Starting with a Cellar Safe House

The Global Apocalypse Emergency Plan is a protocol activated during catastrophic events threatening the entire world. The United Nations will set aside national boundaries to form the Apocalypse Alliance, with all directives issued by the Alliance taking precedence.

Nearly ten hours had passed since the Hurricane Disaster struck, and the formation of the Alliance confirmed it was indeed a global catastrophe. But binding a Safe House and offering it for research in exchange for extra compensation? Su Xiao had never considered it. Once a Safe House is bound, it only becomes available if the survivor dies. Handing it over would mean giving up her chance of survival. She wasn’t about to become a guinea pig.

Just as she finished her thought, someone tagged her in the company group chat. It was Yang Haiyi.

Yang Haiyi: “@Su Xiao, you have a Safe House, right? I saw it. Now the Alliance is asking for Safe Houses to be donated for research. You wouldn’t be so selfish, would you?”

Su Xiao: …

How is this guy still alive with all that chatter?

Wen Ming: “Everyone’s safe now. Manager Wang just said we don’t need to work for a while, consider it a vacation.”

Su Xiao found it absurd. This company really had its share of characters. In this situation, was it really up to the company to decide whether to work or not? The office building was probably already in ruins!

Yang Haiyi: “@Wen Ming, Brother Wen has a Safe House. Shouldn’t it be handed over to the Alliance?”

Wen Ming: “The Safe House was bound by Manager Wang. It’s up to him to decide.”

Don’t ask why. As soon as he opened the door to greet Manager Wang, the binding time refreshed. Then, instinctively, he let Manager Wang go in first, so Manager Wang ended up binding it. As for Manager Wang, he had no idea where he was. After the disaster ended, as soon as he came out, both Manager Wang and the Safe House vanished.

Su Xiao chuckled at the situation. But as she continued reading, she noticed something amiss. Aside from that one notification, these people seemed oblivious to other crucial information. They didn’t know how long the disaster would last, what constituted absolute safety, or that another disaster might occur in two hours.

Most importantly, based on the chat history, they seemed unaware of the expiration of natural resources and were still messaging each other about finding food. This meant that only survivors who had bound a Safe House could see the expiration times.

This realization gave Su Xiao an uneasy feeling. She stopped looking at her phone and maneuvered the cellar to several locations. However, it was clear that survivors with Safe Houses were already aware of the need to find treasure chests. After nearly two hours, she only found one red treasure chest, one blue treasure chest, and two white treasure chests. But Su Xiao felt that she had found more than most survivors. After all, her cellar didn’t require fuel for movement, only oxygen replenishment.

With just ten minutes to go until 8 PM, the sky suddenly darkened. Expecting Xiao Mo to issue a notification, Su Xiao hid in the cellar to review her day’s haul. It turned out that treasure chests could be stored in the warehouse capacity, and as long as Su Xiao didn’t open them, they could be stacked by color.

So now, the white treasure chests in Su Xiao’s warehouse weren’t urgent to open, as they contained food. The blue treasure chest contained items, but she wasn’t in a rush to open it. The red treasure chest held weapons, which she already had, so it could wait. Her priority was finding a way to obtain iron blocks and planks.

After some thought, Su Xiao casually opened a piece of bread and took a bite while accessing the survivor communication center. As soon as she opened it, several messages popped up, one from Master Roshi and another from a player looking to exchange oxygen tanks.

Master Roshi: “Alright, let me tell you something. I have a red treasure chest Easter egg. The weapons I get from red treasure chests are always doubled. If you’re willing, you can give me the red treasure chests you find, but I need you to help me synthesize level 2 weapons after you make a Weapon Stand.”

Su Xiao’s eyes lit up. A red treasure chest Easter egg. This person had some luck on their side! Of course, Su Xiao didn’t think it was a lie. Because with double rewards, she could simply ask the other party to advance an equivalent amount of items to her, and after they opened the chest, they could give her the remaining items, ensuring nothing went wrong. With such an Easter egg, many people would be willing to cooperate with Master Roshi.

After some thought, Su Xiao replied: “Sure, I have a white treasure chest Easter egg. If you see any white treasure chests, you can give them to me, and I’ll open them for you. But without special exchange conditions, I might need to take a certain amount of apocalypse resources as a handling fee, though you can also opt out. Also, I haven’t made a Weapon Stand yet because I haven’t found a way to obtain iron blocks and planks. If you help me synthesize the Weapon Stand, I’d consider a long-term collaboration.”

After replying to Master Roshi, she checked the other message.

Owner 2934734: “Okay, I agree, just 3 days.”

Owner 2934734: “Adults can wait, but children can’t. My child is sick and needs to eat something. If you’re around, please help.”

The last message was from an hour ago. Su Xiao thought for a moment and replied: “Okay.”

The next second, the other party sent a message: “Thank you, I’m really out of options. The Safe House needs power for movement, but I don’t have the resources for it. The Safe House is stuck in an isolated area, and there’s no one to trade with in the communication center. My child is sick with a fever and can’t be left alone, so I can’t go out to find resources.”

Although she wasn’t sure if the person was telling the truth, the mention of a child made Su Xiao’s heart soften. She sent over six bottles of milk, six bottles of mineral water, cake, chocolate pies, and enough food for about a week in exchange for an oxygen tank.

[Oxygen Tank]

[Description: Contains 1 unit of oxygen, which can increase the oxygen duration by 1 hour in certain Safe Houses. (Note: This oxygen duration will be consumed only after the basic oxygen duration is exhausted, and if the survivor does not leave the Safe House for oxygen replenishment. If the survivor leaves the Safe House for oxygen replenishment during this time, the oxygen duration consumption will stop, and the basic oxygen duration will be consumed first.)]

So that’s how it works. No need to keep it around. Su Xiao immediately used it. The information for the cellar Safe House changed.

[Level 1 Safe House (Owner: Su Xiao)]

[Space: 8/10 (Apocalypse resources: mineral water6, cola4, white peach soda2, milk2, strawberry cake4, potato chips4, Swiss rolls2, chocolate bars4)]

[Warehouse: 4/10 (red treasure chest2, blue treasure chest1, white treasure chest2, Level 1 Fire Axe)]

[Oxygen Duration: 23h55min21s (Oxygen Duration: 1h)]

[Indoor Temperature: 23 degrees]

The fire axe was stored in the warehouse for easy access. And even if the food’s seven-day expiration passed, it seemed she could still last a few days. There was some sense of security, but not much. Just as she was about to check other survivors’ information in the communication center channel, 8 PM arrived, and a new notification appeared.