Yuan Shenzi lay in his multi-layered thermal blanket nest, eyes open in the pitch-black interior of the supermarket. Sleep had come in fitful fragments throughout the long night. The blankets kept his body wrapped in perfect, steady warmth, but his mind refused to fully rest. Every sound from outside kept him alert.
The blizzard howled without mercy, a constant, low roar that made the building creak occasionally under the weight of accumulating snow. Zombie moans drifted through the frozen air, sometimes distant, sometimes alarmingly closer. A few times during the night, sharp human screams had pierced the darkness, only to be cut off abruptly. Each time, Shenzi remained still, listening, analyzing. Zombies are drawn to noise and movement. The cold is killing faster than they can eat.
He shifted slightly under the blankets, flexing his fingers. The fabric felt soft yet remarkably efficient, trapping every bit of body heat. While others out there were likely burning whatever they could find just to survive another hour, he was warm. The quiet satisfaction of that fact settled in his chest like a small, cold ember.
As the endless night finally began to lighten into a dark, sullen gray, Shenzi rose. He wrapped one thermal blanket around his shoulders like a cloak over his new winter coat and performed a slow, cautious patrol of the ground floor. His footsteps were soft, deliberate. He approached the barricaded entrance and inspected the piled shopping carts and display racks. Fresh snow had drifted higher overnight, sealing the gaps even more effectively. Good. It would make forced entry from outside far more difficult.
The old life felt distant now. Waking to alarm clocks, crowded commutes, and endless spreadsheets. Here, there were no alarms, only the slow graying of the sky and the endless moan of the dead. He pushed aside useless questions about why this had happened to everyone from Blue Star. Speculation wasted energy. What mattered was control.
He returned to his corner just as the gray light outside grew fractionally brighter.
Exactly at 06:00 AM, a familiar translucent blue panel materialized before his eyes.
[Dawn of Day 2. Reward distribution in progress.]
The mechanical voice spoke directly into his mind, calm and emotionless.
[Congratulations, Host. You have received: Unlimited High-Calorie Rations.]
A large, sturdy cardboard box appeared on the floor in front of him with a soft shimmer. Shenzi knelt and opened it. Inside were neatly packaged, vacuum-sealed bars and meal packs, dense, high-calorie rations designed for extreme survival. Each bar carried roughly 1,200 calories, nutrient-packed, with a long shelf life and a slightly sweet-savory taste.
He tore open one package. The satisfying rip of the vacuum seal echoed softly in the quiet store. The bar was dense and firm, breaking cleanly between his teeth. It wasn't gourmet, but after the freezing night and the dry biscuits from yesterday, it felt substantial. Warmth spread through his stomach as he chewed slowly, the calories hitting his system like fuel in an empty engine.
Unlimited high-calorie rations.
The realization settled in with quiet weight. Food was no longer a concern. Ever. He tested the limit immediately, pulling out three more full boxes and stacking them neatly beside his blanket nest. The supply seemed truly endless.
With renewed energy from the ration, Shenzi decided it was time to improve his camp. He moved to the nearby staff break room area and began constructing a more permanent setup using dozens of thermal blankets. He layered several thick ones as a heavy floor pad to fully insulate against the concrete. Others were arranged as insulated walls, creating a small, enclosed space. He even hung a layer from above like a makeshift ceiling to trap rising heat. The result was a surprisingly cozy pocket of warmth in the middle of the frozen supermarket.
He ate a second ration bar more slowly this time, savoring the dense texture while his mind worked. He mentally cataloged the supermarket's resources: food section with its frozen but still useful canned goods, clothing aisle with limited winter wear, tools, and the promising underground storage below. Improvements needed to be prioritized—clear a larger safe zone on this floor, find a way to access the upper levels and basement once he had better light, and use blankets to insulate windows and create additional windbreaks.
For a brief moment, as he chewed the last bite, a small, cold smile touched his lips. *Infinite food and infinite warmth… The others out there are probably eating snow right now.*
With the morning light now filtering weakly through the snow-covered windows, Shenzi began a more thorough but cautious exploration of the ground floor. He gathered additional practical items: thicker winter jackets, sturdy boots that fit reasonably well, extra gloves, and a few basic tools, hammers, rolls of duct tape, and sharp utility knives from the hardware section. From the household aisle he took several candles and a box of matches.
Carefully, he approached one of the higher windows and peered through a small cleared gap in the frost. Outside, the snowfall had grown even heavier. Several frozen corpses lay half-buried in the street, their forms barely visible under fresh powder. In a nearby alley, a small group of desperate survivors huddled around a pathetic fire made from broken wooden pallets. Their faces were gaunt, hands shaking as they tried to warm themselves. A handful of zombies shuffled slowly toward the sound and light, drawn like moths to flame.
Shenzi watched without emotion. Some of the zombies had faint blue ice crystals glowing softly on their bodies in the dim light, unnatural, almost magical. The cold was evolving.
He stepped back from the window, returning to his insulated blanket camp. Stacks of ration boxes and piles of thermal blankets surrounded him. For the first time since waking in the snow, he felt the beginnings of real security.
Yet the growing number of zombie moans right outside the barricaded entrance served as a constant reminder. The supermarket was still only a thin shell against the frozen apocalypse.
Shenzi sat down in his warm nest, staring at the blue system panel that had already faded away.