Special Menu

early morning.

A ring-shaped starship slowly sailed towards Lichun Star.

It resembled a massive high-tech complex. As the circular wheel slowly rotated, the buildings of varying heights shifted positions, simulating the transition from day to night. In the center of the ring was a suspended vertical axis. This axis contained relatively few buildings. At one end were various platforms for parking spacecraft and training grounds, while at the other was a pointed tip that resembled a large energy weapon.

"Here they come!" Everyone cheered excitedly in the spaceship on top of Lichun Star.

Everyone gathered in the spaceship early in the morning and waited, because today, Lichun Star will usher in the most important and even turning point event since the establishment of the base - shifting the planet's orbit.

"Is that a tree?" Someone pointed at a round-roofed building on the starship.

"Lots of trees! That must be the park," another man said, holding up a pair of binoculars. "Who knows, maybe one of them was planted by me? I carried the sapling all the way up from the ground. I'll go up and take a look later."

However, given the scale of the park's expansion, it may be difficult to find the trees that were planted previously.

"After moving the orbit of Lichun Star, such lush green trees will be able to grow on our Lichun Star in the future," someone said proudly.

Whether the residents are hungry or not, they all feel proud. The labor and experience they have put in on Lichun Star these days are enough to make them feel good about this planet with extremely poor innate conditions - this is the planet they worked hard to build!

“I don’t know how long it will take to move it, I’m really looking forward to it!”

As he was speaking, a melodious music came from the ceiling.

"Please note, planet dragging operations are scheduled to begin at 8:00 AM today and conclude at 10:30 AM tomorrow morning. This spacecraft will be leaving the work area and is expected to return at 10:35 AM tomorrow morning. During this time, the restaurant will provide meals: breakfast from 6:00 AM to 10:00 AM, lunch from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM, snacks from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM, and dinner and late-night snacks from 5:00 PM to 11:00 PM. You can dine in the restaurant. Today's special menu features a super potato pizza."

The volume of the music lowered, and the female voice that followed had a strong mechanical texture, but the voice had ups and downs, very much like a caring big sister next door.

"Who is this?"

While everyone was confused, a female voice gave the answer—

"I am an artificial intelligence, your new housekeeper [Eve]. I have been on trial operation for five days during the starship's renovation and was loaded onto this ship at seven o'clock this morning to take over its management."

"For convenience, all Hungry Hungry residents are requested to proceed to the Information Management Center and load the [Eve] system before the spacecraft returns. During this time, I will arrange your accommodations on the starship according to your needs and do my best to provide you with more convenient services in the future."

People often see artificial intelligence in science fiction movies, but seeing it in person is different. Residents looked at each other in bewilderment. Some of the quick-witted ones had already searched for information about [Eve] on the Hungry Hungry official website.

"It can be used as a map to navigate to buildings in the starship; it can be used as a sports watch to monitor my physical condition at any time and send me to the hospital in time if there is any abnormality; it can be used to chat when I'm bored, repair broken machinery, remind me of three meals a day, work arrangements... Oh my God, what can't I do?" he exclaimed.

The others searched out of curiosity, and sure enough, there was a huge list of functions, which gave off a sense of reliability and convenience.

“How convenient!”

"Wow! Is she a physical being? She sounds like a beautiful older sister!"

"With so many functions, what kind of CPU can support it? I can't believe how far our electronic information technology has come!"

The hungry residents happily lined up to upgrade their screens, while the non-hungry residents looked at each other in bewilderment, feeling as if they were lying on the ground and couldn't pick up the money. After all, this was Hungry's smart management, and it didn't matter if they didn't join Hungry's download.

"In order to better monitor your health data and ensure your safety, please go to the medical center for a comprehensive physical examination after upgrading your system. This examination will serve as your basic data storage. Please note that this examination is completely free, and non-territorial residents can also participate in the examination and receive a complete physical report."

"To encourage residents to take care of their bodies and actively exercise, participants with excellent physical conditions will receive free food from today's special menu~"

The non-hungry residents also became happy: "We have a share too?"

"Free physical examination! Hurry up."

Suddenly, another group of people lined up in groups to get a physical examination.

Facts have proven that sub-health continues to plague people, both before and after the apocalypse. Before the apocalypse, it's due to staying up late, lack of exercise, and a greasy diet. After the apocalypse, with no time to stay up late, people are forced to exercise and even have to save oil when cooking. Still, high stress, high pollution, and other factors can lead to a "sub-health checkup report," and people tearfully miss today's special dish.

Fortunately, with the development of technology, there are new kinds of medicines. Many people have bought health-care robots from medical centers. I have to say, I don’t know if it’s a psychological effect, but after taking the health-care robot, the whole person does feel more energetic.

Besides, while the starship was dragging Lichun into its new orbit, another planet was also undergoing terrible changes. Several bombs the size of torpedoes fell from the sky. If Knox were here, he would immediately recognize that one of them was the atomic bomb stored in their base.

At the moment the nuclear bomb fell, the world was exceptionally quiet.

Perhaps it is because of the last round of pollution disaster that almost all animals have become extinct, or perhaps it is because it is too early now and the living creatures are still asleep.

After several sharp alarm sounds, all scenes in the world were wiped out. White flashes that were almost blinding flashed by, and sound waves beyond human hearing exploded throughout the sky and earth. The world seemed to have fallen into a terrifying silence.

Immediately afterwards, satellites captured several unimaginably huge mushroom clouds rising in the sky.

"Oh my god," the crew members monitoring the planet on the Hungry Hungry starship shouted in disbelief. "This explosion is too horrific. The habitability has plummeted to 50%, even lower than that of Lichun Star! This is already uninhabitable."

