Anime Crossover: Post-Apocalyptic Survival, My Stand is the World

She smiled.

Her smile was sweet, like cherry blossoms blooming in spring.

His laughter made Su Chen feel a chill run down his spine for no apparent reason.

“Su Chenjun…”

Her voice was so gentle it could melt water, carrying a captivating charm.

"--Could you repeat that?"

"I don't think I heard you clearly just now?"

Su Chen looked at her extremely kind smile, and then at the girls beside him who, although they hadn't fully grasped the situation, seemed to have sensed something from Shi Yu's reaction, and whose faces were beginning to show hostility.

A bead of cold sweat broke out uncontrollably on his forehead.

'Oh no.'

'Looks like we've gone too far.'

His intention was to use this method to declare his ownership and final decision-making power over everyone, thereby ending their factional disputes.

But now it seems that this analogy has caused an even bigger misunderstanding.

Or…

It reveals a truth hidden deep within his heart, a truth that even he himself had never fully grasped.

He looked at the five stunningly beautiful young women, at their faces that were either cold, gentle, proud, cunning, or noble.

A thought, uncontrollably, surfaced in his mind.

perhaps…

Is this not bad?

Chapter Ninety-Three: Forty-Seven Days Countdown

Su Chen's "wings declaration," brimming with a death wish, ultimately ended with him being "invited" out of the meeting room by five equally gentle and smiling girls in a mild manner that left no room for resistance.

Furthermore, he was "thoughtfully" informed by Mai Sakurajima that his "body" was not allowed to step into the top floor until the "wings" had reached a final conclusion.

Su Chen looked at the door that had slammed shut in front of him with a "bang," and helplessly rubbed his nose. The door seemed to still bear the lingering traces of Kasumigaoka Utaha's dangerous smile.

'It seems even ancient emperors couldn't handle the internal affairs of the harem.'

He wisely refrained from going back to make a fool of himself. After all, even he would feel a chill run down his spine if he were faced with five extraordinary girls who were united in their hatred of the enemy.

He chose to go downstairs to the kitchen to inspect the spoils he had just risked his life to bring back, hoping to soothe his wounded soul.

……

In the kitchen, after a "friendly" exchange that nearly led to the kitchen being torn down again, Tohru and Ryo Kurokiba, through the physical mediation of Kobayashi and Alice, have reached a preliminary consensus to keep to themselves and not interfere with each other.

Each person occupies half of the stove, with a clear dividing line drawn in chalk in the middle.

Nobody should get in anyone's way.

The top-quality ingredients brought back from Totsuki Academy were carefully handled, as if they were rare treasures, and placed in a huge walk-in cold storage room.

Su Chen walked in, looked at the treasures that would drive any Michelin three-star chef crazy, and nodded in satisfaction.

A5 grade Matsusaka Wagyu beef is piled high, French Périgord black truffles exude an intoxicating aroma, and there are countless top-quality caviar, tuna, and various rare spices.

With these things, at least in terms of food, their quality of life far surpasses that of 99.99% of the survivors in this post-apocalyptic world.

They were even more extravagant than most people before the apocalypse.

However, just as he was basking in the joy of this bountiful harvest...

A cold, emotionless voice, as if pronouncing a death sentence, echoed softly behind him.

"Don't be happy too soon."

Su Chen turned around and saw Yukino Yukinoshita holding a thick notebook, who had silently stood behind him without him noticing. She was like a most dutiful housekeeper, always delivering the coldest reality when her master was at his most complacent.

The expression of embarrassment and annoyance that had just appeared on her face in the conference room had vanished.

Instead, there is an absolute calm and rationality.

"What's wrong?" Su Chen asked. For her to show that expression, it was clearly not a small matter. "Have you reached a consensus upstairs?"

“A partial consensus has been reached. But before that, a more serious problem has arisen.” Yukino didn’t answer his question but went straight to the point, “a problem that could render all our previous arguments meaningless.”

As she spoke, she opened the notebook in her hand.

“Based on the current population of our base, including the dozen or so ordinary survivors still in the underground railway camp…”

"And Miss Tohru and Kanna's inhuman appetites that far exceed those of ordinary people..."

"We have conducted the most accurate total quantity and consumption assessment of our total food reserves ever."

She opened the notebook in her hand and handed it to Su Chen.

On it was a table filled with densely packed numbers and red descending curves. The cold table looked particularly glaring under the white lights of the cold storage.

It has only one title.

—"Doomsday Countdown".

"The conclusion is," Yukino's voice was calm and expressionless, yet it caused the smile on Su Chen's face to slowly fade, and his brows to furrow.

"Even if we add all the ingredients we brought back this time, even if we implement the strictest food rationing system from today onwards, controlling everyone's calorie intake to the minimum survival standard."

She paused, raised her eyes, looked into Su Chen's eyes, and said, word by word, the cruelest, final number.

