Chapter 2

After the apocalypse hit, Charlie accidentally activated the Frosthaven Protocol using Samantha's blood because she was the true key to the Maddox bloodline.

To keep the system all to himself, Charlie spun the tale of the "Apocalypse Fairy" and lured Samantha out of the Sanctuary Ark, leaving her to freeze to death in the very first deadly blizzard.

"No, I've got stuff to do. You go on your own," I said, shaking off her hand, my voice cold.

Samantha froze, looking stunned. She clearly didn't expect her sister, who always went along with her, to act like this.

"Jennifer, what's wrong? Are you still mad at me? I swear, I was just trying to help you..." Samantha said.

"Trying to help me, or help Charlie?" I cut her off, giving her an icy stare. "Samantha, if you love Sanctuary Ark so much, then go with Mom, Dad, and Charlie. The key to the old house is with me, and from now on, it's mine alone."

With that, I ignored her shocked face, flagged down a taxi, and headed straight for the old house out in the suburbs.

As the taxi weaved through the city, I pulled out my phone and started making moves.

First, I put up the downtown apartment my parents left me for sale.

In my previous life, I hesitated too much, couldn't bear to part with the only thing that reminded me of them.

But when the apocalypse hit, that concrete cage turned into a frozen tomb overnight, and the deed was worth less than scrap paper.

This time, I needed to liquidate everything I owned as quickly as possible, and swap it for the only thing that mattered in the apocalypse—supplies.

I put it up for 10% below market value, with the condition that it had to be a full cash deal, and the transaction had to be completed within three days.

That price and those terms were impossible to resist.

Next, I called my bank's loan manager and used my solid credit history and the upcoming apartment sale as collateral to apply for the maximum amount of credit and consumer loans.

All together, I'd have over half a million dollars at my disposal.

This was the seed money for my apocalypse fortress.

As the taxi left the city behind, the scenery outside grew more and more desolate.

Finally, at the end of a bumpy dirt road, the familiar wooden house came into view.

It looked pretty run-down. It was a two-story wooden structure with paint peeling off the walls, exposing the original color of the wood beneath. The place was surrounded by a huge plot of land, wild and overgrown, hundreds of square meters covered in weeds.

In peacetime, this was the kind of forgotten corner developers wouldn't even glance at.

But in the apocalypse, this place would be my kingdom.

I used the key to unlock the rusted lock and pushed open the creaky old door.

A blast of musty air rushed out, and sunlight cut through the grimy windows, lighting up the swirling dust in the room.

I didn't waste time cleaning. I went straight up to the second floor, to the bedroom where my parents used to live.

I remembered vividly that back in my previous life, Samantha had casually mentioned to Charlie that the Frosthaven Protocol was triggered when she accidentally cut her finger and her blood dripped onto the old photo frame by the bed.

I walked over to the nightstand and picked up the dusty photo frame.

Inside was a picture of our family of four. Jennifer and I were just kids back then, smiling with innocent, carefree happiness.

I took a deep breath and fished a small fruit knife out of my bag.

Without a second thought, I gently sliced my index finger.

A bead of bright red blood immediately welled up.

I pressed my finger to the glass of the photo frame, watching as the blood slowly trickled down and soaked into the wooden border.

One second, two seconds, three seconds, nothing happened.

My heart sank. Did I mess up my memory?

Just as doubt started to creep in, a cold, mechanical voice suddenly echoed in my mind, like music to my ears.

[Host bloodline detected... Bloodline verification successful.]

[Frosthaven Protocol activating...]

[Activation progress: 10%... 50%... 100%.]

[System activation successful.]

[Welcome, honored host Jennifer. The Frosthaven Protocol is now at your service, ready to help you build the strongest and coziest shelter in this world of endless winter.]

Suddenly, a pale blue interface appeared before my eyes, visible only to me.

[Host: Jennifer Maddox]

[Shelter Level: Lv.0 (Unnamed)]

[Current Energy: 100/100 (Initial Energy)]

[Shelter Features: Locked]

[Storage Space: 1 cubic meter]

[Starter Pack: x1 (Unopened)]

Finally, it WAS here.

Trying to keep her cool, she mentally ordered, "Open the starter pack."

[Starter pack opened. Congratulations, host, you have received

[1. Shelter Core (Geothermal Energy Converter) x1

[2. Initial Shelter Upgrade Blueprint x1

[3. Versatile Crop Seeds Pack x1

[4. Basic Tool Set x1]

As i stared at the list of rewards on the interface, my heart started pounding.

A geothermal energy converter. This was the most valuable thing in the apocalypse.

In her previous life, the Sanctuary Ark had collapsed because its energy core failed.

In the deadly cold, with temperatures plunging hundreds of degrees below zero, without energy, you had no heat, no light, no hope, nothing at all.

But geothermal energy came straight from deep within the earth, steady and reliable, practically endless, a true lifeline in the apocalypse.

Charlie, that bastard, used this exact thing to turn the wooden house into a fortress when the world ended.

"System, install the shelter core and apply the upgrade blueprint, now!" I said.

[Command received. Installing Geothermal Energy Converter... Installation successful.]

[Upgrading current structure according to Initial Shelter Upgrade Blueprint...]