Calamity of Tomorrow

Chapter 7: Reception

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Zhou Bai thought Professor Zhuang would have a plan, but he hadn’t expected him to say this.

“Let’s pray we have better luck and never get discovered…We are the last hope of humanity.” Professor Zhuang patted Zhou Bai’s shoulder then left.

Zhou Bai looked at Professor Zhuang’s lonely back. Recalling the cat from yesterday, he couldn’t help thinking, Goblins? If that white cat’s original form is in the base, then does Professor Zhuang know…or not?

With this thought, Zhou Bai couldn’t help thinking further. Should I tell him about the cat?

Both the white cat and the auxiliary system she brought were suspicious, and they linked to Zhou Bai’s current situation. Zhou Bai couldn’t help suspecting their goal since he didn’t believe in free lunches.

But Professor Zhuang was even more suspicious. Whether it was the underground base, Doomsday rumors, or the strange demon class—they all gave off a wicked aura.

Should I tell Professor Zhuang everything? He wondered. Or go looking for that cat that might be a goblin on my own?

After some thought, Zhou Bai made a decision: There are too few clues. I’ll look by myself for now. At least if I can use this auxiliary system, I’ll be able to defend myself better.

At that moment, Zhou Bai felt this shoulder bumped forcefully. A boy who was nearly 1.8 meters tall walked past him with a cold expression.

Elsa ran up and yelled, “Hey! Bando! What are you doing? Can’t you watch where you’re walking?”

The boy named Bando turned around, glaring coldly at Elsa and Zhou Bai. “If you don’t want to get bumped, then don’t stand in my way.”

Seeing Bando walk away, Zhou Bai’s lips twitched. He thought, Damn, that kid’s arrogant.

Elsa jumped angrily and yelled at Bando’s back. “Can’t you say something if he’s in your way?”

“That’s not the point…” Zhou Bai helplessly patted Elsa’s shoulder and said, “All right, Elsa. Let’s go eat.”

When she heard they were going to eat, Elsa’s eyes glowed, and she quickly forgot about what had just happened. She happily followed Zhou Bai to the cafeteria.

The two got their food and sat down. Zhou Bai considered his plans.

I’ve walked through the second and third residential levels underground. If that cat is really in the underground base, then she’s probably in level four or five.

At this thought, Zhou Bai asked, “Elsa, have you been in every part of the base? Have you been in levels four or five?”

Elsa had buried her head in the synthetic nutrition gel in her bowl, and she didn’t hear Zhou Bai’s question.

Zhou Bai asked several more times. Seeing that she still didn’t hear him, he snatched her bowl, then watched Elsa stretch her head and follow the bowl with her mouth.

“This kid…” Zhou Bai knew what Elsa was like after living with her the past few days, so he waited to ask until after she finished eating.

“In the past, when we helped teacher carry things, we’ve gone to level four, but not to level five. No one can go to level five except teacher.”

Then Elsa told Zhou Bai about the things she saw in level four.

In the chair behind Zhou Bai, Alice, appearing deep in thought, quietly listened in on their conversation.

***

A few days later, after demon class ended, Professor Zhuang picked some students to help him carry things. Zhou Bai volunteered to help.

A dozen students followed Professor Zhuang down to level four. An enormous warehouse appeared before Zhou Bai. Resources the base needed were organized into different sections.

Under Professor Zhuang’s direction, the students each went off to different sections to carry the resources.

After Zhou Bai put two boxes up on the shelves and came back down to take more, he looked around to check that no one noticed him, then walked to the back of the warehouse.

I’ll search level four first to see if she’s here, he thought. If not, I can only try to find a way to search in level five.

Zhou Bai walked down the aisles of resources. He saw vast numbers of nutrition gels, hardtack, purified water, as well as all sorts of medicines, medical instruments, and common tools.

“Looks like there’s nothing special here…” Zhou Bai paused. He saw a clearing on the ground with all sorts of old equipment.

“This…” Zhou Bai picked up a cylinder-shaped item, fiddling with it and guessing. “Is this a flashlight?”

The next moment, his eyes lit up. He grabbed a small piece of electronics to the side. “This looks like a radio.”

Zhou Bai tried pressing the power button, but there was no reaction.

“Is it broken? Is it out of batteries?” Zhou Bai rummaged around and found two batteries from another electronic item.

After putting the batteries into the radio, Zhou Bai turned it on again. He immediately heard static coming from the radio.

After going through a couple of channels and hearing nothing, Zhou Bai suddenly remembered. “This is underground. There’s probably no signal here.”

Just as Zhou Bai was feeling disappointed, the sound in the radio suddenly focused.

“This is Paradise Rescue Team. This is Paradise Rescue Team. We are rescuing humans all around the globe.

“Survivors who receive this message, please…”

Zhou Bai looked at the radio in his hand in shock, but the voice in it vanished halfway through its sentence. The radio became staticky again. No matter how Zhou Bai tinkered with it, he couldn’t receive the voice from before.

Right then, a light clang sounded behind Zhou Bai. He immediately turned nervously and found it was Alice standing behind him. She had accidentally kicked a metal pipe.

Seeing Zhou Bai turn around, Alice raised a finger and put it to her lips. “Shh, don’t fret. I won’t tell teacher.”

“You…heard it?” Zhou Bai asked.

Alice nodded. “I’ve always doubted the so-called Doomsday. There’s something you might want to take a look at.”

Zhou Bai followed Alice to a corner of the warehouse and saw rows of bookshelves before him. His eyes glowed, and he walked up quickly. “Language arts…math…chemistry…physics…Are these all knowledge-based books?”

Alice said on the side, “Come take a look at this.”

Alice flipped open a book. She took out a piece of paper and handed it to Zhou Bai.

Zhou Bai looked over the page and saw that writing covered it.

“Don’t open the door. He just wants to eat us…

“It hurts…my chest is hurting more and more. Something’s about to come out…

“Jack is gone too. He must have been eaten…What shall we do?”