The whole nation is trying to survive on the cable car; I'm choosing one of three options at ea

They might have some methods, equipment, or trump cards that they are unaware of, but when facing that elite monster that the system specifically marks and that needs to be killed to unlock the experience pool, they have no confidence whatsoever.

Su Mu had dealt with monsters of level 10 or higher before, so he was aware of the strength of such opponents.

The three people in front of him were indeed formidable in combat skills... The burly man's shield blocking and battle axe throwing, the lean man's positioning and alertness, and Bai Liuxi's almost ghostly speed and continuous combos... Among all the opponents he had ever encountered, they were definitely among the top tier.

But no matter how good your skills are, they can't make up for the difference in attributes.

In the previous exchange, Bai Liuxi did cause him considerable trouble in the early stages. Her speed was too fast, and her combos were too dense, forcing him to be forced into a passive defensive posture, unable to find even a gap to counterattack.

But it was merely a nuisance. Her attacks were mostly absorbed by his armor, and the remaining damage didn't even scratch his health bar. With this level of damage output, against a level 10 green monster with high armor and constitution, she probably couldn't even break through its defenses.

However, Su Mu had to admit that the overall strength of this squad was stronger than he had expected. At least in terms of combat experience and teamwork, they far surpassed any survivor team he had encountered before.

Bai Liuxi withdrew her hand, stepped forward, and her light-colored eyes lingered on Su Mu for a moment.

Instead of responding to Su Mu's words, he said...

"You are very strong."

Her voice wasn't loud, but it was direct, without preamble or pleasantries: "They're stronger than us. Interested in joining our Northern Region?"

Su Mu raised an eyebrow slightly. The Northern Region? He didn't immediately refuse, but instead followed up with a question: "What kind of power is the Northern Region? Doesn't your military call itself the military?"

Bai Liuxi glanced at him, seemingly considering her words. After a moment, she spoke, her tone as calm as if stating a fact unrelated to herself: "We are not a military force. There is no such thing as a real 'military' in this world. It's just that the military's management model is more suitable for an organization like ours, so we adopted this structure."

She paused, her gaze sweeping over the burly man and the lean man behind her.

"Our organization is called 'Great Wind.' It is composed of people from the Seventh World, the Sixteenth World, and the Eighteenth World. Three worlds, three civilizations, have come together here."

Su Mu frowned. The Seventh World? The Sixteenth World? The Eighteenth World? These numbers swirled in his mind, quickly leading to a conjecture that gave him a slight jolt.

"What do you mean by these 'worlds' you're talking about?" he asked. "Do you mean the survivors who came to this world from different places?"

Bai Liuxi nodded, then shook her head: "Yes and no. The designation 'Seventh World' wasn't chosen by us. It was given to us by this world."

Once a group of survivors has established themselves in a region, multiplied, and formed a stable population, the system assigns this group a number. The seventh, sixteenth, eighteenth... these are all survivor groups that have already established themselves in this world.

She looked at Su Mu with an indescribable look in her eyes.

"You don't have your own world number yet. That's because you still have the cable car as a trump card; you haven't completely 'fallen.' You'll only have your own number when your cable car is destroyed, when you're forced to survive on the ground, or when a world announcement is made."

Su Mu's pupils contracted slightly.

These people... didn't come down from the cable car. Or rather, they didn't come down from "this" cable car. They are survivors who came to this world much earlier... maybe a year ago, maybe three years ago, maybe even longer... their cable car no longer exists. They survived, multiplied, developed, and formed their own organization on the ground, where there was no cable car for protection.

"How long have you... lived in this world?" Su Mu asked.

Bai Liuxi did not answer directly. She turned her head and looked towards the dark area deep within the shadowy zone, remaining silent for a few seconds.

"A very long time. So long that most of us in this generation have never even seen what a cable car looks like. We were born here, we grew up here, this world is our whole world."

Su Mu's brows furrowed even more. He had initially assumed these people were the first survivors to arrive in this world... those who had descended from the cable car, struggled to survive on the ground, and ultimately made it to the end. But judging from Bai Liuxi's words, she and her teammates were likely born after those people. They were the descendants of the survivors. Born into this world, raised in this world, they had never seen the sky of another world.

"Then you..." Su Mu carefully chose his words, "Where is your city located? How did you survive?"

Bai Liuxi glanced at him and shook her head: "These are not things you should know now. They are our secrets. I can only tell you one thing... If you can join us in the future, it will be much better than those organizations that treat newcomers like 'lambs to the slaughter'."

Su Mu's eyes flickered slightly. Lamb to the slaughter. This phrase reminded him of the "Savior Guild" he had encountered before, and the rules that mandated forced contracts and the handover of half of their resources. In this world, not everyone was like Da Feng, willing to help survivors in the early stages.

"Why are you helping us?" Su Mu asked. "No one does charity without some benefit."

Bai Liuxi was silent for a moment, then said something that surprised Su Mu: "Our philosophy is to fight together."

"Fight against what?"

Bai Liuxi shook her head: "We don't know either."

Su Mu frowned. Fighting something he didn't even know what it was?

"You might find this absurd." Bai Liuxi's tone remained calm, but there was something unreadable in her light-colored eyes. "But we've lived here for so long, and we've seen too many inexplicable things. Those things... whatever they are... will threaten everyone sooner or later. Including you."

"So your 'help' is essentially a form of courting," Su Mu said. "In the apocalypse, having one more friend means having one less enemy."

Bai Liuxi did not deny it.