Volume One: The Apocalypse Descends. Chapter 35: Military Movements and Superpowered Combat.

Xiang Xiaoxiao was not the type to exaggerate. Since she claimed it was major news, it certainly would not be the same sort of content as previous requests for help or boastful posts.

Xiang Chenguang and the other two exchanged glances and headed to her room together.

Xiang Xiaoxiao’s room was extremely small; aside from a bed, a desk, and a modest wardrobe, there was nothing else. It was, in reality, a partitioned space, split from the original master bedroom into two small rooms, with Xiang Chenguang living on the other side.

Because they were set to leave for the outskirts of the city at noon, her luggage had already been packed the day before, making the room appear even more spartan. Other than the computer on her desk, it was essentially empty.

At that moment, the computer screen was playing a somewhat blurry video showing a group of soldiers fighting to eradicate monsters in the wilderness. Their targets were the various monstrous insects common since the apocalypse began; this was not a clip from a movie, but raw footage from the post-apocalyptic world.

Seeing the military, Xiang Dongliang’s spirits lifted. Watching the soldiers on screen use tactical formations, firearms, and grenades to continuously crush the various insects charging their positions, he said excitedly, "These are regular, active-duty soldiers."

Due to the massive commotion caused by the battle, monsters from the land and air were continuously swarming toward the soldiers' positions. Just as the soldiers on screen were being surrounded by a large number of insects, several brilliant fireballs suddenly erupted behind the insect tide. The person filming was likely using a telephoto lens from a great distance; the video had almost no sound, save for the faint, muffled thuds of explosions after the fireballs burst.

The entire video was less than two minutes long and ended quickly.

The family instinctively looked at Xiang Dongliang. After thinking for a moment, he said, "From the information previously released online, it is clear that it isn’t just us—wireless equipment across the entire country is unusable. It is highly likely, as Xiaoxiao guessed, that the onset of the apocalypse caused some kind of anomaly on Earth that prevents radio waves from propagating. If that is the case, our satellites are effectively useless, which means all high-power, long-range modern weaponry is essentially inoperable. Similarly, aside from helicopters capable of short-distance flight, other aircraft are largely unable to take off. So, even if our organized military can still mobilize to eliminate monsters, they are restricted to fighting with guns and artillery, unable to conduct long-range operations."

"There are no garrisoned troops near our county, so we won't be seeing any rescue in the short term. We should stick to the original plan and relocate to the militia training camp."

There was another concern Xiang Dongliang did not voice: the country’s active-duty force was roughly two million strong. That sounded like a large number, but compared to the vast land area and the total population, it was far from enough. Furthermore, production had come to a complete standstill, meaning existing ammunition was finite. Based on the description of the system’s second main quest, the number of otherworldly invasive creatures would only increase over time, and their strength would continue to grow.

Ultimately, everyone would have to rely on themselves and the abilities granted by the system to fight these invaders. If the military could retake and secure a few core cities near their bases, that would be the best possible outcome. For a backward little county like theirs, which lacked nearby garrisons and held little strategic value, rescue was not just unlikely in the short term—it might never come at all.

Therefore, while knowing that organized military forces were still fighting could boost morale and preserve hope for humanity's future in this apocalypse, it offered no practical help to their current situation. They still had to rely on the original plan to save themselves by heading out of the city.

After breakfast, the family began moving their packed belongings to the van outside the residential complex. Because He Wan possessed a three-cubic-meter personal storage space, important items—such as the various seeds they had collected—could be stored directly inside it. Though three cubic meters was not large, it could hold quite a lot. In the end, the whole family pitched in, and it took only one trip to fit all their necessities into the van.

Although the scheduled departure time was 12:00 PM, organizing a large number of people for relocation required a great deal of time and effort. Thus, after the family finished their preparations, it was not yet 8:00 AM when Xiang Dongliang stood at the entrance of the complex and shouted toward the buildings, "Those willing to come with us to the militia training camp can now bring their belongings downstairs. We need to coordinate and centralize all items for transport. Please rest assured, all monsters within the complex have been cleared, and we will continue to patrol to eliminate any new threats and ensure everyone’s safety. Additionally, you should have all received the system’s skill rewards and seen the second main quest. To survive better in this apocalypse, you must utilize the abilities granted by the system, take the initiative to fight, and slay the invasive creatures to level up."

Xiang Dongliang remained at the gate in his riot gear, while Xiang Chenguang, Xiang Xiaoxiao, and He Wan patrolled the complex, keeping a watchful eye on the monster spawn point near Building 3 and the skies above.

Xiang Chenguang held a three-sided steel rod in his right hand, while his left hand toyed with three one-yuan coins. Xiang Xiaoxiao and He Wan had swapped weapons; He Wan now used the steel-ball crossbow, while Xiang Xiaoxiao carried the homemade steel spear. This arrangement was made because Xiang Xiaoxiao’s lightning-control ability already possessed a degree of medium-to-long-range offensive capability, whereas He Wan’s ability was currently purely auxiliary and could not directly enhance combat power.

The three-person patrol moved back and forth along the concrete paths connecting the buildings. As they passed the monster spawn point on the side of Building 3, He Wan’s expression turned peculiar; she seemed to be on the verge of speaking but hesitated.

Noticing his mother’s abnormality, Xiang Chenguang asked with concern, "What is it?"

He Wan replied, "That place is strange. I felt it when we were moving our things earlier, but I thought it was just my imagination. Now that we’re close again, I have that same weird feeling."

Recalling He Wan’s ability, Xiang Chenguang grew serious. "What exactly feels strange?"

He Wan said hesitantly, "It’s... it feels like there are fine cracks there that are constantly expanding and healing." Suddenly, her tone shifted. "Those cracks are expanding rapidly! Something is about to come out from behind them."

No sooner had she spoken than Xiang Chenguang saw the light on the concrete path next to Building 3 distort, and a giant centipede appeared out of thin air.

Xiang Chenguang opened his left hand. The three one-yuan coins in his palm instantly levitated, beginning to spin rapidly as they accelerated in an orbit around his body. As the giant centipede lunged toward the three of them with bared fangs and claws, one of the coins—moving like a stream of light—suddenly changed trajectory. With a crisp, vibrating hum and a sharp whistle through the air, it flashed past and pierced the giant centipede’s bright red head.

The coin then traced an arc, returned to Chenguang’s side, and resumed its rotation around him.