Cannon fodder in the Interstellar

After reading the “Apocalypse Strategy Guide”, Ruo Manni suddenly developed a suspicion: Could it be that after passing through the black hole, they hadn’t entered a “balanced world” as expected, but instead crossed into another book’s world?

If her speculation was accurate, what connection might there be between the interstellar era and this apocalyptic world? Moreover, how exactly had her soul originally traversed into the book-world?

Ruo Manni was certain she hadn’t misremembered. The interstellar novel she crossed into was the author’s only work in that universe, and it was an unfinished project abandoned halfway through.

She tried hard to recall similar plots from novels she had read in her previous life. However, having devoured countless apocalyptic novels with nearly identical tropes, and with so much time having passed, she couldn’t confirm if she and her companions had indeed been passively dragged into a book-world.

After pondering for a while without recalling any perfectly matching story, Ruo Manni decided not to trouble her brain further.

After all, with her and her companions’ strength, they could thrive even in such a harsh world.

Having verified that the first part of the post was accurate, Ruo Manni carefully read through it again to better understand the trajectory of this world’s apocalypse and gather as much common knowledge as possible.

“If the predictions in this post are true, humanity in this world might face another catastrophic blow within two years, potentially leading to complete extinction,” analyzed Hebrew Adam.

The members of the elite class fully agreed with this hypothesis because the final predictions in the post depicted humanity at an absolute disadvantage.

“Older cousin said she asked the two local humans, and the events predicted in the first half of the post actually happened. This proves the author’s predictive ability is quite accurate,” Dean Atchison enthusiastically commented.

“We’re going to live in this world for 50 years; we can’t let humanity here go extinct,” Adam Hebrew continued.

Ruo Manni strongly agreed with Hebrew Adam’s opinion, as did the others.

Although this wasn’t their world, they shared the same species with these humans. If they could easily lend a hand to save them but chose to stand by and watch them perish, it would be far too cold-hearted.

More importantly, if all the humans who could communicate with them went extinct, leaving the twelve of them isolated in this world, life would be unbearably lonely.

Since they were inclined to help, everyone began studying the post more thoroughly. After exchanging a few ideas, the elite class had a clearer understanding of the situation.

The reason humanity in this world was at risk of extinction was due to the ever-evolving “zombies,” a mutated form of humanity, becoming stronger over time.

With the human population already much smaller than the zombies, factors like severe cold and food shortages further weakened their strength, leaving humanity unable to grow stronger and instead becoming increasingly vulnerable.

As a result, during the zombie tides two years later, human survivor bases were gradually overrun.

Apart from a few skilled individuals who managed to escape, the rest were either devoured by zombies or turned into them.

Throughout this process, humanity’s overall strength continued to decline, while the power of the zombies only grew.

“But we should avoid getting too involved with the humans of this world. Too much interaction might cause a lot of trouble,” Hua Deli suggested.

“If we don’t interact with them, how are we supposed to help?” Su forty-three asked, puzzled.

“Since humanity’s extinction risk comes from too many zombies and too few strong humans, all we need to do is kill more zombies. According to this apocalypse guide post, some zombies already have crystal nuclei in their brains. Ten days from now, this planet will experience a global rainstorm, and after the rain, all zombies will undergo purification. By then, every zombie will have a crystal nucleus in its brain,” Hebrew Adam explained.

“We’ll focus on eliminating humanity’s enemies. If they still can’t survive after that, then there’s nothing more we can do,” he added.

“We should add another rule: if we see humans in danger, we’ll step in to help,” Ruo Manni proposed.

The elite class unanimously agreed with Hebrew Adam and Ruo Manni’s suggestions, deciding to act according to this plan for now and adjust if circumstances changed.

The fact that zombies had crystal nuclei in their brains was particularly enticing to the elite class.

Crystal nuclei, which were about to become a common currency in this world, were already a rare and valuable energy source in their interstellar era. The energy boxes powering their vehicles and mechas were created using crystal nuclei.

In their own world, mutated beasts had become scarce, making crystal nuclei incredibly rare and precious.

Now, with a vast number of zombies carrying crystal nuclei outside, waiting to be harvested with minimal risk, the elite class saw no reason not to act.

Their next steps would involve killing as many zombies as possible. Not only would this save humans and allow them to collect crystal nuclei, but it would also help them hone their combat skills—a win-win-win scenario.

With this plan in place, the elite class began learning the local language.

While they didn’t intend to fully integrate into human society, they knew they would need to interact with the locals, whether for trading or exchanging resources. Being able to communicate would make interactions smoother and help avoid arousing suspicion about their origins.

After reading the information Ruo Manni sent her, Wang Miaomiao noticed that her phone seemed to be connected to the internet. She hesitantly clicked on it and, to her surprise, it worked.

Excited, she tugged at Liu Yang, and the two of them huddled together to explore the phone.

When they finally looked up from the screen and noticed the darkness outside, they realized night had already fallen.

However, in the post-apocalypse, nightfall always came quickly. Wang Miaomiao checked the time on her phone and saw it was only 5:30 PM.

That morning, Wang Miaomiao and Liu Yang had only eaten a little before joining the group to search for supplies. After a full day of fighting—barely escaping with their lives—they were now utterly exhausted and starving.

But Wang Miaomiao knew their backpacks contained only four packets of biscuits and two bottles of water. With over a dozen people in the group, the biscuits wouldn’t be nearly enough to share.

What were they supposed to do? Whether they offered up the biscuits or kept them hidden, it was bound to be a problem.

As she mulled over the dilemma, she glanced at Liu Yang, hoping he might have a solution. Liu Yang, oblivious to her internal struggle, looked back and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Ruo Manni, though focused on her optical brain, had left part of her mental energy “watching” Wang Miaomiao and Liu Yang. She noticed this exchange and couldn’t help but feel a mix of amusement and sadness.

These two were just as they had been before. Wang Miaomiao loved to drop hints with her eyes, but Liu Yang, ever the oblivious one, never picked up on them, leaving Wang Miaomiao frustrated. Time and again, she would grit her teeth and swear she’d break up with him.

When Ruo Manni “saw” Wang Miaomiao touch her stomach, she suddenly remembered the two must be hungry.

The elite class always carried nutrition supplements with them. Each person would drink a bottle whenever they felt hungry, never sparing much thought about whether others might be starving too. Ruo Manni, caught up in her own routine, had forgotten that Wang Miaomiao and Liu Yang might not have eaten.