Chapter 4: Missing

Now, Wang Zhi and the other two were like grasshoppers tied to the same rope. Since they were in the same team, there was no need to hide anything from each other.

Wang Zhi spread out all the food from his two suitcases onto the table.

The two beside him were slightly taken aback.

“Why are both of your suitcases filled entirely with food?” Ying leaned in and asked.

“If the apocalypse really comes, food is obviously the most important thing. What, are you planning to survive by eating gunpowder?”

Wang Zhi glanced at Ying.

“Not by eating gunpowder, but I can use gunpowder to make you feed me!” Ying said, shaking the pistol in front of Wang Zhi.

“You have a gun, so you call the shots.”

Wang Zhi shrugged and took out three self-heating rice pot meals, handing one to each of them.

“By the way, didn’t you guys bring any food?” Wang Zhi asked while heating the rice.

“I only brought some compressed biscuits and water,” Lao He replied.

Ying, on the other hand, kept her head down, eating her rice. She only carried a small backpack, so even if she had food, it probably wasn’t enough for the three of them to share.

“Lao He, are you a soldier?” Wang Zhi asked as he ate.

“Yeah.”

Lao He responded briefly.

“Then why did you come here?”

…

Lao He was silent for a moment before slowly saying, “This card was actually given to me by my father. He told me to come here but didn’t tell me anything else.”

Wang Zhi looked at Lao He. If this was true, then his father had placed his last hope on him.

“What about you, Sister Ying?” Wang Zhi turned his gaze to Ying.

“Have you ever heard a saying?” Ying asked.

“What saying?” Wang Zhi asked.

“Heroes are not asked about their origins. Before asking about us, why don’t you introduce yourself first?” Ying retorted.

“I’m just an ordinary person. I usually stay at home, do some software programming, play games, and that’s about it,” Wang Zhi said, scratching his head.

“Hmm… Didn’t expect you to be such an honest guy. By the way, you have a lot of hair. Isn’t it said that programmers tend to go bald?” Ying rested her chin on her hand and reached over to run her fingers through Wang Zhi’s hair.

He wasn’t bald yet, but at this rate, he might be soon!

Wang Zhi secretly complained in his heart.

“So, Sister Ying, it’s your turn now, right?”

“Oh, I’m just an ordinary person too. I usually go shopping and travel around.”

Ordinary person? What kind of ordinary person carries a gun? And what kind of ordinary person casually twirls a dagger in their hand?

Wang Zhi continued complaining in his heart but decided not to press further. If she didn’t want to talk, it wouldn’t be wise to insist.

“She’s a mercenary, part of the Black Rose organization,” Lao He said coldly.

“Oh my, didn’t expect Uncle to have such sharp eyes and recognize me,” Ying said with a smile.

“Black Rose? What’s that?” Wang Zhi asked Lao He.

“The Black Rose is ranked seventh among international mercenary organizations. It consists of four members, all female. Their ranking isn’t due to sheer combat power, but because of their exceptional assassination skills. Their signature mark is a black rose tattoo on their collarbones. So, Wang Zhi, you’d better be careful when you sleep.”

Lao He looked at Wang Zhi with a teasing smile.

Wang Zhi couldn’t take it anymore. What did he mean by being careful while sleeping? What happened to trust between people?

“Stop scaring me. Not only will I sleep just fine, but I’d even let Sister Ying sleep in my bed without a second thought!”

“Oh my, what a bold statement. Then I guess I’ll have to cuddle with you tonight, huh?” Ying laughed wickedly.

Hearing Ying’s voice, Wang Zhi shivered all over. He suddenly realized he had gotten carried away and quickly said, “Uh, Sister Ying, I was just joking. Don’t take it seriously, haha… really, don’t take it seriously…”

“Hmph! All talk, no guts,” Ying rolled her eyes at Wang Zhi.

Wang Zhi thought, it wasn’t a matter of guts! It was more like having the courage to joke but not the guts to face the consequences!

“By the way, Lingling Yao, how many floors does this place have?” Wang Zhi asked.

“The Dawn Tower has five floors,” Lingling Yao’s voice responded.

“What are the lower floors used for?” Lao He also asked.

“Insufficient permission to answer.”

“Then how do we increase our permission level?” Wang Zhi asked.

“By increasing the team level, more permissions will be unlocked. Team levels are raised by completing team or personal tasks to earn survival points. The team levels range from 1 to 5. Level 1 teams have a maximum of four members, Level 2 can have five, Level 3 can have six, Level 4 can have ten, and Level 5 has no limit.”

“Lingling Yao, are there any rules in the Dawn Tower?” Lao He asked.

“No disrupting order, no malicious harm to others, or you will be taken away by the security team!” Lingling Yao replied.

“How can we earn survival points now?” Wang Zhi asked, realizing their importance. He wanted to start earning them as soon as possible.

After his question, a task list appeared on the screen.

Task 1: Train for 8 cumulative hours – earn 10 survival points. Task 2: Work in the industrial zone for 8 hours – earn 15 survival points.

Looking at the tasks, training yielded 5 points less than working, but training provided personal improvement. If they trained for 8 hours daily, they could earn 30 survival points as a group each day.

Since Wang Zhi was still unclear about the cost of living in the Dawn Tower, he worried that if one meal cost 5 points, they wouldn’t have much left over.

After thinking for a moment, he said, “We should be frugal and eat our own food for now. But we must save high-calorie, long-shelf-life foods just in case.”

After speaking, Wang Zhi categorized their food supplies:

20 packs of chocolate, 50 packs of compressed biscuits, 10 packs of dried noodles, 10 packs of beef jerky, 20 sausages, 20 packs of instant noodles, 10 self-heating rice pot meals (7 left), 20 cans of meat, and 30 bottles of water.

He stored away the chocolate, compressed biscuits, and canned meat for emergencies and decided to consume the rest first.

After sorting everything, Wang Zhi suggested they rest before starting the mission.

Then, he picked a bed, closed his eyes, and fell asleep…

…

The first-floor hall continued filling with people. Almost everyone entering Dawn Tower initially felt uneasy, followed by amazement, looking around curiously.

After some time, Wang Zhi slowly woke up from his dream. He sat up abruptly, looking around at the unfamiliar surroundings.

Then he remembered—he was inside the Dawn Tower.

But at that moment, the room was eerily empty. Lao He and Ying were nowhere to be seen.

More importantly, the food on the table was gone!

Thud!

Wang Zhi’s heart skipped a beat. Had they taken his food and abandoned him?

He let out a sigh and lowered his head.

Ah… I was too naive. In an apocalypse, who can truly be trusted?