Apocalypse Escape: Day One of Survival

”You still don’t get it? It means connecting to the X Realm’s main system to share data.”

”Share what data? Are there any benefits to sharing?”

”I heard R Country is preparing for its entire population to connect to this main system.”

”Is that so? Have they already reached an agreement with the X Realm?”

The group chat was in an uproar. Messages scrolled by in a blur, making it impossible to keep up.

Xie Ning raised an eyebrow.

’This really is a bombshell.’

But in her past life, people of her social class had never seen or even heard of a next-generation creation like the X Realm.

She only remembered that before she was to join the Global Superpower Academy, they had indeed come to collect data.

But only official students could get the bound wristbands.

Back then, there was no mention of anything like the X Realm. They only said that once the wristbands were bound, they would help everyone learn superpower techniques and so on, and that there would also be unexpected rewards.

’These so-called unexpected rewards,’ Xie Ning now figured, ’probably referred to fantastical things like the system store and the Dimensional Space.’

It was just that she had been stuck at a low level back then, with no access to more advanced things. So even now, no matter how hard she tried to remember, she couldn’t retrieve much valuable information.

The X Realm seemed to be surfacing more and more now. ’For it to suddenly make such a big move,’ Xie Ning thought, ’there must be a reason.’

”What is the X Realm?” Song Shijun and the others were suddenly inundated with a flood of bizarre information. They all stared blankly at the constantly flashing screen, completely bewildered.

Xie Ning took out a laser pointer with a serious air and drew a circle on the top-left of the screen. ”The X Realm... you can think of it as a world that’s just a little more advanced than our Earth.”

”Whoa, so parallel worlds really do exist.” The younger ones were especially quick to accept new ideas. The moment Song Shijun and Song Kexin heard Xie Ning’s explanation, their imaginations immediately started to run wild.

The older adults, however, remained completely bewildered and stared blankly.

They had no idea what this X Realm thing was. Reason told them that when faced with something new and incomprehensible, the best approach was to keep quiet and listen...

”Are there aliens?” young Zhu Nanxing asked, his eyes lighting up. ”Do they wear iron armor and have rocket launchers on their arms?”

Everyone was speechless.

Exasperated, Xie Ning looked at the circle of wide-eyed kids and cleared her throat. ”I really don’t know if they have rocket launchers on their arms. But what we can be sure of is that their technology is probably far superior to ours. Also, their understanding of superpowers is likely much more advanced and profound.”

”For example, look at this.” With a casual wave of her hand, Xie Ning had Little Spider release the cubic Dimensional Space.

”For the people of the X Realm, this kind of Dimensional Space is probably something everyone has.”

”So, are they planning to attack Earth now?” Su Xiyue asked with a serious expression.

Everyone glanced at each other, then turned to Xie Ning, the exasperated explainer, with equally exasperated looks.

Xie Ning took a deep breath, trying to soften her expression. ”I haven’t heard anything about that. If the X Realm wanted to attack Earth, the best time would have been at the start of the zombie outbreak before the new year.”

The world was in chaos back then. Everyone was filled with panic and dread, and negative emotions were practically off the charts.

Now, it’s been over a year since the apocalypse began. Those who couldn’t make it are long gone. The survivors, while not all in peak physical condition, have at least developed much stronger mental fortitude.

Starting a war now would be much more difficult than it would have been before the new year. I’m sure the people of the X Realm aren’t stupid; they must be aware of this.

Song Kexin raised her hand. ”Why would they be so nice and give out wristbands to the Superpower Academy? I know! They don’t want to attack Earth, they want to let darkness descend upon the land and rule the whole planet!”

Everyone was speechless.

’What on earth do these kids read?’

’They’re all so imaginative!’

Xie Ning turned and snapped at Song Shijun, who was just about to open his mouth, ”You, be quiet!”

”Look, I don’t know if the X Realm wants to destroy Earth or rule it. The one thing I’m sure of is that they’re definitely after something.”

”Kexin, you be quiet too and let me finish.” Xie Ning irritably cut off the wild theorizing of the silly kids. ”Okay, as far as I know, there are no aliens in the X Realm!”

”And don’t go thinking Spider-Man or Ultraman will show up to save the world.”

Everyone stared at her, their faces blank.

Xie Ning took another deep breath and circled something on the scrolling screen with her laser pointer. ”First, let me give you the basics on the X Realm’s main system.”

”Based on my research, it’s basically a High-level personal AI.”

”I don’t know how the Capital’s negotiations with the X Realm will go. In any case, you should all get a basic understanding of the X Realm first.”

She switched the display to show them some data on the X Realm’s cities and other information she was familiar with.

Gu Chen, Lu Wei, and the others had never seen much of this information before and were stunned.

”Whoa, what is that?” Song Kexin pointed at a rotating metallic sphere on the large screen. ”People from the X Realm live in a place like that?”

”They do.” Xie Ning nodded. ”From what I understand, their technology developed so rapidly that they completely neglected environmental protection. As a result, the X Realm today is not much different from a biohazardous waste dump.”

Song Youzhi slammed his hand on the table. ”I think Shijun and the others were right! It all adds up, doesn’t it? The X Realm’s environment is crap—it’s no place for people to live. They must be planning to take over Earth for our resources!”

The comment was casual, but it struck a chord. Gu Chen’s hand, holding his chopsticks, froze for a moment. Xie Ning frowned.

Xie Ning’s expression changed, and she switched to a different video feed.

The footage clearly showed a group of people in white lab coats in the X Realm. They were methodically extracting Zombie Crystal Cores one by one and tirelessly placing them onto a large apparatus that looked like some kind of optical-transmission device.

The device channeled the energy, and a door suddenly opened before it. Through the opening, a dark, black-hole-like space was visible down a corridor.

Lu Wei and the others instantly sat bolt upright.

They were now too engrossed to even think about eating, quickly setting down their bowls and chopsticks.

Lu Wei looked at Xie Ning earnestly. ”Ningning, can you package a copy of this data on the X Realm for us?”

Xie Ning nodded. ”Of course. I’ll have Future compile the data and send it to you right now.”

”That’s wonderful!”

Song You’ai spoke up timidly. ”What’s going on with that door they opened? Is that giant device completely filled with Zombie Crystal Cores?”

”I think they want to use that door to come here,” Xie Ning said without hesitation. ”Attacking or destroying Earth probably isn’t their goal.”

”They want to come here!” Zhai Ruobai cried out in alarm. ”What does that mean? Are they planning to tear down Earth and take over our home?”