When they arrived at the conference hall, they found that more than half the seats were already occupied. The group casually found four empty spots and sat down.
Half an hour later, almost everyone had gathered in the hall. Wang Zhi took a sweep with his eyes; including the members of the Guard Team, there were roughly several thousand people present in this massive assembly.
Fully armed guards stood motionless in every corner of the venue, each holding a rifle.
Ahead of them was a massive platform where more than ten people stood; among them, Wang Zhi recognized one person—Jie Xi, the Captain of the Guard Unit.
"Is this formation for going to war?" Fatty leaned over and asked.
"What did you say? Speak up!"
Wang Zhi watched Fatty's mouth move, but he couldn't hear a thing he was saying. It was impossible; in a hall of thousands, everyone was loudly discussing and exchanging words, and the noise drowned out Fatty's voice.
"Quiet!"
Just as Fatty was about to speak louder, Jie Xi's voice came through the loudspeakers in the hall.
At that moment, Jie Xi on the stage approached the front with a microphone.
Upon seeing the main official step forward, the entire hall instantly fell silent.
"I am Jie Xi, General Captain of the Guard Department. Next, I will introduce the general leaders of each department within the Dawn Tower."
"This is Sophie, Head of the Medical Office."
"This is Adam, Commander of the Command Unit."
"This is Zhao Yan, Commander of the Logistics Unit."
"This is Yang Lifan, Head of the Research Office."
"This is Li Wan, Commander of the Resource Unit."
"This is Wang Yaoxing, District Head of the Industrial Zone."
"This is Cao Mei, District Head of the Ecological Zone."
"This is Aelirans, Head of the Biological Research Lab."
"This is Fan Qi, Minister of Finance."
"If you encounter related issues in the future, you can contact them at any time."
"Now, you must all be very curious: why are you locked up here? Why aren't you allowed to leave?"
"I know that some of you came here because you believed the Apocalypse would arrive, and others came out of curiosity. But now, regardless of your original intentions, it no longer matters! The video footage below will give you the answers!"
As Jie Xi finished speaking, the large screen behind her suddenly lit up!
On the screen, the crowds in the streets were extremely chaotic! Vehicles on the roads were crashed into haphazard piles, blocking all passage. Smoke rose everywhere; the entire city looked as if it had suffered some massive disaster. Moreover, some people in the streets were attacking others as if driven mad, tearing and biting them to death.
Immediately afterward, the massive screen divided the view into multiple small shots, and every one of these small shots was replaying the scene from the first shot!
In an instant, they saw scenes from countless cities—footage they had never encountered before, not in online media, games, or movies. This was real electronic surveillance footage!
The footage continued for a moment. Just then, in one of the shots, an indistinct, blurry object flew down from the sky. The picture zoomed in: it was a missile! The moment the missile was clearly seen, the shot lost its picture.
"This must be a trick, right?"
"Yeah, this video was clearly edited in post-production."
"I think it looks real."
"How can you be so naive? If this were real, wouldn't we all be finished?"
Even at this point, some people still did not believe everything that was happening.
"Survivors! I am your Tower Master, Guang."
The image on the screen suddenly blurred, then displayed a figure wearing a platinum mask and a red robe, possessing the same golden hair as Jie Xi.
At this moment, the Tower Master was seated before a desk, hands naturally crossed, her eyes beneath the mask gazing at everyone in the hall.
"First, I can responsibly inform you that the content of the previous video is real and has already occurred."
"I must congratulate you; you are the lucky ones. Since everyone is willing to trust us, the Dawn Tower is fulfilling its promise: if darkness descends, the Dawn Tower will provide you with a light, a sliver of hope for everyone present!"
"I hope you will cherish this opportunity. The Dawn Tower does not permit bystanders; every single one of you must have a purpose. You can fight for the Dawn Tower, or you can farm for the Dawn Tower."
"Finally, let us together welcome a new Dawn in this endless darkness! Good luck to you all!"
After the Tower Master finished speaking, the large screen on the stage immediately shut off.
This was the first time Wang Zhi had seen the Tower Master. Even through the mask, it could not conceal that imposing and authoritative demeanor.
However, was this Tower Master truly righteous? Why did she know about the global Cataclysm in advance? If she knew beforehand, why didn't she stop it, but instead built a large Base underground to hide? Was it because she was powerless to stop it, or was it intentional? What kind of being truly was this Tower Master? A host of questions echoed in Wang Zhi's mind.
"Everyone! The Apocalypse has arrived. Dawn Tower will issue a new set of directives requiring all of you to complete missions outside."
"Furthermore, within one month, every team must undertake one external mission. Any individual or team unwilling to accept these assignments may report to the Sector Chief of the Eco-Industrial Zone to sign on as permanent laborers, while the brave warriors who dare venture outside will receive substantial rewards and their personal freedom!"
This announcement was delivered by the Command Minister, Adam.
An uproar went through the crowd. Go outside? What was the situation out there? They had seen it for themselves—outside was currently hell on earth. Wasn't going outside simply courting death?
In Wang Zhi's view, signing the permanent labor agreement in the Eco-Industrial Zone meant signing away his life; without some miracle, he would likely spend the rest of his miserable existence huddled underground.
But if he went outside, he would gain personal freedom and substantial rewards?
The prerequisite, however, was absolute risk—the possibility of death loomed at every moment!
Selling his freedom was out of the question. Rather than being locked up here as forced labor, he might as well go out and live freely for once!
"I hope everyone considers this carefully. When leaving, please maintain order and avoid crowding." After Command Minister Adam finished speaking, those on the platform exited the hall first.
"Let's head back as well," Wang Zhi said in a low voice, rising to leave.
Along the way, the four remained silent, each pondering the events that had just transpired in the conference hall. Even Ying displayed a rare look of solemnity, having shed her usual flippancy.
Upon returning to the dormitory, Wang Zhi's first action was to check the team's remaining Survival Points. After eight days of training, Wang Zhi's team now possessed 800 Survival Points.
"I have an idea. Our remaining food is currently enough to last us about seven days, and we need to accept an exterior mission before the food runs out," Wang Zhi explained his thoughts to the other three.
"What? So soon? We can delay it for another month at the latest, why do we need to go out right now?" Fatty interjected urgently.
"Because we need Survival Points to replenish our gear. Once our food runs out, the Survival Points earned daily through training won't be enough to cover our meals. If we assume we earn 40 Survival Points daily, a single meal costs at least 25 Survival Points, and the water needed for training costs a minimum of 5 Survival Points. If we delay going out by one day, we will lose 50 Survival Points that could have been used for equipment replenishment. Old He, Ying, what do you two think?" Wang Zhi analyzed the situation before asking the pair.
"I have no issue."
Old He replied simply. At that moment, Old He was preoccupied with other matters, perhaps thinking of his family, comrades, or even the nation outside.
"I'm fine with it too; I've long wanted to get some fresh air outside."
At this point, Ying had reverted to her previous frivolous and casual demeanor. Seeing Ying's powerful ability to adjust her mentality, Wang Zhi couldn't help but admire her.
As for Fatty, he kept clamoring about signing up for permanent labor contracts until Wang Zhi silently flipped the safety off his gun, only then did Fatty quiet down.
"I plan for us to attempt taking on missions after 4 days. We'll pack 3 days' worth of food, and within those 4 days, we can earn around 200 Survival Points. Before then, if we accumulate 1000 Survival Points, we can be promoted to a Level 2 team."
After Wang Zhi finished speaking and saw that no one objected, he continued on to the training hall to pass the time.