My Apocalypse, My Rules

Agony. Unbearable agony. A pain so visceral, so profound, it seemed to seep from his very marrow, saturating every cell of Zhang Yi's being. This was no mere sensation; it was his brutal, undeniable reality. He was being butchered. Dismembered. By the very friends and neighbors he had once trusted and helped. In this resource-scarce apocalypse, they showed no mercy, no gratitude for his past kindness. The blades they swung had been sharpened by sheer desperation. As his consciousness faded, his blurry vision caught a familiar figure standing behind the bloodthirsty crowd—Fang Yuqing, the woman of his dreams. With a perfectly practiced, pitiful expression, she cried out, "I'm the one who made him open the door! You'd better save a good cut of ribs for my stew!" This woman… she was the one who had tricked him into unbolting his door, sealing his horrific fate. Zhang Yi's eyes, clouded with death, fixed on her. They held nothing but pure, undiluted hatred and a bottomless well of regret. He had no one to blame but his own foolishness, his own damned kindness, which had ultimately turned him into mere provisions for these monsters in this merciless world. How he wished for a chance to do it all over. If given that chance, he would show no mercy. He would live only for himself. Darkness swallowed his vision, and consciousness fled. Then, in the very next instant, his eyes snapped open. He found himself sitting upright on his own sofa, gasping for air. The hellish scene, the searing pain—it all felt terrifyingly vivid, branded into his memory. His body was already slick with cold sweat. "What… What happened? Weren't I just… killed by those animalistic neighbors?" As his senses returned, he frantically scanned his surroundings. This place was unmistakably his own apartment. But the comfortable, ambient room temperature felt utterly alien, deeply wrong. Because according to his memory, by December 2050, planet Earth—battered by the radiation from a supernova explosion 500,000 light-years away—had been plunged into a global cryogenic catastrophe. The city of Tianhai, where he lived, was locked under constant blizzards, with temperatures hovering around -60 to -70 degrees Celsius. Entire cities were buried. Rumor was, in northern parts of the country, it had reached a horrifying -100 degrees Celsius or lower. The world was entombed in ice. Mass extinctions ensued, and over 95% of the human population had perished. Zhang Yi stood up, walked to the refrigerator, and pulled out a bottle of water. He chugged half of it down in several deep gulps. Though chilled, to his present self, it tasted like the purest nectar. During the apocalypse, the only way to get water was to venture out into the deadly cold, dig up snow, and melt it—a task that claimed countless lives from hypothermia. After drinking, he picked up his phone. The screen glowed, displaying the date: November 12th. A full month before the end of the world would begin. "It seems… I've been reborn." Zhang Yi took a deep, steadying breath, quickly piecing it all together. That month of hell couldn't have been a dream—the agony of being torn apart was far too real. He lifted his head, an immense wave of relief washing over him at this second chance. Simultaneously, a sharp, ruthless glint flashed deep within his eyes. He remembered every single face of those who had betrayed and killed him. This time, he would not only survive—he would thrive. And he would show those beasts no kindness. His thoughts immediately turned to practicalities: how to prepare. His parents were long gone; he'd inherited this 120-square-meter apartment in Tianhai. He had over 2 million yuan in savings—a comfortable sum under normal circumstances. But when the apocalypse hit, global supplies would vanish. That money wouldn't last long. Surviving alone, and surviving well, required a staggering stockpile of resources. He needed not just to subsist, but to maintain a quality of life sufficient to keep his sanity intact over the long haul—decent food, entertainment, the works. Just then, a wisp of pure white light flickered at the edge of his vision. He thought his eyes were playing tricks and rubbed them. But as he did, a strange understanding bloomed in his mind: this light was an intrinsic part of him. Information about it flowed directly into his consciousness. Focusing his will, Zhang Yi felt his awareness instantly slip into that luminous strand. What he found inside was a vast, boundless space, blank and white, stretching into seeming infinity. "An… extradimensional space?" "It seems coming back gifted me with some special abilities." A surge of exhilaration coursed through him. It appeared the passing gamma radiation had triggered something within him. This massive storage space was the ultimate solution for his apocalyptic preparations. He needed to test its limits—capacity, what objects could be stored. His consciousness returned to his room, and he began experimenting, starting with small items like a teacup and a washbasin. They vanished into the white space with a thought. He grew bolder, targeting larger appliances: his TV, refrigerator, washing machine, computer, air conditioner, vacuum cleaner… The white space accepted them all without complaint. A simple mental command retrieved any item instantly. Elation overwhelmed him. "With this space, I can stockpile enough resources to last forever!" He licked his lips, a bold, audacious plan rapidly forming in his mind. His job was as a supervisor at the Walmart South China regional distribution warehouse. Walmart, being the world's largest supermarket chain, stocked everything one could possibly imagine. Its three massive national warehouses in China—Central, South, and North—each held enough supplies to sustain millions of people across multiple cities for a week. If he could empty just one of these warehouses into his personal dimension… He wouldn't just be set for life, but for ten lifetimes. The best part? Walmart didn't deal in low-grade goods. Whether it was food, daily necessities, or luxury items, they were all quality, branded products. As the warehouse supervisor, Zhang Yi knew every shelf, every security camera, every employee's schedule by heart. Emptying the place wouldn't be just feasible; it would be… straightforward. With this resolve firm in his heart, a significant weight lifted from his shoulders. Gurgle… His stomach growled in protest. Zhang Yi patted his belly, then glanced at the takeout container sitting on his table. Without a second thought, he picked it up and tossed it straight into the trash. "The world ends in a month. I need to enjoy all the good food I can, while I still can." What was the point of hoarding cash? Soon, money would be worthless paper. Better to spend it all now, to ensure not a single bit of its utility was wasted. With a newfound sense of purpose, Zhang Yi turned on his heel, ready to head out. His destination: a Michelin three-star restaurant. It was time for a proper, lavish meal.