My physics masters couldn't possibly be grand mages.

This is a low-cost apartment building in Tiancheng Port, consisting of two U-shaped buildings facing each other, forming a U-shaped structure.

The two buildings are connected by many sky bridges.

At its peak, this building housed tens of thousands of people, making it a completely self-sufficient vertical city.

The ground floor connects to a shopping mall and supermarket; the escalators have long been out of service, and the steps are covered in thick dust.

The mannequins in the clothing store were missing arms and legs, scattered in the aisle. The shelves in the convenience store had collapsed, and everything inside had vanished.

There's also a pharmacy, a barbershop, a mobile phone repair shop, and a small gym. There's even a clinic and a kindergarten.

It's fair to say that some internet workers who work from home could never have to go out in their entire lives.

Most of the doors in the residential area were locked, and some had been pried open, revealing messy furniture and dried bloodstains inside.

Many survivors must have come here before, and after several rounds of fighting, a quiet balance has been reached.

There were many corpses on the road, some of them monsters, some of them human, and a faint stench of decay emanated from them in the sticky air.

They randomly picked a room that was relatively clean and went inside.

Su Ming picked up the curtains that had fallen to the ground and tried to cover the window with them.

In an instant, the entire room became extremely dark.

But soon, a faint light rekindled the room.

Char took a lantern from his storage space and placed it on the table.

At the same time, he walked to a table and gently waved his hand.

No one saw what he did; they only saw a plate appear out of thin air within the halo of the lantern.

Then came the second, and the third. The golden-brown lamb chops were still sizzling and dripping with oil, steam rising from the meat and carrying the aroma of cumin and chili.

A plate of roasted potatoes, wrinkled and sprinkled with salt. A bowl of thick soup, filled with mushrooms, steaming gently.

There are also a few pieces of bread.

Char just went back and ordered some food by the fireplace.

The ability to freeze time within storage space is quite useful for ensuring food freshness.

The room fell silent in an instant.

The eyes of these people widened in surprise.

It's unclear whether the astonishment stems from Char's ability to conjure a table full of food out of thin air, or from the food itself.

The presence of such a table of fresh, just-cooked food in the apocalypse is itself an incredible thing.

The plate of lamb chops was still steaming, the fat glistening slightly on its golden-brown surface.

"Coo coo—"

In the dim light, someone's stomach growled.

Although the sound wasn't loud, it was particularly noticeable in a quiet environment.

Fang Tang subconsciously swallowed, but she didn't move.

It wasn't because she didn't want to eat; her stomach was cramping and her saliva was flowing like crazy.

Since the apocalypse, they have rarely been able to have three normal meals a day; if they are lucky, they can eat some nutritional bars.

It's common to go hungry for several days when you're unlucky.

But she didn't dare to eat it, or rather, the others didn't touch it either.

This man could conjure up a table full of food with a flick of his wrist, and they didn't even know who he was, where he came from, or why he saved them.

In the apocalypse, never eat anything given to you by strangers. This is a rule that everyone has learned at the cost of their lives.

"Gulp." Zhao Lina swallowed.

Su Ming was the most composed. He stared at the food for a few seconds, then looked at Xia Ya.

Those eyes were calm, neither probing nor offering charity.

The room was silent for a few seconds.

"Eat up," Xia said. He picked up a piece of bread from the table, tore it in half, and handed it to Fang Tang, while taking a bite of the other half himself. "I poisoned it."

His tone was so casual, it sounded like he was joking.

Fang Tang hesitated for a moment, but finally took the bread.

She stared blankly at the still-warm bread in her hand, and after confirming that she wasn't dreaming, she took a bite.

Her teeth sank into the crispy outer shell, steam rising from within. The aroma was of wheat, salt, and a hint of caramel sweetness. She closed her eyes and chewed for a long time.

The group exchanged glances. Zhao Lina didn't say anything, but stepped forward, picked up the bowl of soup, stirred it with a spoon, blew on it, and brought it to Lao Zhou's lips.

Old Zhou opened his eyes. Although he was very weak, he was conscious. He took a sip of soup, his lips moved, and he uttered a muffled syllable.

Zhao Lina leaned closer and heard him say, "Hot."

She laughed, and as she laughed, tears began to fall.

Lin Guodong finally came in and sat down at the corner of the table. He didn't take any bread or meat, but instead reached out, grabbed a potato, stuffed it into his mouth, chewed it twice, and swallowed it. Then he picked up a second one.

Su Ming watched them, watching Lin Guodong eat heartily, watching Fang Tang break the bread into small pieces, reluctant to finish it all at once, and watching Zhao Lina feed Lao Zhou while crying.

He hesitated for a few seconds.

Then he picked up a lamb chop and took a bite. The moment the fat exploded in his mouth...

He thought that even if he died after eating this meal, it would be worth it.

No one died from the poisoning.

Su Ming placed the bones he had finished eating on the table, looked at Xia Ya, and asked seriously, "What do you want us to do?"

In the apocalypse, such a meal would be enough to make anyone risk their life for it.

"Relax." Xia tore off a piece of lamb from the chop and started eating. "We were just passing by, ran into you, and decided to have a meal together."

Su Ming frowned slightly as he looked at Xia Ya. Saying this before the apocalypse would have been perfectly fine.

But we are now in the apocalypse.

Imagine someone suddenly walks by and treats you to a lavish meal when everyone else is starving. It's incredibly bizarre.

He didn't even bother to figure out how the food came to be.

Those who were enjoying their food clearly didn't share Su Ming's thoughts. Fang Tang's mouth was full of bread. She looked up at Cindy, who was leaning against the window watching them, and asked indistinctly.

Aren't you going to eat?

"She can't eat human food." Xia placed the bone on the table. "I advise you not to ask anymore. You must be quite tempting to her."

Char's tone was as casual as ever, but the meaning behind his words made Sugar's expression freeze.

The room was quiet for a moment, and some people couldn't help but glance at Cindy out of the corner of their eyes.

Cindy didn't say anything, just gave a soft hum and looked away.

"Have you heard of the Iron Mountain National Data Center?" At this moment, Xia Ya's voice brought them back to their senses.

Upon hearing this familiar name, Su Ming raised an eyebrow. He glanced at Lin Guodong and then spoke.

Where are you going?

"I'm going to get the data from Project Ark," Xia said truthfully, there was no point in hiding it.

Su Ming paused for a moment and then said, "That place is no longer a place where people can stay."

Xia narrowed his eyes slightly and continued to ask:

"What happened over there?"

"The Tieshan National Data Center is actually a survivor base," Lin Guodong chimed in, his voice low. "It houses over 300,000 people, and we used to be one of them. Now..."

"What's going on now?"

"They're all dead..." Su Ming's voice was low and somber. "The entire base's defense force, and the vast majority of the people inside, are dead..."