My Apocalypse System Arrives 10 Years Early

Chapter 586: Chapter 363: The Grand Mid-Autumn Spectacle of City No. 03, the Envy of All

The annual Mid-Autumn Festival had arrived, and at Li Xiang’s direction, City No. 03 launched an inspiring celebration.

The entire city pulsed with even more life and vitality because of the festivities.

The most striking spectacle was a virtual moon, a hundred meters in diameter, projected by the dome’s Spiritual Energy Matrix. The details of its craters were clearly visible. A silhouette of the Jade Rabbit could be seen pounding herbs beneath a cassia tree, while a holographic Chang’e’s feathered robes billowed in an unseen breeze.

The value of such a moon was beyond comprehension. Countless people cheered, completely mesmerized. Even Li Xiang found himself slightly captivated. ’How long has it been since I’ve seen the real Moon?’ he mused. ’Only City No. 03 has this level of technology and power.’

Countless fiery red lanterns hovered on both sides of the streets. Ribbons of light snaked like the Milky Way toward the underground farm. The scent molecules of the special Guanghan Fragrance, developed by Jiang Cai’Er’s team, wafted through the ventilation system, mingling with the sweet aroma of a modified osmanthus flower cultivated by Zhao Xueqing.

The underground farm housed a grove of over six hundred osmanthus trees, all in full bloom. It contained varieties like gold osmanthus, silver osmanthus, and red osmanthus. Over seventy percent of these were mutated plants, their blossoms exceptionally fragrant and sweet. Many bees were busily buzzing among the flowers, collecting nectar. The resulting honey was, naturally, a sweet Spiritual Honey.

Without a doubt, a large number of Spirit Bees were among those raised in the underground farm. Their population simply wasn’t large enough yet; it would take several more generations of breeding before they reached a substantial number.

This year’s Spiritual Honey harvest was small, only about a hundred kilograms. Zhao Xueqing kept five kilograms for herself and sent the rest to Jiang Cai’Er, who then shared some with her friends and family.

This was truly precious stuff, the kind money couldn’t buy. It was said to extend the lives of the elderly and make the young strong and healthy, with rosy complexions.

Yao Yao selected some Spirit Fruits from the underground farm’s orchard, intending to brew wine. Li Xiang had been very fond of the persimmon wine she had made before. Now that there were more varieties of Spirit Fruit available, she planned to create an even more delicious vintage to completely capture his palate.

Lei Xiaohui, however, had no talent for such things. She could only do her best to help Li Xiang by training the teams of Extraordinary Beings.

City No. 03 had a total population of over 15 million people and nearly 200,000 Extraordinary Beings. Of those, seventy to eighty thousand were Tier Three or higher. In terms of both the quantity and quality of its Extraordinary Beings, the city was second to none among all the Underground Cities across the globe.

All Extraordinary Beings were required to perform military service, and those at Tier Three or above had to undergo special forces training.

In the central plaza, a nine-story Spiritual Altar towered high. Li Xiang and Jiang Cai’Er, dressed in full regalia, presided over the moon-offering ceremony according to ancient rites, with holographic projections broadcast simultaneously to screens in every community.

Additionally, as a free Mid-Autumn Festival bonus, every household received a drone delivery of five-nut, beef, and venison mooncakes.

The ”Spicy & Cute” restaurant chain also launched a series of snow-skin lava mooncakes, kept fresh with Spiritual Energy. These, of course, came at a price, but they were available at a ”Mid-Autumn Special” discount. Customers could purchase them with Heat Coins or exchange them for Labor Points.

The lines in front of every shop stretched for several city blocks. People chatted and laughed as they waited, with not a hint of the misery one would expect from the Apocalypse. When videos of the celebration reached other Underground Cities around the world, many viewers were skeptical, believing the scenes were staged or were AI-generated virtual images.

”How can they be living so well?”

Ultimately, however, they had no choice but to believe it. After all, their city had Li Sheng.

The dance drama adaptation of the Feathered Robe Dance, broadcast live by Eternal Night Media, was underway. Performers danced in mid-air, standing atop Sword-shaped Hovercrafts as their Sword Qi and the moonlight wove together to form the patterns of Talismans.

As women who now held high positions and wielded great power, Yao Yao, Zhao Xueqing, and Lei Xiaohui could no longer perform on stage. But City No. 03 was teeming with talent. With a population of over 15 million, it was a simple matter to find plenty of beautiful women for the performance.

A miner, Old Zhou, having just finished his shift, used his Labor Points to redeem a Spiritual Energy Preservation Box of mooncakes. The lid lit up with a holographic label that read, ”Crab Roe Lava Mooncake.” His daughter, Xiaoman, was watching Eternal Night Media’s live *Moon Base Archaeology* course on her educational tablet. Suddenly, she pointed out the window and shrieked, ”Jade Rabbit Mecha!”

In the community park, children were piloting rabbit-shaped engineering mechs to move festival decorations. Red silk ribbons tied to the mechs’ ears fluttered in the wind. These were limited-edition Mid-Autumn models, modified by mechanical engineering students using Exotic Beast Parts.

In the underground farm, the Moonlight Dandelions cultivated by Zhao Xueqing’s team were blooming at the stroke of midnight. A technician named Xiaolin was still on duty, wearing augmented reality glasses to record mutation data.

Suddenly, her smart bracelet vibrated, displaying a pop-up reminder for the global live broadcast of Li Xiang’s moon-offering ceremony.

Xiaolin plucked a dandelion emitting a faint blue glow and tucked it behind her ear. As she walked through a corridor illuminated by floating lanterns, she bumped right into a colleague holding a box of five-nut mooncakes. The fragrance of osmanthus and the cool scent of the dandelion mingled in the airflow of the ventilation system. ”Quick, go watch President Xiang’s livestream! He’s so handsome!”

Without a doubt, Li Xiang was the ultimate heartthrob for all the young women in the city. In fact, not just in City No. 03, but all over the world.

A community volunteer helped Granny Chen, a retired teacher, put on a neural interface device. Her trembling fingers swiped through the air, and the holographic offerings before her late husband’s tombstone changed from traditional mooncakes to the fried chive pockets that had been his favorite.

Her late husband’s figure appeared—a virtual projection.

”Dear,” she began, ”this year’s Moon is so much clearer than the one we saw back in Jinmen.” Granny Chen’s tears fell onto the responsive surface of the table. The holidays always make you miss family the most. She continued to chat idly with the virtual projection of her husband.

Of course, she knew it wasn’t real. It was modern technology, not the spirit channeling of old.

After presiding over the moon-offering ceremony and delivering an inspiring speech, Li Xiang descended gracefully from the stage. He took Jiang Cai’Er by the hand, and they returned home to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival with his grandmother, his parents-in-law, and their children.