Chapter 2

"Package and list the West Coast cliff manor and those six limited edition sports cars in the garage. Within two days, I want to see sixty million in my private account."

I sat behind the large desk, pushing several thick asset transfer agreements toward Nina.

Nina's head snapped up, her clear eyes filled with disbelief.

As Iris's personal secretary, she knew very well that the panoramic glass manor was something I had once spent a fortune building as a "love nest" for Iris, and was a symbol of my wealth and status.

And now, I was going to "sell them cheap" at far below market value.

"Mr. Viktor... are you certain?" Nina confirmed repeatedly. "If you sell now, the bank and outsiders will think your capital chain has broken."

"Do it. Also, help me contact the owner of that abandoned fully enclosed fortified meat processing plant on the city outskirts. Tell him I'll take it, full payment."

Nina asked no more questions. "Understood, I'll handle it immediately."

I had very little time left. Every second had to be converted into chips for survival in the frozen hell.

That meat processing plant had half-meter thick insulated walls, an independent underground power generation system, and super freezers capable of storing tens of thousands of tons of supplies. In the minus one hundred degree apocalypse half a month later, that would be truly priceless.

As for that panoramic suspended glass manor on the West Coast with windows on all sides? That would just become a giant, gorgeous ice coffin.

News of the asset sale had been out for less than five hours when my office door was pushed open.

"Viktor, even if you're devastated from being dumped by me, you shouldn't be crazy enough to buy a garbage dump reeking of pig stench and blood, right?"

Iris strutted in arrogantly.

Following beside her was her lover, Bradley.

Bradley placed his hand on Iris's waist and said haughtily, "I heard you're selling assets everywhere? What's the matter, the great young master, selling even where you live for a run-down meat plant? How pathetic."

I glanced at Bradley's face. "Since you're so superior, why don't you buy it as an engagement gift for Iris? Or is the generosity you've been faking in front of her unable to come up with even eighty million?"

This sentence precisely stepped on Bradley's sore spot.

Bradley's face flushed red as he slammed the table. "A mere eighty million, I'll buy it right in front of you today! Iris, today I'll let you move into his most prized house. I'll show him that compared to me, he's a complete loser!"

Iris immediately showed a triumphant smile, snuggling into Bradley's arms and looking at me provocatively. "See that, Viktor? This is a man who truly loves me. And you—you're only fit to pick through trash in that stinking factory!"

"Very good." I didn't waste half a second. "Nina, no need to list it. Please bring in the transfer contract. Young Master Bradley wants to purchase all of these at eighty million, full payment."

"Who said I'd pay in full—"

I smirked mockingly. "If you can't afford it, get lost. Don't waste my time here."

Under Iris's expectant and vain gaze, Bradley was caught in a bind and gritted his teeth as he signed.

Looking at the eighty million that instantly appeared in my account, a smile finally flashed in my eyes.

"Enjoy your new house. I hope half a month from now, you'll still be laughing this loud."

After getting this money, I directly purchased that sprawling meat processing plant and hired the city's top engineering team at triple the hourly wage.

Over the next few days, the meat plant roared day and night.

I used Bradley's money to reinforce the factory walls with three layers of aerospace-grade titanium alloy insulation panels, replaced the doors with explosion-proof heavy airlock doors, re-laid underground geothermal circulation systems, and stockpiled enough diesel to burn for ten years.

Meanwhile, Iris was frantically showing off on her social media.

[Enjoying a sunbath in the warm cliff manor, thank you to my true prince Bradley! As for a certain someone? I heard he's sleeping in a pigsty now, LOL.]

I looked at the post on my phone, expressionless, and scrolled past, continuing to check my orders.

I spent every cent of Bradley's money on high-calorie, high-fat meat.

Fifty thousand tons of steak, thirty thousand tons of boneless lamb legs, one hundred thousand tons of whole black pork sides, and even high-density military concentrated protein blocks.

Heavy refrigerated trucks arrived under cover of darkness, stuffing the plant's unfathomably deep underground freezers to capacity.

I didn't need to worry about the fresh meat spoiling—the extreme cold temperatures would be the best preservation method.

Nina looked at the mountains of meat piled in the freezer below and couldn't help asking, "Boss... there are only two of us. Even if we ate for a hundred lifetimes, we couldn't finish this meat. What... what exactly are you preparing for?"

I walked to her side and told her frankly, "Nina, forget everything you learned about the laws of human society."

"In a few days, an extreme cold storm that strips away all order will sweep the globe, and temperatures will drop to minus one hundred degrees. And the humans who survive will be forced to mutate into beast-humans overnight."

Watching Nina's eyes gradually widen, I pointed down at the hundreds of thousands of tons of meat.

"The more advanced the mutation, the more massive energy supplementation it needs. Whoever controls the meat..." I pulled my lips into a cruel smile, "will be king of the new world."