In 2056, the apocalypse arrived. The world plunged into an extreme cold era. Those without warmth or shelter stood no chance. They met a swift, icy demise. My family, despite having everything we needed, died a horrific death at the hands of my cousin and my boyfriend. I was reborn one year before the apocalypse. That extra time was my secret weapon. I blew all my savings, frantically stocking up on cold-weather gear, learning combat, and fortifying our family’s underground fallout shelter… Everyone thought I’d hit my head and lost my mind. I just smiled at them, saying nothing. This time, I wouldn’t be the one dying. My name is Rowan, and I died a horrific death in the extreme cold, tormented by my own cousin and boyfriend. No one could have predicted my rebirth. When I opened my eyes, my cousin, Tiffany, and my boyfriend, Ryan, were barely dressed. I glanced at the digital clock. I was back one year. I couldn’t believe they were already betraying me at this point. In my previous life, I must have discovered their affair then too. During our scuffle, I fell and hit my head, suffering severe injuries and losing my memory. And those two disgusting traitors actually tricked me into believing I’d fallen on my own. It wasn’t until the apocalypse hit and they teamed up to persecute my family that I saw their true colors. My head throbbed, still dizzy, so I feigned unconsciousness and closed my eyes. “Ryan, babe, is she… dead?” Tiffany cooed, her voice sickly sweet. “Let’s take her to the hospital first. If she wakes up, we’ll say her memory’s messed up. If she doesn’t… even better…” Ryan replied. I sneered mentally. So, they wanted to kill me this early on, huh? They quickly rushed me to the hospital and called my parents. “Where am I? Mom, who are these people?” I pretended not to recognize the scummy pair. “Doctor! What’s wrong with my daughter?” My parents asked, frantic with worry. The doctor explained that I’d suffered a head injury, and memory loss was a normal side effect. Hearing this, Tiffany and Ryan both visibly relaxed. “Don’t worry, Rowan, we’ll get you good treatment and rest, you’ll be fine in a few days!” Mom gently patted my back. “That’s right, little sis!” Tiffany practically gloated that I couldn’t remember. I pretended not to know her. Mom noticed my confusion and said, “Rowan, this is your cousin, Tiffany.” A plan began to form in my mind. “Is that her boyfriend?” I asked, pointing at Ryan. Ryan looked awkward. “Rowan, it’s Ryan! I’m your boyfriend…” I feigned shock: “Really? How could I possibly like you?” “Besides, I remember you two weren’t wearing clothes just now… and those marks on your necks…”
Tiffany and Ryan thought I was an idiot, too careless to even hide the evidence of their hookup. My parents looked at them, their faces darkening. They immediately understood the situation. “Uncle, it’s not like that, please let me explain!” “Yes, Aunt’s husband! Rowan’s not thinking clearly right now!” The guilty pair immediately denied everything, even trying to shift the blame onto me. But Dad, a former police officer, had always said I was a poor judge of character and never liked Ryan. Now, with undeniable evidence, and conveniently without breaking my heart, he glared at them and said, “Hmph! My daughter may have hit her head, but she’s not blind! Now, if you’ll excuse yourselves!” Mom, too, changed her usual gentle tone, her voice cold: “Tiffany, I’ll be having a word with your mother about this later. For now, get out.” The two dared not argue further and fled in dismay. “Mom, Dad, don’t worry, I didn’t actually lose my memory. I was just pretending to fool them!” Once they left, I quickly confessed to my parents. My parents, thinking I’d been wronged, hugged me tightly. Remembering how they died tragically because of me in my last life, I finally broke down and cried. It was peak summer now. In three months, continuous heavy rain would bring a sharp drop in temperature. In six months, heavy snow would begin, and the temperature would plummet. In less than a year, the world would enter an extreme cold era, and two-thirds of the global population would freeze to death. In my last life, our family of three hid in our underground fallout shelter. It was left from wartime, warm in winter and cool in summer, capable of resisting the cold even during the extreme era. Aunt Patricia came with Tiffany seeking refuge. We kindly took them in, unaware we were helping villains. They teamed up with Ryan to harm us. My parents pleaded with them to spare me, but they were driven out of the shelter themselves. In the extreme cold, human blood was considered a prime supplement. They died a gruesome death right before my eyes. Looking at my parents, still alive before me, I suppressed the hatred burning in my heart. “Let’s go home. I miss home.” “Okay, home it is!”
