Chapter One

Cold wind howled, carrying snowflakes that poured into my torn throat.

My chest was ripped open. I saw my own organs fall onto the ice, rising white mist in the sudden cold.

Yet I couldn't even scream.

I stared wide-eyed at the heavy bulletproof door less than half a meter away—the absolute sanctuary I had spent my life savings building in this penthouse apartment to protect my wife, Ivy.

But at this moment, standing inside the door were Ivy's biological mother Karen, and her perpetually parasitic man-child brother Toby.

Through the bulletproof glass, Karen's face, full of hyaluronic acid, was extremely distorted. She didn't even bother with pretense, only mocking through the intercom by the peephole: "Jack, you're a former search and rescue captain. You can survive out there! Toby is still young, he can't bear the cold. The provisions in this house belong to him now!"

And Toby, that bastard whose gambling debts I'd paid off totaling over a hundred thousand dollars, was giving me the middle finger through the glass, his eyes full of greed and mockery.

At that moment, a corpse bit through Ivy's neck. I heard my wife's final desperate wail, and then we were completely torn apart by these monsters in the ice and snow...

"No—!"

I bolted upright from the soft mattress like a drowning person gasping for air. Cold sweat instantly soaked through my T-shirt.

Before my eyes were no blizzards, no bulletproof door, no zombies. Only a luxurious ceiling and the pleasant warm air from the air conditioner.

"Reese... Reese!"

Ivy's extremely suppressed, violent panting came to my ears.

She was clutching her neck desperately, nails almost digging into flesh. Those eyes that had always been as gentle as lake water were now filled with residual extreme terror and death.

I jerked my head toward the bedside digital clock.

【November 10, 6:30 AM】.

Seven full days remained before the "Extreme Cold Fungal Blizzard" that would destroy all of North America arrived, before the sunless polar night hell.

I stumbled into the bathroom and confirmed in the mirror that I was intact, then strode back to the bed and grabbed my wife's trembling shoulders.

We stared into each other's eyes. Without any tentative words, only intense relief and hatred, we instantly confirmed the same thing—we had both returned from that hell of being eaten alive.

"She closed the door..." Ivy's lips trembled, but her body temperature was rapidly dropping, replaced by a chilling murderous intent. No tears fell; they were all evaporated by hatred. "My biological mother, for Toby... locked us outside. My throat was torn open..."

"None of this will happen again." I clenched my back teeth and gripped her cold hand, pulling her tightly into my embrace.

In my previous life, as a former Alaska Extreme Rescue Team captain, I could have lived like a wasteland king with Ivy in the apocalypse. The mistake was that we still retained that damned kindness, still believed in so-called "blood being thicker than water."

Within our safest defensive line, we let in two life-threatening vampires.

"Reese, I swear." Ivy raised her head, looking at me, enunciating each word, "This time, even if they kneel in the snow crying their throats raw, even if she's shredded by zombies right in front of me, I will never open the door."

"To hell with blood being thicker than water. They'll watch us eat steak by the fireplace, then turn into ice sculptures outside the door!"

A cruel, cold smile crossed my lips. Just as I was about to pick up the iPad on the table to liquidate all stocks and properties, my iPhone vibrated.

The incoming call displayed on the screen was 【Karen】.

Ivy glanced at the screen, her eyes turning cold. I unhesitatingly swiped to answer and pressed speakerphone.

"Reese! You goddamn bastard, where the hell have you been?!"

As soon as the call connected, Karen's rough, domineering shrill voice pierced the previous tranquility. "Yesterday was Toby's final payment deadline! Those casino people are going to break his legs! I don't care what you're doing—transfer fifty thousand dollars to my account immediately! If anything happens to Toby, I'll never forgive you, you waste!"

That was the voice that had given me splitting headaches in my previous life. She always thought the money of this son-in-law came from thin air and should naturally support her idle treasure.

Having died once, this voice only struck me as utterly ridiculous.

"Listen, you old bitch." I spoke coldly into the microphone.

The other end went silent for two seconds. Karen seemed stunned by my profanity.

"You... what did you call me?! Reese, are you crazy? Ivy! Ivy, are you there? Control your goddamn husband!"

"Reese called you an old bitch. I suggest you buy a hearing aid, Karen." Ivy leaned toward the phone, her tone like an ice-coated blade. "Also, tell that waste Toby that if he wants legs, he can chop them off himself. You won't get a single cent from us."

"You two ungrateful wolves! Without me, Ivy, would you even be alive today?! You'll get your karmic retribution..."

I didn't bother listening to her rant and decisively hung up, immediately blocking her number.

Next, I opened mobile banking and, under Ivy's watchful gaze, clicked 【Permanently Freeze and Report Lost】 on those three unlimited credit cards in Karen and her son's hands that I'd been paying for.

Want to eat and drink your fill in the final seven days before doomsday? Go to hell and eat dog shit.

After dealing with these parasites, I took a deep breath and dialed a number for a farm in Dallas, Texas.

The phone rang five times before being answered. A low, rough voice with a heavy Southern accent came through: "This is George. If you're selling insurance, my shotgun could use some more hardwood targets."

Hearing this familiar voice, my tense nerves finally relaxed slightly. That was my old man, a retired Marine Corps veteran.

"Dad, it's me." I cut straight to the point without any preamble.

"Reese? What happened?" Dad's voice instantly became cold and alert.

"Dad, listen. There's not much time. Immediately withdraw all cash from the farm and bring Mom. Remember, bring your two Remingtons and dig out your weapons and ammunition from under the garage. Purchase at least ten years' worth of military rations for four people, complete photovoltaic components, and hydroponic seeds."

A brief silence fell on the other end, only heavy breathing audible.

"What are you planning?" Dad asked in a deep voice. As a veteran, he keenly detected the scent of death in my tone.

I looked at the darkening Anchorage sky about to enter polar night outside the window. "Very soon, a hell-level apocalypse will descend on the world. Rent a private cargo plane with Mom and fly to Alaska tonight."

"This time, anyone who dares approach our door will be killed without question."

George was silent for a moment, then quickly replied: "Roger that, son. Prepare a decent oven for your mother. See you tonight."

The call ended.

He always trusted me unconditionally.

I looked at the four million dollars in assets about to be liquidated on the tablet, then turned to Ivy.

The countdown to polar night had begun.

This time, we would build an icy tomb for those betrayers with our own hands at the highest point of this city.