In a frigid apocalypse, I went on a shopping spree with the reborn.

Although Mr. Jiang is a seafood store owner, he is very passionate about outdoor exploration.

Because the seafood shop was doing well, he wanted to go out and have fun, but his wife had to stay at the shop. She was too busy to take care of the children alone, so he would bring Jiang Qingyue along whenever he went on an outdoor adventure.

With a child in tow, she didn't get along well with the other teammates, so she mostly just wandered around the outskirts of the city.

For a while, he became obsessed with building safe houses in the post-apocalyptic world, but unfortunately, his family had limited resources and no money to build them. So, he used his occasional time when he went out to explore to find a secluded place and dug out a shelter.

Jiang Qingyue had gone to that shelter with her father several times. Later, she grew up and went to university in another city, so she never went again, but she still remembered where it was.

Early in the morning, despite the torrential rain, Jiang Qingyue still went out wearing a raincoat and rain boots.

I rode a tricycle to the outskirts, then up the mountain road, finally parked the tricycle by the roadside, and walked into the mountains in the rain.

Quanshui City has very few plains; the surrounding area is filled with countless rolling hills.

Before long, Jiang Qingyue, relying on her memory, embarked on that not-so-unfamiliar road.

After searching for a while, I finally found the shelter, which was overgrown with weeds and almost blended into its surroundings.

After searching for a while at the door, Jiang Qingyue finally managed to pry open the withered branches and rotten leaves and find the rusty lock.

He took out the key he had found among his father's belongings the night before, and with a click, the old-fashioned brass lock was opened.

Jiang Qingyue struggled to open the stainless steel door. Although it was stainless steel, her father had concealed it. The weeds on it were the same as the surrounding environment, only the texture was different. Without close observation and touch, it was impossible to notice.

After waiting at the door for a while to let the air in first, and feeling that it was about time, I lowered my head, bent over, and crept inside.

Shining a powerful flashlight inside, I saw that the interior was exactly the same as before, very rudimentary.

There was some basic mountaineering equipment: a tent, a thermal blanket, some compressed biscuits that I wasn't sure were still edible, and a few bottles of expired bottled water.

My dad used to change the water every now and then, but since he passed away, no one has come to change it. This water is from three years ago.

"It can't fit." Jiang Qingyue had a headache.

He took off his raincoat, opened his backpack, and carefully looked through the supplies list again.

A rough estimate suggests that this small shelter cannot hold all the supplies on the list; at least half of them will be needed.

"But if I reduce the price any further, it won't be enough." Jiang Qingyue looked at each item one by one, feeling that she had to buy this and that.

Neither of them can be missing.

Not only that, Wang Dawei hasn't bought any weapons yet. Jiang Qingyue felt that weapons were essential, as both zombie apocalypses and extreme cold disasters would be chaotic.

The more chaotic the situation, the more she, a woman with weaker physical strength, needs a deterrent weapon.

There are also some power generation equipment and heating equipment; she doesn't know how cold it will get.

If it's only minus twenty degrees Celsius, then clothing can help you get through it.

But what if it's more than that? For example, at minus fifty degrees Celsius, those clothes and blankets would be completely insufficient.

"Should we reduce the water and food supplies again to make room for charcoal?" The thought lingered in her mind for only a second before she ruthlessly dismissed it.

Of all the things Wang Dawei bought, food was the most abundant, and water was also plentiful, indicating that these two items were extremely important and absolutely could not be reduced.

"Since we can't reduce it, we can only expand it." Jiang Qingyue looked around and realized that expansion was indeed possible.

You can expand the space by digging around or underground.

However, for the sake of secrecy, she had to dig it up herself, bit by bit, and couldn't hire anyone else; otherwise, this place wouldn't be a sanctuary, but a death knell.

Jiang Yidao, a notorious killer in the vegetable market, is a man of action; once he makes a decision, he doesn't hesitate for a moment.

They went home, packed up their belongings, and moved directly to the shelter.

Her schedule also became regular and busy; the first thing she did upon waking up in the morning was dig.

First, select the location in front of the shelter where you want to pile up soil, and shovel up the turf and put it aside. After all, the fresh soil dug out from the shelter is very conspicuous, and you will need to use this shoveled turf to cover and camouflage it later.

It doesn't need to look too similar; as long as it's not noticeable from a distance, it's fine.

In the afternoon, I went shopping, buying a little from each store, trying not to exceed the normal purchasing range for a family.

Occasionally, she would change her clothes, put on a wig, and change her appearance to try not to be noticed.

These days, she occasionally uses her aching arms to scroll through messages, paying particular attention to weather changes, but nothing seems out of the ordinary.

