Survival Guide in the Age of Cataclysm

Chapter 79 Evolution Essence

"Why did you come back again?" Lily asked, puzzled.

Xu Yang suddenly smiled and raised his wrist.

"Add me as a friend."

"..."

The bracelet beeped softly.

The blank contact list now finally contains two people.

One is Lily, and the other is Ron.

Xu Yang stood by the hospital bed, tapped on Lily's name, and sent his first message since arriving in this world—

"Are you there?"

"Yes." Lily turned off the bracelet and looked at him expressionlessly.

Xu Yang left the consultation room satisfied.

……

Soon, we crossed the street.

The ceiling was bathed in a soft, cool white light, with a black platform at the top and three rows of seats below.

Xu Yang glanced at it and casually found a seat to sit down.

On the platform, a middle-aged man named He west stood there.

A while later.

The seats below were now almost full. He glanced at the time on his wrist and cleared his throat.

"Ahem, now that most of the people have arrived, I'll get straight to the point."

The main reason I've gathered everyone here today is to deal with a crisis. If all goes as expected, this notification has now been issued to all foreign affairs departments in the entire Black Mountain area.

"Minister, just tell me what it is," someone urged.

He Xi glanced at the speaker and said, "Fungal invasion."

"Fungal invasion?" Someone paused for a moment, then burst out laughing. "Old He, are you kidding?"

"I'm not joking," He west said calmly.

As soon as he finished speaking, the meeting room fell silent for a second, then erupted into chaos.

"What about the people of the giant city? Shouldn't they be the ones doing this?"

"Could they be using us as cannon fodder...?"

"That's great, this is a new way to lay off employees."

"Shut up, all of you, and let the minister finish speaking."

All sorts of chaotic sounds were mixed together, making it impossible to tell which was which.

"Quiet!" He west slammed his hand on the table. "Although it's a fungal infection, it's not as serious as you think."

Since you were asked to come here, it must be something you can handle within your capabilities.

The Federation has already sent people to deal with the fungal organisms. Your task is simply to intercept the fungal beasts in the quarantine zone and cut off their path into the safe zone.

"So... what's the strength of these fungal beasts?"

"Don't worry, it's not even at the first level. Even the fungus itself is just a first-level product," He west replied.

"Oh, you should have said so earlier, Minister. I thought it was one of those fungal invasions of the same severity as before."

"There's no need to notify us of that level of damage. We should inform all of humanity in the Earth's core to hide inside settlements and wait for the Federation's Star Guard to plow the surface again."

Those below breathed a sigh of relief. He west remained silent, letting them process the news.

Suddenly, someone asked him, "What about the attendance allowance... cough, I mean?"

"Yes, that's what I'm about to say."

He west glanced at everyone.

At this moment, the crowd finally quieted down, their eyes revealing a hint of excitement.

While mandatory tasks are unavoidable, they usually also represent more generous rewards.

After all, the Foreign Affairs Department is an employment department with a diverse membership, so getting them to follow orders requires not only a stick but also a carrot.

From the podium, He west's voice slowly rang out: "One fungal beast costs 50,000 contribution points, and the top five in terms of kills each yield a bottle of evolution essence."

After he finished speaking, the crowd fell silent for a moment.

Xu Yang was also taken aback.

He had heard of the Evolution Essence.

Those were rare items that weren't even on the purchase list for intermediate members; you needed to become a senior member to be eligible to buy them.

Moreover, it is expensive and limited to one bottle per person.

He had overheard people occasionally complaining when he was in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that they would never be able to afford the Evolution Essence in their lifetime.

Xu Yang wasn't sure what the original solution did, but it was undoubtedly a good product.

"Boss, you're not kidding, are you?" someone asked doubtfully.

"I'm not joking, but this mission shouldn't have happened in the first place. It was caused by the special envoy sent from above failing to resolve the fungal incident."

A smile appeared on He west's rugged face: "Now is the time to make amends. The Evolution Essence is a condition offered by Minister Huang of Gathering Site No. 9."

Upon hearing this, the crowd below the stage erupted in excitement.

It turns out that Minister Huang took advantage of the situation and squeezed money out of the special envoy.

He west continued, "Alright, now I'll go over the detailed arrangements."

As he spoke, he swiped the bracelet a few times.

The screen on the conference room wall lit up, displaying a map of the isolation zone, with several areas circled in red.

"Everyone, please divide into different groups. Now I will read out the list—"

Xu Yang crossed his legs and soon heard his name being assigned to an unfamiliar group.

He didn't pay much attention.

……

15:00 in the afternoon.

The troop transport ship passed through the hazy clouds, and the surface of the airlock stretched out outside the porthole.

Xu Yang leaned against the window and closed his eyes to rest.

This extermination campaign against the fungal beast was a joint operation across the entire Black Mountain area.

Therefore, each settlement is only responsible for its own area, and each area is further divided into smaller areas.

Depending on their importance, the typical configuration is one senior member plus several mid-level members, or the senior member is omitted.

The area that Xu Yang's group was responsible for was not very important; it was a configuration consisting of mid-level members, similar to the latter.

Besides him, there were three other people right across from him.

They must know each other.

A four-armed man was complaining to someone, "I feel like we've been fooled by Lao He."

"Where did you get away with this?" the man, whose body was wrapped in white bandages, asked in confusion.

"Think about it, what are we here for?"

The bandaged man replied, "Contribute points and the original solution."

"That's why I feel like I've been fooled. I heard that there aren't many fungal beasts, but our competitors are the entire Black Mountain area."

The four-armed man said with some discontent, "I'm afraid there aren't enough for even the high-level members of the fungal beasts, let alone us. We mid-level members are just here to make up the numbers."

"Hey, that makes sense," a gray-skinned man chimed in. "Besides, we weren't assigned good spots. We heard the original liquid was making us dizzy, and Old He kept urging us to get on the boat."

"Exactly, if you ask me..."

The four-armed man was still complaining about the unfair distribution when the bandaged man suddenly interrupted him impatiently: "Alright, alright, you've been nagging about it the whole way."

"What? Did I say something wrong?" The four-armed man frowned.

"You're right, but you're annoying. Can you shut up?"

The four-armed man opened his mouth, but looking at the other person's gloomy eyes beneath the bandages, he ultimately swallowed his words.

Xu Yang sat opposite, showing no interest in the conversations and frictions of the others.

If it weren't a mandatory task, he wouldn't have come at all. If nothing happens, that would be best; consider it a publicly funded trip.

There is also a private jet for round-trip transportation.

Just then, the spaceship suddenly shuddered.

The hatch opened.

Directly below, there was a lush green forest, peaceful and unremarkable.

There wasn't even a bird chirping.