Her husband had died right in front of her.
Ever since then, the woman had been plagued by nightmares every night.
But why?
Shen Yan clearly had a gun.
Why hadn’t he saved her husband?
Why was it her husband who had to die?
Deep down, the woman knew she could never survive in this lawless frozen world.
Her future was already hopeless.
Since death would come sooner or later, she decided nobody else deserved peace either.
“Sis, Mom only left this apartment to me. Do you really hate me that much?”
“Shen Yan, what nonsense are you talking about?”
The man behind Shen Hanyin seemed lost in thought. Then he suddenly asked,
“So the reinforced door they mentioned, that’s true?”
Everyone in Building 9 already knew about it.
Shen Hanyin answered honestly.
“Yes.”
The man lowered the gun.
“Take me to your apartment.”
All the explanations Shen Hanyin had prepared instantly became useless.
She stared at the man behind her.
Only after confirming he wasn’t joking did she begin calculating the odds.
If she secretly pulled another gun from her space and attacked now, what were her chances?
Slowly, she moved her hand toward her pocket.
The man immediately noticed.
“I only need a place to stay.”
Then he looked directly at her.
“You should understand the difference between us.”
After a moment’s hesitation, Shen Hanyin withdrew her hand.
He was right.
She had no chance of winning.
If she refused, she would die immediately.
If she agreed…
Her fate might be worse than death.
Suisui was still at home.
There were bulletproof windows, generators, gas canisters, candles, emergency lights.
Even the kitten’s bed contained rechargeable hand warmers.
Any of those things could raise suspicion.
Unable to think of a better solution, she tried to buy time.
“They won’t let me leave.”
As she spoke, she looked toward the sixth-floor woman and the group she had gathered.
The woman cooperatively raised her knife.
“You’re right.”
“Today, you’re going to pay for my husband’s life.”
The man ignored her completely.
Instead, he looked at the people she had recruited.
“This woman is insane.”
“Are you sure you want to stay?”
He glanced at the injured fighters around them.
“When he was alone, you couldn’t handle him.”
“Now you’re dealing with both of us.”
“I’ll give you ten seconds to think.”
The leader of the group frowned.
There wasn’t much to consider.
If they stayed, they would probably die.
None of them actually had a personal grudge against Shen Yan.
They had only listened to the crazy woman’s promises because they coveted his food and shelter.
Now that they were being given a chance to leave, it was the best outcome possible.
As for this disastrous decision…
The woman would bear the consequences.
“You knew he had a gun.”
“You never told us.”
“Two of my brothers died because of that.”
“We’ll settle that debt with you.”
Ignoring her furious curses, they dragged her away.
The situation had reversed so suddenly that it felt absurd.
In this frozen apocalypse, everyone was brutally practical.
Nobody even bothered pretending otherwise.
At that moment, Shen Hanyin finally understood what it meant to be frustrated by other people’s incompetence.
They were leaving just like that?
If they couldn’t beat him, they could have teamed up with her!
She would have even shared some food if necessary.
Her instincts screamed a warning.
The single man standing behind her was far more dangerous than the entire group that had just left.
“Let’s go.”
The man spoke calmly.
As they walked, Shen Hanyin constructed countless plans to eliminate him.
Every one of them failed.
Eventually, when he casually pressed the gun against her head again, she gave up.
One by one, she unlocked the doors.
The outer security door.
The fire escape door.
And finally, the armored door to her apartment.
The moment they entered, warm air washed over them.
Suisui immediately jumped up, ready to leap into Shen Hanyin’s arms.
Then the kitten noticed the stranger behind her.
Instant emergency brake.
Suisui froze.
Her tail puffed up and stood straight.
The little cat had never seen a stranger enter the apartment before.
Shen Hanyin quickly crouched down and pulled Suisui into her arms.
She watched the man warily.
She knew absolutely nothing about him.
She had no idea whether he might hurt Suisui.
The man stepped inside and surveyed the room.
The apartment was indeed exceptionally well equipped.
Apparently the rumors about Shen Yan preparing in advance were true.