I rested for a week before submitting my resignation. Ryan worked at the same company, but his position was lower than mine. Everyone said it was *his* good fortune to be with *me*. Even after I quit, he had the nerve to text me, trying to make me stay. My colleagues were confused why I’d ‘abandoned’ him and quit. That shameless man even pretended to outsiders that we were still together. He was just after my considerable salary, nothing more. I explained the situation in the company WhatsApp group, screenshotted it, sent it to Tiffany, and then blocked them both. Anyway, when the apocalypse came, with their level of shamelessness, they were bound to come looking for me. When Mom got home, she told Aunt Patricia that Tiffany was a homewrecker. Aunt Patricia and Tiffany were truly mother and daughter; not only did she not think her daughter had a problem, she even mocked me for not being able to keep my boyfriend in line. Mom was so furious she severed all ties with them. My parents initially didn’t understand my decision to quit, but fortunately, I had ample savings, so they let me do as I pleased. I got the keys to the fallout shelter from them and started hoarding supplies. I hired people to replace the doors and windows with bulletproof ones, and I fenced off the surrounding area with an iron fence. The weather gradually turned cold. I spent my days in the fallout shelter, and the neighbors gossiped about me in private. “Hey, that Rowan girl, she used to be so nice. Why’s she suddenly locked herself in that old fallout shelter?” “Forget about it, you wouldn’t know. I heard her boyfriend and her cousin got together! She hit her head and forgot everything!” “She probably went crazy from the shock, didn’t she?” “Don’t bother worrying about me. Just buy more warm clothes! It’s getting colder.” I walked past them, carrying a massive down comforter. In my last life, when Tiffany and Ryan chained me up, these same ladies had secretly brought me food. I hoped they would listen to my words; consider it my repayment. The neighbors exchanged glances. “You know, she’s right. The weather really is getting weirder and weirder!”
“Daughter, your old man can’t beat you anymore!” Dad gasped for breath, leaning against the wall. “Then my money wasn’t wasted!” I’d paid a fortune for combat lessons, and the results were clear! “I’m heading into the bunker. I need to run some electrical wires today.” “What’s a girl like you always doing down in that hole?” Dad grumbled, confused. I checked the time. “You’ll know soon enough!” Today brought an unexpected bonus: I discovered several secret passages in the bunker, each with an entrance just big enough for one person. If opened up, the shelter’s area would expand significantly, revealing a hidden world within. I’d secretly picked up some skills from the workers I hired. Afraid of drawing too much attention, I decided to handle these passages myself. “Rowan, dinner! Look at you, all filthy!” Mom said, handing me a lunchbox with a doting smile. “What are you doing with these useless rocks?” She looked at the stones in my basket, puzzled. “These are treasures! You’ll understand later!” These were special stones; if not actively extinguished, they would burn indefinitely. In the apocalypse, they were called Ever-burning stones, and after the world ended, thousands would frantically snatch them up. In the extreme cold, they’d even be exchanged for food or human lives. And our fallout shelter had plenty of them. In my previous life, those two idiots, Tiffany and Ryan, ran into some escaped murderers. To save their own skins, they revealed the existence of these stones. The men broke into the fallout shelter and found me chained by the door, their laughter evil and arrogant. I fought them for the Ever-burning stones. The leader, a man named Dexter, came up with a cruel idea: he ordered my hand to be shoved outside the door to freeze. You have to understand, it was over eighty degrees below zero outside then. My hand would freeze solid and die within minutes. Tiffany, wanting to impress them, eagerly carried out this ‘punishment.’ That wasn’t enough. To please them, she took a hammer and systematically knocked off my already frozen fingers, one by one. Ryan pried open my eyes, and I watched, helpless, as my fingers separated from my body. After my parents died, I was dead inside. I didn’t cry, didn’t fight. Seeing my lack of reaction, which failed to satisfy their twisted pleasure, they simply threw me out. I glared, my eyes wide, memorizing every single one of them. The natural death of the extreme cold wasn’t painful, but my hatred burned a thousand times hotter.
