"Today marks the tenth year of the apocalypse. We've lived here for a full decade, and the previously stockpiled supplies are almost exhausted. If we continue like this, all of you will die due to the shortage of supplies."
A voice, coming from who - knows - where, resounded throughout the square.
It was quite loud, not sounding like a human voice but more like a mechanical synthetic one.
The people who heard these words immediately became restless.
"What's going on? Weren't we told that the reserves here could last for fifty years? It's only been ten years, and they're almost gone? This is not right. We've been eating very little every day!"
"Yeah, we're always hungry. We only have two meals a day. With such efforts to reduce consumption, how could the supplies be used up so quickly?"
"When will this apocalypse ever end? It's already been ten years."
Amid the noisy discussions, a sharp, crackling sound suddenly came from the monitor.
Then the mechanical voice rang out again.
"You've indeed been eating very little every day, but you've been having a lot of children during your idle time. There have been a continuous stream of newborns in our doomsday shelter, and now the population has far exceeded the projection.
Now the shelter has come up with two solutions to address this issue.
One, make long - term combat reserves. The shelter has stored seeds and various building materials. You survivors can participate in work to earn points and thus obtain food. The shelter will no longer distribute food for free in the future.
Two, kill the useless and redundant people to reduce food consumption.
You can choose to implement both solutions simultaneously, or you can choose only one. You have ten minutes to make a choice."
The crowd was in an uproar again. But when they saw that almost everyone was holding a child's hand, they fell silent.
After living in this enclosed shelter for ten years, with no work arrangements and no entertainment, men and women got together and thought about only one thing.
They started to find their own amusements, and the biggest one was having children.
There had indeed been quite a few more newborns over the years. Feeding these newborns required food, so it seemed possible that the resources were being consumed at a high rate.
Which solution should they choose?
Some people had already quietly taken out their weapons.
To survive, the population had to be reduced.
Once the first person made a move, the second followed.
Scenes of blood and violence immediately filled the central monitor.
One person after another fell, and it didn't stop until the survivors were exhausted.
The once - crowded square suddenly became both empty and crowded.
It was empty because there were not many people standing, and it was crowded because of the bodies lying on the ground.
"We choose to implement both solutions simultaneously."
A bearded man shouted, and then the mechanical voice rang out again.
"Good. You've made your choice. Oh, I almost forgot to remind you. Don't eliminate too many people, or you won't be able to select the outbounders."
"Ten outbounders will be selected this time. Please make your choice."
The voice from the broadcast was cold and tinged with a bit of mockery.
Nian Nian and Shen Weixun didn't understand what "outbounders" meant, but it didn't sound like a good thing.
Because the faces of the surviving people on the monitor became more and more embarrassed and ugly as the broadcast continued.
They looked at each other. Their nerves, which had been extremely tired and somewhat relaxed, suddenly tightened up again.
"I don't want to be an outbounder. Whoever wants to go can go."
Sensing that something was wrong, some smart people tried to run away, but were grabbed by the people beside them.
"There are only a little over a hundred of us left. Where do you think you can run? Old man, I think you're the oldest here. You've lived long enough. You'll be one of the outbounders this time."
"You're talking nonsense. Why do you say I've lived long enough? I just saw you kill your wife and children. A heartless person like you doesn't deserve to live in the shelter. You should be an outbounder."
The two quickly got into a fight, but because of the fierce battle just now, their punches were rather weak.
They weren't the only ones arguing. Others also started to quarrel noisily, all trying to push others to be the outbounders.
A woman holding a sharp knife suddenly shouted, "Stop it, everyone! Let our workshop decide! If we keep fighting like this, someone will die. There are only so many of us left. If the people around you die, you might be the next outbounder!"
The woman's words were effective. The people who had been fighting immediately stopped.
Then the woman sighed helplessly. She tore off a piece of clothing from a nearby corpse and started to tear it into strips.
She tore the strips into different lengths, mixed them up in her hand, and then said, "The strips here are of different lengths. The ten people who draw the shortest ones will be the outbounders."
The people obediently lined up to draw their own strips. Those who opened their strips and found them significantly longer than others' would show a delighted and relieved expression on their faces.
Soon, ten outbounders were selected.
Among them was the man who had killed his wife and children.
But he wasn't the only one who had killed his family.
"Why? You tore these strips. You must have rigged it! I couldn't be this unlucky!"
"Don't be unreasonable. I let you choose first, and the last one was for me."
The woman was very indignant. She had even prepared to be an outbounder after others had chosen.
Was it her fault that she was lucky enough not to be selected?
"No way. Anyway, I'm not going. If you force me to go, I'll kill you right now. I'll take someone with me even if I die!"
"You've already killed a lot of people. How many more do you want to take with you? Being an outbounder doesn't necessarily mean death. What if the poison gas outside has dissipated and the apocalypse is over? If you survive, all of us can survive!"
"Accept your fate. If you really die, you can only blame your bad luck. If you keep hesitating, we'll just tie you up and send you there."
The man who had quarreled with the previous man said sarcastically.
Under the pressure of everyone's noisy voices, the man could only bow his head and accept his fate.
Shivering, he put on the protective suit. The ten people stood in a line and were escorted by everyone to a large door.
They opened the door, and the people without protective suits involuntarily took several steps back.
Then, Xiao Tuanzi and the others saw that a monitor screen that had been dark suddenly lit up.
The ten people in protective suits stepped onto an upward - leading staircase.
Was this city underground?