My physics masters couldn't possibly be grand mages.

"When it happened, we were on a field mission. It was night, so we had to find a place to hide for the night." Su Ming's face was gloomy. "If we had gone back then, we probably would have been stuck there forever."

"What killed you?" Xia asked.

Su Ming shook his head.

Old Zhou, who had been lying down, seemed to have regained some strength and spoke in a slightly weak, hoarse voice.

"It's a ghost..."

His voice trembled, as if just mentioning those two words had taken immense courage.

"We didn't see anything. We only saw people dying one after another right in front of us..."

Char frowned slightly. "So how did you survive?"

"I hid inside an armored vehicle."

"If it's a ghost, why can't it walk through walls?"

"It can go through walls," Old Zhou said weakly. "Some people tried to escape by car, but cars couldn't stop those things."

"It can penetrate walls, which means concrete is useless against it; it can penetrate vehicles, which means iron is useless against it," Xia said thoughtfully. "But it can't penetrate armored vehicles? What's the principle behind that?"

Old Zhou didn't answer, clearly he didn't know the reason either.

Char didn't continue the topic, but instead asked, "Is the data stored in Project Ark still there?"

Su Ming nodded. "Those are permanent fortifications, their ultimate purpose being to serve as the basis for rebuilding civilization after our victory..."

He paused, his voice slightly low, "Or perhaps we will become the tombstones of civilization after our extinction."

The room fell silent for a moment, everyone with their heads down, saying nothing.

Their hope for human victory has gradually faded with time.

This is why they accepted Char's food after only a moment's hesitation.

Living in the apocalypse is too tiring; so tiring that I can't even care about tomorrow.

"So you know exactly where that thing is?" Xia continued to ask.

"The last level," Su Ming said. "The entire underground city has thirty levels."

"Is there a safer way to get down here?" Xia asked.

Su Ming frowned slightly. He paced around the room a couple of times before saying, "There's a spiral driveway down from the Iron Mountain base. But... I doubt we can avoid those things."

"So... I also need to get my hands on an armored vehicle?"

Char was optimistic about Cindy's ability to deal with the ghosts.

However, considering the differences in the power systems of the two worlds, and the fact that Cindy might not have time to pay attention to him during the fight, it's better to be cautious.

"And it was a specific armored vehicle," Old Zhou reminded him, his voice slightly weak. "The one I was riding in was the 'Giant Shark' manufactured by the Giant Beast Company."

"Composite armor," Lin Guodong said. "It's usually used on main battle tanks."

"Where can I find a car like this?" Xia asked.

"The problem is, we don't know why the armored vehicles were able to stop those ghosts." Su Ming frowned and pondered for a moment, then continued, "So the best option is still to ride in the car that Lao Zhou escaped from before."

He looked at Xia Ya, "It's near the Iron Mountain Base, about a kilometer or two from here, but the chassis of the car is stuck in a flowerpot, so it's not easy to get out."

"It's not a big problem," Xia said, stroking his chin. Cindy should be able to get the car out.

After a brief silence, Xia looked around.

"I need a guide to go to Tieshan with me. Who among you would like to come with me?"

He added, "You just need to lead the way for me; you don't need to get out of the armored vehicle the whole time. If you trust me, you can eat this every day from now on. I guarantee it."

The room fell silent.

Everyone stopped chewing and breathing at the same time.

Su Ming was the first to come to his senses.

"Dun?" he repeated.

"Every meal," Xia said. "Hot food, meat, bread—you can eat whatever you want. I'll also ensure your safety."

He then took out a plate of dessert from the storage space.

Those were several slices of Napoleon cake. Layers of golden, flaky pastry were stacked, with snow-white cream sandwiched between each layer, and a thin layer of powdered sugar sprinkled on top.

This is a French royal dessert.

Fang Tang's eyes widened instantly.

She wasn't unfamiliar with this cake. Before the apocalypse, dessert shops near her school sold it for several tens of yuan a piece, but she thought it was too expensive and only bought it once.

That time, when she cut into it with a fork, the puff pastry cracked open with a snap, and cream squeezed out from the gap. She remembered that sound and that taste.

But that was a long, long time ago.

Before the apocalypse, treating someone to a meal might at most earn you a small favor from an acquaintance.

But now, in a world where most people are struggling to survive, being able to provide hot meals every day is enough to make people work for you.

Su Ming leaned against the wall, crossed his arms, and after a few seconds of silence, he sighed.

"Anyway, you saved our lives."

He paused.

"I'll go with you."

"I'll go too," Lin Guodong interjected at this moment. "I live near the thirtieth floor, I'm familiar with that area."

Zhao Lina looked up, glanced at Su Ming, then at Xia Ya, "But Lao Zhou..."

"You and he stay here to rest," Xia said. "I'll leave some food and water. We'll come back with the supplies and then pick you up."

Zhao Lina nodded and didn't say anything more.

Char looked at Sugar Cube, "You can stay too."

"Fang Tang has to go," Su Ming said. "She's very knowledgeable about computers and can be used as a hacker. There are many places in the base that you can't get into without an ID badge."

Xia's eyes lit up, and he looked Fang Tang up and down again. This was a rare talent.

Xia didn't say anything, but simply picked up the Napoleon cake from the table and handed it to her.

"Eat up," he said. "You need to be full to have the energy."

Fang Tang took the Napoleon cake, took a bite, and crunched.

A very light, very crisp sound. The pastry crumbled between my teeth, and the cream melted on my tongue.

She felt like it was all a dream.

It's not because of the thing itself, but because... just a few hours ago they were struggling to survive on an empty stomach.

It feels like we're having a picnic in a post-apocalyptic theme park.

We even got to have dessert after the meal.

"We'll set off at dawn tomorrow," Xia said. "Get a good rest tonight."

"Why don't you leave now?"

At this moment, Cindy, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up.

Upon hearing this, Su Ming looked up in surprise, and the others also looked at Cindy and then at Xia with puzzled expressions.

"Because it's nighttime." Xia turned to look at Cindy, the dim light of the lantern illuminating his face and making his expression even more serious. "No one can survive outdoors at night."

Cindy frowned; she seemed about to speak, but then...

"boom!"

The earth trembled.