Ice Age Apocalypse: I Hoard Billions of Supplies

Zhang Yi and the others arrived at the main hall of the Tianchang Conference Center, where it was already packed with people.

Many factions from various cities were mingling—some clearly knew each other and were engaged in conversation.

After all, in the apocalypse, anyone who managed to become the leader of a faction was likely someone who once held power or influence. Most were former military officials like Chen Jingguan, and others were high-ranking local bureaucrats.

Of course, there were also people like Zhang Yi and Xing Tian, who had carved out their own domains through sheer strength. Zhang Yi didn’t have much contact with the world beyond Tianhai City, so he wasn’t looking to socialize.

He simply followed the staff’s guidance, leading Liang Yue, Zhou Ke’er, and the others into the hall and quietly finding a place to sit. The venue was huge, designed like a lecture hall, capable of seating up to two thousand people for a conference. Zhang Yi chose a spot toward the middle-rear section and sat down to wait patiently for the gathering to begin. The factions led by Chen Jingguan, Xiao Honglian, and Xing Tian also took seats nearby. But even after waiting for quite a while, right up until 10:30, there was still no sign of Zhu Zheng arriving to host the meeting. Zhang Yi yawned, lazily leaning back in his cushioned seat, clearly bored out of his mind. Meetings in Huaguo rarely ever started on time.

If they began within an hour of the scheduled time, that was already pretty good. Especially this time, when it involved integrating powers across the entire Jiangnan Region—there were far more variables to consider. Back when Zhang Yi was still working a regular job, he was used to waiting during meetings, so he wasn’t bothered. He simply chatted casually with Zhou Ke’er and Lu Keran. However, murmurs of unrest began to spread through the hall. Zhang Yi pretended not to hear them. What he didn’t expect was that this meeting would be delayed all the way into the afternoon. And the reason wasn’t that Zhu Zheng or the Jiangnan Region higher-ups were intentionally leaving them hanging. Something had happened.

... ... The clock turned back to 7:00 a.m. Zhu Zheng had woken early, completed his morning workout, and was having breakfast with his wife and children. But the meal wasn’t going down smoothly. He had just received an urgent message from Tu Yunlie over in the Operations Department. Zhu Zheng only glanced at the message through his comms device, and his brow instantly furrowed, turning grim. He immediately set down his chopsticks and said to his wife, Li Yunping, “You guys eat without me—I have to step out.” Li Yunping sighed, a little exasperated. “At least eat something, or you’ll be complaining about being hungry later.” But she wasn’t surprised. This kind of situation had happened many times before. Ever since the apocalypse, the entire Huaguo relied on the six major military districts to hold things together. As the Commander of the Jiangnan Region, Zhu Zheng bore heavy responsibility—nothing could happen without his involvement. Li Yunping skillfully pulled a lunchbox from under the cupboard, filled it with some food, and ran outside to hand it off to Zhu Zheng’s driver. Standing next to the car was Zhu Zheng’s personal guard, Sun Luxuan. When he saw Li Yunping, he simply nodded in greeting. She didn’t take offense. Sun Luxuan wasn’t just any ordinary bodyguard.

He was one of the top fighters in Blizzard City, and his sole duty was to ensure Zhu Zheng’s safety—he didn’t concern himself with any other matters. Zhu Zheng got into a black bulletproof car, which sped toward the Operations Center. When he arrived, Tu Yunlie was already waiting at the entrance. Zhu Zheng walked up quickly, his tone serious. “What’s going on?” The two of them briskly headed toward the Commander’s office. Tu Yunlie followed alongside and gave his report in a low voice: “Per your orders, I sent people to Linhai to investigate why their local factions never reported to Blizzard City.” “But when our team got there, they discovered that all three factions in Linhai had been completely wiped out!” Zhu Zheng’s face darkened. They stepped into the elevator, heading to the top floor where the Commander’s office was located. “Linhai’s forces weren’t exactly top-tier, but they still had thousands of members and over fifty Superhumans in total!” “Taking all of them out isn’t something just anyone could pull off. Do we know who did it?” Tu Yunlie replied, “Our team ran into the attackers when they arrived.” His voice dropped lower. “I sent some of the best from the Yan Yun Guard—even though there were only four of them, their combat power was solid. But three of them were killed in action! Only one, a guy named Chen Qi, made it back.” “And according to him, those people were speaking Japanese!” The moment the words left his mouth, Zhu Zheng’s eyes went razor-sharp. He whipped his head around. “You’re saying—they’re from the Land of Neon?” Behind him, Sun Luxuan pushed his gold-rimmed glasses up his nose. A chilling murderous gleam flickered in his narrow eyes. It was an emotion etched deep into his bones. And now, in a world torn apart by chaos, the people of the Neon Kingdom dared to step onto Huaguo’s soil again—not only wiping out Linhai’s Superhuman factions, but even killing members of the Jiangnan Region’s Yan Yun Guard? This was tantamount to a declaration of war! Zhu Zheng’s expression turned terrifyingly grim—even Sun Luxuan and Tu Yunlie felt the pressure. Though the old general had no Superhuman abilities of his own, the power he wielded could wipe the entire island nation clean off the map. If it was confirmed that these attackers were Superhumans dispatched by the Neon Kingdom, then this would be an outright escalation of war. Tu Yunlie’s voice crackled through the comms from inside his collar. “Based on the intel we have so far, their numbers are small. It doesn’t appear to be a full-scale military deployment—possibly just an advance unit.” “Please allow me to lead a team to wipe them out!” Zhu Zheng remained silent, his face unreadable. He was weighing the implications of the situation. The destruction of Linhai’s Superhuman factions wasn’t a huge loss in itself. The real problem was what this act represented—an indication that the island nation was once again setting its sights on Huaguo’s territory. Zhu Zheng didn’t even consider Neon Kingdom a real threat. Just the power of the Jiangnan Region alone was enough to flatten that island. But launching an aggressive military strike came with serious consequences.

Neon had ties to several other countries—making this a highly sensitive matter that could easily trigger a wider conflict. Zhu Zheng pondered for a moment. Fortunately, the damage so far was still manageable. As Commander, he couldn’t act on impulse—he needed a clear plan before taking any action. “Where’s that Yan Yun Guard survivor, Chen Qi?” Zhu Zheng turned to Tu Yunlie. Tu Yunlie rumbled, “He’s already here, waiting to give you a detailed report!” Just as he finished speaking, the elevator arrived at the top floor. Zhu Zheng stepped out first. “Then what are we waiting for!” This was no trivial matter. He had to find out whether this was truly the Neon Kingdom launching a full-scale invasion—or just the actions of a rogue ronin faction. Those were two completely different situations.

Author’s Note