Freeze the entire population, activate my Superman system?

"Isn't this going too far?"

But if you say you're going to do it, Brother Shuang, I'll definitely go for it with you.

Zhang Mu didn't understand Ling Shuang's idea, but he supported it unconditionally.

Ling Shuang opened her computer and entered the last piece of information about the Night Ghost into Xiao Ai's AI dialogue window.

On the screen, the locally deployed AI model ran for about ten seconds and then a line graph popped up.

The horizontal axis represents the number of days, and the vertical axis represents the number of surviving people within the territory.

The chart is labeled with variables: average daily calorie consumption, rate of firewood consumption for heating boilers, decline curve of drug inventory, and estimated lifespan of water purifier filter cartridges.

The conclusion is in bold red at the bottom:

【当前消耗速率下，领地11人（含3名60岁以上老人、1名4岁儿童），不考虑外界风险，极限存活时间：89天。】

If the basic calorie requirement for physical strength is maintained, the survival time is reduced to 67 days.

If a wounded soldier requires additional nutrition and medication, their survival time will be shortened to less than 51 days.

Zhang Mu glanced at the numbers on the screen, pulled up a chair and sat down opposite Ling Shuang, then said with a sudden realization,

"So you're already thinking about leaving? Even though the safe zone won't be open for another 21 days."

"We can't live for just one month; we need to plan for the future." Ling Shuang turned off the screen and rubbed her temples.

"You can see the issue of food rations in the chart."

There is also the energy problem; a week has passed and the temperature has dropped to 5-6 degrees Celsius.

We also had to be wary of the ghostly thing that appeared that night, capable of freezing people to death; how could we dare to stop the heating?

Although the community has a high green coverage rate, most of the trees are not tall trees.

How long will this wood burn?

Zhang Mu remained silent for a few seconds, then lit a cigarette, a rare occurrence for him.

Ling Shuang looked at him in surprise.

"Didn't you quit?"

"I'm a bit annoyed, and if he dies tomorrow, it'll be a waste to keep him around."

Shuang-ge, you make the decision.

While I can't be your demon king's protector, I can still charge in with two kitchen knives at once.

Faced with the timeline provided by the AI, Ling Shuang felt a surge of pressure.

If things are like this here, how much better off can the other lords be?

Ling Shuang rubbed her eyebrows.

"Give me a Coke."

"Didn't you say you wanted to save it for later? Besides, without ice, does drinking room-temperature Coke have any soul?"

Despite his words, Zhang Mu still promptly handed over a can.

Ling Shuang activated the energy in her left arm, and the entire can of cola instantly began to emit a chilling aura.

This action made Zhang Mu's eyes widen in astonishment.

"You should have said you could be a refrigerator!"

I drank a can of it at room temperature last time, and it tasted so bad I wanted to throw up.

Ling Shuang laughed and scolded,

"You're my son. When I die, the entire inheritance will be yours. Why would you need to steal a drink?"

"That's bullshit, I bought it myself."

......

The next morning at six o'clock.

Zhang Mu was awakened by a short system notification sound and quickly kicked Ling Shuang on the carpet.

"Brother Shuang, the new version is out!"

After Zhang Mu opened the Lord's Panel, a long-unseen line of semi-transparent text appeared in the center of their field of vision:

[Civilization milestone unlocked!]

[Heating furnaces have been activated in the current civilization (humanity): 51/50]

[Triggering the first stage of civilization achievement - Passing on the torch]

[Achievement Reward: All activated lords will receive an additional 200 achievement points.]

The list of civilization buildings has been updated. Existing buildings can be upgraded, and new building modules have been unlocked.

The two exchanged a glance and simultaneously exclaimed, "Damn it!"

On Zhang Mu's panel, a whole row of previously grayed-out building icons lit up.

"The heating furnace can be upgraded to a 'basic heating furnace,' which increases the coverage radius from 20 meters to 50 meters and improves fuel efficiency by 30%. It requires 300 achievement points."

"The water purifier can be upgraded to a 'basic water purification system,' increasing the daily output to 100 liters and filtering slightly polluted water. This requires 250 achievement points."

