Ice Age Apocalypse: I Hoard Billions of Supplies

Xiao Honglian, after hearing Zhuge Qingtian’s suggestion, decided to reach out to Zhang Yi to test the waters.

Still, she doubted that Zhang Yi or Liang Yue would act like saints. People like that wouldn’t have survived this long in the apocalypse.

However, the prospect of probing Zhang Yi’s strength intrigued her.

“If they truly care about these people, all the better. That will put the advantage squarely in our hands during negotiations,” she remarked.

She instructed Zhuge Qingtian to find a way to contact Zhang Yi.

By this time, Zhang Yi and his people no longer used their old phone numbers. Each of their phones had been converted into encrypted communication devices, making internal communication easy and secure from eavesdropping.

As a bonus, they no longer had to pay phone bills—a darkly humorous benefit in these dire times.

With no direct means to contact the shelter, Zhuge Qingtian suggested sending someone to deliver a message to Zhang Yi and leave a communication frequency for him to respond. Xiao Honglian agreed, showing no urgency for revenge.

She already knew Zhang Yi’s location and had captured Liang Yue’s students. It was vital to gather sufficient intelligence on her enemy’s strength before acting; otherwise, it could backfire.

Zhuge Qingtian dispatched members of Dong Hu’s investigation team to deliver the message, while Wu Chengyu and the other students were locked in the underground prison.

Each of them wore a modified explosive collar. Whether they tried to escape or were rescued, Yangsheng Base could detonate the collars remotely, blowing their heads off.

After warning the prisoners, the grim-faced guards left the cell.

The group of students huddled together, staring at the deathtrap collars around their necks, their faces full of despair.

Even crying was impossible—their tears frozen in the relentless cold.

“Teacher Liang, you have to come save us!”

The next day, under a sky shrouded in heavy clouds, the sunlight was little more than a cold, circular shadow. Even on rare clear days, its light was unable to bring warmth to the planet.

Zhang Yi and his group gathered at the long table and finished breakfast.

Standing up, Liang Yue said, “Zhang Yi, I’m heading across the river.”

Zhang Yi glanced up at her. “Oh, sure. Be quick. It’s cold out; don’t let yourself freeze.”

His gentle concern made Liang Yue bite her lip, her face tinged with a faint blush.

She avoided looking at Yang Siyah and Zhou Ke’er, knowing full well their gazes were likely tinged with jealousy.

Recently, her relationship with Zhang Yi had grown noticeably closer. Though Zhang Yi had never said anything affectionate, his occasional acts of care spoke volumes. Their training sessions involved increasing physical contact, and over time, she found herself unsure of her feelings for him—or how Zhang Yi viewed her. �

Accepting the food Zhang Yi handed her, Liang Yue put on her winter gear and left the shelter.

Zhang Yi didn’t watch her leave, calmly spearing a takoyaki ball with his fork and chewing it slowly.

“What will Liang Yue do when she finds her students missing?” he wondered.

On one hand, he hoped she would simply abandon them and focus on being his obedient ally.

But knowing her, Zhang Yi doubted she would stay indifferent to their disappearance. She might even act impulsively.

“I just hope she doesn’t cause too much trouble. Otherwise, I’ll have no choice but to ask her to leave the shelter,” he thought.

This was a test—a test for Liang Yue.

Liang Yue, carrying food, arrived at Xu Family Town as usual.

She entered the students’ snow house, but the moment she lifted the curtain, she found it completely empty.

Her heart skipped a beat, a sense of foreboding gripping her instantly.

She knew her students well. Lazy as they were, they barely ventured outside except to fish. They even handled restroom needs behind the curtain, paying no mind to propriety in such bitter cold.

But now, not a single person was there. Something was definitely wrong.

“Where did they all go?”

Swallowing nervously, Liang Yue felt an intense wave of anxiety. She hadn’t seen them crossing the river on her way over, so they couldn’t be out fishing.

Setting the food on the table, she immediately began searching for them.

Xu Family Town was eerily silent, its few remaining villagers rarely leaving their homes except to scavenge for food.

Undeterred, Liang Yue went door to door, asking if anyone had seen her students.

But her efforts yielded nothing.

As her dread deepened, an ominous feeling enveloped her. Her students had vanished—disappeared into thin air!

In the current environment, leaving Xu Family Town was a death sentence.

“Were they kidnapped?”

Recalling Zhang Yi’s mentions of nearby factions, Liang Yue’s mind raced to the worst-case scenario.

“Could a major faction have taken them?”

“But why? Xu Family Town is too impoverished to attract attention.”

“Could it be the people themselves? Yet no other villagers were taken...”

Her head throbbed with confusion, worry growing more suffocating by the second.

Despite her disappointment in the students, they had been her companions throughout the apocalypse. Even if they didn’t appreciate her, she couldn’t ignore her bond with them.

People often hold onto certain obsessions—and for Liang Yue, it was the duty to protect the students she had taught for years. She couldn’t stand by and watch them perish.

Staring at the frozen, lifeless expanse around her, with icy winds howling through the air, Liang Yue felt utterly lost. She had no clues, no way to track her students.

“There’s no choice. I have to ask Zhang Yi for help.”

A conflicted look crossed her face.

She didn’t want to trouble Zhang Yi. After all, his decision to shelter her was already an act of immense generosity, and he had always treated her kindly.

Perhaps, deep down, she harbored feelings for him.

But now, she had no other way to find her missing students.

“Their disappearance isn’t random. If someone targeted them, the true goal is likely me.”

Exhaling deeply, her breath condensed into a sharp, arrow-like plume that lingered in the air.

“I won’t let them die because of me!”

Author’s Note