BEFORE THE WORLD FROZE, I BUILT MY OWN KINGDOM

Chapter 6: Scouting Trip

(Author's note: The next few chapters are a bit of filler. Feel free to skip them if you don't mind.)

At eight in the evening, Ethan returned to his rented room after dinner.

He looked at the $770,000 in his account and couldn't help smiling.

The loan had finally been approved that afternoon.

The total was one million dollars, but he had received only $700,000. And he was expected to repay about $400,000 a month for three months. It was pure loan-shark robbery.

But Ethan wasn't worried. From the moment he borrowed it, he had never planned to pay it back. When the repayment date came, he had plenty of ways to deal with it.

Of course, the loan had come at a cost.

The Mercedes G-Class he had just rented had been seized by Silverline Financial.

It left him both pleased and a little sour. He had rented that car for one purpose, to impress the lenders, and now it had become a casualty of the loan.

But it was only a rental, so it wasn't really his problem. All he would lose was a $30,000 deposit and a few thousand in rent.

Still, he couldn't let the matter come to light too soon. So Ethan transferred another $80,000 to the rental company to extend the lease for another month.

His account balance dropped to $720,000.

He looked at the number and shook his head with a bitter smile.

He had no idea that his debts had already reached a level that would crush an ordinary person. If this life didn't follow the path of his last one, he might face more than just a prison cell. People who lent money at such savage rates were wicked and ruthless, and capable of anything.

Then he sensed the extradimensional space inside his body, shook his head, and let it all go.

With a power from another world, he was destined to be extraordinary. Why should he fear a few loan sharks?

He went back to experimenting with his extradimensional space. He didn't stop until one in the morning, when he finally lay down and fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, sunlight slipped through the curtains and fell across his face.

He rubbed his sleepy eyes, got up, and washed.

He found another rental company nearby and rented an affordable, locally built SUV.

Today, he planned to inspect possible sites for his bunker, preparing for the extreme cold apocalypse to come.

Choosing the location was crucial. The bunker had to withstand the brutal cold outside, and it also had to be hidden well enough that no one would find it.

Ethan knew that the right location was the first step to success.

Energy mattered too. In freezing temperatures, its importance was obvious. If the energy problem could be solved, both survival and comfort would improve enormously.

So he put the area around a thermal power plant at the top of his list.

His city, Ravenmoor, was a small city in the western part of the Republic of Valoria. It was rich in water, and hydropower was the most common source of electricity.

But in a frozen apocalypse, hydropower would never work.

After searching the map for a long time, he found a coal-fired plant called the Riverglen Power Plant, about forty kilometers from where he lived.

An hour's drive brought him to its gates.

He circled the plant several times and talked with a few local residents. From them, he learned that the plant was quite large, with a generous energy supply and probably an enormous reserve of coal. For one man, it would last several lifetimes.

But it was also close to the city of Riverglen. The moment the extreme cold came, it would probably become a prize everyone fought over.

Ethan stood at the edge of the plant, looking out over the open land.

Just as he'd feared, the open terrain and the nearness of the city made it a poor choice for a hidden, secure bunker.

If he wanted to make this place his base, he would need to recruit a lot of people. But human nature was the most complicated thing in the world.

Ethan knew that when the end came, greed and fear would swell without limit. If he recruited carelessly, those same people would probably be the first to turn on him.

So he rejected the idea at once.

Of course, he could never survive, let alone thrive, in the apocalypse by himself. Only those who had lived through it knew how much a group mattered. He would certainly need to gather people, and maybe even found a survival base.

But not now.

People only revealed their true nature when pushed to the edge. Only those who had tasted despair would feel real gratitude toward the ones who saved them.

He would delay recruiting. He wouldn't even consider it until at least six months after the apocalypse began.

After weighing everything, he gave up on building his shelter near the Riverglen Power Plant.

There were still twenty months left. He had plenty of time. No need to fixate on one place.

"Hey, kid! What are you doing, sneaking around here?"

Just as Ethan was about to leave, a middle-aged man blocked his way and demanded an answer without a trace of politeness.

Ethan was startled, but he quickly steadied himself and turned to face him.

"I'm just passing through." He kept his voice calm and harmless.

The man looked him up and down, his eyes full of suspicion.

"Passing through? Hardly anyone comes out here. Don't get any funny ideas."

Ethan realized the man might think he had ill intentions toward the plant. This was no time to cause trouble. The apocalypse was still far off, and he couldn't afford to draw attention now.

"I just got lost nearby. I'll be on my way," he said, trying his best to look innocent as he slowly stepped back.

But the man wasn't about to let him go so easily. He stepped closer, his tone even harsher.

"You think I'm going to buy that? I've been watching you for a while. This is Riverglen Power Plant property. Try anything underhanded and I guarantee you'll regret it."

Ethan gave a wry smile. Power plants were vital national infrastructure, and his behavior had been a little odd. If he didn't give a convincing explanation, he might not be able to walk away today.

"All right, honestly, I'm a businessman looking to enter the power industry. I came here today to do some market research."

He put on a helpless look and let a little information slip out.

The man scoffed. "You? Entering the power industry? Kid, save that story for the police station."

He seized Ethan's hand and prepared to drag him there.