Chapter 485: The System’s Special Annual Limited-Time Event

Chapter 485: Chapter 485: The System’s Special Annual Limited-Time Event

Seeing the state of the food, Seraphina Sullivan nodded. She had already reached a conclusion.

’Looks like this extreme-temperature apocalypse brings more than just heat.’

She looked toward the garage entrance, where the sky was beginning to brighten.

’There must be something in the air—the high heat, radiation, or some other factor we haven’t discovered yet—that’s making exposed food spoil so quickly.’

Dexter Luther gasped. "So, you’re saying that from now on, anything not kept in the Space has to be eaten the same day? It’ll go bad if we leave it out overnight, or even for just a couple of hours?"

"I’m afraid so."

The group looked at each other, stunned.

An apocalypse never offers just one way to die.

The high heat was just the beginning. The rapid spoilage of food was another silent death sentence.

Freya Lynn huddled in her sister’s arms and asked in a small voice, "Then... what are we going to eat?"

Seraphina Sullivan glanced at her.

She took several unaffected cans from her Space.

It was from her personal stock, which she had kept in her Space the entire time without taking it out.

"Don’t worry," she said. "We still have things to eat."

Food?

Food was the one thing Seraphina Sullivan didn’t lack.

As a Beloved of the God of Cuisine, if she were to starve to death, it would be a joke to the entire pantheon.

But Dexter Luther and the others clearly didn’t see it that way.

"Sullivan, about the speed this food is spoiling..."

Dexter Luther chewed on the compressed biscuit Seraphina had just given him, his brow furrowed so deeply you could have trapped a fly in it. "What do you think is happening at the Central Base?

With so many people and so many supplies, if it all spoils overnight like this..."

He didn’t finish his sentence, but everyone understood the implication.

In a base of over a million people, food reserves were rotting at a visible rate.

This wasn’t a problem they could solve by just "being a little more frugal." This was a true crisis of survival.

Seraphina Sullivan shook her head. "I don’t know either.

But with so many Players in the base, they’ll find a way.

Besides, even if the higher-ups are constantly bickering, they wouldn’t dare just stand by and watch everyone starve when it comes to life and death. That would be digging their own graves."

Dexter Luther considered this, figured it made sense, and didn’t press the issue.

The group ate all the food they were given for the day, not daring to leave a single crumb—no one wanted to experience the "surprise" of their food getting moldy after just a few hours.

After they finished eating, they all went to rest.

Seraphina’s Weather Cloud continued to drift dutifully above the garage. A constant drizzle of fine snow pellets kept the ambient temperature within a barely tolerable range.

Dexter Luther and the others’ tents were pitched right under the cloud, and although it couldn’t compare to the AC in the RV, at least they could get some sleep.

Inside the RV, Seraphina Sullivan lay on her bed, listening to the faint sound of the air conditioner running outside, and slowly closed her eyes.

...

During the day, the temperature soared to terrifying heights, just as expected.

Even hidden in the underground garage, they could feel the omnipresent, scorching heat radiating up from the ground.

At the garage entrance, a heat wave distorted the light, creating an invisible Wall of fire that separated the world inside from the one outside.

The Four Seasons Deer couldn’t take it anymore.

This group of mutated creatures, normally highly adaptable to extreme weather, were now listlessly huddled together in the deepest part of the garage, too lethargic to even make a sound.

Their summer forms were operating at full capacity, their fur glowing with a faint green light, but clearly, this temperature was still beyond their limit.

Flora Sullivan’s heart ached for them. She stayed by their side every day, having the Weather Cloud drop hail to cool them down.

For the next few days, the group remained settled in the underground garage.

It was too hot during the day to go out, so they stayed in the garage to rest, organize supplies, chat, and play cards.

When the temperature dropped a little in the evening, they would take turns going out to search for supplies in the nearby residential areas.

Pots and pans, bedsheets and quilts, unspoiled daily necessities... They brought back anything they could use.

Seraphina Sullivan and the others also began to set up their temporary residence.

Women, after all. Even in an apocalypse, they wanted their living space to be a little easier on the eyes.

And so, the days passed.

There were no signs of a new apocalyptic instance, but Seraphina knew this was just the calm before the storm.

Until one day, it happened.

[DING—!]

The familiar, cold system notification sound exploded in everyone’s mind without any warning!

[Detected that the Azure Star’s apocalyptic era has been active for one full year! A special annual limited-time event will now commence!]

[Event One: Player Slots Giveaway!]

[The system will randomly grant one million Player slots worldwide!

Ordinary people no longer need to envy the super strength of Players!

Now, you have a greater chance to become a Player, enter instances, and begin your own path of survival!]

[Event Two: Event Treasure Chests!]

[The system will randomly drop a large number of Event Treasure Chests around the world!

Whether Player or ordinary person, as long as you find and open a Treasure Chest, you will have a chance to obtain Divine Weapons, rare items, and special Skills!

Luck is also a part of strength!]

[Event Three: Lord’s Sanctuary!]

[The system will cause "Lord Level Monsters" to descend across the globe!

Any individual or group that successfully slays a Lord Level Monster will obtain its core—the "Lord’s Sanctuary"!

That will be your very own, independent, special territory!

Safety, resources, development... everything is possible!]

The three announcements were clearly imprinted, word for word, in every survivor’s mind.

The entire underground garage was silent for a few seconds.

Then, chaos erupted.

"Holy shit! A million Player slots?!"

Dexter Luther was the first to jump to his feet. "A Player slot giveaway? So more ordinary people can become Players?!"

"Event Treasure Chests... randomly dropped all over the world..."

Crystal Lynn muttered, her eyes getting brighter and brighter. "Doesn’t that mean we can go look for them?"

"Lord’s Sanctuary..." Matthew Dawson touched his still-healing back, his voice hoarse. "Our own territory..."

Paul Payne didn’t speak, but his fists were already clenched.

He had always been just an ordinary person. Although he ate Seraphina Sullivan’s Flash Candy and obtained the Blast Flash Talent, he was still not a Player.

Hearing that Player slots were available, he knew he had to fight for one.

Seraphina Sullivan sat at the entrance of the RV, looking at the excited group before her, the corners of her mouth twitching slightly into a smile.

’This move from the system is interesting.’

’Player giveaway—it means there will be more and more Players in the future, and instance matchmaking will become more complex.’

’Event Treasure Chests—randomly spawning all over the map. The competition will be fierce.’

’Lord’s Sanctuary—’

Her gaze flickered.

’An independent territory.’

’If I could really get one...’

’Then I wouldn’t have to keep wandering around with this group anymore.’

It wasn’t just Seraphina Sullivan’s group that was excited.

Survivors in Shelters and bases all over the world were getting excited.

This was both an opportunity and a crisis.