From Doormat to Doomsday Billionaire!

Chapter 36: The lights go out

After Jenna left, Rhys felt loose and calm, all the way down to his bones.

A man couldn’t suppress his desires forever.

He felt no guilt. It had been a voluntary exchange. He hadn’t forced her. The rules of civilized society no longer applied, and he had suffered enough from obeying them in his previous life.

“I’ve paid my dues to decency.”

When he climbed the stairs, Duke was waiting. The dog circled him once, sniffed his coat, sniffed again, and tilted his head, as though wondering why his master smelled like someone else.

Rhys laughed.

“I forgot how good your nose is.” He knelt and ruffled the dog’s ears. “Listen, buddy. You’re in charge of guarding the house from now on. If you hear anything strange or smell someone who doesn’t belong, you warn me. Understand?”

He had no idea whether the dog understood.

Duke barked twice, short and sharp, as if agreeing.

“Good dog.”

Rhys checked his phone.

Nancy and Yvonne had both messaged. The extreme weather had lasted two days without easing, and they were worried. But one lived in a fortified shelter and the other had received crates of supplies from Rhys. Both could last two or three months at least.

His other group chats had come alive, too. People trapped in their offices were begging for rescue in work groups. Long-dormant chats from elementary school, middle school, high school, and university lit up again. Everyone was panicking, sending pleas for help through every possible channel.

Rhys couldn’t help them.

Stepping outside meant dying in minutes.

He put the phone down.

The night passed, and the apocalypse entered its fourth day.

The day that would bring the deepest despair.

The power will fail today.

It was more than ten degrees below zero outside. How could anyone survive without electric heating? Those who had prepared in advance might have built a wood stove or heated bed. But the disaster had struck without warning. For ordinary city residents, the situation was hopeless.

From today onward, civilization, order, and morality would begin to collapse completely. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that today was the true beginning of the apocalypse.

He remembered the blackout coming around noon in his last life. Would it be different now?

Probably not.

And even if it didn’t happen today, it would tomorrow, or the next day. Power plants couldn’t run forever without maintenance. It was only a matter of time.

He played with Duke, who raced from room to room, bounding off furniture. The energetic dog never broke a thing, which made Rhys like him all the more.

He looked out the window.

Nothing but dark fog.

The weather would stay like this for at least another ten days. He didn’t know when the sun would appear again. Suddenly, he missed it terribly.

Noon arrived.

Rhys was eating lunch, and Duke was enjoying his own bowl at his feet.

The lights flickered.

Every electrical appliance cut out for half a second, a collective gasp from the house.

Then the light came back, dim and weak, and died.

There it is.

He switched to his backup supply: batteries. There was a generator too, but it needed diesel, and although he’d stored fuel, he didn’t have enough to run it night and day. Instead, he had prepared more than a thousand fully charged batteries, enough to last a very long time.

His phone exploded with messages.

The electricity was out, but many cell towers had backup power and could keep running for a day or two longer.

But what good was a working phone? Air conditioners and electric blankets were useless. People could freeze in their own beds.

The group chat filled with complaints and despair.

The outage is the last straw. Three full days have passed. If help were coming, it would be here. And now no electricity. Soon even the signal will vanish. Who will we ask then?

Rhys shook his head.

Desperation would make people increasingly violent. For truly evil people, the disaster would release the worst of their nature. Without communications, society was returning to prehistoric times. Who would find out about their crimes, much less punish them?

For ordinary people, the apocalypse is hell.

For criminals, it’s paradise.

At that moment, in the underground parking garage, four figures crept along the wall.

They tried not to make a sound. But their footsteps rang through the empty concrete, and they kept glaring at one another, each blaming the others for being too loud.

Lexi. Michael. Britt. Henry.

At last they reached the mansion’s rear entrance. A narrow passage led to the basement, but a heavy door blocked the entrance to the private area.

Lexi pointed Michael and Henry toward the wall. They crouched in the shadows.

“As soon as the door opens, you rush in and overpower him.” Lexi whispered to them.

Then she smoothed her hair, put her stiff face in order, and lifted her hand.

She knocked.