When did this catastrophe that swept across the entire planet begin? Except for Japan, everyone on Earth believed it started the day Japan, disregarding the strong protests of neighboring countries, began discharging nuclear-contaminated water into the pristine ocean.
Three months after the nuclear-contaminated water was continuously discharged into the ocean, Japan's volcano erupted massively. Volcanic ash, molten lava, and the resulting tsunami and earthquake engulfed Japan, with only less than five percent of the total population escaping.
Before humanity could recover from this shocking "disaster," dozens of large volcanoes across the five continents erupted in succession. The planet's freshwater became unfit for drinking due to volcanic ash contamination, and months of acid rain caused by the eruptions led to the collapse of agriculture.
Six months after the eruptions, atmospheric visibility on Earth began to improve. Just as the people of China were leaving their homes to celebrate the end of the disaster and prepare to rebuild their homes, an even greater catastrophe suddenly struck.
A supernova explosion occurred in a star 8,000 light-years from Earth, triggering a powerful gamma-ray burst that, for unknown reasons, changed direction and hurtled towards Earth, which was initially outside its reach.
Just seconds after a flash of ultraviolet light, an electron pulse covering the entire hemisphere attacked Earth. The intense radiation completely paralyzed communications and cut off power to the two continents directly impacted. Simultaneously, all artificial satellites outside Earth's atmosphere were catastrophically destroyed, losing contact with the surface.
Awakening in the darkness, people on the two continents were soon confronted by a massive swarm of high-speed meson particles. Cells in all organisms directly exposed to the meson flow were penetrated, their DNA completely destroyed, turning the world into a hellish landscape.
The gamma-ray burst not only caused the death of most life on the two continents but also disrupted Earth's magnetic field. Two mysterious elements suddenly appeared in Earth's atmosphere, later named "Qiang" and "Yi" by Chinese scientists.
Qiang signifies brutal killing, shortening lifespan and death.
Yi signifies thunder emerging from the mountains, giving rise to all things.
Under the influence of these two elements, all life on Earth underwent a rapid evolution, simultaneously posing a major challenge to humanity, the apex predator of the food chain. The entire planet entered a hellish survival mode.
Xia Qing's mother died in the insect plague of the fourth year of the cataclysm, and her father perished in the beast tide of the fifth year.
In the tenth year of the cataclysm, Xia Qing is still alive.
"Bang!"
A stone brick weighing over 300 pounds landed on the ground. Startled, Old Zhong, the recorder, raised his face, pockmarked by acid rain corrosion. Seeing the thin, dark-skinned woman standing before him wearing a green ID badge, he suppressed his anger and muttered, "Take a break if you're tired. Breaking a stone slab doesn't count towards your points."
Xia Qing wiped the sweat and lime from her face with her sleeve and, unusually, spoke, "Uncle Zhong, I'm leaving."
Old Zhong hadn't expected Xia Qing to speak to him. He stood up, his face beaming, "Are you going hunting? When will you be back? Could you leave me a pound of good meat? I'll trade you 1.5 times the points."
After the great evolution of life across the entire planet Blue, human bones became more resilient, and muscles stronger. A very small number of people evolved several times, even ten times, their bodies becoming evolved humans.
Evolved humans possessed more survival resources, and their living conditions were far better than those of ordinary people struggling on the brink of life and death.
Xia Qing was a four-times strength evolved human, meaning her current strength was four times that of an ordinary evolved human. Four times the strength, while not much among evolved humans, was enough to incite envy, fear, and fawning in ordinary people.
Xia Qing, an evolved human, kept a straight face and remained silent, deliberately avoiding this situation.
However, she wouldn't have to anymore.
"It's not going hunting, it's leaving the safe zone." Xia Qing smiled, but her expression was stiff because she hadn't smiled in years, making her particularly frightening to Old Zhong.
He forced open a patch of his swollen eye, his eyeball bulging, and asked tremblingly, "Another large horde of evolved beasts is coming? Our base can't hold on? Didn't the broadcast say yesterday that we'd driven the evolved beasts hundreds of miles away? Another beast tide is coming?"
The four ordinary people carrying stones behind him, startled by Old Zhong's words, dropped the stones, which were about to hit one of them.
Xia Qing quickly grabbed the stones, placed them steadily on the ground, dusted herself off, and explained, "No, I'm going to farm."
Farm? Farm!
This matter had been broadcast on the radio for days, but those who had barely survived to the tenth year of the apocalypse were very cautious and didn't want to risk going out. Rumors were already circulating in the safe zone that since no one was voluntarily leaving to farm, the next step would be to forcibly send ordinary people out to their deaths.
Unexpectedly, someone actually wanted to go—an evolved human, no less.
