"The first is the geological upheaval hypothesis. For unknown reasons, the crust has undergone violent movement, causing major shifts in the tectonic plates... (*electrical static)"
"The plates pressing against one another have caused frequent major earthquakes."
"According to researchers' findings, Mount Everest is rising at an unprecedented rate... (*static) Everest's rate of uplift has jumped from 1.27 centimeters per year to its current rate of 13 meters per year, an increase of more than a thousandfold."
"We do not know whether this geological phenomenon will persist long-term."
"The second is the parallel-world merger hypothesis. Mutated life-forms that hunt humans have appeared in the oceans; a very small number of people with unusual abilities have also emerged among the human population."
"Mysterious regions have been discovered in the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Arctic Ocean, and Indian Ocean, seemingly appearing out of nowhere within a single day."
"We call these regions Mysterious Zones."
"Some experts believe these additional worlds have encroached on existing space, causing large-scale movement of the earth's crust."
Zhang Ming pricked up his ears, murmuring inwardly, Additional worlds... parallel worlds?
The radio continued, "The third hypothesis is the spiritual energy revival hypothesis."
"The newly appeared mysterious regions may operate under physical laws entirely different from those originally found on Earth. Conflicts between these laws have led to frequent disasters on Earth."
"However, the emergence of this phenomenon has also benefited some people."
"To put it in simpler terms, people with superpowers have appeared."
"Currently, approximately one person in a million worldwide has superpowers. The closer people are to a Mysterious Zone, the more likely they are to develop abilities, and the more exceptional those powers become... (*static) There are around 4,000 survivors in the Mysterious Zones, roughly one-tenth of whom have developed superpowers."
[Spirit +1]
Zhang Ming nodded, putting on a serious expression.
So my stats panel wasn't a cheat-it was my own power!
I'm a distinguished superhuman!
It's all down to my own efforts!
The broadcast continued, "More mutated life-forms may be active in these mysterious regions. They can easily tear through the aluminum-alloy panels on an aircraft's exterior, a destructive capability not possessed by normal living creatures."
Wasn't that... exactly what happened last night?
"The radio probably transmitted the sounds of the monster attack before it was destroyed. The experts analyzed them, gathered some information, then reported it."
After pitching his tent, he moved the seats he had removed from the plane and his essential survival supplies inside.
He also moved a few coconuts over to serve as a perimeter wall.
Just like that, his simple little shelter was complete.
Lying back in a seat and gazing up at the stars, he felt a faint melancholy.
His current life felt like a fleeting illusion, giving him a sense of unreality.
Just last week, he had still been worrying about renting a place. A rental in the big city with just one ten-square-meter room cost 2,000 a month.
He had wanted to find somewhere cheaper, or a reliable roommate to share the rent.
As for this place... it was free.
He no longer had to worry about rent.
But where did his future lie?
Never knowing where his next meal would come from, the stats panel, monsters, superpowers-all of it had shattered his peaceful life.
Watching the stars overhead, Zhang Ming felt increasingly lonely.
"That concludes today's main news."
The announcer, Li Xianfeng, changed the subject. "Next, we will cover the basics of wilderness survival. The four essentials are shelter, drinking water, food, and fire. Over the next few days, we will focus on these four essentials."
"Of these, clean drinking water is the most important. In regions with large temperature differences between day and night, collecting dew can provide a reliable source of water. There are several ways to make a dew collector..."
"Dew..." Zhang Ming froze for a moment, then jumped out of his seat.
Making a dew collector was simple.
Place a metal sheet at an angle in a damp area, and dew would naturally condense on its surface. Once enough water droplets accumulated, they would roll down the slope.
He happened to have several metal sheets he had removed from the plane.
As for containers, he could use suitcases.
He had over a hundred of those!
At the edge of the island, the damp sea breeze brought plenty of moisture. A single night should yield a substantial amount of dew.
In the pitch darkness, the night vision granted by his 30 points of perception did little good. Fortunately, he had a hand-cranked flashlight. He quickly made two dew collectors, then crawled back into his shelter.
"If they work, I'll make a few more tomorrow. Nothing could be better than solving the water problem."
Night fell completely.
The satellite passed out of range, the broadcast stopped, and the radio lost its signal once again.
Silence, tension, and unease washed over him.
"My second night here..."
The more nervous he became, the more he wanted to eat, until his head was filled with Jinhua Ham, fragrant rice, the warmth of home...
And... that enormous, putrid black monster!
Zhang Ming felt his sanity plummeting and couldn't help lamenting inwardly, Can I just be a dung beetle and burrow into the dirt?
Before going to sleep, he had planned to raise his [Perception] a little and lower his [Physique].
But transferring stats would consume stamina and leave him even hungrier.
In the end, he had to give up on the idea.
"...Sleep, just sleep."
After reading through all his scripts, Li Xianfeng let out a soft breath.
The building swayed slightly. One minor earthquake after another set the electronic equipment in the room shaking along with it.
Small earthquakes of magnitude 3 to 5 had become the new normal over the past few days.
Li Xianfeng had no idea whether Zhang Ming, trapped deep inside the Mysterious Zone, could receive the satellite broadcast, or whether everything they were doing was simply wasted effort.
"Accept what fate brings, and do what we can."
When he returned to the office, he found many of his colleagues earnestly discussing the day's progress.
"If Zhang Ming can hear the satellite broadcast, we should be able to see him making dew collectors tomorrow. That would solve his water problem."
A military expert said, "If Zone 16 can receive satellite broadcasts, that will give him a unique survival advantage going forward."
Mysterious Zones 1 through 15 could not receive satellite broadcasts. Otherwise, things would never have escalated into that scandal over infighting.
At the mention of this, everyone felt a little schadenfreude. "Fusang's ocean-going whaling ship made a complete fool of itself in front of the whole world. It might even trigger a diplomatic incident."
"Fortunately, there's only one person in Mysterious Zone 16. Whatever happens, there won't be a diplomatic incident..."
"The dozens of our nationals in Mysterious Zone 1, on the other hand, deserve more of our attention."
Another expert said, "Those mirages have now become a nationalist frenzy."
"Ocean-going whaling clashes with Western political correctness, so it's drawn some of the fire away from us."
"Otherwise, there would be even more public attacks on our survivors."
Before you continue