspicious, the theft's inexplicable nature diverted the main focus away from them.
Since Walmart was a foreign company without significant domestic political connections, the police investigation wasn’t highly efficient.
Concerned about international implications, the investigation was sluggish and could take months to resolve.
Zhang Yi was temporarily forbidden to leave Tianhai City and had to cooperate with both the police and Walmart’s internal investigations.
After returning home, Zhang Yi looked through the blinds of his floor-to-ceiling windows.
It was December 10th, just two days before the Ice Age's arrival.
From now on, he only needed to stay home and wait, ensuring a comfortable future.
Zhang Yi felt very secure with the billions' worth of supplies in his interdimensional space.
He lay in his bedroom, exhausted from the night's events and interrogation.
Zhang Yi slept until evening. Upon waking and turning on the TV, he saw news about the Walmart South China warehouse theft.
Due to the theft's massive and mysterious nature, all major news outlets nationwide covered it.
“Such a large warehouse, emptied in a few hours—it must be an inside job!”
“It must be an inside job, likely orchestrated by Walmart’s management to claim insurance.”
“That’s millions of cubic meters of goods, impossible to transport in one night, even with large trucks.”
Zhang Yi smiled faintly. The truth would remain unknown until the apocalypse struck.
For the next two days, Zhang Yi stayed home, not venturing out.
He knew the world had little time left.
To ensure his safety, he wouldn’t leave his room.
During this period, the police and Walmart’s headquarters investigators summoned him again for questioning.
They suspected Zhang Yi’s behavior that night but lacked evidence and had too little time for a thorough investigation.
Meanwhile, some acquaintances messaged Zhang Yi, asking about the incident, but he brushed them off.
Finally, December 12th arrived.
The gamma-ray burst hit Earth at 2 AM, lasting only a moment but devastatingly affecting the planet.
Hours before, Zhang Yi sealed his room completely, lighting the fireplace.
With energy supplies dwindling soon, air conditioning and heating would fail. Only primitive heating methods would work.
At 2 AM, sitting on his sofa by the large floor-to-ceiling window, holding a beer, Zhang Yi intently watched the outside world.
Suddenly, a flash of white light appeared at the horizon, turning the night as bright as dusk for a brief moment before darkness returned.
Most people were asleep and didn’t notice this fleeting change.
But Zhang Yi, understanding its significance, felt a chill down his spine.
He took a large gulp of beer, the refreshing Budweiser calming his nerves.
Throwing a few more logs into the fireplace, Zhang Yi turned on the TV, watching programs while awaiting the world’s transformation.
Minutes later, snow began to fall densely outside.
Initially, the flakes were small, but within two minutes, they turned into large, heavy snowflakes!
The wind howled outside, and the snowstorm grew terrifying in an instant.
The city was quickly enveloped in a sudden blizzard.
This was nature’s power, changing without warning.
Zhang Yi felt a twinge of anxiety.
Despite his well-prepared safe house, his previous experience of the Ice Age apocalypse made him uneasy.
Would this 8-million-yuan safe house withstand the impending extreme cold?
Yet, as the fireplace blazed, the indoor temperature became very warm.
It's almost uncomfortably hot.
The thermometer read 32.6°C.
Looking outside, the snow was rapidly burying the city.
Zhang Yi felt more at ease.
He reduced the amount of firewood, as the high temperature was uncomfortable.
He stayed awake to observe the unfolding changes.
Rest could come later; there was no need to work.
In less than half an hour, the balcony was covered in thick snow.
Zhang Yi checked his phone, finding the internet abuzz with news of the sudden temperature drop.
People on the Internet lamented the early onset of winter, unprepared for the severe cold.
“Damn, this weather! It’s already minus ten degrees!”
“The roads will be ice-covered tomorrow. How will we get to work?”
Some people, however, were pleased.
“With all this snow, we won’t have to go to work tomorrow, haha!”
Especially those in southern regions, who are excitedly sharing selfies with the snow they rarely see.
Zhang Yi shook his head. This was just the beginning.
The snow would continue for at least three months, with temperatures plummeting further.
Soon, their joy in the snow would vanish.