Doomsday?

When Zhou Bai faced the gloomy man's questions again, he stopped answering truthfully. Most of the time, he simply said he did not know, claiming that he seemed to have lost some of his memories and could not remember many recent events.

What surprised Zhou Bai was that the gloomy man readily believed him and recorded his basic information.

The man then asked Zhou Bai several psychological questions. From Zhou Bai's own impression, he seemed to be confirming Zhou Bai's mental and psychological state.

"All right, there's nothing wrong with you. From now on, just live well here." The gloomy man muttered, "Though there may not be many good days left..."

Zhou Bai asked doubtfully, "What did you say?"

The gloomy man gave Zhou Bai a pitying look. "You still don't know? This world is finished. The only humans left on Earth are the forty-two people in this base. Oh... counting you, that makes forty-three."

Zhou Bai's heart jolted. He stared at the man in disbelief. "How is that possible?"

The gloomy man patted Zhou Bai's shoulder. "Come on. I'll show you your room. As for the end of the world, you'll understand soon enough."

But the gloomy man's words continued to echo through Zhou Bai's mind. He still found them utterly impossible to believe.

Yet this unfamiliar place, his bizarre body, the inexplicable language that had appeared in his mind, the Nine Calamities of Heaven and Man, and his earlier encounter with monsters... this string of strange events made him temporarily suppress his impulse. He decided to watch and wait, slowly figuring out what was going on.

When the gloomy man opened the door, he found Elsa waiting obediently outside, like a little puppy awaiting its master's return.

The instant the door opened, Elsa's eyes seemed to light up. "Teacher! I've been waiting obediently outside the whole time!"

The gloomy man rarely curled his lips into a smile. "Good girl, Elsa. I'll show Zhou Bai around first, then I'll get you something to eat."

The three of them then walked down the corridor. This time, Zhou Bai carefully observed the building around him and discovered that there were no windows anywhere they passed. Not a single glimpse of the outside could be seen, making him unable to resist asking, "Is this base underground?"

The gloomy man glanced at Zhou Bai and said slowly, "You're very sharp. This is an underground shelter, the last paradise I built."

Zhou Bai asked, "What... happened outside?"

The gloomy man said coldly, "The outside has become hell. This base is our last hope of survival."

Without paying Zhou Bai any more attention, he led him directly to a room and opened its iron door. "This is the room you'll share with Elsa. Elsa, show him around. I'll go get you something to eat."

"Okay, okay." Elsa nodded happily, drooling as she followed the gloomy man.

The man had no choice but to press a hand on her shoulder and push her back into the room. "Wait here."

Elsa's eyes shone. "Okay, okay."

As the man left, Zhou Bai inexplicably felt a little more relaxed.

He looked up at the room before him. Its furnishings were extremely plain: two simple single beds, one on each side, two desks, a washbasin, and a squat toilet. It looked more like a prison cell than a bedroom.

Zhou Bai looked at the messy bed, then sat down on the other neatly made single bed. He glanced toward the door, where the blonde little girl Elsa was squatting, her large blue eyes fixed tightly on it.

Remembering what the gloomy man had said earlier, Zhou Bai looked at the little girl before him and thought, This girl seems kind of dumb. Maybe I can pry some information out of her.

"Elsa, how long have you been here?"

Without turning her head, Elsa replied, "How would I know! I haven't learned how to count yet!"

This girl... Zhou Bai thought. Why can she be so righteous about not knowing how to count?

Zhou Bai asked again, "Then do you know about the end of the world?"

Elsa nodded rapidly. "I know, I know!" With a grave expression, she said, "Teacher said there's nothing left to eat in the outside world! It's terrifying."

Zhou Bai asked again, "...Then how did I get here? You said before that I was picked up..."

"Mhm, Teacher picked you up outside!" Elsa rubbed her stomach as she spoke. "I'm so hungry... Why did Teacher pick up a person? It would've been great if he'd picked up a pig. I haven't had pork in ages."

"..." Zhou Bai asked, "Teacher goes outside himself?"

Elsa flopped onto the floor. "So hungry..."

"Elsa?"

"So hungry."

Zhou Bai thought, This glutton is completely impossible to communicate with.

A moment later, the door opened again, and the gloomy man walked in carrying a plate. He placed it in front of Elsa. "Eat."

Then he handed another plate to Zhou Bai. "You should eat some too."

Zhou Bai looked at the stuff on the plate, which resembled a lump of paste, and instinctively frowned. Seeing his expression, the gloomy man said, "Supplies in the base are scarce right now. We can only eat synthetic food or nutritional biscuits."

Zhou Bai took the plate and scooped up a spoonful. The moment he swallowed it, his face scrunched into a miserable knot. He gently set the plate aside.

The gloomy man said, "From now on, you'll live with Elsa. She'll help you get familiar with this place."

Watching Elsa happily devour that puddle of paste, Zhou Bai could not help asking, "Is she reliable?"

The gloomy man scratched his head. "There's nothing wrong with Elsa's intelligence. She's just too innocent."

Elsa raised her head and glanced at the plate Zhou Bai had put down, looking ready to pounce.

The gloomy man hurriedly stopped her. "All right, Elsa. You've eaten enough today. Have you forgotten the time you ate until you threw up? Your stomach is already full. Your brain just hasn't realized it yet."

Elsa protested, "If my brain hasn't even realized I'm full, how can you be sure my stomach is full?"

"You're not allowed to eat any more. You'll throw up." The gloomy man took the plate away. As he walked off, he turned back and said, "Oh, right. I haven't introduced myself yet. My surname is Zhuang. You can call me Dr. Zhuang."

"I refuse to accept this! I'm not full yet!" Elsa kept jumping around her teacher, trying to snatch back the plate.

Zhou Bai asked, "Are you sure it's okay for me to live with her? She won't eat me in the middle of the night, will she?"

"Don't worry. She's just a little greedy. How could she possibly eat people?"

"Are you really sure? She's biting your hand! You're bleeding!"

"It's fine. She's just a little protective of her food..."

Over the next few days, Zhou Bai lived in the base. Through his deliberate investigations, he gained a general understanding of the entire place.

This was a five-level underground base. Underground Level 1 was a buffer zone. According to Dr. Zhuang, it was filled with the aura of hell; without specific protective measures, ordinary people would certainly die if they entered it.

The second and third levels were daily living areas, used by forty-three people including Zhou Bai. Zhou Bai also discovered something strange: apart from Dr. Zhuang, everyone else in the entire base was a child between seven and fifteen years old.

The fourth level was a warehouse filled with large quantities of daily supplies. The fifth level was a laboratory that only Dr. Zhuang could enter. No one else was allowed inside.