Volume 1, Chapter 46: The Survivor's System

Li Hua nodded in satisfaction, a trace of complacency showing on his face as if he thoroughly enjoyed this sense of control.

He cleared his throat and continued to roar, "Second! The Dawn Base does not feed idlers, and it certainly doesn't feed parasites! Starting today, we are implementing a 'contribution point' system! Every single one of you must complete the tasks assigned by me—Director Li—every day! Complete them, and you get contribution points! With contribution points, you can exchange for food, water, and supplies!"

He paused deliberately, his sharp gaze sweeping across the tense faces below. "And if you fail to complete the task? Hehe, apologies... then you get no contribution points! No contribution points? Then you can just wait to starve! You know the consequences yourselves!"

These words turned many faces pale, and they instinctively clutched their rumbling stomachs.

Li Hua's voice suddenly rose, carrying a cruel delight. "Listen clearly! Anyone who fails to complete even a single task for three consecutive days—get the hell out of the Dawn Base immediately! Dead or alive, leave it to fate! The base has no food to feed lazy ghosts!"

"Boom!" The crowd completely erupted!

Fear poured over everyone's head like literal ice water.

Three days? Cast out without doing a single task? Outside was hell!

Over seven hundred pairs of eyes were filled with panic, helplessness, and deep anxiety, as if the next person to be expelled would be themselves.

Whispers merged into a single, suppressed hum.

Looking at the survivors below, who resembled frightened birds, Li Hua felt an even deeper sneer in his heart.

This was the exact effect he wanted! Fear was the most useful whip.

"Quiet! Everyone shut up!" Li Hua slammed the megaphone against the podium twice, the huge noise temporarily suppressing the commotion. "As the saying goes, where there is punishment, there is reward! The rules have been explained, now let's talk about the perks!"

He deliberately drew out his tone, whetting their appetites to the utmost. "Anyone who performs exceptionally well! I, Li Hua, will personally report his name to the Marshal! What kind of person is the Marshal? He is a deity descended from the heavens! If the Marshal takes a fancy to you, he might just promote you to a squad leader! Managing a few people and getting a share of good supplies—wouldn't that life be a hundred times better than what you have now?!"

This statement was like a spark thrown into a dry hay pile, instantly igniting the faint flame of hope in the hearts of some.

The light of "ambition" began to flicker in the eyes of quite a few people.

"Director Li!" A rugged-looking middle-aged man standing in the front row summoned the courage to shout, "Then how many contribution points can we get for completing a task? And how many contribution points do we need to exchange for food?"

Li Hua looked at the man, a fake smile plastered across his face.

"Good question! Let's take the most basic task as an example! For instance, if you honestly carry a zombie corpse today and deliver it to the designated incineration point, where I have a specially established inspection team to verify and register it. Once confirmed correct, you will be rewarded with 1 contribution point! Carry ten corpses? That's 10 contribution points! Simple, right?"

He paused, raising his volume. "10 contribution points can get you a bag of mineral water, plus a pack of bread! And there is no limit! As long as you have the ability to carry them, there are plenty of contribution points, and plenty of food and drink too! Just don't stuff yourself to death!"

"Whoa—!"

This time, the crowd erupted into a genuine, ecstatic clamor!

Carrying corpses could be exchanged for bread and water? And without limits?!

This was practically a heavenly treatment!

Compared to their precarious days outside, where they would fight to the death just for a mouthful of spoiled porridge, this was practically redemption!

Many people were moved to tears, seeing a clear hope for survival.

Li Hua was very satisfied with this effect. His tone shifted, carrying temptation and a trace of unperceived cruelty. "Of course, if you feel this contribution point comes too slowly, not even enough between your teeth, and you want to exchange for something better... like canned meat or warm clothes? Then let me tell you a shortcut!"

He deliberately paused, maxing out everyone's appetite, before speaking word by word: "Anyone who can independently kill a zombie—note, independently kill! Bring the zombie's head to me, and produce evidence proving that you killed this zombie! Then you will be rewarded with 50 contribution points! For group kills, the contribution points will be split evenly!"

"Hisss—!"

The joyous atmosphere that had just risen was instantly replaced by the sound of intake of breath.

Killing a zombie?! Fifty points?! Behind this huge temptation lay a bloody death threat!

The crowd instantly quieted down again, and most people's faces retained only terror and retreat.

"Insane! Who would do that?"

"Fifty points? You have to stay alive to spend it!"

"I wouldn't dare..."

The whispers were filled with dread and complaints.

However, amidst this wave of retreat, Mo Youxue keenly noticed that the gazes of a few people had changed.

It was a light mixed with ruthlessness, greed, and desperation, like hungry wolves in the dark.

That rugged man who had asked the question just now, along with a few figures in the corners, clenched their fists tightly, their eyes turning unusually sharp.

Fifty contribution points were a huge temptation for them to change their destiny.

Li Hua took all of this in, the corners of his mouth curving into an imperceptible arc.

This division was precisely what he wanted—letting fear and greed simultaneously become driving forces.

"Alright! The rules have been explained! Now, I reiterate a few ironclad laws!" Li Hua's voice turned extremely stern once again:

"First: Everyone shall regard the Marshal's orders as their vocation. Violators will be executed!"

"Second: Any form of fighting, snatching, or stealing is strictly prohibited within the base! Discovered once, food cut off for three days! Repeat the offense, and you will be expelled!"

"Third: All assigned tasks must be completed on time and in full! Slowing down or malingering will be treated as failure to complete the task!"

"Fourth: Maintain regional hygiene. Violators will be heavily punished!"

"Fifth: ..."

Li Hua announced the cold survival rules one by one, each of them like a whip striking the survivors' hearts.

Mo Youxue stood on the outer periphery of the crowd, the soldiers having quietly retreated a short distance behind her to stand guard.

She looked at the arrogant Li Hua on the high platform, at the common masses struggling between fear and hope below, and thought of An Ruoran being assigned "clerical work," her heart filled with mixed emotions.

The icy and hard core of this "Dawn Base," built single-handedly by Lin Ye, was only now fully revealed before her.

There were no warm and fuzzy saviors here, only a naked set of trading rules with survival as the currency.

And she seemed to have been drawn into the gears of these operating rules, just occupying a temporarily different position.

Leng Feng crossed his arms, standing like an iron-cast statue in the shadows, only his icy eyes scanning the crowd below like a scanner, silently proclaiming that the rules were inviolable.

A new day, in this cruel doomsday fortress, began in the most realistic and ruthless way.