Chen Lingyu continued, "I can help you manage this complex with a scientific approach. If it works, we can even expand it to other areas. This is the apocalypse—the old order is gone. We could build a whole kingdom without any problem. You could be the king, and I'd be your advisor. What do you say?"
Zhang Yi only smiled.
He was a graduate of Tianhai Industrial University and had worked for five years after graduation. He was far too sharp to be fooled by a pyramid-scheme saleswoman's empty promises.
"Not interested."
He said the three words coldly, ending the conversation right there.
"But—" Chen Lingyu tried to press on, but Zhang Yi waved her off.
"Save it. We're not close, and I don't want to hear your nonsense."
His unyielding gaze drained the color from her face. She staggered back two steps, clearly frightened by the bloodshed from the night before. She had not really come to propose a partnership—she had come begging for protection. But why would Zhang Yi protect her? She was plain, middle-aged, and had nothing he wanted.
"We're all going to die if this keeps up," Chen Lingyu said bleakly.
Zhang Yi glanced at her and emphasized each word. "Remove the 'we.' You will die. But I, Zhang Yi, will not."
Chen Lingyu shook her head helplessly.
Zhang Yi looked at the so-called "strong woman" with mild curiosity. "It's hard for a woman to survive the apocalypse alone. Don't you have a husband?"
Chen Lingyu smiled bitterly. "We divorced long ago."
"Oh. So you're alone?"
"No. I have a daughter. She's been at a prestigious international boarding school in the United States since she was ten." Her eyes brightened as she spoke of her child. "I never needed a man. After the divorce, I raised her alone. I started as a dishwasher and a beauty salon apprentice, worked my way up, and became the CEO of a pre-listed company! I'm no worse than any man. Zhang Yi, if you reject me for this reason, that's your loss."
Zhang Yi rubbed his nose and said slowly, "Technically, only the head of a corporate group is called a CEO. A small business owner like you is just a general manager."
Chen Lingyu's face flushed with embarrassment. "That's not the rule! There's no law saying only group bosses can be CEOs!"
Zhang Yi sighed inwardly.
Clearly, her education had stopped at middle school. She couldn't even understand basic corporate titles, yet she called herself an entrepreneur.
"Alright. Get back to work."
He walked past her, no longer interested in wasting time.
But then his gaze caught something in the distance.
Building 18, run by Li Jian, looked nothing like the others.
Wrapped in a thick black down jacket, Li Jian was personally leading the snow-clearing work. From a distance he looked small and unremarkable, but there was a quiet, stubborn resolve in the way he stood. Outside Building 18, everyone was working in an orderly rotation: shovel for ten minutes, rest, then switch.
Zhang Yi was deeply moved.
It was a sight he had never dared to imagine in the apocalypse.
He walked over and stood there in silence, watching them. Li Jian noticed him almost immediately and looked up, dark circles under his eyes, his face thin from hunger.
"Zhang Yi? What are you doing here?"
Zhang Yi didn't answer. He simply looked over the residents of Building 18. Though pale and hungry, their eyes still held a spark of hope—nothing like the numb, hollow expressions of the other buildings.
"I'm impressed," Zhang Yi said, "and curious. How did you pull this off?"
"Pull what off?" Li Jian asked.
"Every other building is tearing itself apart over food rations, but yours is peaceful. Did you hide the truth from them?"
A proud smile crossed Li Jian's face. Despite his small build, he straightened his chest.
"I didn't hide anything. I told everyone in the building the terms of the deal from the very beginning."
That surprised Zhang Yi.
How had Li Jian avoided a riot by being so open?
"Then why isn't anyone rebelling? With only ten portions of food, there's no way everyone can survive."
Li Jian seemed to have expected the question. He answered calmly, without hesitation.
"No one in this building wants to become a beast. If we have ten portions, we split them equally. If we have one portion, we split that equally too."
Zhang Yi crossed his arms and scoffed.
"That just means you'll all die together. Not a single one of you will survive. You think you're being clever, but you made the stupidest choice possible."
Li Jian fell silent, unable to refute him. He knew Zhang Yi was right— in a world this cruel, animal instinct always outlasted morality.
Zhang Yi shook his head and turned away. He had only stopped out of curiosity. Their fate had nothing to do with him.
As he was about to leave, Li Jian called out urgently, "Zhang Yi, wait! Can you help us?"
"Sorry," Zhang Yi said flatly. "No chance."
He looked down at the short middle-aged man and said dismissively, "With your ability, you could gather the strongest survivors, control the resources, and secure your own survival in this apocalypse. But you tried to protect everyone, and you don't have the power to do that. What you're doing is a crime. You chose your path—now walk it alone."