The darkness was absolute.
When the city grid failed, it didn't just flicker; it died. The hum of millions of air conditioners, refrigerators, and streetlights vanished instantly, replaced by a deafening, heavy silence.
Then came the sound of the wind.
CRACK.
A sound like a gunshot echoed through the building. It was the water pipes in the hallway bursting as the water inside expanded into ice within seconds.
Alex stood by his floor-to-ceiling window, bathed in the soft, orange glow of his fireplace. He held a mug of hot cocoa, the steam curling up against the reinforced glass.
[Current Outdoor Temperature: -32°C] [Indoor Temperature: 26°C]
In ten minutes, the world had plunged from a tropical summer night into an arctic nightmare.
Down on the street, chaos had frozen in place. A delivery scooter had skidded on the instant black ice, crashing into a lamppost. The driver was lying on the asphalt. He tried to crawl, but his movements were sluggish, like a wind-up toy losing power.
Alex watched through the one-way glass. He saw the driver's breath puff out in white clouds. Then, the clouds stopped. The man's hand reached up toward the sky, stiffened, and didn't drop.
He was dead. Frozen solid in less than three minutes.
[System Log:] [Witnessed Death by Freezing. The target's final emotion was Confusion.] [+1 EP]
"Only one point?" Alex took a sip of cocoa. "Cheap."
He turned away from the window. The apartment was toasty. The electric floor heating, powered by his military-grade diesel generator in the soundproofed utility room, was working perfectly. He actually felt a bit too warm.
He peeled off his shirt, tossing it onto the leather sofa, walking around in just his sweatpants.
Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.
His phone, connected to a satellite network he'd paid a fortune for, exploded with notifications.
The "Building 4 Owners Group" was in meltdown.
[Neighbor 104 (Old Zhang):] Why did the power go out? My oxygen machine needs electricity! Is anyone else out? [Neighbor 1202:] It's freezing! My window just cracked! There's wind coming in! Help! [Property Manager Karen:] Please remain calm! It's just a freak weather event. The grid is likely overloaded. I'm calling the power company.
Alex smirked. "Calling the power company?" The lines were down. The operators were likely dead or dying in their uninsulated call centers.
Then, a message from Johnson (Rich Kid) popped up.
[Johnson (16th Floor):] Fuck this! It's already 0 degrees in my living room. Who has a generator? I'll pay $50,000 for a heater! Cash!
Alex typed a message but didn't send it yet. He wanted to wait. Let the cold seep into their bones first. Let them realize that money was now just colorful paper.
Ding-Dong.
The doorbell rang. Not a frantic pounding, but a desperate, shivering rhythm.
Alex checked the surveillance monitor mounted on the wall.
It was Linda.
She was wrapped in a thin denim jacket and a short skirt—her outfit for a summer date. Her lips were turning a shade of violet. She was hugging herself, shaking violently, her expensive makeup smeared across her face.
She wasn't at the main door of the penthouse (the elevator was dead). She was at the stairwell fire door on the 24th floor. She must have climbed up in the dark.
"A-Alex..." Her voice came through the external microphone, broken and chattering. "I k-know you're in th-there. Please. The c-car d-died. It's so c-cold."
Alex walked to the intercom. He pressed the 'Talk' button.
"Who is it?" he asked, his voice crisp and clear.
"It's M-Linda!" She sobbed, hearing his voice. "B-Baby, please. Open the door. I'm f-freezing to death out here. We can t-talk inside."
"Talk?" Alex leaned against the wall, chewing on a piece of dried mango. "Talk about what? About how you cheated on me with Johnson last month? Or about how you called me a 'broke loser' when I sold my car to buy supplies?"
Linda's eyes widened on the monitor. She looked shocked that he knew, but the cold was overriding her shame.
"I w-was wrong! I l-love you! Please, Alex! Just let me in! I'll do anything!"
She fell to her knees, banging her frozen fists against the steel door. The sound was dull and heavy.
[System Alert] [Target: Linda (Ex-Girlfriend)] [Emotion Detected: Regret, Panic, Physical Agony.] [Reward: +50 EP.]
Alex watched the numbers go up. It was addictive. If he let her in, she would warm up, get comfortable, and inevitably betray him again. If he left her out there... she would become a battery for his system.
"The door is jammed, Linda," Alex lied smoothly. "Try Johnson on the 16th floor. I heard he has fifty thousand dollars cash. Maybe you can burn that for warmth."
He cut the intercom.
"A-Alex? ALEX?!"
Her screams were muffled by the soundproofing, barely a whisper in his silent fortress.
Alex walked back to the living room window. The blizzard outside had intensified. Visibility was zero. The world was white noise.
But in the reflection of the glass, something caught his eye.
He looked down at the street below. The entire city was black. A sea of dead buildings. Except for one spot.
His apartment.
Because he hadn't closed the blackout curtains, the warm, golden light from his living room was blasting out into the night like a lighthouse beam. It illuminated the swirling snow.
To the thousands of freezing people in the surrounding high-rises, looking out of their windows in terror, his apartment looked like the gates of Heaven.
[System Log:] [Mass Attention Detected.] [Envy Source: 500+ Targets.] [Hostile Intent Detected.]
Alex swirled the last sip of his cocoa. He didn't close the curtains. He smiled.
"Let them look," he whispered. "Moths love the flame."
[Cliffhanger] A notification popped up in the Building Group Chat.
[Neighbor 505:] Guys... look up at the Penthouse. Is that... light? [Johnson:] Holy shit. Alex has power. He has heat. [Neighbor 104:] He has electricity?! We are freezing and he has electricity?! [Unknown User:] Let's go up there. He has to share. It's the law.
The chat flooded with agreement. The hunt was on.
[State Update]
Time: Day 1, 01:00 AM.
Temp: -35°C.
EP Gained: 51.
Threat: The entire building now knows Alex has power. A mob is forming.