"If you were offered three bags of bread and had to pick one of the following options, which would you choose...?"
"A: Defeat a C-302 Apocalypse Cockroach."
"B: Spend one hour in an enclosed room with one hundred million American cockroaches."
A screen of light hung in midair above an abandoned highway.
Beneath it, a hundred-odd people stared up at the screen, arguing among themselves.
"Three bags of bread! This Choice has a huge reward!"
"I haven't eaten in three days. If I could get three bags of bread..."
"C-302. Another unknown breed of cockroach. It's too risky."
"Remember that MA-1002 Ant last time? It sucked a living person into a dried husk in an instant."
"Option B might be doable. A hundred million American cockroaches... They shouldn't eat people, right?"
"This is the apocalypse! Who knows if those American cockroaches are normal!"
"Idiot! Even ordinary American cockroaches could kill you in those numbers!"
"Heh. What doesn't kill you in this godforsaken place?"
Among the crowd, twenty-year-old Lin Yu narrowed his eyes at the [Choice] on the screen. With his ragged clothes and dirt-smeared face, he looked like a homeless drifter.
"I'm running out of food... Maybe... it's time to take a gamble."
Half a year ago, the apocalypse had descended.
Countless monsters, supernatural horrors, and alien races had appeared out of nowhere and begun slaughtering humanity on a massive scale.
More than ninety percent of humanity had died. Those who remained struggled to survive.
Monsters and supernatural horrors could sniff out humans and hunt them down.
As a result, humans couldn't settle anywhere for long. They could only band together and wander, forming Survival Squads, Survival Companies, Survival Corps, and so on...
Lin Yu currently belonged to a Survival Squad of over a hundred people.
And [Choices] were the key to humanity's survival.
[Choices] appeared randomly on highways and in the wilderness. Completing one could earn food, supplies, or even power beyond human limits.
Sometimes, a [Choice] led to certain death.
But...
to stay alive, humans had no choice but to gamble!
At last, someone could no longer hold back!
"Fuck it! I'll do it! It's just a hundred million cockroaches. I don't believe they can eat me!"
A burly thug with a dragon tattoo covering half his chest stepped forward and growled,
"I choose B!"
The moment he spoke, a name appeared beside option B on the screen: Wang Dalong.
With someone taking the lead, the other survivors exchanged glances. A few finally lost their nerve and stepped up.
"I... I choose B too."
"Me too!"
"And me!"
Three more men, driven to desperation by hunger, gritted their teeth and chose B.
A hundred million American cockroaches sounded revolting enough just to think about.
But...
they had no other choice!
Without food, they would starve to death!
So what if it was disgusting?
It was better than dying!
Lin Yu shook his head inwardly.
"Idiots."
Taking a desperate gamble and throwing your life away were two different things.
With a hundred million American cockroaches, the important part wasn't the cockroaches themselves. It was that staggering number: one hundred million.
Any creature, once its numbers passed a certain threshold, became absolutely lethal.
And option B put them in an enclosed room.
There would be nowhere to run.
As for fighting back?
A hundred million American cockroaches. You couldn't possibly kill them all.
In a dozen seconds or so, they would cover your entire body, block your airway, and even crawl into your ears, nostrils, and mouth...
You wouldn't just die.
You would die in agony.
The gamble Lin Yu wanted to take... was the C-302 Apocalypse Cockroach.
It was an unknown model of cockroach.
It might be incredibly powerful, like the man-eating ant they had encountered before, capable of sucking someone into a dried husk in an instant.
Or it might be so weak that even a child could kill it.
That...
was a gamble Lin Yu could take!
He looked at the screen in the air and was about to announce his choice when information suddenly appeared before his eyes.
[Apocalypse Choice detected. You currently have 3 Analysis Charges. Use one?]
Lin Yu froze for a moment.
He immediately understood the information in his mind.
He seemed to have awakened a special ability. At midnight each day, he would receive three Analysis Charges, and unused charges could accumulate.
Analysis Charges could analyze anything in existence.
That included, but wasn't limited to, [Choices], people, and creatures...
Lin Yu quietly clenched his fists, concealing his excitement. Did this mean he had become a Beyonder?
A support-type Beyonder!
His current squad had combat-type Beyonders.
He was no stranger to the concept.
Looking at the [Choice] in the air, Lin Yu immediately confirmed that he wanted to analyze option A.
Now that he had Analysis Charges, there was no reason to risk his life blindly!
[Analyzing...]
[Analyzing C-302 Apocalypse Cockroach...]
[Analysis complete.]
[The C-302 Apocalypse Cockroach is an experimental organism cultivated in Biological Laboratory No. 32 on Planet Kostan. Adults measure approximately 3 centimeters in length. It is nonvenomous and has no offensive capabilities. It was originally developed solely as an ingredient for specialized pharmaceuticals.]
[Selecting this option: probability of victory, 100%. Probability of injury, 0.]
What detailed information!
After reading it, Lin Yu felt even calmer.
A completely harmless cockroach.
An effortless kill!
He looked at the screen and spoke in an even voice.
"I choose A."
At those words, countless eyes turned toward him. Some held surprise; others, disbelief.
"Do you have a death wish? Three survivors were sucked dry by a special-model ant just the day before yesterday, and you're still choosing one of those creatures?"
"If you're going to gamble, you'd be better off with the hundred million American cockroaches. As long as you're fast enough, they can't get near you!"
"Heh. There's always some idiot who thinks he's the chosen one. He'll deserve it if he dies!"
"Ah... You've already chosen. Good luck."
Lin Yu ignored every word.
He walked out of the crowd and into the open area, waiting for the screen to summon him.
On the right side of the clearing,
Wang Dalong and the other three survivors sneered at him. Their eyes were hostile; they practically wished for him to die a horrible death!
They had chosen different answers.
Naturally, they didn't want Lin Yu to survive!
Wouldn't that make them look like fools?
A scrutinizing gaze from the crowd suddenly settled on Lin Yu.
The man wore black-framed glasses. His face was cool and composed, and he carried himself with the air of someone who had everything under control.
He spoke calmly.
"If you survive, you'll have gathered information for our Survival Squad. You'll be exempt from handing over supplies this time."
This was Chen Sui, the man in charge of the Survival Squad.
He was also one of its few Beyonders!
Clearly,
Chen Sui was encouraging them to choose more unknown options.
Normally, after each [Choice], anyone fortunate enough to survive had to surrender one-third of their supplies.
That was their Survival Squad's rule.
It was also one of the reasons Chen Sui was willing to take ordinary survivors along.
Lin Yu glanced at him and gave a slight nod.
Until he became a Beyonder with actual combat power, he had no intention of challenging the squad's rules. If Chen Sui was willing to exempt him this time, all the better.