"—All our food is only enough to last another forty-seven days."

"..."

"..."

Forty-seven days.

A little over a month and a half.

This number, like an invisible boulder made of ice and steel, pressed heavily on Su Chen's heart, giving him a long-lost feeling of suffocation.

He looked into Yukino's clear yet solemn eyes.

Yukino looked at him, her eyes unwavering.

They both saw the same heavy expression in each other's eyes.

They all understand.

I understand now. This seemingly impregnable stronghold, this team full of geniuses and strong individuals, is facing its biggest and most unavoidable crisis.

It has never been any of those strangely shaped monsters outside.

It's not about the potential for treachery among survivors.

Rather, it is those two most primitive and terrifying words, capable of destroying all civilization and reason.

"--hunger."

……

Half an hour later.

Top floor meeting room.

When Yukino Yukinoshita calmly presented this apocalyptic assessment report to everyone.

The entire conference room fell into a deathly silence once again.

The atmosphere, which was just moments ago tense and on the verge of splitting into two factions due to a dispute over policy, was instantly crushed and replaced by an even heavier, absolute pressure called "survival."

"That is to say..."

He had been lounging on the sofa, playing the role of the older brother among the "Blank" siblings who seemed to be living life to the fullest. For the first time, the cynical expression on Sora's face completely disappeared.

His voice became somewhat dry.

Are we about to seamlessly transition from the action game channel of 'post-apocalyptic survival,' which still offers some room for skillful gameplay, to the more hardcore simulation management game channel of 'Don't Starve,' which is purely about resource management?

He scratched his messy hair in frustration, a look of extreme headache on his face.

"…|| That's not my forte! My talent is playing 'games' and clearing those seemingly impossible levels, not playing 'simulation management'! Farming and such are simply not my area of ​​expertise!"

"..."

No one paid any attention to his complaints.

Because at this moment, everyone's face was filled with the same solemn expression.

Sit back and eat nothing.

This is the simplest, yet most unsolvable, dead end.

They can rely on Su Chen's resources to hunt for more top-tier ingredients, but that's only a temporary solution. The city's unclaimed resources will eventually be completely plundered. They can't depend on scavenging forever.

For a team or a civilization to continue, it must transform from a "plunderer" to a "producer".

unless…

They can find a base that can keep monsters away, purify the land, allow them to safely cultivate and raise livestock, and produce a continuous supply of food.

"Project Lighthouse..."

Mai Sakurajima, who had been silent all along, softly uttered those four words.

Instantly, everyone's attention was once again focused on the map of Chiba City that was spread out in the center of the table.

The focus was on the Chiba Port Tower, located beside Tokyo Bay, which was circled in red by Yukino Yukinoshita.

　(Liao Wang Zhao) The disputes that originally arose from risks and rewards no longer seem so important at this moment.

Because they had no way out.

Kasumigaoka Utaha looked at the map, her beautiful eyebrows furrowing tightly. She said softly, "A port means more than just potential ships; it means sea salt and marine fishery resources. If we could... go there, it would truly alleviate our food shortage."

“That’s right.” Alice Nakiri also put away her playful mood and pointed to another location on the map. “Besides, there are usually large cold storage warehouses and granaries near ports. Even if some of the things inside have spoiled due to the power outage, it’s still much more efficient than us searching piecemeal in the city.”

However, Erina Nakiri raised the most crucial question. Her voice was as proud as ever, but also carried a hint of seriousness.

"The problem is, how do we get there? And how do we defend it? The port is open space with no natural defenses. Once we're targeted by a massive monster horde, we'll become sitting ducks."

The meeting room fell silent once again.

Risks still exist.

And it's a fatal risk.

Chapter Ninety-Four: Golden Experience

Yukino Yukinoshita's report, filled with the aura of a death countdown, was like a bucket of ice water from the Siberian ice field, mercilessly poured over everyone's heads.

The biting chill instantly sobered everyone up, who had just become somewhat giddy from obtaining a massive amount of top-quality ingredients.

The entire team seemed to have been forced into a dead end with no way out by an invisible yet incredibly solid wall called hunger.

Hope seems to be being slowly eroded away.

However, just when the atmosphere was so oppressive that even empty complaints seemed weak and powerless.

A light laugh, seemingly out of place, broke the somber mood.

It's Su Chen.

He looked at the girls, each with a worried expression, as if the sky were about to fall. Seeing the rare vulnerability and helplessness on their faces, a profound and unfathomable smile slowly appeared on his face.

"Who said that?"

He spoke softly, his voice not loud, but like a pebble thrown into still water, it instantly attracted everyone's attention.

"We can only 'hunt' for food?"

　267 “Hmm?”

All eyes instantly turned to him. Those eyes held confusion, bewilderment, and a hint of disbelief mixed with anticipation.

Su Chen did not explain immediately.