"The fence can be upgraded to a 'basic protective fence,' which increases voltage output and can repel first-tier mutated creatures. It requires 130 achievement points."

"And there are new buildings..."

Zhang Mu's fingers slid across the panel, his expression growing increasingly surprised.

[Medical Ward]: Requires 500 achievement points.

It can treat external injuries, infections, and common diseases. It can be used three times a day and requires clean water and medicine to fill.

[Signal Base Station]: Requires 400 achievement points.

It can transmit and receive radio signals, can be networked with other base stations, and requires wood to maintain operation.

[Material Appraisal]: Requires 300 achievement points.

It can analyze the safety and uses of mutated biological materials, with a usage limit of ten times per day.

[Cultivation Garden]: Requires 1200 achievement points.

It can increase the growth rate of plants within the territory, decompose the corpses of mutated creatures, and has a very small chance of yielding mutated plant seeds every day.

Just then, the emergency broadcast suddenly went off.

Guo Yueshan's voice came from inside, carrying a rare hint of urgency.

"Attention all lords, urgent notice from the administration office."

Do not unlock any new buildings for now!

Repeat this: Do not unlock any new buildings for now!

A meeting of all lords was held in the property management lobby at noon today.

Zhang Mu and Ling Shuang exchanged a glance.

As expected, the management office intervened.

Zhang Mu muttered to himself.

Let's take a look at what new achievements and missions are available.

"Battlefield First Aid": Complete three emergency treatments to earn 200 achievement points.

"Detoxification Expert": Successfully diagnose and treat a poisoning patient, reward 150 achievement points.

Triggering conditions: The source of the toxin is limited to mutated organisms or unknown environmental factors.

[Defense and Infrastructure]

"Great Wall of Flesh and Blood": Territory defensive buildings withstand a total of ten attacks, rewarding 200 achievement points.

Triggering condition: Protective fences, arrow towers, and other buildings have not suffered structural damage during the battle.

"Warm as Spring" (Completed): The temperature within the coverage area of ​​the heating furnace is maintained above 18 degrees Celsius for 72 consecutive hours, rewarding 150 achievement points.

"Inheritors" (Completed): Three survivors in the territory have mastered basic first aid skills. Reward: 150 achievement points.

"Scavenger" (Completed): Territory members kill a total of ten Tier 1 or higher mutated creatures, rewarding 900 achievement points.

Hidden Achievements

"Butcher": Kill a mutated creature of tier 2 or higher.

The reward is 2500 achievement points, which cannot be repeated.

Three minutes later, Ling Shuang's core team of five was summoned to his study.

Ling Shuang wrote the four prominent numbers 2150 on the whiteboard with a marker.

There are also requirements for upgrading and exchanging various buildings, as well as achievement tasks.

"2150 points, that's all the achievement points we have left."

"Right now, only the heating furnace and water purifier are activated in the entire territory. There are still upgrades and new buildings to be built. Let's share our opinions."

Liu Yun brought over a pot of hot water and poured a cup for everyone.

Zhang Mu swiped his finger across the panel. "We should be considered well-off; we've managed to increase revenue and cut costs."

Brother Shuang led us to get achievements like crazy, and we saved money too.

I've never been willing to activate the cold storage building, and as for the fence, I haven't contributed anything to it.

Wang Can scratched his head and was the first to speak, "The heating boilers will definitely be upgraded. The biggest crisis we know of right now is freezing temperatures."

Liu Yun added to her husband, "Moreover, fuel efficiency is improved by 30%, and after the upgrade, a lot of wood can be saved."

Zhang Mu nodded and noted it down. "The heating furnace is upgraded to the basic level, 300 points. Anything else?"

"The water purifier also needs to be upgraded," Liu Yun said. "We're using water from an artificial lake now, and so many disgusting things crawl in and out."

"I can tolerate bathing in it, but I wouldn't dare give it to you to drink or use for cooking without purifying it first. There are 11 people in our territory right now."

"Should we get some fencing? I think there's an achievement that requires fencing," Wang Can suddenly said, standing up.