As the weather turned colder, heavy rains began, and my preparations were nearing completion. I convinced my parents to move into the fallout shelter. Seeing the completely transformed world inside, they were greatly surprised. “Rowan, why is this section so steamy?” Mom asked, pointing to a partitioned room. I explained to Mom that this was a hot spring vent I’d discovered while collecting the Ever-burning stones. It wasn’t finished construction yet. I just hoped the spring water would still be this hot when the extreme cold arrived. The opened secret passages were also partitioned into small rooms, with concealed doors that were usually undetectable. I installed hidden cameras and some small traps at the entrances. I also planned to fence off a plot of land for some small poultry and vegetables, trying to eat fresh ingredients whenever possible. “Down jackets are all sold out now! The weather is so strange, and it’s only [late summer/early fall]!” Dad sighed, sipping his tea. “Right! Good thing Rowan bought them.” When my parents had questioned my actions before, I told them I’d had nightmares for a month straight. I revealed the extreme cold conditions of my previous life to them. They still didn’t fully understand, but they stopped questioning me. *Knock, knock, knock!* Suddenly, someone knocked on the door. I checked the hidden camera feed: it was Aunt Patricia, Tiffany, and Ryan. The rain was so heavy that even with umbrellas, the three were drenched like drowned rats. We went back up to the house through the newly opened staircase and opened the door. “Rowan, dear! Do you have any extra down jackets?” Aunt Patricia’s lips were stiff with cold. Before I could even speak, Mom snapped, “No!” “Liar! We heard that little sis went crazy and bought tons of down jackets!” Tiffany’s tone was as entitled as ever. “Rowan! I really misjudged you! We’re family, what’s wrong with giving us some clothes?” Ryan’s face was contorted with fury. I scoffed, “Sir, even if I *am* family with these two, what exactly are *you* to me?” Tiffany stepped in front of Ryan. “He’s your future brother-in-law!” “I won’t say anything nasty, but I distinctly remember Mom cutting ties with you two.” “And as for this one, hmph, he’s just a used-up piece of trash! He has absolutely nothing to do with us!” Dad sneered, not even bothering to look at them directly. The three’s faces turned crimson. They flew into a rage out of shame and lunged at me. Aunt Patricia took the opportunity to rush inside and rummage through the closet.
“There’s no law anymore!” Dad roared, his eyes blazing. I grabbed Tiffany by the arm. “You really are shameless, always picking up other people’s scraps!”
“Mom, they must be hiding inside! And they set this damned mousetrap!” Tiffany hissed, sucking in air from the pain. I saw they were still wearing the clothes they’d snatched last time—torn and stained with blood. They’d probably been attacked on their way here. Ryan glanced around furtively and actually spotted my camera. He leaned in, his face purplish, eyes bloodshot. “Rowan, I know you’re in there! Let us in! Tiffany’s hurt!” “Why should I let you in?” I asked, a smile playing on my lips. Hearing the playful tone in my voice, the three went wild, frantically banging on the door. But this door could stop bullets. “If you don’t let us in, you’re murderers!” Tiffany shrieked, stomping her feet back and forth. “Rowan, don’t let them in!” My parents hated them deeply. I raised a hand, calming my parents. “You can come in, but on certain conditions!” “Okay, okay, we agree! Anything!” The three nodded frantically, almost kneeling. Before the door was fully open, they burst in. “I’m freezing to death!” My parents secretly gripped their weapons, and I watched them coldly. “Once you’re in, you follow my rules, or I throw you right back out!” “First, food is limited and rationed. Second, you go out every day to find supplies. Third, two people stand guard every night.” “Agreed, we accept!” Tiffany quickly agreed. I scoffed. Tiffany was always the type to bend when necessary. “Break the rules, and I’ll break your hands!” I snatched a stick and shattered a vase. The three, half-frozen to death, didn’t seem to heed my warning, which was exactly what I wanted.
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