"You wouldn't want to lose this job because of my complaint, would you?"
Inside the luxurious presidential suite, a noble and breathtakingly beautiful woman sat on the edge of a king-sized bed. She wore a tight red lace miniskirt that clung to her curves and a pair of glossy black silk stockings that accentuated her long legs. Her lips curved into a faint, confident smile as she looked at the young waiter standing before her, as though everything in the room belonged to her—including him.
Kelvin stood frozen.
His heart pounded wildly, but not because of her beauty.
Didn't I die… in the frozen apocalypse?
Stabbed to death by that bastard Matt…
He staggered backward and glanced toward the window. Outside, the sun shone brightly, casting golden light across the city. People moved about the streets in peace. Cars honked. Everything was alive.
There was no ice.
No snowstorms.
No corpses frozen into the ground.
"How… is this possible?" he whispered.
With trembling fingers, Kelvin pulled out his phone and checked the date.
The moment he saw it, his pupils shrank.
He had been reborn.
He had returned to two months before the apocalypse.
In exactly sixty days, the temperature would plunge to minus sixty degrees. Snow would fall endlessly, oceans would freeze, and society would collapse overnight. Food would become more valuable than gold. Neighbors would kill neighbors for a single can of beans.
In his previous life, Kelvin had struggled desperately to survive. He joined a scavenging team organized by resident of his apartment complex, venturing into the frozen ruins to search for supplies.
That was where he met Matt—the arrogant, cruel son of a wealthy family. Even after civilization collapsed, Matt acted like a tyrant, ordering others around and hoarding resources.
One day, after they discovered a hidden warehouse full of food, Matt murdered Kelvin and two others to keep the supplies for himself.
Kelvin still remembered the cold blade piercing his chest and the mocking smile on Matt's face as darkness swallowed him.
But now…
He was alive again.
This time, he would not die like a dog.
Before revenge, however, he needed power and resources. Without a secure shelter and enough supplies, even the strongest man would freeze to death.
And resources required one thing Money.
His gaze slowly returned to the woman sitting before him.
Her name was Nik Stephanie, one of the wealthiest women in the city.
In his previous life, Kelvin had once saved her from being harassed by thugs outside a bar. Since then, she had been obsessed with him, constantly trying to keep him by her side as a kept man.
At that time, Kelvin had refused her again and again, believing he should rely on his own efforts rather than live off a woman's wealth.
Thinking back on it now, he wanted to slap his past self.
Stephanie was a stunning mature beauty. Her skin was smooth and fair, her delicate features framed by glossy black hair tied elegantly behind her head. Her eyes—slightly upturned at the corners—were filled with a teasing, seductive warmth.
Her figure was even more captivating. She was voluptuous yet graceful, with a full chest, slender waist, and wide hips that curved beautifully into long legs wrapped in silk stockings.
She crossed one leg over the other and tapped her heel lightly against the floor.
"Little man," she said in a lazy yet dangerous tone, "I've been calling you here for half an hour, and you've been staring at me like a statue. Have you lost your courage?"
Kelvin snapped out of his thoughts.
In his previous life, he would have turned around and left in embarrassment. But this time, he stepped forward instead, a smile slowly spreading across his face.
"Mrs Stephanie," he said softly, "you're so beautiful today that I forgot how to speak."
Stephanie blinked in surprise. Then her lips curved into a delighted smile.
"Oh? So you finally know how to talk sweetly?"
She leaned back onto the bed and extended one leg toward him, the silk stocking catching the light.
"Come here," she ordered. "Take off my stockings."
Kelvin walked forward and knelt in front of her. His hands hesitated for only a second before sliding along her ankle.
In his heart, he felt no shame—only excitement.
In my last life, I rejected this golden opportunity and ended up freezing to death like a fool.
This time, I'll make full use of every advantage.
When Kelvin finally left the hotel suite an hour later, the sky outside was beginning to turn orange with sunset.
Stephanie lay on the bed behind him, her cheeks flushed, a satisfied smile on her face.
Before he left, she had pressed a sleek black bank card into his hand.
"Quit your job," she had said lazily. "I'll take care of you from now on."
Kelvin checked the balance later and nearly burst out laughing.
Five hundred million.
With this money, he could begin his preparations immediately.
As he walked down the sidewalk, lost in thoughts of stockpiling food, building a reinforced shelter, and secretly preparing for the apocalypse, he suddenly stumbled.
His foot had struck a small stone.
"Damn it," he muttered.
But before he could kick it aside, a bolt of lightning burst from his body with a deafening crack.
The stone split cleanly into two halves.
Kelvin froze.
"…What?"
He stared at his hands, then at the shattered stone. His heartbeat accelerated as a realization struck him.
"Did I… awaken a power?"
He closed his eyes and concentrated. Immediately, he sensed something strange inside his body a towering structure shaped like a square pagoda, crackling with faint electric energy.
Inside it was a massive, empty space—so vast that it felt endless.
With a thought, Kelvin stretched out his hand toward a nearby trash can.
A translucent gate, roughly four meters tall and five meters wide, appeared in the air. The trash can vanished instantly, stored within the pagoda space.
He tried again with a bench. It disappeared just as easily.
Kelvin's hands began to tremble.
"This… this is a dimensional storage space…"
Not only that—he could also release lightning from his body, and his physical strength had increased dramatically. When he punched a tree trunk experimentally, his fist left a deep imprint in the bark.
He burst into laughter, drawing strange looks from passersby.
"Matt" he whispered, his eyes gleaming with madness, "let's see how you kill me this time."
After calming himself, Kelvin began planning again.
Five hundred million was a lot of money, but for surviving a decade-long ice apocalypse, it was far from enough.
Fortunately, his rebirth gave him another advantage—knowledge of future events.
On this very day in his previous life, a famous calligraphy master had discovered an authentic ancient scroll at a small antique street nearby. The scroll was later auctioned for two hundred and thirty million.
If Kelvin obtained it first, he could nearly double his funds overnight.
Without hesitation, he hailed a taxi and gave the driver the address of the antique street.
The street was narrow and crowded, lined with small stalls selling jade carvings, old coins, and dusty scrolls.
After searching for nearly twenty minutes, Kelvin finally spotted the stall he remembered.
The owner was an old man with greasy hair and yellowed teeth, leering openly at passing women.
Just as disgusting as I remember, Kelvin thought.
He approached casually and pointed at several scrolls lying on the table.
"How much for these?"
The old man brightened instantly. "Ah, young man, you have a good eye! These are all authentic works by ancient masters. Only one hundred thousand each."
Kelvin snorted.
"Authentic works… sold on the street for one hundred thousand? Do you take me for an idiot?"