Chapter 22
Chapter 22: The Shelter System Opens Early
【The Savage Realm, Day 3 of the mass crossing. 】
【Time: 5:55 AM. 】
Huaxia Nation's Second Base, Central Command Building.
Top-floor office.
Though the sky outside had already begun to lighten with the pale grey of dawn, the 2 people inside had clearly not slept all night.
Wan Changzheng sat at the head of the table, a bowl of plain congee and a dish of pickled vegetables in front of him.
Both men had dark circles under their eyes, spooning congee into their mouths while staring blankly at the tactical map on the wall.
"Commander, 10 more minutes."
Zhao Yan glanced at the time, swallowed his mouthful of congee, and spoke with poorly concealed indignation.
"Today's leaderboard is about to refresh."
"I wonder if that No Words Needed can hold onto first place."
At that, Zhao Yan slammed his chopsticks down on the table, anger written plainly across his face.
"Those guys in the think tank—all they ever do is pour cold water on things!"
"Did you read the analysis report they sent over just now?"
"They're insisting that this 'No Words Needed' only got those scores through sheer dumb luck!"
"Some of them are even speculating he stumbled onto 2 monster factions mid-battle and scooped the kills!"
"Listen to that! Is that any way to talk?! Is it really so hard to admit that our Huaxia produced a genuine genius?!"
"Sometimes they make me so furious I want to cut them down where they stand!"
"Cough, cough—"
Zhao Yan grew more agitated with every word, and a mouthful of congee went down the wrong way, leaving him hacking and red-faced.
Wan Changzheng shook his head helplessly, reached over, and patted his old partner on the back.
"Alright, alright, Old Zhao, calm down."
"The think tank's words may be unpleasant, but they're not entirely without reason."
"This kind of 'one-time flash'—it's happened before, back during the small-scale crossings."
Wan Changzheng picked up a strip of pickled vegetable and let the old memory surface.
"Remember that batch of crossers from 5 years ago?"
"Eagle Nation produced a fierce one—broke 10,000 points on Day 1, shocked the entire world."
"The investigation afterward revealed he was a genuine talent, alright."
"A black market arms dealer. Him, his underground gunpowder workshop, the whole lot got transported over together."
"But his luck ran out the moment he landed. He ran straight into a beast tide."
"Based on the investigation, he most likely detonated the entire powder cache himself."
Wan Changzheng let out a long sigh.
"That explosion killed over a thousand monsters. His score shot to No. 1 server-wide."
"But then what?"
"The next day, that name never lit up again."
"The man was gone. That one burst was his swan song."
Hearing this, Zhao Yan fell silent.
He gave a slow nod, and much of the anger drained from his face.
"You're right, Commander. I got carried away. I want so badly to see our Huaxia stand above those foreign powers."
"Let's wait and see. Dragon or worm—6 o'clock will tell us everything."
……
The seconds ticked by.
The digital clock on the wall turned to 6:00.
Hum!
At that moment, outside the window, the vast Light Screen lit up right on schedule.
And with it came that mocking, grand voice.
【Hello! Newcomers! We meet again!】
【Congratulations on successfully surviving your 2nd night in the Savage Realm!】
【Quite a few interesting things happened last night! This land is full of surprises—though, of course…】
【Regrettably, many brave souls have left us permanently.】
【Before I announce the leaderboard, I have one important matter to share with everyone.】
At that, both Wan Changzheng and Zhao Yan straightened in their seats simultaneously.
Under normal circumstances, no new features would be unlocked on Day 3—unless…
【I imagine you're all deeply troubled right now by resource allocation and trust crises within your teams?】
【Not to worry! Because starting today, the Shelter System is officially online!】
【The rules are as follows:】
【1. As long as you meet the conditions (a fixed base/sufficient numbers), you may apply to establish a Shelter and build a faction of your own!】
【2. The system will conduct a comprehensive evaluation based on the Shelter's tier, population, defensive strength, and special traits.】
【3. Settlement occurs once per month! The higher your score, the richer the system airdrops you receive—potentially including blueprints for firearms!】
【4. Shelters operate under a hierarchy: Leader, Administrator, Member. Upon initial establishment, the Leader is elected by a full vote!】
While the 2 men were still processing this bombshell announcement, the voice from the Light Screen suddenly took on a playful tone.
【Of course! There are always exceptions.】
【If you are fortunate enough to possess a rare Mobile Shelter, no vote is required—you are automatically designated the permanent Leader of that Shelter!】
【Even if you are the only person inside, you are King!】
【Yes, I'm talking about you—the one currently Rush B-ing! Drive a little slower; don't go tearing up the road!】
……
The text on the Light Screen slowly faded.