Like an ant carrying food, she gradually increased her material reserves.

She buys clothes, quilts, canned goods, and water first—items that don't need preservation and can be stored for a long time.

She bought a lot of seafood, pork, beef, and chicken, but because there wasn't enough space, she didn't move them to the shelter and instead put them at the seafood shop first.

The two large freezers she used to own weren't enough, so she bought five more secondhand ones, filling the seven large freezers to the brim.

Feeling it wasn't enough, they added some dehydrated vegetables and pickled cabbage that Wang Dawei hadn't bought.

"Boss Jiang, is something wrong at home? You haven't opened for so long. No one else's fish is as clean as yours. I asked for boneless fish, but the bones weren't removed at all. I don't dare buy fish from other places anymore."

Jiang Qingyue: "I'm sorry, I have a minor health issue and had a small surgery. I need to rest for a while."

"I see. Well then, Mr. Jiang, you should get some rest."

After returning from the seafood store, Jiang Qingyue went to buy weapons.

After going around in circles and making many choices, I finally realized that there were very few weapons available for purchase that were actually lethal.

She bought everything she could find: a machete, a chainsaw, and a compliant stun gun.

Jiang Qingyue bought a lot of gas masks, basic medicines, common household remedies for colds and diarrhea, gauze, disinfectant, and painkillers for the first two days of her period every month from different pharmacies.

There were also hygiene products. Wang Dawei's house had a pile of toilet paper as high as the wall, so she bought a lot of paper as well, and sanitary napkins.

I don't even know if I'll ever see this again, but I've bought a lot of it anyway.

"No, what if it's extreme weather plus zombies? Zombies have a very keen sense of smell, right? If someone smells blood during menstruation, wouldn't that be like a walking Tang Monk's flesh?" Jiang Qingyue's face turned pale just thinking about it.

Without any hesitation, I went to the supermarket and bought a lot of tampons. Compared to sanitary napkins, tampons don't have any smell if you change them frequently.

She touched her long hair, feeling a little reluctant to part with it.

She has always had long hair since she was a child. No matter how busy her mother was, she would patiently braid her hair. Even after she grew up, she was still willing to spend time and effort to take care of it.

Although she was reluctant, she still went to the hair salon.

After coming out, her long, black hair, which was almost waist-length, was transformed into a neat buzz cut.

She originally planned to shave her head, but Tony the hairstylist persuaded her repeatedly, and in the end she compromised and got a buzz cut.

To avoid the embarrassing situation of having to cut her hair with a razor when it grows long, she bought a pair of hair clippers.

Treat every day as if it were the last day before the end of the world.

The first thing I do every morning when I open my eyes is check my phone to see if it still has a signal and if there are any entries related to cooling down or the apocalypse.

But everything was peaceful and calm.

That day, she finally couldn't hold back any longer, booked a hotel across from the Happiness Community, and took out her binoculars.

Upon inspection, it became clear that the first floor where Wang Dawei's house was located had been renovated.

Originally, his house had a small garden on the first floor, so there was no need to install security windows on the first floor. But now, security windows have been added.

It wasn't a hollow stainless steel tube, but a solid steel bar, about the thickness of a thumb, welded firmly in a simple and crude way.

Jiang Qingyue couldn't see the location of the door from this angle, so she didn't know if it had been modified.

Jiang Qingyue put down the binoculars, thought about her small shelter, and realized that there was no way to reinforce it.

If reinforcement is needed, it's not something she can handle alone; she'll need to hire a construction team and bring the machinery over, which would expose the location.

"The shelter my dad built is great because it's hidden. As long as I stay put and don't go out and cause trouble, no one should go to that godforsaken little hill. After all, it's not a supermarket, it's not a factory, and there aren't many supplies."

From that day on, Jiang Qingyue stopped paying attention to Wang Dawei and focused on expanding the shelter.

Every time she expanded the space a little, she would buy some things to stuff inside.

Diesel fuel, gasoline, coal, generators...

The shelter originally used a small battery-operated lamp, which was barely enough to provide light.

Jiang Qingyue felt it wasn't enough, so she bought a few more rolls of wire, ran them from the top of the shelter, and installed a few small light bulbs.

Fearing that she wouldn't be able to buy a replacement if this thing broke, she bought a whole box of light bulbs, enough to last her until she dies, barring any unforeseen circumstances.

On June 13th, Jiang Qingyue, who was still busy expanding her business, received several text messages reminding her to repay the loan.

"Pay back my ass." She's already spent every last penny of her money.

She hasn't had any money to go out and buy anything these past few days, but fortunately, she's already bought everything she can think of and can buy. Now, her main task is to expand the shelter a bit more.

