When the weather bureau announced that the “abnormal cold spell would last only three days,” Lu Chen saw a countdown instead:
[Global cold wave arriving: 29 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes]
[Projected lowest temperature: minus 72 degrees.]
Freshly unemployed and three million in debt, he also inherited an abandoned subway station with a leaky roof, no electricity, and only twelve beds.
After linking it to a shelter network, Lu Chen discovered that money wasn't the only thing accepted here: engineers, repair skills, reliable information, and people willing to follow the rules could all earn survival points.
While others stockpiled instant noodles, he drilled geothermal wells. While others fought over generators, he recovered the city's waste heat. While others locked down their safe houses, “Pier Seven Inn” had already opened its second and third branches.
Then a broadcast came from another shelter deep in the ice fields:
“Boss Lu, do you really think this cold wave is a natural disaster?”