Realizing what was happening, Old Zhong hurriedly caught up with Xia Qing, "Farming is great! Don't you remember my eldest son? Zhong Tao, he works in the convoy. I'll talk to him later. If you ever need anything, Qing, just ask your brother Tao, and he'll take care of it."
Old Zhong's son, Zhong Tao, had joined the army at the Hui San Base and was now serving in the convoy as a squad leader. This was why the Zhong family was doing well in the safe zone, and also why Xia Qing had taken the initiative to speak with Old Zhong today.
Xia Qing smiled, "Okay, I'll need Brother Tao's help transporting grain and game back to exchange for supplies in the future."
Old Zhong grinned, his face pockmarked with laughter, "It's his job, no trouble at all. Qing, which territory have you taken?"
"Not yet, I'm going now." Having achieved her goal, Xia Qing didn't waste any more energy dealing with Old Zhong. She quickly went to the safe zone mission hall, bypassed the crowd watching under the territory's electronic bulletin board, and went straight to the front of the desk.
"What are you doing? Don't you understand the principle of first come, first served?" Seeing Xia Qing standing at the front, several people under the bulletin board protested, rolling up their sleeves and rushing over.
Xia Qing turned around, and the people who rushed over stopped immediately after seeing her green badge.
Xia Qing said calmly, "Want territory? Line up."
Today was territory-claiming day, which is why there were so many onlookers. Although these people hadn't decided whether to claim territory or not, they still obediently stood behind Xia Qing in line.
Seeing that they weren't causing a scene, the two soldiers on duty put away their guns and returned to their positions.
Seeing people queuing, the people under the notice board immediately rushed over. Regardless of whether they would actually receive a task, they just lined up.
The commotion alerted the people in the hall. A woman wearing a green badge and with two long scars on her face came over and greeted Xia Qing, "Are you going to farm?"
Xia Qing nodded, "Sister Xu, are you here to get a mission?"
In the years since her father's death, Xia Qing had often gone on missions with Xu Juan's Dongyang team. Xu Juan was a kind-hearted person and already considered Xia Qing one of her own.
Xu Juan looked around and, finding no hearing evolvers nearby, lowered her voice and asked, "Did you offend someone? I'll talk to Dongyang, and you can join our team?"
If it weren't for offending someone and being unable to survive, what evolver would give up the good life in the safe zone and risk their life to dig for food in the dirt?
Xia Qing shook her head. "I didn't offend anyone. I just like it."
But you can't just go and die because you like it.
Xu Juan was about to speak when she heard the sound of car brakes and leather shoes hitting the ground outside the hall. Ten years have passed since the natural disaster, and there are only a handful of people in the safe zone still wearing high heels. Xu Juan turned to look at the hall entrance and saw a strikingly beautiful woman in a fitted leather jacket, clean and out of place among the crowd, enter and walk straight towards them.
Tang Lu, the niece of Tang Zhengrong, the second-in-command of Hui San Base, and the daughter of Tang Zhengsu, the captain of the top-ranked Su Feng team in the base, was the most troublesome woman in the entire safe zone. Anyone who encountered her was doomed. Xu Juan held a grudge against her over a trivial matter and now avoided her whenever possible.
Xia Qing's lips moved slightly, and she said in an almost inaudible voice, "Sister Xu, go ahead and get busy. We'll get together again when we have time."
Xu Juan nodded slightly, turned, and quickly returned to her teammate.
The crisp clatter of leather shoes echoed through the hall. Most of the people there were watching Tang Lu, wondering which man she'd taken a fancy to this day, or which woman she'd come to vent her frustrations on.
Tang Lu, wearing a yellow badge (symbolizing her status as an ordinary person), walked impatiently to the desk in her territory on the west side of the hall. She tilted her chin up and looked down at the green badge on Xia Qing's chest.
Xia Qing glanced at her, then calmly took a step back.
"Hmph," Tang Lu finally let out a smug snort, swaying to take the first position. She pulled out a perfumed handkerchief and fanned herself in front of her nose. "What's that smell? It's suffocating! She doesn't even bother to wash herself."
With nuclear-contaminated water and six months of continuous acid rain mixing into the oceans and lakes, Blue Star's water resources could only be used after purification. Because purification was expensive, water in safe zones required points to exchange for. Ordinary people could barely afford a meal or a drink of water; who would dare use their life-saving points for a bath?
Xia Qing, an evolved human, lived a slightly better life than ordinary people, able to take a quick bath once a week. But today, she deliberately came looking dirty. Although her face, though thin, was still quite pretty, it was painted dark red, and she wanted to make sure that the jealous Tang Lu didn't notice it, and even more so, that Tang Zhengrong and Tang Zhengsu wouldn't see it clearly.