Fatty's spirits immediately lifted upon hearing the meals would improve, "As long as the food improves, overload is just a passing cloud!"
"Wang Zhi, look quickly, a new announcement has been posted," Old He said while looking at the screen.
Effective immediately, to conserve energy, the Dawn Tower will cease free electricity supply. Electricity will be charged at a rate of 1 Survival Point per kilowatt-hour, deducted in real-time based on the residence. If a team's Survival Points are insufficient, the power supply will be cut off.
Effective immediately, due to a shortage of certain supplies, the prices for some restaurant items have increased. The updated menu:.....
Wang Zhi understood as soon as he read this: the Dawn Tower's resources were starting to become scarce, with consumption outpacing replenishment speed.
"It seems the situation recently has become quite bad," Old He, standing nearby, remarked.
"No, this is just the beginning!" Wang Zhi interrupted Old He's train of thought.
"Huh? What do you mean, just the beginning?" Fatty asked from the side.
"Currently, some resources within the Dawn Tower have entered a state of negative production. After some time, if resources truly become scarce, the Dawn Tower will gradually phase out the survivors of the lowest value. If a team or an individual loses their Survival Points, then the Dawn Tower will have a legitimate reason to expel you," Wang Zhi explained.
"Then everyone just needs to be frugal, and everything will be fine, right?" Fatty asked again.
Wang Zhi sneered: "Heh... What if the price of food skyrockets? What if one bowl of rice costs you 10 Survival Points? How long do you think you can last then?"
Fatty: "Well... If food prices are skyrocketing, why don't we hoard some now?"
Wang Zhi sighed: "The Dawn Tower has regulations against purchasing or hoarding large quantities of food, medicinal herbs, or weapons. If you want to hoard, you can only bring things back from the outside to store them."
Fatty suddenly understood: "I get it. This is to make us go outside more often to acquire resources, and rely less on resources within the Dawn Tower, right?"
"Clever. You've finally caught on," Wang Zhi said with satisfaction.
At this moment, Su Muying and Jia Liuli also came down from upstairs.
"Oh, Sister Ying, Little Sister Liuli, you two are up quite late today. We were waiting for you two before heading out to eat," Fatty said looking at the two women.
The five of them went to the second-floor dining hall. Wang Zhi brought up the price increase announcement from that morning again. Items with long shelf lives had become highly sought after, and they agreed to conserve the supplies brought back from outside as much as possible to prepare for the future.
"Speaking of which, our Level Three team is still missing one person. Shouldn't we consider adding new members?" Su Muying asked.
"Mm... let's see about that later," Wang Zhi replied dismissively.
Wang Zhi would never believe that Su Muying would actually want others to join the team; when it came to being suspicious and selfish, Su Muying ranked highly.
"Why are you suddenly asking this? What happened?" Wang Zhi asked, puzzled.
"Nothing, it's just that the captain of that Reincarnation team came looking for me during yesterday's training. He said he wanted me to join his team and follow him, claiming he could guarantee my personal safety and provide whatever I needed," Su Muying described.
"Then what did Sister Ying say?" Fatty asked curiously from the side.
"I told him his kidney deficiency couldn't satisfy me, and then he left," Su Muying said without concern.
"Awesome, Sister Ying, when can I be as arrogant as you?" Fatty admired.
"But that man gave me a very dangerous feeling. Don't let the kidney deficiency fool you; he's not hesitant at all when killing people," Su Muying said seriously.
"Interesting, trying to poach people right under my nose," Wang Zhi mused thoughtfully from the side.
"No hard feelings even if the deal fails; poaching is very normal here too. Wang Zhi, don't be impulsive," Old He advised promptly from the side.
"Mm."
Wang Zhi outwardly agreed, but since the challenge had been made directly to him, he certainly wouldn't sit idly by. Although Wang Zhi preferred not to involve himself in internal strife, he needed to take action lest the other party refuse to back down.
