The Pre-Apocalypse Address

At the southern center of Xiji City, Jia Xianglan began his doomsday address.

His face appeared on every screen automatically. Xu Lingqu sat in the Chief Commander's office in the northern district, looking outside. The advertisement billboard on the building across displayed his hypocritical face.

"I know everyone is very panicked right now, because in three and a half hours, the Zerg will descend upon this city. But don't be afraid—we have found a shelter for you to hide in. Now, please come to XX Building. The southern district military will try to let as many people in as possible." Jia Xianglan flashed a smile. "To the Chief Commander of the northern district, Xu Lingqu, if you also want a haven for the end of the world, you're welcome to come. I'd be happy to help you through this crisis together."

After he finished speaking on the podium, cheers erupted from the crowd below, and they immediately rushed toward the location Jia Xianglan had revealed. For the ordinary NPCs of Xiji City, this was a chance to survive. The entrance to the shelter building instantly became a chaotic swarm, with people trampling each other.

Qingjun's S-class soldier Cheng Xing couldn't hold back anymore. He raised his gun and fired a warning shot into the air, barely managing to control the crazed crowd surging into the shelter.

He glared at the scene, fuming. That idiot Jia Xianglan—he got to enjoy his savior moment up there on the podium, but now this place was turning into a complete mess. It was easy for him to just flap his lips and walk away.

The worst part was that the shelter had limited capacity! Xiji City had a total population of 300,000, but this shelter could only hold 30,000. That meant 270,000 people would be left outside...

When Jia Xianglan arrived, the shelter was already nearly full. He glanced at the ordinary people still trying to push their way in and shook his head.

"No more entries," he said, putting on a regretful expression and sighing. "Everyone, this is the limit of how many humans we can protect. If you're truly desperate, you can go find Chief Commander Xu Lingqu in the northern district... maybe she can find a new shelter?"

These people were practically doomed anyway, so he might as well use them as pawns to harass Xu Lingqu now.

After all, this game had only one shelter. There was no way Xu Lingqu could conjure up a second one.

He had already done his part on the surface. It was Xu Lingqu who ignored his goodwill gesture. But oddly enough, she hadn't even bothered to send anyone to cause chaos or attack.

Maybe she had given up on surviving, huh?

Jia Xianglan was pleased to see Xu Lingqu like this. When the Zerg descended, Moxie would die right in the open, and Qingjun could claim victory from inside the shelter.

He raised his hand, signaling the Qingjun soldiers to deploy smoke bombs and flash grenades at the shelter entrance to drive away those still trying to rush in, clearing the area.

Jia Xianglan stepped into the shelter. At the entrance, an energy field defense device blocked human scent, making it impossible for the Zerg to locate them.

Farther inside, a dense crowd huddled together. When they saw Jia Xianglan, they waved at him eagerly.

These 30,000 votes were safely in his pocket.

A satisfied smile curled at his lips. Jia Xianglan checked the time—three hours until the Zerg arrived.

He stopped and gathered the Qingjun soldiers, clearing his throat. "We can come in now and maintain order inside the shelter. Also, leave ten people outside to monitor what Xu Lingqu is doing—preferably kill her. They just need to return before the final moment."

"I'll stay outside with a team," Cheng Xing immediately raised his hand, volunteering to remain outside. He really didn't want to stay cooped up in a shelter with Jia Xianglan.

"Good luck," Jia Xianglan said coldly, sneering at this man who always opposed him.

Cheng Xing snorted. "Don't worry. I'll kill Xu Lingqu, then come back."

He was annoyed by Jia Xianglan, sure, but he knew exactly who his biggest enemy was right now.

-

Xu Lingqu had never even issued an order to search for a shelter.

"Let Jia Xianglan find it. He has special channels for information; he should locate it soon." Xu Lingqu turned to Guan Zhongli. "What is the Zerg?"

She knew the general concept—it was practically a staple in sci-fi novels—but wanted to confirm whether Earth's Zerg matched this interstellar world's version.

Guan Zhongli was taken aback. She didn't know about the Zerg?

But then he thought maybe Commander Xu didn't follow the latest apocalyptic films. That was common enough. He quickly explained, "The Zerg are a very popular theme in doomsday fiction now. They're half-human-sized insects, with types like blade bugs and gun bugs. When they descend on a planet, they devour all life and resources on it. They can be killed, but there are too many of them, and there's a mother nest that constantly supplies more Zerg."

After saying that, Guan Zhongli probed, "Are we really not going to look for a shelter? Or should we wait until Qingjun finds it, then seize it from them?"

Having confirmed that the interstellar Zerg were essentially the same as Earth's, Xu Lingqu shook her head. "No. Now spread the word: have everyone from Moye Military Academy split into squads and start searching the city for all armed forces."

Guan Zhongli froze, staring at Xu Lingqu. "Commander, you don't mean... you want us to fight the Zerg? We're only a hundred people..."

His voice went dry; he could barely believe the words coming out of his own mouth.

Fighting the Zerg directly in this scenario was no different from fighting the scenario mechanics themselves! The idea was utterly absurd—but somehow, when it came to Xu Lingqu, it seemed completely normal.

At that moment, Guan Zhongli couldn't help but recall the final assessment during the Moye Military Academy trial period.

She had swayed him with just a few words, making him willingly become her blade, leading the other students in a scheme against the instructors. And now...

Despite his doubts, whenever Xu Lingqu spoke, he couldn't help but feel that fighting the Zerg swarm wasn't entirely out of the question.

"No, it's too few—just a hundred of us against the Zerg is too little. That's not what I'm planning." Xu Lingqu stood up and looked at him. "First, tally the armed forces. In thirty minutes, hold an address at the northern district center."

She herself denied the idea of a hundred people fighting the Zerg.

Guan Zhongli really couldn't figure out what she was up to now. Was she going to concentrate their firepower and blast Jia Xianglan and his group straight out of the shelter? If they couldn't blast them out, they'd just kill them all—that would fit the Commander's style, anyway...

As he mused, he followed orders and began making preparations.

Thirty minutes later, the Chief Commander of the northern district military held a doomsday address at the northern district center.