As for the woman’s ridiculous claim that he had somehow caused the disaster itself…
The man didn’t believe that for a second.
Still, Shen Yan clearly possessed secrets.
“How many bedrooms?”
“Two.”
“Good.”
The man nodded.
“I won’t harm you or your cat.”
“I only need one bedroom.”
“If you’re willing to trust me, consider it a temporary arrangement.”
Shen Hanyin continued staring at him.
Not once had he shown the slightest interest in the supplies scattered around the apartment.
Strangely, that made him even more dangerous.
People without desires had no obvious weaknesses.
He was intelligent.
Experienced.
And skilled enough to completely overpower her.
She wasn’t his match.
“I’m going to rest.”
“Show me the room.”
“Okay.”
Then she paused.
“You need slippers.”
The man looked down.
“I wear size forty-five.”
“Do you have any?”
Shen Hanyin reached into the shoe cabinet.
Under the cover of the motion, she quickly retrieved a pair of size-45 cotton slippers from her space.
“Size forty-five.”
Fortunately, when she had gathered men’s clothing and supplies before, she hadn’t bothered sorting sizes.
She had practically everything.
After changing into her own slippers, she finally got a good look at him.
The man was extremely tall.
Well over one hundred ninety centimeters.
She barely reached his shoulders.
Then he removed his hat and scarf.
Shen Hanyin blinked.
He was…
Very handsome.
Immediately, she looked away.
Silently, she led him to the second bedroom.
“Rest well.”
The man responded with a simple hum.
Then he closed the door.
Returning to the sofa, Shen Hanyin absentmindedly stroked Suisui’s fur while staring at the guest room.
What now?
Pretending to be a boy was easy when she spent most of her time outside.
But she couldn’t keep leaving the apartment every day.
Given enough time, her disguise would eventually crack.
Worse still, there was now a complete stranger living in her home.
Not only could she no longer casually enjoy her favorite milk tea, roasted chestnuts, and fruit whenever she wanted, but her life was constantly at risk.
She had no idea whether she could successfully get rid of him.
The apartment itself was very simple.
A large open living area connected to the kitchen and balcony, with two bedrooms attached.
Anyone paying attention could see nearly everything at a glance.
By the time the man entered the guest room, he had probably already observed most of the apartment.
Trying to hide suspicious items now would only attract attention.
After thinking it over carefully, Shen Hanyin only removed her feminine personal products.
That afternoon, the man never left the bedroom.
When evening arrived, Shen Hanyin faced a choice.
Eat biscuits.
Or cook.
She chose to cook.
The man clearly wasn’t leaving anytime soon.
At this point, most of the apartment’s contents had already been exposed anyway.
There was no reason to lower her quality of life just to avoid suspicion.
She prepared curry beef and steamed rice.
Just as she placed the dishes on the table, the bedroom door opened.
Their eyes met.
A question immediately appeared in Shen Hanyin’s mind.
Should I offer him some?
After all, she was still maintaining the image of an innocent high school boy.
“Want some?”
The man laughed softly.
“No.”
Then he walked over and placed a pistol on the dining table.
“Your gun.”
Shen Hanyin couldn’t understand him.
In a world like this, everyone knew how valuable a firearm was.
Even a three-year-old child would understand.
She refused to believe such a selfless person existed.
Unless…
He simply didn’t need it.
The thought sent a chill down her spine.
Suppressing her nervousness, she continued acting.
“My father left that gun for me before he died.”
“You helped me earlier.”
“I said you could keep it.”
The man neither responded nor picked up the gun.
Instead, he noticed the easel and paints near the living room.
There were brushes, ink, and paper on the desk as well.
“You paint?”
“Yeah.”
Shen Hanyin nodded.
“I wanted to apply to Haicheng University’s art department.”
Maintaining Shen Yan’s identity meant telling lies almost every time she opened her mouth.
The man didn’t continue the conversation.
Seeing that, Shen Hanyin picked up her chopsticks.
If she waited any longer, the food would get cold.