After the meal, Wang Zhi used the excuse of going to review intelligence, told the others to proceed with training, and left with Jia Liuli.
When Wang Zhi wanted to act alone, he still preferred bringing Jia Liuli along, because sometimes he could treat her almost like she wasn't even there.
"Jia Liuli, don't let anything slip when we get back," Wang Zhi warned her first, just in case she accidentally blurted something out.
"Mm!"
Wang Zhi arrived at the 1st Floor Guard Headquarters. Having recently been dressed down by Jie Xi, he felt awkward about seeing her again so soon, but under the current special circumstances, Wang Zhi had no choice but to steel himself and go to her room.
This time, the door was open. Jie Xi wasn't reading; instead, she was sipping coffee while tending to her blonde hair.
"What is it?" Jie Xi looked up and asked Wang Zhi.
"Uh... I missed you. Came by to see you."
As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Zhi regretted it. This wasn't Su Muying; saying something so smooth would likely only displease Jie Xi.
"Oh?"
Jie Xi picked up the greatsword beside her, slowly stood up from her chair, and walked over to Wang Zhi: "You're the only one alive who's dared to speak to me like that. The last one, Zhao Yan, is already dead."
Wang Zhi looked at the greatsword held against his chest, while Jia Liuli beside him nervously drew Ye Linglong, ready to counterattack at any moment.
"Jia Liuli! Put the blade away! Captain Jie Xi's way of welcoming people is always like this." Wang Zhi finished, smiling as he slowly pushed the greatsword away.
"Hmph."
Jie Xi retracted her sword, returned to her chair, and said, "Wang Zhi, you come running over here every few days, you're practically making this place your home. My subordinates are spreading rumors that we two are involved! What do you make of that?"
"Captain Jie Xi, you shouldn't pay attention to those petty rumors. Even if we were involved, what could they possibly do to you!" Wang Zhi replied.
"Then if they ask me what breed of toad you are, what am I supposed to say?" Jie Xi stared at Wang Zhi with a half-smile and asked.
"Uh... Captain Jie Xi is joking. I came this time to ask you, among the Reincarnation Teams that just advanced to Level Three, where did this Tang Qilin come from?"
"Oh? It's only been two days since they arrived, and they've already managed to bother you?"
"It's not exactly bothering me, it's just that he poached one of my people."
"Here, for better development, competing to recruit people is a very normal thing. You don't need to waste your energy on trifles like this."
"It's not that I want to waste energy, I'm afraid he won't let things rest easily." Wang Zhi said helplessly.
"I haven't paid much attention to them. Maybe they are just lucky, or maybe they actually have some skill. But I advise you to hurry up with your training. The situation, both inside and outside, isn't very optimistic right now."
"I know, thank you, Captain Jie Xi! I'll go train now."
Wang Zhi finished speaking and turned to leave.
"Jia Liuli, if that pretty boy Tang Qilin approaches you recently, ignore him."
"Mm!"
Thinking of that Tang Qilin, Wang Zhi figured he would try to talk to Jia Liuli again, so he gave Jia Liuli a preemptive warning.
As he reached the entrance of the main hall, Wang Zhi watched the returning people. Their dirty bodies were covered in bloodstains, and their tired expressions made it impossible to tell if they felt sorrow or relief. Some carried large bags full of supplies, while others had rescued survivors.
Wang Zhi couldn't understand why the once perfect World had turned into this mess. Humanity now lived in such humiliation, having fallen from the apex of Earth's pyramid to the ground. He wondered if the Tower Master could lead them back to reclaim the throne that once belonged to humankind.
After training, everyone returned to their residences, chatted for a while, and then went to their rooms to rest. Wang Zhi dutifully played the role of massage therapist. After massaging Ying, he was ordered to massage Jia Liuli as well. Wang Zhi reluctantly added another session to his duties. Since it was Jia Liuli's first time receiving such treatment, she shyly buried her head in the pillow.