Try to squeeze in those big freezers from the seafood store. Even if the freezers don't fit, at least squeeze in the contents of the freezers.

When the extreme cold of the apocalypse arrives, it won't matter whether you need a freezer or not.

Ignoring the repayment message, Jiang Qingyue continued to work diligently.

To prevent it from collapsing, she would widen the sides a little and dig a little deeper underneath.

The height that Dad used to have to bend over in the shelter is now estimated to be able to walk upright. As for Jiang Qingyue, who is only 1.65 meters tall, walking is even easier for her.

The next day, June 14th, was her repayment date.

Jiang Qingyue found some wooden planks and bricks, built a simple bed, and laid out soft bedding on it. Finally, she no longer had to sleep on the floor.

On June 15th, Jiang Qingyue's phone was bombarded with calls because she failed to repay the loan on time.

Jiang Qingyue turned off her phone and tossed it aside.

She had no close friends or relatives, and her phone was completely empty, practically worthless.

She struggled to drag the newly dug bag of soil out, and then, with a clatter, hailstones the size of thumbs fell, like a rain of rock candy from the sky.

"It's so big!" She quickly ran back to the shelter, and in just a few steps, small bumps appeared on her arm and forehead where she had been hit.

Jiang Qingyue looked out of the shelter entrance with a worried expression. The hail not only did not stop, but it was getting heavier and heavier.

"That shouldn't be the case. Hail shouldn't last this long, especially in June."

She quickly ran over, turned on her phone, and checked the weather in Quanshui City. She discovered that Quanshui City had never experienced hail or snow in June since records began.

Such unusual weather forced her to connect it to the apocalypse.

Especially in the short time it took to turn on the computer and check something, she clearly felt a bit cold.

She was wearing short sleeves and doing heavy work, and she was already sweating profusely. Even if it were hailing, she shouldn't be cold.

"I'll give it my all!" Jiang Qingyue quickly changed into thick clothes, put on a mask and helmet, and ran to the roadside to ride her tricycle.

Hailstones fell into the back of the tricycle, making a piercing sound, but Jiang Qingyue paid no attention to them. She rushed to the seafood shop as fast as she could.

With such large hailstones, there wasn't a single person on the road, and many shops kept their doors closed for fear of hailstones flying inside.

Jiang Qingyue opened the door of the seafood shop. She couldn't move the large freezer by herself, so she could only stuff all the frozen goods inside, whether seafood, beef, mutton, or pork, onto the tricycle.

If they couldn't fit it all in one bag, they used several large bags to hold it, tied it with rope, piled it high, and covered it with an oilcloth.

Then he got on his tricycle and headed towards the outskirts without looking back.

The hailstones grew larger and larger along the way, some as big as a baby's fist.

Even though she was wearing a high-quality safety helmet, the thud when it hit her head still made her dizzy.

Not to mention the thighs and other areas, the pain was excruciating.

Even so, Jiang Qingyue didn't care about any of that. After pulling the goods to the roadside, she quickly moved the frozen goods into the shelter bit by bit.

She made countless trips, and by the time she finally carried the last piece of meat inside, she was so exhausted that she didn't even have the strength to lift her arms.

I sat on the ground, hungry and exhausted, in excruciating pain all over my body, and trembling all over.

Shaking, I grabbed a bottle of nutritional drink that I never dared to drink much of before in order to maintain my figure, and gulped it down in one go before I regained a little strength.

When they moved to the entrance of the shelter, they saw that the hailstones, which were the size of an infant's fist, had grown to the size of an adult's fist, like big apples, and had created a large crater in the soil.

I quickly closed the door, turned on my phone, and found that red hail warnings and precautions were being issued everywhere, both online and through the neighborhood office.

The phone rang; it was an unfamiliar number. Jiang Qingyue answered it instinctively.

Oh no, the person on the other end is a debt collector.

Jiang Qingyue was speechless: "Brother, are you debt collectors really that dedicated? Didn't you see the huge hailstones outside?"

Almost everyone online is discussing this, both domestically and internationally. This is clearly abnormal; this guy actually has the mind to make debt collection calls.

"I'm hiding inside the house, the hail won't hit me. You're overdue, do you even know that?"

"I have no money, but you can take my life."

Jiang Qingyue hung up the phone and then waited anxiously.

As I waited, I felt colder and colder.

She took out the thermometer she had bought earlier and tested it. Sure enough, it wasn't her imagination. In the middle of June, the temperature was only thirteen degrees Celsius.

After a while, it became nine degrees.

In just over ten minutes, the temperature dropped below zero.