3

At 3:17 a.m., the world changed.

I was sitting on a leather sofa on the second floor, holding a gleaming AR-15 in my hand, looking out at the night through the bulletproof glass. Suddenly, an eerie silence enveloped the entire state of Texas.

Even the chirping of insects has disappeared.

Immediately afterwards, it was as if a hole had been torn open in the sky.

The polar cold front roared down like a prehistoric beast, and the temperature plummeted from ten degrees to minus seventy degrees in just a few minutes. I could hear the trees around the villa crackling from the cold, and the moisture in the air instantly condensed into ice crystals, piercing the earth like countless silver needles.

This is the "absolute zero ice storm"—an apocalyptic catastrophe capable of destroying all civilizations.

Then, the lights in Houston went out.

The entire city was plunged into deathly darkness in an instant. Texas's proud independent power grid collapsed completely under the pressure of the extreme cold, leaving millions without electricity, heating, communication, and even the hope of survival.

But inside my heavily fortified bunker, the geothermal generator still runs steadily, its deep hum as regular as a heartbeat. The indoor temperature remains constant at 26 degrees Celsius, as warm as spring.

I got up and went to the kitchen, took a prime tomahawk steak from the separate freezer, and seared it on the induction cooker. The sizzling sound of the fat contrasted sharply with the cold wind outside.

At that moment, I turned on the monitoring system.

The image displayed on the screen brought a satisfied smile to my face.

The large apartment in the city center has been completely without power; the once brightly lit luxury apartment is now pitch black. I can see the situation inside clearly through an infrared night vision camera.

Brody, Jessica, and Leo were awakened from their sleep by the cold and were groping around in the dark in terror.

"What happened? Why did the power suddenly go out?" Brody's voice sounded particularly jarring through the monitor. "Jessica? Leo? Where are you?"

"I'm here!" Jessica's voice trembled. "Oh my god, why is it so cold? Is the air conditioner broken?"

"Mom, I can't find my phone!" Leo cried out in the darkness. "Why is it like an icebox here?"

I switched between several camera angles, observing their reactions with great interest.

Brody fumbled for the emergency flashlight, its faint light illuminating a corner of the living room. I saw the three of them huddled on the sofa, covered with the Hermès scarves and Chanel jackets they had been showing off just yesterday.

But these luxury items are as thin as paper and useless in the face of sub-zero temperatures.

"Brody, think of something quick!" Jessica's lips were already turning purple. "I'm freezing to death! Where are the heating systems? Where's the backup power?"

"I...I don't know either!" Brody was also trembling. "Power should be restored soon. This is the most upscale apartment building in the city center; there shouldn't be any problems like this here!"

Leo started throwing a tantrum on the floor : "I want heat ! I want a stove ! It's too cold in here!"

As I seared my steak, I watched the spectacle unfold. The aroma of beef filled the warm kitchen, a stark contrast to the despair of the three people on the security camera.

Half an hour later, things got even more interesting.

Brody discovered an even more serious problem—all the water pipes had frozen and burst.

"Damn it! The tap is full of ice!" His voice was filled with obvious panic. "I can't get through on the phone, and the internet is down! What happened?"

Jessica wrapped herself up even tighter, but those useless luxuries couldn't keep out the chill: "Could it be a terrorist attack? Or an alien invasion?"

"Mom, I'm hungry!" Leo's voice grew shrill. "Is there anything to eat in the fridge?"

Brody fumbled to open the smart refrigerator, but inside were only some champagne, caviar, and imported cheese—items that would normally be luxuries, but which couldn't provide enough warmth in the extreme cold.

"That's all we have," Brody said helplessly. "But there's no fire, no hot water, how are we supposed to eat?"

I couldn't help but laugh as I watched them comically trying to heat the cheese with a lighter.

Then, an even more exciting scene began.

Brody suddenly remembered something, stumbled into the bedroom, and brought out several suitcases full of cash. Under the flashlight, the piles of hundred-dollar bills emitted a green glow.

"That's it! I have money!" Brody shouted excitedly. "I can buy anything with money!"

He took out his phone and was pleasantly surprised to find that it still had a little battery left. Although the cell tower signal was weak, he could still manage to access the internet.

I watched him enter local Houston community groups and several dark web platforms, and start sending messages like crazy.

"Urgent! I'll pay $1,000 for a bottle of hot water!"

"A hefty reward! I'll give ten thousand US dollars to anyone who can deliver food and heating equipment!"

"Anyone selling a portable generator? $100,000 cash!"

He even took a picture—a table full of cash, which looked particularly dazzling under the beam of a flashlight.

"See? I have plenty of money! I'll pay any price as long as someone can help me!"

Brody's message caused a brief stir in the group. But soon, the group's activity level dropped.

Ten minutes passed, and no one responded.

Twenty minutes passed, and still no one responded.

Half an hour passed, and sporadic cries of despair began to appear in the group chat:

"My power went out too... My child is freezing to death..."

"Does anyone know what's going on? Where's the government? Where are the rescue teams?"

"My car won't start, the engine is frozen..."

"The supermarkets are all closed, and there's snow and ice everywhere..."

Brody's expression grew increasingly grim. He increased the bounty to $100,000, $200,000, and even $500,000, but still received no response.

"How is this possible?" He stared at his phone screen in disbelief. "Five hundred thousand US dollars! That's enough to buy a house in Texas! Why is nobody responding to me?"

Jessica was devastated: "Didn't you say money could buy everything? Didn't you say you were the oil tycoon of Texas? Why can't you buy anything now?"

"I...I..." Brody stammered, "It's probably a bad internet connection, the signal is unstable. Someone will contact me when it gets light!"

Leo huddled in the corner, rolling on the floor, starving: "I don't care! I want food! I want warmth! I want to go back to my old life!"

Your life before? This is probably going to be the most comfortable period of your life from now on.

I shook my head, turned off the internal monitoring , switched to external drone monitoring, and then went to do my own thing .

Let time flow by for a while.

第三天，The drone issued an alarm.

第四天，Through the night vision lens, I saw something interesting.

Several modified pickup trucks equipped with snow chains were parked quietly in front of the large apartment building. Seven or eight men wearing heavy military coats got out of the trucks, each carrying heavy firepower weapons—AK-47s, shotguns, and some even carrying rocket launchers.

This is a local Houston gang that specializes in robbery and kidnapping. Normally they wouldn't dare mess with a rich guy like Brody, but things are different now.

The police system is paralyzed, the legal order has collapsed, and Brody foolishly exposes his wealth online .

In the post-apocalyptic wasteland, this is tantamount to holding up a torch in the dark and telling all predators, " I have plenty of supplies, come and eat me!"

I picked up the grilled steak, poured myself a glass of whiskey, and settled comfortably on the sofa.

The following episodes will be even more exciting.

The gang leader made a gesture, and several of his men began checking their weapons. They were clearly prepared; they not only had heavy firepower but also lockpicks and ropes.

I checked the time; it was 4:30 a.m.

There were still several hours until dawn, enough time for these hungry wolves to have a proper "visit" to my old friend Brody.

I raised my glass and gestured towards the monitor screen.

"The game has begun, my friends. I hope your money will do its work against the gun."