Emergency Manual from 60 Years Ago

Lin Yi scanned the room, and seeing that everyone was busy with their tasks, he finally felt at ease.

Although he had climbed to the upper echelons of Blue Star in his past life through sheer combat power, spending the vast majority of his time on cultivation and resisting Abyss Beasts, he still possessed some management experience.

In truth, his suggestion that everyone busy themselves wasn't because he expected them to fend off Abyss Wolves with these items, but rather to keep them occupied so they wouldn't suffer a mental breakdown or cause accidents while he "studied" the Source Energy guidance technique.

In the current situation, it was better to have idle tasks than idle people; keeping everyone busy left them no time to let their imaginations run wild.

Lin Yi picked up the Spirit Radiance Crystal containing the cultivation method and walked toward a corner of the banquet hall where he wouldn't disturb the others, while simultaneously sweeping a glance across the room.

His mother and aunt were comforting a frightened Zhou Mengmeng, his father and uncle were dismantling decorative racks near the stage, and Chen Yu was leaning against the window, strapping on his shield while monitoring the street through a gap in the curtains.

However, he had only taken a few steps.

Buzz—! Buzz—! Buzz—!

Ding—! Ding—! Ding—!

Almost everyone's mobile phones rang with text message notifications simultaneously.

"Ah!"

"What's going on?!"

"Did a message come through?"

The group was startled at first, then scrambled in a panic to check their phones.

Lin Yi's heart stirred.

It's here. If nothing goes wrong, this should be the official emergency broadcast sent out during the window before the base stations completely collapse!

Although he knew the general content, Lin Yi still quickly walked over to his parents and retrieved the phone he had left with them while he was wearing his armor.

As soon as he opened it, he saw three unread messages.

Lin Yi tapped them open efficiently.

[National Emergency Alert] [Highest Crisis Level] Attention all citizens!

A nationwide biological safety disaster has occurred (Code: Abyss Tide)!

A region-wide emergency directive is now in effect:

Hold your position and await aid! Reinforce doors and windows, do not go out, and wait for rescue where you are!

Store water and food! Immediately collect and store drinking water and food supplies!

Ignore rumors! Trust only this official alert channel! Subsequent instructions will be issued via the designated radio frequency (FM .* MHz)! Prioritize the protection of radio receiving equipment and portable power generation gear!

Important Supplement: The official website has released the Abyss Tide Survival Guide (www.**..cn). Given that subsequent communications may be interrupted, it is recommended that all citizens download and save this immediately.

Crisis Response Center

July 24, 2027

All three messages contained the same content.

"Radio frequency... official website guide..." Zhou Yuxuan, the class monitor, muttered to himself, his fingers instinctively tapping the link.

His action was like pressing a start button; everyone began checking the link, eager to see what this so-called survival guide would contain.

Likely due to the massive influx of traffic, the website was sluggish, only finishing its load after a short wait.

"It opened, it opened!"

Chen Yu let out a low cry.

The phone screen displayed the simple blue-and-white official website of the Crisis Response Center. Everything else had been cleared away, leaving only a solitary message with the title: Abyss Tide Emergency Survival Guide.

Everyone clicked to download it.

The document appeared quite lengthy, and after a while, Ye Qingyu was the first to finish the download.

"When conditions permit, please print or hand-copy the key contents of this guide onto paper media."

Ye Qingyu read aloud softly, "The first rule is this?"

"Smart!"

Zhou Jianjun slapped his thigh hard. "If the phone runs out of power, you can't read it. Writing it on paper could save lives!"

Lin Ruiheng stood up immediately to rummage through the service desk drawers. "Find paper and pens! Quickly!"

By this time, the Abyss Tide Emergency Survival Guide had finished downloading on Lin Yi's phone as well. He opened the document, and the long table of contents unfolded across his screen:

Chapter 1: Emergency Evasion Precautions

Chapter 2: Points for Food and Water Storage

Chapter 3: Simple Weapon Crafting (Bows/Short Hammers/Short Spears/Molotov Cocktails/etc.)

Chapter 5: Rapid Indoor Soilless Cultivation Methods

Chapter 7: Emergency Wound Treatment and Antibacterial Folk Remedies (Wild Herbs/Honey/Alcohol, etc.)

Chapter 9: Homemade Rainwater Filters

Chapter 11: Crafting Radios via Primitive Methods

Chapter 16: Simple Radioactive Dust Protection (Plastic Sheeting + Duct Tape Method)

Appendix 3: Illustrated Guide to Edible Parts of Rat Meat

"Why are they even teaching us how to eat rats? This is way too detailed." Li Jie grinned as he flipped through the pages, but his finger suddenly stopped. "Wait! Look at this date at the end. Did they get it wrong?"

Everyone hurriedly scrolled to the end of the document, where a line of small text read: Revision Date: November 7, 1967.

"Is it possible they didn't get it wrong?" Chen Yu smirked. "No wonder there's a section on nuclear radiation protection. They probably just slapped a new title on a manual meant for nuclear war preparations back in the day."

"The timeline certainly matches up." Zhou Yuxuan shook his head helplessly. "No wonder it was so fast; it was already ready-made."

"Don't overthink it, as long as it works!" By now, Lin Ruiheng had already dug out the hotel's guest feedback paper and pens, while Zhou Jianjun pulled a stack of menus from somewhere and slammed them onto the table.

"Hurry up. Men, keep working on the weapons and shields; that guide just reminded me that we can find a way to make some short hammers! Women, start by copying the highlighted chapters. Wait—Xiao Yi, you go learn that crystal first. We don't need you for these chores."

Lin Yi nodded. Even if Zhou Jianjun hadn't mentioned it, he would have volunteered himself. After all, the Abyss Wolf would return before long, and mastering Source Energy was the top priority.

Still, it was better that someone else had brought it up.

As the paper and pens were passed around, the people in the banquet hall busied themselves once more.

Zhao Xiaowen unwrapped a new lipstick and used the pigment to draw a diagram of a water purification device on the back of a menu. His aunt put on her glasses and neatly transcribed the key points for suturing wounds, and even Zhou Mengmeng requested a pencil stub, lying on the floor to trace the mushroom identification guide.

Meanwhile, Zhou Jianjun taught a few young men how to wrap tablecloths around the edges of chair frames to create makeshift shields.

The snapping sound of chair legs breaking, the scratching of pen tips against paper, and the sound of hushed discussions—these slightly noisy sounds echoed through the banquet hall, temporarily keeping the panic at bay.

However, Lin Yi knew this was just an illusion. The panic hadn't vanished; it had merely been replaced by the pressure of receiving official information and the sheer will to survive.

He didn't dwell on it, though. As long as he mastered Source Energy in a moment, the safety of this place would be absolutely guaranteed.

With that in mind, Lin Yi found a corner against the wall and sat down cross-legged.

This position allowed him to observe the entire room without being completely out of everyone's sight.

The moment Lin Yi raised the crystal, he felt the entire banquet hall fall silent. Everyone's gaze turned toward him almost simultaneously.

He deliberately took a deep breath and pinched both ends of the crystal between his thumb and index finger.

"Xiao Yi." His mother, Zhou Jinghua's voice drifted over, then cut off abruptly.

"Click."

The sound of the crystal shattering between his fingers was faint, yet it was incredibly distinct in the quiet banquet hall.