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Chi Bai walked back, his fingers absently stroking his chin.

As he stepped through the doorway, a thought struck him, and he glanced up, noticing that the person who had been made an example of (TL Note: A Chinese idiom, ‘shā jī jǐng hóu,’ literally meaning ‘to kill the chicken to warn the monkey,’ referring to punishing an individual as a warning to others.) had already been taken down.

‘Given that their brain was already of little use, hanging them for much longer might have caused it to swell and explode, rendering it completely useless.’

When Chi Bai returned, the others were engrossed in their panels, browsing the public chat.

He settled back into his seat and opened his own panel, curious to see if there were any new messages.

Upon entering, he immediately noticed the red notification dot by the private messages.

Clicking it, he found it was still the district group, where Lei Yi had just posted another announcement.

[To conserve electricity, power will be cut and lights extinguished daily at 9:00 PM, with only the streetlights around the stadium remaining on for security.]

[Furthermore, there was news that was neither particularly good nor bad for them.]

[That is, they would be trained in the use of firearms or cold weapons.]

[The aim was to ensure that, should they encounter any unforeseen incidents or embark on an external mission, they wouldn’t be completely helpless, passively waiting for rescue.]

[At the very least, they needed to possess the ability to defend themselves.]

[They would also be required to run laps to build stamina, as chase sequences were the most draining.]

[It would be utterly mortifying to be ganked (TL Note: A gaming term referring to an attack by multiple opponents on a single, often unsuspecting, player.) by a zombie simply because they couldn’t outrun it.]

[Moreover, this physical training wasn’t just for ordinary people; ability users were also expected to participate.]

[While no one was required to become a melee mage (TL Note: A gaming term for a mage who fights in close combat.), they should at least avoid being as fragile as a ‘squishy mage’ (TL Note: A gaming term for a mage with low defense or health points, making them vulnerable.).]

[Furthermore, they had received word from the government: current statistics indicated that individuals who were physically fit before awakening tended to possess slightly stronger abilities compared to others of the same series and level.]

[While this wasn’t conclusive proof, it suggested that improving one’s physical condition might contribute to an ability’s enhancement, meaning they couldn’t solely rely on absorbing crystal cores for progression.]

[PS: Morning exercise starts at 8:00 AM.]

Chi Bai found this time a bit early.

While it likely paled in comparison to military training schedules, he simply disliked waking up early, primarily because he detested running.

‘However, if they truly managed to sleep by 9:00 PM, then 8:00 AM would certainly be considered late.

Even waking up at 6:00 AM would still grant more than eight hours of sleep.’

Yet, everyone was a seasoned night owl, living by the motto, ‘The moon isn’t sleeping, so neither am I.’

Sleeping by 9:00 PM was undeniably too early.

As expected, the group chat erupted, though not with objections to the lights-out policy.

Instead, everyone was discussing the training, sharing anecdotes from their own military training experiences.

As for the lights-out… the reason provided was quite sufficient: conserving electricity.

It was a privilege that they even had electricity here; elsewhere, its availability was uncertain.

After all, not everyone possessed a copious and steady supply of electricity like Chi Bai, which he could effectively use as a portable power bank.

Someone in the public chat even mentioned that the base was cooking meals on a wood-fired stove, making it feel like a rustic farm stay.

Beyond these, Chi Bai also observed that people in the national, provincial, city, and even district group chats, as well as the public lobby, were all seeking body enhancement potions.

Most exchanges in the public lobby were barters, involving items like food, gold bars, and, most frequently, daily necessities.

Other items were secondary; without food, survival beyond seven days was impossible.

‘Don’t underestimate daily necessities, unless you plan on never using the restroom.’

In the Chinese Great Region, exchanges were conducted using contribution points, based on a provided list.

Crystal cores and potions produced by the system could be exchanged for them.

Currently, the system had only yielded these few items, along with the meat dropped by slain mutated beasts.

Someone in the group chat had stated that water, land, and even livestock like chickens, ducks, fish, cattle, and sheep, were now largely infected to varying degrees.

Crops in the fields were blighted and withered, looking utterly inedible.

As for meat, putting aside the creatures that had undergone massive on-the-spot mutations, even the remaining animals had grown grotesque, like two-headed fish or cattle and sheep frothing at the mouth.

Consequently, food was currently the most critically scarce resource.

The government surmised that the system dropped mutated beast meat not only because mutated beasts dissipated after death, but also because all existing food sources had become infected and were unsafe to consume.

If the system didn’t provide it, they wouldn’t be able to find any other edible living creatures in the short term.

The ocean was even more out of the question; hadn’t the system stated that the mutated beasts there were even more ferocious?

It was highly probable that they had undergone mutations similar to those on land.

Moreover, the contamination had initially emerged from the ocean’s surface, making it the probable origin of this entire crisis.

No wonder everyone was browsing with such relish; there was indeed a wealth of information.

Chi Bai also noticed that the national group was actively recruiting biochemical talent.

If they could reverse-engineer the formula for the body enhancement potions provided by the system, it could be widely distributed to ordinary people, significantly boosting their combat capabilities and offering a greater chance of survival.

Just as he read this, he overheard the boss ask Tang Hao,