"Wait! Could it be a functional Exotic Treasure?"
Wang Hao's eyes suddenly lit up.
Under the guidance of the mysterious hint, he had read many doomsday novels.
In some of these novels, various magical items would drop.
Once obtained, the protagonists could soar to new heights.
Thinking of this, Wang Hao couldn't help but feel his heart pounding.
He was now practically a hoarder, having stockpiled a massive amount of food.
Under normal circumstances, he would have no worries for life.
But he feared people would come and take it!
Although the villa had been specially modified, and he had set up several traps,
he'd also purchased crossbows and other weapons.
These would be effective against ordinary ruffians but would be useless if a lot of people came.
If his villa were to be breached,
the best outcome for him would be hiding in the control room, surviving on the supplies there.
They would take all the stockpiled supplies and even occupy his house.
Once the supplies in the control room ran out, he would be done for.
If he could obtain a supernatural weapon, preferably the cheat-like ones from novels,
then he would feel at ease.
By relying on the vast resources in the villa, and the large amount of long-lasting food like rice, corn, and potatoes he secretly stockpiled outside,
he could definitely live comfortably in this apocalypse.
He might even achieve fame and fortune, rising from a low nobody to the pinnacle.
As for the last phrase, "Don't be a saint,"
the mysterious hint knew him well.
He was inherently soft-hearted, like many others in society.
After all, they had been educated this way since childhood.
Confucian values had deeply taken root.
Besides, he was a recent college graduate, not yet two years out, with many untransformed perspectives.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have advised people to stockpile food earlier, even when they secretly called him crazy.
Although he had read many doomsday novels,
knowing the brutal reality of an apocalypse, many novel protagonists remained quite saintly.
They relied on a protagonist's halo to save this one and help that one.
In one novel, the male protagonist found a woman who had mocked him was first violated and then killed by villains, and he inexplicably flew into a rage, risking his life to avenge her.
As a result, he ended up severely injured, nearly dying, and then going on a lengthy monologue about morality.
Some even sacrificed themselves for humanity in a highly dramatic but foolish act in reality.
Without a protagonist's halo, they would be the first to die.
That's probably why the hint went out of its way to remind him with four words.
Wang Hao imagined seeing a beautiful little girl being bullied by a villain.
Would he step in?
The answer was yes!
If someone came to his house asking for food,
he might give some.
After all, he had hoarded too much food,
far more than he could ever consume.
"Starting today, I must become ruthless, be a pure egoist, doing good deeds only when it doesn't compromise my safety."
Wang Hao repeatedly reminded himself in his heart.
He recalled a novel he had read earlier called "This Villain Is Extraordinarily Cautious."
The protagonist in that story was cautious, decisive in killing, extremely self-serving, yet had a heart full of love.
He decided to make him a role model.
Tenth day of the apocalypse
Though the blizzard seemed to have lessened slightly,
people's panic had reached a peak.
Many had hit rock bottom.
Especially the young working professionals who didn't cook.
They had been relying on snacks and overpriced neighbor supplies, but now, even if they wanted to buy more, there might be no sellers.
As for going out to look for supplies, forget about it.
At this time, snow had buried the first floor of many residential buildings.
The blizzard obscured vision, making it a challenge to find one's way back from outside the community, and prolonged exposure to such low temperatures would quickly lead to death by freezing.
Some had been hungry for days.
Besides hunger, there was suffering from illness.
Many were experiencing colds, even fevers.
Without medicine, they could only endure.
Those with severe illnesses, like those needing dialysis for uremia, could only wait for death since they couldn't go out.
Moreover, the extreme cold impacted normal power plant operations; coupled with soaring electricity demand, the government started phased power supply, which was getting shorter by the day.
Despite continuous encouragement and reassurance from various channels,
saying the disaster would soon pass and urging mutual aid, encouraging those with surplus food supplies to share with needy neighbors,
but it was ineffective. Human darkness and survival instincts had begun to trigger some malicious events.
Wang Hao was sitting on a chair in the dining room.
He wore shorts and a T-shirt, with the underfloor heating keeping the temperature at a constant 24°C, and the hot pot before him was bubbling with steam.
All sorts of ingredients were thrown in, and a rich aroma spread.
Wang Hao picked a piece of beef, dipped it into a special sauce, eating delightfully while reading others' laments and complaints on the forum.
At this point, he hadn't started the backup generator.
Despite the city and even the entire world implementing phased power supply, with some small cities having only one hour of electricity daily to charge phones and boil water,
the villa area he was in still had reliable power.
Being a high-end villa area, many capable people lived there.
When the snow first fell, supply trucks even came to deliver many supplies.
"Grandpa, your mischievous grandson is calling."
"Grandpa, your mischievous grandson is calling."
.....
The phone rang.
Wang Hao was slightly surprised.
In the days leading up to the apocalypse, he had received many calls, mainly from former colleagues.
They knew he had stockpiled supplies and wanted to borrow some grain.
Later, the calls stopped because it was impossible to leave home; they weren't even in the same community, and even if Wang Hao agreed, they couldn't collect it!
Now someone was calling, and it was from an unknown number.
Wang Hao furrowed his brows, answered casually, and put it on speaker.
"Hello! Wang Hao, it's me, Zhang Xiaoxiao."
Zhang Xiaoxiao's somewhat tired voice came from the other end.
"Xiaoxiao! What's up?"
Wang Hao asked casually, chewing the beef in his mouth.
"Wang Hao, do you still have that batch of medicine Zhang Ming sold you?"
Zhang Xiaoxiao asked quietly.
"Yes, what's going on?"
Wang Hao was puzzled.
Was she sick and needed medicine?
Even if he were willing to give some, she couldn't come and get it!
"That's great, Zhang Ming's company encountered some minor issues, and he wants to reclaim that batch of medicine. Of course, he won't let you suffer a loss and is willing to compensate you with a hundred thousand yuan."