(An experienced author with one 9.1-rated book and one 8.8-rated book under my belt, currently putting out over 6,000 words daily with regular prompt updates. Read the first thirty chapters, and feel free to roast me afterward if you want.)
"If you are given three bags of bread and need to pick one option from the following, which would you choose..."
"A: Defeat a C-302 Type Apocalypse Cockroach."
"B: Spend one hour in a sealed room with one hundred million American cockroaches."
Along an abandoned highway, a screen of light projected into midair.
Beneath the light screen, about a hundred-plus people were staring at it and discussing animatedly.
"Three bags of bread! The payout for this choice is so high!"
"I haven't eaten in three days. If I could just have three bags of bread..."
"C-302, another unknown species of cockroach. It's too risky."
"Remember the MA-1002 Ant from last time? It sucked a living person dry into jerky in a split second."
"Option B actually seems doable. One hundred million American cockroaches shouldn't eat people, right?"
"This is the apocalypse! Who knows if these American cockroaches are normal!"
"Idiot! Even normal American cockroaches are enough to cost someone their life!"
"Heh, in this damn place, what doesn't cost people their lives?"
Amid the crowd.
Twenty-year-old Lin Yu stared at the Choice light screen, his eyes narrowing slightly. His clothes were tattered and his face was covered in dust, making him look like a vagrant.
"Food is running low... Maybe... it's time to take a gamble."
Half a year ago, the apocalypse descended.
Countless monsters, anomalies, and alien races appeared out of thin air, slaughtering humanity on a massive scale.
Nearly ninety percent of humanity died, and the remaining humans struggled to survive.
Because monsters and anomalies could sniff out the scent of humans and hunt them down, people could not settle in one place for long.
They could only group together, wandering in bands to form the Survival Squad, survival brigades, survival corps, and so on...
The group Lin Yu currently belonged to was a survival squad numbering over a hundred people.
And the Choices were the key to human survival.
Choices would randomly appear on highways and in the wilderness. As long as one completed a Choice, they could obtain food, supplies, or even power that surpassed humanity.
Although the Choices sometimes presented certain-death scenarios.
Still.
To stay alive.
Humans had no choice but to gamble!
At that moment, someone finally could not hold back!
"Damn it, I'm going all in! What's a hundred million cockroaches? I refuse to believe they can eat me alive!"
A burly "tough guy" with a dragon tattooed across half his chest stepped forward and said fiercely:
"I choose Option B!"
As the words fell.
A name appeared beside Option B on the light screen: Wang Dalong.
With someone firing the opening shot.
The other survivors exchanged glances, and finally, others could not hold back either.
"I-I'll choose Option B too."
"Count me in!"
"Me too!"
One after another, three more starving men gritted their teeth and chose Option B.
Although one hundred million American cockroaches sounded sickening just by name.
However...
They had no other choice!
If they didn't get food soon, they were going to starve to death!
Disgusting was better than dead!
Lin Yu shook his head inwardly.
A desperate struggle to the death and throwing your life away were two different things.
With one hundred million American cockroaches, the important thing wasn't the American cockroaches themselves, but that staggering number of one hundred million.
Any living creature, once its numbers reach a certain limit,
is absolutely fatal.
Moreover, the environment where [Choice] B was located was still a closed room.
There was nowhere even to run.
As for resistance?
With a hundred million American cockroaches, you wouldn't even be able to kill them all.
In just over ten seconds, American cockroaches would crawl all over your body, block your respiratory tract, and even crawl into your ears, nostrils, and mouth...
Not only would you die,
but you would die an extremely painful death.
As for what Lin Yu wanted to gamble on... it was the C-302 Type Apocalypse Cockroach.
This was an unknown model of cockroach.
It might be very strong, like the man-eating ants he had encountered before, instantly sucking a person dry into jerky.
Or it might be very weak, easily crushed to death by a child.
This...
was the exact point Lin Yu could gamble on!
As Lin Yu gazed at the light screen in the air and was about to voice his choice,
information suddenly appeared before his eyes.
[Apocalypse choice detected. You currently have 3 analysis opportunities. Do you wish to use them?]
Lin Yu froze slightly,
instantly understanding the information in his mind.
He seemed to have awakened a special ability; every day at midnight, three analysis opportunities were issued to him, which could accumulate.
Analysis opportunities could analyze everything in the world,
including but not limited to [Choice], people, living creatures...
Without changing his expression, Lin Yu clenched his fists to hide the excitement in his heart. Could this count as him becoming a Transcendent?
A support-type Transcendent!
In the team he was currently in, there were combat-type Transcendents.
So he was not unfamiliar with this.
Lin Yu looked at the [Choice] in the air and immediately decided to analyze Option A.
Since he had analysis opportunities, naturally he didn't need to risk his life!
[Analyzing...] [Analyzing C-302 Type Apocalypse Cockroach...] [Analysis complete.] [The C-302 Type Apocalypse Cockroach originates from an experimental carrier cultivated in No. 32 Biological Laboratory on Kostan Planet. The adult body length is about 3 centimeters, it is non-toxic, and lacks offensive capabilities. The original intention of cultivation was solely for use as a special pharmaceutical raw material.] [Choosing this choice, the winning probability is 100%, and the injury probability is 0.]
Such detailed data!
After reading the information, Lin Yu's heart instantly grew even calmer.
A cockroach without any threat.
Kill it however you want!
Lin Yu looked at the light screen in the air, his voice calm.
"I choose A."
Immediately,
countless gazes turned toward him, everyone incomparably astonished!
"Are you out of your mind? Just the day before yesterday, three survivors were sucked dry by a special model of ant, and you still dare to choose a special model of creature!"
"If you really want to take a gamble, you might as well bet on a hundred million American cockroaches. As long as your speed is fast enough, the American cockroaches won't be able to get close to you!"
"Do you really fucking think you're the child of destiny? What difference does this make from sending yourself to your death?"
"Sigh... you've already chosen, good luck to you."
Facing the voices by his ear, Lin Yu completely ignored them.
He walked out of the crowd and came to the open space,
waiting for the call of the light screen.
To the right of the open space,
Wang Dalong, who had a tattoo on his chest, and three other survivors all sneered at Lin Yu, hostility in their eyes and wishing nothing more than for Lin Yu to die a miserable death!
The answers they chose were different.
Naturally, they did not want Lin Yu to survive!
Otherwise, didn't that prove they were very stupid?
Within the crowd, a scrutinizing gaze suddenly locked onto Lin Yu.
The man wore black-framed glasses, his features cold and composed, and an aura of strategic mastery radiated from his body.
He spoke in a calm voice:
"If you survive, it can be considered gathering intelligence for our Survival Squad, and your submission for this round will be waived."
This was the leader of the Survival Squad-Shen Sui.
He was also one of the few Transcendent in the Survival Squad!
Obviously.
Shen Sui was encouraging them to choose unfamiliar options more often.
Usually, after every [Choice], if the survivors managed to survive by luck, they were required to hand over one-third of their supplies.
This was the rule of their Survival Squad.
It was also one of the reasons Shen Sui was willing to take in ordinary survivors.
Lin Yu glanced at Shen Sui and nodded slightly.
Before becoming a combat-capable Transcendent, he did not plan to fight against the rules of the Survival Squad; since Shen Sui was willing to waive his submission this time, naturally that was for the best.
Before you continue