Chapter 78、Generous Settlement Rewards! The Second Round of the Apocalypse Begins!

At this crucial moment, Yi Bai didn't want to do anything unnecessary or let anyone venture too far from the shelter.

"The second round of the apocalypse..."

Jiang Xiaoci lowered her head, deep in thought, before looking up and asking, "Sir, do you know any details about the second round? With intel, we can stay ahead of everyone else."

"I don't know," Yi Bai shook his head, his expression serious. "All I know is the rotation time for the apocalypse. If I'm right, the second round will begin tomorrow at noon, before my talent activation."

"No one knows what the second round will bring, but I might have an edge. At least I'll have one more emergency opportunity with my talent."

Yi Bai took a deep breath and looked out at the red sun before giving an order to Jiang Xiaoci. "Cancel all activities tonight. Get everyone back."

"Tonight and tomorrow morning, everyone in the shelter needs to stay here and make preparations. Whatever the second round brings—whether it's a zombie crisis, a sudden freeze, meteor showers, or a viral outbreak—we need to be ready."

Yi Bai paused, his voice low but resolute. "We may never use these preparations, but we need to do something, at the very least."

"I understand, Sir."

Jiang Xiaoci nodded before hurriedly leaving the room.

It wasn't just Yi Bai who recognized the urgency of the situation. Most of the survivors who had a sense of time realized that the first round of the apocalypse was almost over, and the second round was coming soon. Many of the survivors, whose bodies had just barely adapted to the extreme heat, would soon face another crisis.

The shelter's university professors made analyses, suggesting that if the second round of the apocalypse brought extreme cold, it would cause severe harm to the human body. After barely adapting to the heat, a sudden plunge into sub-zero temperatures could cause many to die from shock. Of course, the discussions went far beyond just this possibility. Survivors brainstormed countless scenarios, each posing a grave threat to humanity.

The more they discussed, the heavier the atmosphere became. Yi Bai, listening in through the shelter's monitoring system, felt a weight settle on his chest.

But with this outside pressure, there was nothing humanity could do but wait in silence for the next crisis to unfold.

Time passed slowly. As night fell, everyone in the shelter, under Jiang Xiaoci's coordination, entered a state of high alert and began preparing.

In fact, preparations had started a week earlier. However, due to the shelter's limited production capacity, many responses had not been fully equipped in time. Even now, there was little they could do. Most people stayed awake throughout the night, eyes wide open, waiting for the dawn.

Yi Bai was no different. When the red sun reappeared, signaling it was 11 AM, something unexpected happened.

Suddenly!

The mysterious voice, which had been silent for so long, echoed in the ears of every surviving human across the globe!

[First Round Apocalypse - Extreme Heat! Ending Soon!]

[Congratulations to every surviving human! The settlement rewards are about to be given out!]

After this global announcement, a new prompt appeared in front of every survivor, Yi Bai included.

[Shelter Check in Progress: Your shelter is still intact! No shelter reward triggered!]

[Shelter Reward]: No reward triggered; this is the basic survival reward for those who survived the apocalypse. If you lost your shelter but survived, you will be assigned a new shelter and talent in the next stage.]

[Survival Points Accumulation Check: You've accumulated over 10,000 survival points; you've successfully received the first-level survival points reward!]

[First-Level Survival Reward]: Automatically delivered to your shelter's storage space; when opened, it will provide a random (C-B) level reward, including but not limited to humans, items, talents, or skills.]

[Leaderboard Check: You have secured first place in 7 regional categories: "Resources Production," "Talent Quantity," "Talent Tier," "Item Quantity," "Talent Level," "Shelter Level," and "Shelter Combat Power."]

[Some leaderboards are not yet unlocked, and results will be published after the second round of the apocalypse begins.]

[According to your leaderboard achievements, you have received 7 "Regional First Place Exclusive Rewards."]

[Regional First Place Exclusive Reward]: Automatically delivered to your shelter's storage space; when opened, it will provide a random (B-A) level reward, excluding talent-related rewards.]

[First Round Apocalypse Performance Evaluation: Your final score is S-Class!]

[Comment]: You have far exceeded humanity's expected performance in the first round, establishing a shelter with considerable scale and no resource waste. You have demonstrated a strong will to survive!]

[Congratulations! Based on your comprehensive score, you have earned an S-Class random reward!]

[All rewards will be delivered to your shelter's storage space and can be opened after the second round of the apocalypse.]

A long string of rewards appeared in front of Yi Bai, making his head spin.

"The first announcement isn't even about the second round of the apocalypse?"

"Stage rewards for the first round first?"

Yi Bai quickly scanned through the rewards, and while they were abundant, his mind wasn't focused on celebrating. He continued to silently await the announcement for the second round.

While Yi Bai remained quiet, the other survivors in the building were much more animated. Cheers filled the air, with some crying in relief and excitement. "I got my shelter back! God has given me another chance!"

"This is great! Thank you, system!"

Humanity always realizes the value of things only after they've lost them.

For many survivors who had lost their shelters, the basic reward for surviving the first round was a second chance—another shelter. Those who hadn't valued their shelters or had doubted the apocalypse now found themselves regretting their decision.

No one had expected that the simplest survival reward would actually be the restoration of a shelter!

Although those who got a new shelter would be delayed in their development—by at least a month—they still had a chance to catch up, especially if they received better talents.

As the survivors celebrated, the mysterious voice returned.

"First round apocalypse rewards have been issued!"

"Now, the second round of the apocalypse begins – The Plague of Cannibal Bacteria!"

With that, the mysterious voice fell silent, and the world returned to an eerie calm.

After a brief moment of silence, discussions began again in the hall.

"Is that it? What about the second round? Has it already started?"

"I don't know... what's a 'Cannibal Bacteria'? It sounds like something that feeds on humans."

"Wasn't the second round supposed to be a climate disaster? But this 'Cannibal Bacteria' sounds terrifying—maybe it's a bacterial apocalypse? That could wipe us all out!"

Many knowledgeable survivors nervously speculated, but Yi Bai remained silent, deep in thought. He opened the shelter's interface, looking for any hints about the new threat, but found nothing.

The mysterious entity never provided detailed information about the apocalypses. The humans had to figure it out on their own, just like with the extreme heat of the first round.

"It looks like the second round will be just as sudden as the first."

Yi Bai frowned. "What exactly is Cannibal Bacteria? Is it a bacterium or something larger? How does it spread—through the air, or by attaching to objects? What does it look like?"

As Yi Bai pondered, his body tensed. He recalled the chaos of the first round and glanced warily around the room.

"Just like the first round, the second one could hit us without warning."

Suddenly—

A blood-curdling scream rang out from the hallway below.