"The damage from the explosion is secondary," said the researcher next to him. "The main issue is the fallout from the explosion. This fallout carries a large amount of gamma rays, which can quickly penetrate the human body, kill cells, and cause cancer."

"Isn't that like we can survive the first day, but not the fifteenth?" the team member muttered. "We survived the explosion, but we still have to survive the radiation afterward?"

The researcher glanced at him, deeply regretful of his lack of knowledge. "As long as you're in a basement or something, avoiding the explosion and fallout immediately, you're basically safe. After 72 hours, the radiation content of the fallout will disappear by 90%, and the planet's habitability should increase significantly. But..." He sighed and said, "You're right. Even if you avoid the fallout, you're only basically safe. It will take another hundred years for the radiation to dissipate."

"Why on earth is this happening..." Hearing him say this, the team members looked at the satellite photos of the gradually cloudy atmosphere, as if they had gained a new understanding. He said sadly, "Is it just to argue about right and wrong?"

No one answered him, even though everyone knew that this nuclear explosion was very likely a real event. If it weren't for Civilization, they might have died in this terrible explosion.

They had lost their lives in the war, yet they still didn't know why. From beginning to end, they seemed like insignificant cannon fodder, helplessly watching the explosions unfold, even though that world had originally been theirs, not just those politicians'.

"How shameless!" The team member became angrier and angrier as he thought about it, and the researcher next to him pulled him back in time.

"Keep monitoring well and record accurate data. At least we are doing something meaningful now."

.

The crazy explosion affected even the specially designed earthquake-proof basement to some extent.

Everyone woke with a start, shelves crashing to the ground, food scattering everywhere. The air was filled with a horrible metallic smell, and even the slightest breath brought on a nauseous vomiting sensation. The only small window offering a view outside was crowded with people, even though it had been covered in a thick layer of dust overnight.

The communication function of the light screen was cut off again. No matter how anxiously I refreshed the screen, I could only see the construction video of Lichun Star released two days ago.

They are like isolated islands in the midst of radiation, having to face an unknown future and fate alone. In such an environment, it is hard not to feel fear.

"Wow, wow, wow..." Someone finally couldn't stand the pressure anymore and started crying at the foot of the bed.

Some people comforted him, some sat further away in annoyance, and some looked out the window where they couldn't see outside and murmured, "I don't know what's happening to the others, I must survive." In such a disaster, he suddenly put his own safety aside and inexplicably worried about the safety of everyone on the planet. Perhaps this is a common human problem.

Counting the ticks of the stopwatch, a day finally passed. In the early hours of the morning, the light screen resumed communication.

"Are you all okay?" At three o'clock in the morning, many people were still awake. After finding that communication had been restored, they immediately posted to report that they were safe and asked about the situation of others.

"Everything is fine, except that one person fell out of bed and broke his bones. We thought he was exposed to radiation at the time, and we almost died of fear..."

"We had a basement collapse, the ceiling and walls were all cracked, but luckily it was well sealed, so we were safe."

"Everyone is safe. They brought in a lot of books and everyone is reading."

Across the vast distance, the mutual reports of safety became a source of comfort for those on the isolated island. Even as dawn approached, they were reluctant to fall asleep, repeatedly scrolling through their screens to report safety and ease their inner anxiety.

"Are the people from the Long Live the Orcs territory still alive? I followed the reply from your territory last time and found the people from your territory, but no one has reported that they are safe. Hello, hey, hey? Squeak."

"Maybe he fell asleep, please pay attention to the time."

"That's impossible. The person I know is a serious night owl. There's no way he's sleeping at this time."

"...You'll definitely hear the news tomorrow morning! Don't overthink it, go to bed early!"

"Thank you. I will."

There are many similar posts on Taoduoduo. Everyone knows a terrible fact: only the living can speak out, and those who died in the explosion will never have the chance to report their safety.

So when faced with those who cannot be contacted, they can only pray desperately for the other party's safety, and there is nothing else they can do.

.

Seven o'clock in the morning.

"The instantaneous nuclear radiation caused the light screen to fail. We didn't contact the various territories until three in the morning. As far as we know, sixteen territories are safe, eight territories have lost contact, and two territories have been confirmed to have been breached."

"How about Noah's Ark?" Knox suddenly asked in the quiet conference room.

"It's safe, just a basement collapsed." The team member replied.

"If they're short on supplies, we can help," Ye Miaomiao said. "Super potatoes have a high yield, a low price, and can quickly fill their stomachs."

"Most territories aren't currently at risk of a shortage of supplies. After all, without early preparation, they wouldn't choose to remain on the surface," the team member replied. "The problem now is..."

As he spoke, he projected the researcher's report onto the screen.

"Through our continuous observations, we have found that there has been no significant decrease in nuclear radiation levels over the past 24 hours. Researchers speculate that this is due to a chemical reaction between seawater contamination and radiation, which has slowed the dissipation of radioactive particles."

"The main danger now is that radiation levels are much higher than expected and continue to rise. We may need to spend longer and do more modification work to eliminate these risks."

The conference room immediately erupted in exclamations and sighs of varying sizes. It had to be said that this was terrible news.

"However, the researchers said we can use [Technology: Spaceship Ecology] to improve the basement environment and [Technology: Human Aquaculture] to reduce radiation levels."

"The only problem is... both of these technologies are SSR-level, requiring a very high level of skill. Our personnel in both areas are either busy transforming Lichun Star or testing starship operations. There's not a single person free. Furthermore, with such a large planet and so many radiation factors, even if we fully commit our personnel to the task, it would still take a considerable amount of time, and there's no guarantee we'll even be able to solve it."

The team members said in embarrassment: "Boss, we are not short of supplies now, we are short of people."