The slender woman

[If you were offered a barrel containing 200 L of gasoline and had to complete one of the following challenges, you would choose...]

[A: Travel to a planet suitable for human habitation. Upon your arrival, that world's sun will immediately go out for 1 minute. Survive for 1 minute to complete the choice.]

[B: Travel to a planet suitable for human habitation. Upon your arrival, the planet's rotational speed will instantly increase by 20%. Survive for 1 minute to complete the choice.]

Gasoline!

The instant he saw that word...

Shen Sui's expression changed, his deep eyes locking onto the screen.

In the apocalypse, gasoline was an extremely important strategic resource!

Without gasoline, their vehicles were nothing but lumps of metal. Nobody would even want them as scrap.

Their team had acquired vehicles before, but whenever the fuel ran out, they had no choice but to abandon them.

If...

They could get a large quantity of gasoline through [Choice]!

Their team's vehicles could keep running much longer.

But...

These two choices...

The survivors looked at the screen and began discussing them curiously.

"A whole 200 L of gasoline in one go? That's one generous reward!"

"Of course it is! Neither of these choices looks remotely easy!"

"The sun goes out for a minute? Damn... wouldn't Blue Star instantly turn into a ball of ice? There's no way anyone could survive!"

"Exactly. That's basic physics. A is definitely out."

"Then... Option B? The rotational speed only increases by twenty percent. That shouldn't make much difference, right?"

"I'm not choosing either. I don't have a car, and I don't need gasoline."

The survivors kept discussing it.

The Transcendents exchanged glances, their brows slightly furrowed, unable to make up their minds.

Soon...

Everyone turned to Lin Yu again.

Without even thinking, Lin Yu firmly shook his head.

"I'm not getting a feeling."

Although his heavy-duty pickup needed plenty of fuel, both its main and auxiliary tanks still had ample gasoline. He could drive for another dozen hours or more without any trouble, so this wasn't worth using up an Analysis attempt.

Shen Sui glanced toward the other Transcendents, a dark gleam flashing in his eyes behind his glasses.

He...

Wanted to test the choices with the survivors again.

Since they didn't know which choice was safe, they might as well pick a group and send them into both. Whichever choice produced survivors, the team would come out ahead!

If they all died...

There was nothing to be done. It was a necessary sacrifice.

The survivors weren't fools. When they saw Shen Sui looking their way, they couldn't help shuddering.

How could they not know what he was thinking?

Zhai Guang licked his lips cruelly, looking thoroughly pleased.

As far as he was concerned...

These survivors were all expendable!

They were meant to be used up!

Yellow Hair, Ye Qing, Cheng Yuening, and Lin Yu wouldn't object to something like this, either.

Making a few ordinary people take risks in exchange for important resources...

Was necessary.

Shen Sui took two steps forward, looked at the survivors, and spoke calmly.

"Our team is desperately short on fuel. To ensure we don't end up running out and being forced to survive on foot, we must obtain enough gasoline. Therefore..."

"Twenty people will be required to participate in this [Choice]. Those at the bottom of the [Choice] rankings, please step forward."

Shen Sui's voice was calm, as though he were discussing something entirely ordinary.

But it also carried an unquestionable authority that allowed no refusal.

Uncle Zhao silently walked over and looked at the survivors. He had everyone's names recorded in his mind.

At that moment...

Countless survivors turned pale, their expressions grim.

"No... both options are obviously death sentences! Captain Shen, you can't force us to die!"

"Exactly! We can accept a [Choice] that involves taking risks, but this... how is this any different from sending us to our deaths?"

"Captain Shen, we've always respected you, but you can't send everyone to their deaths!"

"That's right! Captain Shen! Please, spare us!"

"It's only gasoline, not food! Is it really worth sacrificing so many people?"

Looking miserable and pitiful, they all pleaded with Shen Sui to spare them.

Yet Shen Sui's gaze remained calm. He adjusted his glasses, glanced up at the screen, and said:

"As captain, I have a duty to everyone on this team. Making some people take risks to improve the team's overall chances of survival is also something I must do. If you want to blame anything, blame the fact that your turn came up for this [Choice]."

His voice calm, Shen Sui gave them no opportunity to refuse.

"Uncle Zhao, call the names."

A trace of reluctance showed in Uncle Zhao's eyes, but he still sighed, nodded, and began reading out the list.

"Wang..."

With every name he called, someone instantly drained of color, looking lost and despairing, before Scarface forced them out of the crowd.

Gradually...

Twenty people were called forward.

Shen Sui looked at them calmly and was just about to have them begin their [Choice].

From within the crowd...

A slender woman stepped forward. She was the woman who had chosen to defeat an apocalyptic cockroach alongside Lin Yu when he first obtained Analysis.

She had fair skin and delicate features. Taking a deep breath, she looked at the screen overhead and said:

"If you want to live, choose A. The sun going out for one minute will have a negligible effect on the planet. The atmosphere, seawater, and ground all store enormous amounts of thermal energy. That heat won't instantly disappear when the sun disappears. The sun going out and the sun disappearing aren't the same thing, so... option A carries almost no risk."

The slender woman spoke quickly, laying out her reasoning clearly.

She immediately drew everyone's attention.

Lin Yu looked at her thoughtfully.

If he remembered correctly...

This woman was a top science student from a C9 University. Her analysis made a lot of sense!

But the twenty selected survivors still didn't dare believe her. Pale-faced, they looked at her and kept protesting.

"Why should we believe you? The sun going out for a minute looks way more dangerous than the planet's rotational speed increasing by twenty percent!"

"Exactly! You don't have to participate, so of course you can stand there and say whatever you like!"

"Fuck, maybe this woman is deliberately trying to get us killed!"

"Wait... why do I feel like what she's saying makes sense?"

The slender woman looked at them and continued explaining clearly.

"If you can't understand why the sun briefly going out won't harm the planet, let me explain why you absolutely cannot choose Option B."

"A sudden twenty-percent increase in the planet's rotational speed will instantly produce an extremely powerful tangential inertial effect. The crust will be forcibly accelerated, and anything not connected to the surface will instantly be hurled away at high speed."

"At the equator, that relative speed could exceed three hundred kilometers per hour. Even at midlatitudes, it could exceed two hundred kilometers per hour."

"Under such extreme conditions..."

"Any human who collides with an object will undoubtedly die."

When the slender woman finished, most of those present still hadn't understood.

But they had a vague feeling...

That it made a lot of sense.

Meanwhile, many of those with a basic grasp of physics immediately understood what she meant. Their eyes lit up, and they said:

"She's right, she's right... Option B really is certain death...!"

It wasn't that many of them didn't understand. They had simply forgotten this knowledge long ago.

Now that the slender woman had explained it, realization dawned on many of them.

At that moment, the slender woman demonstrated her confidence through action.

She looked at the screen and spoke firmly.

"I choose A."

Since this was an opportunity to refresh her choice count, she certainly wasn't going to pass it up!