Ling Shuang shook her head. "We have arrow towers and interception nets in the direction of the artificial lake right now, which is enough for the time being. We can activate them when there are actually monsters."

"The heating furnace and water purifier together cost 550 points, leaving 1600 points remaining."

Zhang Mu looked up and said, "The makeshift medical cabin is not very useful. With Nurse Liu and me here, we can save on this."

I think we should do a resource appraisal. We need to assess whether the mutated crow and blackfish meat are edible. If they are, it would solve another way to feed the animals.

Ling Shuang then wrote down the number 1300.

Liu Yun suddenly spoke up,

"Xiao Ling, what do you think of that plantation?"

With this, perhaps we won't have to worry about food anymore.

Ling Shuang pondered for a moment, then shook her head and said,

"This activation takes too much time and there are no flexible backup achievement points, so we'll be caught off guard if problems arise."

His voice paused for a moment.

"And I reckon the administration might make a request to the lord during the midday meeting."

Zhang Mu exclaimed in surprise.

"Do they want to control how everyone uses their achievement points?"

Ling Shuang narrowed her eyes.

"If the allocation is reasonable, then unified allocation is indeed appropriate."

Liu Wei's actions should have been a wake-up call for Guo Yueshan.

Given limited resources, if each lord focuses on developing themselves in all aspects, it's true that achievement points will be wasted.

Ling Shuang looked around at everyone and said,

"Any other opinions? Feel free to say whatever comes to mind."

Only then did Jiang Xiaobei raise his head, his lips moving as if he had made a great decision.

"Brother Ling, um... I need a cell tower. I want to see if I can get in touch with the government and rescue efforts."

The living room fell silent for a moment.

Wang Can and Liu Yun exchanged a glance but neither spoke.

Zhang Mu frowned.

"Xiao Bei, I know you want to contact the outside world."

Zhang Mu carefully considered his words.

"But 400 points is not a small amount."

"Signal base stations... to be honest, even if they're built, whether people outside will be able to receive the signal or even respond are all unknowns."

Liu Yun softly replied, "Xiao Bei, even if they manage to contact the government, what can they do in this situation? How will they survive?"

Jiang Xiaobei lowered her head, her fingers gripping the edge of the carpet tightly.

"I just...wanted to try." His voice was a little muffled. "What if? What if someone gets it?"

He didn't finish speaking.

Wang Can sighed and patted Jiang Xiaobei on the shoulder.

"Xiao Bei, it's not that everyone is unwilling."

Resources are so scarce right now; every achievement point has to be spent wisely.

Jiang Xiaobei nodded seriously.

"Yes, I'll try my best to see if I can accomplish more tasks for Dr. Zhang."

Ling Shuang noticed that his shoulders were trembling slightly.

He understood,

Jiang Xiaobei probably misses her family.

Ling Shuang thought about it carefully for a while, then spoke.

"Next time we get a white crystal, or unlock a new achievement, we'll prioritize exchanging it for a signal base station for Xiao Bei."

Jiang Xiaobei suddenly looked up at Ling Shuang, his eyes a little red.

"Brother Shuang?" Zhang Mu was somewhat surprised.

Ling Shuang smiled.

"There's always a reason why a building can be unlocked."

Besides, 400 achievement points can be obtained by killing two Night Demon larvae, and there are still a bunch of them hanging from the octopus mother's suckers.

"Then it's settled." Ling Shuang made the decision. "Let's upgrade the heating furnace and water purifier first, and also do the material appraisal."

"Keep the remaining achievement points for emergencies. Send a batch of activation requests to Xiao Bei's base station."

Zhang Mu immediately started operating on the panel.

Two beams of white light appeared one after the other.

The heating furnace expanded in size, growing from half a person's height to over a meter tall.

The eerie blue flames in the stove burned even brighter, and the temperature in the entire living room rose from 15°C to 19°C in just a few seconds.

It already feels like summer.

As for the water purifier in the corner, its silver-white casing suddenly became larger, and the water pipe interface changed from one to three.

There is a small display screen on the side that shows the current water purification inventory.