Inside the office, Wan Changzheng and Zhao Yan stared at each other, both faces filled with shock.
"The Shelter System…it's early?"
Wan Changzheng set down his bowl of congee, and his expression became gravely serious.
"Even this got moved up…That means the number of people who died last night was no ordinary figure."
"It is."
Zhao Yan drew a deep breath, his voice heavy.
"Based on everything we've learned about the Savage Realm's rules over the years, the Shelter System's activation has a threshold."
"It runs entirely on death ratios."
"Only when the mortality rate of the newly arrived batch crosses the red line of 30%..."
"Does the Light Screen, to prevent the remaining survivors from being wiped out entirely, open the Shelter function—at the latest, the following day—to encourage people to band together."
"In previous years it always opened on Day 7 or Day 10. But this time…"
Zhao Yan glanced at the calendar. "Only Day 3."
"The number of deaths must have reached…"
He couldn't bring himself to say the number aloud.
Tens of billions of people had crossed over. A mortality rate of 30%…
That meant last night alone, in a single night, a billion people—or more—had become fodder for monsters.
"Ah…the world is unpredictable."
Wan Changzheng let out a long sigh, rose from his seat, and walked to the window, gazing out at the dense sea of refugee tents stretching beyond the base perimeter.
"All we can do is try our best."
"Yesterday the base forcibly took in over a thousand compatriots who landed nearby. Our supplies are already stretched thin."
"Hopefully fewer arrive today…It's not that we don't want to save them—we simply can't afford to anymore."
This was not cold-heartedness on his part.
As the base's commanding officer, even Wan Changzheng and Zhao Yan's own breakfast was nothing but plain congee and pickled vegetables.
Identical to what the refugees outside were eating.
"In the Savage Realm, only becoming strong yourself is real strength."
Wan Changzheng looked out at the Light Screen. "A nation can do its best to provide shelter from the storm, but it cannot protect every single person for life."
"Mm."
Zhao Yan nodded, then recalled the final line of the announcement from moments ago and rubbed his chin with a puzzled expression.
"Commander, what did the Light Screen mean by that last line?"
"Rush B? That sounds like tactical gaming slang. It means…charge forward?"
"Does that mean someone is carrying out some kind of special operations action?"
Wan Changzheng's brow furrowed at the question.
"Possibly."
"After all, the world's special forces have all crossed over. There are elites out there who can do things ordinary people cannot."
"My guess…it's most likely someone from the batch stationed on Eerie Island making waves."
Mentioning "Eerie Island" and "special operations action," Wan Changzheng seemed to think of something, and his tone shifted, growing noticeably darker.
"Speaking of which, Old Zhao, an encrypted message came in from Central Base yesterday."
"Our ace operative, 'Falcon,' transmitted one final classified intelligence report before he was killed."
"What intelligence?" Zhao Yan asked.
"The reason Eagle Nation and Sakura Nation have dominated the top 20."
Wan Changzheng's fist clenched tight, and he slammed it hard against the windowsill:
"During last month's Polar Ice Wastes expedition, their luck was extraordinary."
"Near a Dragon Breed nest, they stumbled upon a Grade S Single-Use Descent Scroll."
"The scroll's function is…"
"It allows a designated number of newcomers to carry a full set of modern firearms—and choose their own landing zone."
"What?!"
Zhao Yan shot to his feet, his face a mask of disbelief.
"That kind of luck fell into their hands?!"
"That's—that's cheating!"
He knew all too well what this meant.
During the pioneer period, when everyone was brawling monsters with sticks and stones—
Eagle Nation and Sakura Nation's elite squads had assault rifles, sniper rifles, even rocket launchers.
Landing on Eerie Island—the most resource-rich zone, dangerous as it was.
This was nothing short of a max-level account massacring a beginner's village.
"And that's not all."
Wan Changzheng's jaw tightened.
"Even if their luck ran out and they failed to awaken an ability—"
"With firearms as their starting hand, they could still farm points, claim rewards, build a Shelter…"
"The Savage Realm is a world where the snowball only gets bigger."
"Play the winning side and everything comes easy—resources flow into your hands endlessly!"
"But play the losing side…fall behind once, fall behind forever. In the end, all you become is monster feed."
"If they manage to entrench themselves on Eerie Island and establish the first Grade S Shelter…"
Wan Changzheng did not finish the sentence.
But Zhao Yan already understood what he meant.
It would be a strategic-level catastrophe.
"Central command is already planning an expedition force toward Eerie Island, but I still hope…"
Wan Changzheng lifted his gaze, eyes fixed unblinking on the Light Screen—on the refreshing rankings—and on the name still holding first place: No Words Needed.
"I hope he…can give us one more miracle."