Listening to Music can Generate Points?!!

In addition to network failures, many chemical plants that hadn't been fully relocated suffered leaks and explosions, making the surface environment even worse.

More specific information was no longer available online.

Su Wu switched to the chat group, but even the usually active shelter owners were silent. No new messages.

He sighed, closed the chat, and turned his attention back to the camera on the farmyard roof.

The outside world had grown even darker. Ash-gray dust, as light as goose feathers, drifted down from the sky.

It was the residue of the great fire—smoke that had condensed into crystalline flakes.

The only good news was that the distant mountains no longer showed any sign of fire. Whether the dust rain had extinguished the flames or they had simply burned themselves out, Su Wu couldn't tell.

"Let's wait."

There was nothing he could do for now.

Drones were useless in these conditions, and while the medium-sized truck could drive out, its cameras wouldn't provide enough visibility. If the city fire was still burning, discovering danger too late could be fatal.

Since investigating outside wasn't an option, Su Wu focused on the shelter.

The engineering team continued its steady excavation of the third underground level, crushing rock, digging, and expanding the shelter around the clock.

High temperatures, toxic gas, and falling ash had no effect on them.

By evening, the rain of ashes finally began to slow.

With the sun gone, temperatures dropped slightly, stabilizing at around 58 degrees.

Seizing the opportunity, Su Wu launched his drone squadron toward the city.

What appeared on his screen was a city in ruins.

The fire had gutted high-rise buildings, leaving only skeletal walls. Residential areas had been stripped of doors, windows, and furniture—either warped beyond recognition or reduced to ash.

The once neatly arranged flower beds were torn apart. Cars parked along the streets had been turned into hollowed-out husks, some burned to their frames, others crushed by fallen signs.

The only silver lining was that some emergency vehicles—ambulances and fire trucks—remained parked near shelter exits.

Through the drone's camera, Su Wu could spot faint signs of human movement.

The citywide fire had not wiped out everyone underground.

Hovering silently for a while, Su Wu observed before recalling the drones.

The next day, the already intermittent network connection finally went dead.

His shelter had become an island of isolation.

It wasn't due to worsening environmental conditions—rather, the signal tower covering his area had exhausted its backup power.

But even without the internet, there was still radio.

After some tinkering at the console, Su Wu picked up an official broadcast from the local government.

Surprisingly, it contained more updates than yesterday.

Despite the massive fire, casualties in the official shelters of Jianghe City were minimal. Only some supplies had been lost.

Private and corporate shelters, however, had suffered devastating losses.

Poor construction standards and inadequate emergency measures led to alarming death tolls.

In the most heavily burned areas of the city center, shelters had been completely incinerated.

No one survived.

Additionally, the city's power plants had been destroyed.

With no maintenance or spare equipment, the public power grid had collapsed.

For the foreseeable future, every shelter would have to generate its own electricity.

"Water, electricity, and the internet—completely cut off."

"I doubt many people will have an easy time surviving."

Su Wu sympathized with the smaller shelters scattered around Jianghe City.

Unlike his, most couldn't achieve near-complete self-sufficiency.

Without public utilities, even basic necessities—like turning on a light or drinking water—would become difficult.

Hard days were ahead.

But ultimately, none of this was Su Wu's concern.

He was just an ordinary man with no power.

For now, it wasn't his job to worry about the fate of others.

After listening to the official broadcast, Su Wu, with nothing else to do, left the control center and headed to the entertainment room in the living area.

He turned on the TV, letting a documentary of natural landscapes play in the background while he exercised on the treadmill.

In the apocalypse, maintaining a healthy body was crucial.

Whenever conditions allowed, Su Wu made sure to set aside time for daily exercise.

Over an hour later, after running eight kilometers, he stepped off the treadmill, drenched in sweat but feeling refreshed.

After a quick shower, he brought out a plate of sliced fruit and poured himself a glass of ice-cold cola, the bubbles fizzing at the surface.

Settling onto the sofa, he picked up a game controller and immersed himself in the vibrant world of a single-player game.

Time passed quickly.

Before he knew it, the day was over.

The next day, Su Wu spent half the day reading a novel and the other half watching short videos.

Fortunately, before the internet had gone down, his AI assistant had downloaded a vast collection of books, movies, and videos—enough entertainment to last for years without repeats.

The only downside was that unfinished works from before the blackout would likely never be completed.

On the third day, while listening to music, Su Wu was surprised to discover that his favorite cover song was performed by none other than Chen Xin, the netizen he had casually advised in the Doomsday group.

A strange sense of dissatisfaction crept over him—he wanted to hear more, but the internet had long been disconnected, leaving him unable to find any more of her songs.

That night, during the system settlement, a notification appeared:

[Current territory: livable personal shelter (0%), daily fixed survival points +3.]

[Listen to the master-level song "Pillow Fairy Tale," the spirit is slightly healed, survival points +2.]

[Current remaining survival points: 67.]

Su Wu was stunned.

"Rewards for listening to songs?"

He had assumed that the three fixed survival points each day were a permanent feature of the system and couldn't be changed.

But now he was being told there was another way to gain them?

"Livable, songs, spiritual healing—"

"Does this mean songs can improve the livability of the shelter?"

Su Wu's gaze lingered on the keywords in the system prompt, and a deeper thought crossed his mind.