After the two women left, Yi Bai sank back into a long period of inactivity.
To be honest, he suddenly felt that the massive rewards brought by his talent were merely a brief episode in his otherwise long and boring life.
"So what if we have more resources? So what if we have more capable people?"
"I'm still doing nothing."
Yi Bai lay back on the lounge chair, squinting his eyes, gently swaying his body, and humming an unfamiliar tune absentmindedly.
Ah, this feels so good.
"If wasting time is a sin, then I'm probably the most sinful person on Earth by now..."
Lost in his mumblings, he drifted off to sleep again.
When he opened his eyes once more, the sky had already darkened.
Downstairs, the women's chatter filled the air, mixed with occasional laughter.
Yi Bai went downstairs to take a look and found that Jiang Xiaoci was leading the women through the first phase of a building-wide cleaning. At the moment, they were gathered together, chatting and enjoying a brief moment of warmth.
According to Jiang Xiaoci's plan, she had arranged accommodations for the women according to the original layout of the building. The cleaning and renovation work was divided into smaller tasks for each group. Starting tonight, at least three women would take shifts standing guard at night.
They didn't have to do much—just ensure the building's security and keep an eye on the surroundings from the top floor to check for any approaching threats. If anything suspicious was spotted, they would immediately notify Lin Yue. As long as Lin Yue could react quickly to intruders, there wouldn't be much of a problem.
Under Jiang Xiaoci's arrangement, the whole building was now running smoothly.
Yi Bai didn't disturb the women's cheerful time and quietly went upstairs again. He took out the chess set that Jiang Xiaoci had prepared for him and started playing a solo game.
"A leader has to act like one. It's not good to just read comic books all the time. Playing chess should help cultivate some refinement."
Yi Bai rubbed his chin and sighed.
The problem was, he had read all the comic books, many of them multiple times. He really didn't have much to do to pass the time.
Without electricity, many usual forms of entertainment were unavailable.
"This is getting really boring."
"I need to find a way to save up more survival points and get Li Ya to finish the power system project as soon as possible."
Yi Bai muttered to himself, "Then I'll get myself a high-end computer and download seven hundred single-player games. I can play through the night without sleep!"
"After I get tired, I'll just cuddle with Xiaoci. When I wake up, I'll eat, then keep playing."
"Ah! This life would be so sweet!"
Yi Bai couldn't help but sigh. If his parents were around, they'd probably scold him for being lazy. But Yi Bai felt that with the apocalypse happening, what was the point of still caring about what's considered "proper"?
As long as he could stay alive and keep making his shelter safer, nothing else mattered. If life was going to be miserable, what was the point?
Yi Bai didn't have any grand ambitions, nor did he feel the need to save all of humanity. He just wanted to live well, make the shelter secure, and live through the end of the world in peace.
Just as Yi Bai was imagining his future life in comfort, the mysterious voice that hadn't been heard in a while suddenly echoed in his ears.
[Warning! All Apocalypse game players, please pay attention!]
[The important rules of the Apocalypse game will now be announced!]
"Huh?"
Yi Bai froze, his expression turning serious. His heart skipped a beat.
This mysterious voice had first appeared on the first day of the apocalypse, but after a few days, it had gone silent. Since then, all they had received were game-like prompts guiding the survivors on how to use their shelters. But now, the voice was back, signaling that something big was about to happen.
At the same time, people all over the world put down what they were doing, silently waiting in tension for the mysterious voice.
After a brief pause, the voice spoke again, clearer than ever.
[Now, an international announcement begins!]
[The Apocalypse game is about to enter its one-week mark!]
[The "War Apocalypse Module" is now open: The Trial of the Tribes!]
[At the beginning of the apocalypse, all military and politically affiliated human groups were temporarily frozen and stored, no longer existing in the Earth world.]
[The Apocalypse War instance world has been set up and will soon deploy national military personnel into the respective instance worlds!]
Yi Bai held his breath, listening intently, his brow furrowing as he tried to make sense of the meaning.
"War Apocalypse instance?"
"I was wondering why we haven't seen any soldiers, police, or officials. So they were all put away."
"So… it's their turn now? But from the sound of it, they can't return to Earth just yet?"
Yi Bai muttered, his mind racing. Before he could draw any more conclusions, the mysterious voice rang out again.
[Now, an announcement for the the region!]
[In one hour, the national Apocalypse online vote will begin!]
[Vote content: Decide the difficulty level of the War instance that the national military personnel will face! The higher the difficulty, the greater the rewards for those participating in the vote after winning the war!]
[After the vote, random survival resources will be awarded based on the difficulty chosen!]
[There will only be one active Apocalypse War per month!]
[If the country fails in the war, one-tenth of the population will be randomly erased! And they will receive a massive enhancement reward for the next war!]
[If no erasure happens after a war failure, the country will suffer a significant weakening penalty for the next war!]
[Before the war, human soldiers in the instance world can send a limited amount of messages (within 10 words) to guide the national vote.]
[Both sides must understand:]
[1. Life is once only. Please think carefully before selecting the difficulty level of the war instance.]
[2. The war instance's outcome will greatly affect the survival difficulty of humans in the real world. If the war goes badly, local apocalyptic disasters will occur.]
[3. The war instance world and the Earth's world are not connected. If all military humans in the war instance world perish, they will only lose eligibility to participate in the next war instance, and not affect Earth's survivors.]
[4. During the war, Earth's survivors can watch the situation unfold in their country's war, or use survival points to watch the entire war process.]
[5. Military humans in the Apocalypse War instance will be able to observe the Earth's survivors' population and survival status. After winning a small-scale battle, they may choose to "Claim" or "Give".]
[Claim]: Win the battle and forcibly claim resources, items, and survivors from the national population. (One extra operation before the first battle.)
[Give]: Win the battle and forcibly give resources, items, and survivors to the national population. (One extra operation before the first battle.)
[One hour of buffer time begins now, please prepare for the vote.]
[The choice is simple: Let yourself survive, or let them survive.]
[We look forward to your choice.]
With the final words of the mysterious voice fading, Yi Bai stood frozen, unable to speak for a long time.
He understood now.
The Apocalypse game was nothing more than a cruel game with human lives!
Survivors who had made it this far may have thought the first round of the apocalypse—extreme heat, chaos, violence, and scarcity of resources—was nothing much, as long as they could adapt to the heat and make use of shelter perks.
But tonight's announcement had made humanity realize the true brutality of the Apocalypse game.
All military-related humans were sent to another war instance, where they would fulfill their duty as soldiers: to experience the Apocalypse War. Non-military survivors, on the other hand, continued to endure the cycle of apocalyptic disasters on Earth.
The soldiers in the war instance would be forced into real-life combat, while the survivors back home could vote on the level of difficulty their soldiers would face in the war. Want an easy life? Vote to make the war harder for them! Want your soldiers to survive? Make them sacrifice their resources and people!
And the worst part was that both sides' fates were interconnected. The survival of one depended on the suffering and choices of the other.
"The truth behind the Apocalypse game..." Yi Bai muttered, his palms trembling. "None of us can fully control our destiny. We can't get too complacent just because we have good talents. We're all impacting each other."
"Human hearts are inscrutable... This isn't just an external trial for humanity; it's a test of every individual's inner resolve!"
In that moment, Yi Bai truly understood.
This entire week had only been the game's soft opening. What came next would be the real apocalypse—the one where survival would be shaped by the choices humans made in the face of life and death.
Betrayal or sacrifice—each person would decide for themselves.