Although it's the end of the world and the underground shelter is filled with victims of war, money is always universal.

When the cannon fires, gold floods in, and among the traders are those who resell life supplies. Even as the Earth nears destruction, human nature remains unchanged. The federal government, aside from distributing materials to the survivors, tacitly allows trade within the territory to encourage more people to work and create material wealth.

The four underground cities each cover tens of thousands of square kilometers, vast and as isolated from each other as underground lakes.

Underground water has become the only usable energy source. The water can drive turbines, and with the weak energy, tritium elements can be extracted through nuclear fusion to generate power, supplying energy to the extensive main city network.

Each area is buried with hundreds of nuclear warheads. If bombed, the citizens must retreat in the shortest time possible. The federal commander will decisively detonate the nuclear weapons, and the mushroom cloud will upend the surface, obliterating alien invaders. Those who cannot escape will serve as their own funerals.

Residents plant crops on the nuclear weapons, utilizing limited space. The Japanese have endless wisdom in saving space, categorizing vegetables, wheat, and rice, growing them in trays of bio-synthetic soil, and stacking them like drawers. Americans provide billions of imitation solar lamps to facilitate photosynthesis.

Animals that provide meat are similarly raised in cages as complex as small pharmacy drawers. After being dismembered, a large portion is sent to factories to be made into nutritional meal boxes for rations; a smaller part is sent to supermarkets for the wealthy to purchase.

The universal consumption points are world currencies, with the EU, Southeast Asia, and the Americas each sending negotiating giants. They argue fiercely, slamming and flipping tables, tearing faces, pulling hair, and throwing shoes in a series of antics until they finally establish a measurement standard for the value of goods.

Zheng Rong finds this laughable. With the Earth about to perish, what’s the point of making money?

Yet he can't help but feel a genuine admiration for the merchants; perhaps they are the ones most eager to fight—though not directly. They spend money, buy lives, and manufacture weapons to resist, while they themselves hide far away, shouting encouragement.

“You’re critical of everything,” Lance says.

While squeezing instant noodles, Zheng Rong replies, “Because this world doesn’t look favorably upon me either.”

Zheng Rong maliciously crushes two packs of instant noodles and puts them back on the shelf. Xiang Yu glances at him, says nothing, and follows behind, placing Zheng Rong’s prank in the shopping basket.

Lance asks, “Have you finished the coffee and chocolate I brought you last time?”

Zheng Rong coldly responds, “Haven’t touched them. You can take them back anytime.”

Lance replies, “You always say one thing and mean another. I won’t expose you this time.”

Xiang Yu nods, asking, “Should we buy another can of coffee?”

Zheng Rong is caught off guard but casually says, “If you like it, buy it. I still have plenty of money.”

“Do you know how to eat this?” Zheng Rong tilts his head to look at Xiang Yu.

Xiang Yu, like a migrant worker in the city, examines the instant noodle package and asks, “Do you soak it in hot water?”

Zheng Rong replies, “Very smart. This flavor is good, buy more. It’s not nutritious, but I enjoy it.”

Xiang Yu asks, “Where can we get money?”

Zheng Rong answers, “I have plenty; my brother’s pension is enough for us to eat for a lifetime.”

Lance's eyes turn a bit red, and Xiang Yu continues, “But that’s just living off the past; there’s no way to earn more?”

Lance says, “I can introduce you to enlist in the army; the pay is decent.”

Zheng Rong takes a deep breath without responding.

Lance realizes he has misspoken and stepped on Zheng Rong’s toes but is relieved that Zheng Rong doesn’t get angry.

“You need to wear bigger sizes.” Zheng Rong casually takes two boxes of bullet-shaped white underwear and unusually asks, “Lance, do you want some?”

Lance feels a bit embarrassed, but since Zheng Rong intends to give him something, he almost blurts out, “Sure.”

Zheng Rong picks out a pair of black sheer men’s thongs, with thin strings and a small triangular piece in the middle, almost completely transparent silk. He takes a look, satisfied, and puts it back in the box.

Lance’s face turns crimson, embarrassed beyond measure.

Xiang Yu has a pained expression, while Lance tries to say something but ultimately drops the idea, saying, “Thanks, I really like it.”

“I’ll pay.” Lance pulls out his wallet.

Zheng Rong says, “I’ll pay; I’m giving you underwear, right?”

Lance: “…”

Lance says, “As the Chinese say, it’s the thought that counts.”

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Zheng Rong coldly replies, “You treat me to dinner; I’ll pay for my own stuff.”

Lance concedes, and Zheng Rong pulls out his ID card, verifying it on the fingerprint machine. The cashier girl’s face turns slightly red as she glances at the three men.

Lance pulls down the brim of his military cap, not wanting to be recognized, while the girl’s gaze falls on Xiang Yu for a moment, then flickers back to Zheng Rong with a hint of flirtation when scanning the thong.

“This is his,” Xiang Yu points at Zheng Rong and gestures to Lance: “He gave it to him.”

Lance: “…”

Zheng Rong: “…”

The cashier suddenly exclaims, “Ah, you’re Mr. Zheng Rong! I know you; your news was in the paper the other day.”

Zheng Rong says, “Oh, so I made the news. My brother died in the explosion; can we get a discount for having lost family?”

The cashier sympathizes, “Your brother is a hero of humanity; you must take good care of yourself.”

“Hero?” Zheng Rong hasn't read the papers, having isolated himself for days, only accessing the institute’s intranet and avoiding excessive contact with the outside world. He raises his eyebrows slightly at the mention.

Lance deliberately chooses a dumpling restaurant. Zheng Rong withholds his comments, though his tone softens considerably.

“You could have chosen a European fast-food place.”

Lance knows Zheng Rong likes dumplings and, after sitting down and taking off his military cap, says, “Later, I’ll buy Xiang Yu a burger to try; first, let’s eat Chinese food.”

Zheng Rong says, “Boss, please get me a copy of the newspaper from the other day.”

Lance hurriedly says, “No need to look; there’s nothing good in it.”

Zheng Rong frowns, and Lance realizes something, quickly clarifying, “No, it’s all good reviews, but nothing worth reading.”

Zheng Rong ignores him, takes the newspaper handed by the clerk, and sees the headline “Son of Humanity Zheng Feng.”

Inside are stories about Zheng Feng, starting from his parents, through Zheng Feng receiving a scholarship from the Human Survivors Association. The reporter’s interviews have almost no criticism, all praises.

Zheng Rong knows a large part of this report is due to Lance’s efforts.

Lance anxiously says, “I’m sorry, Zheng Rong; they wanted to interview you. I was worried that with your personality, it would be easy for you to clash with the reporters, so I took it upon myself to accept the interview.”

“It’s fine.” Zheng Rong’s eyes finally turn red.

Lance is at a loss: “I asked them to delete the parts about me, but they absolutely wouldn’t remove this segment…”

Zheng Rong quietly says, “I can tell.”

Lance’s segment appears last, expressing his deep pain over Zheng Feng’s passing, his dark mood. When asked about his plans, Lance is bewildered.

Finally, realizing the reporters' leading questions, he changes the topic, expressing he doesn’t want to see Zheng Rong follow in Zheng Feng’s footsteps and hopes he can live for himself.

Lance repeatedly pleads with reporters and the public not to disturb Zheng Rong’s life, and it’s clear that both reporters and editors are somewhat critical, ending with a mockery of Lance’s selfish mindset; Zheng Feng’s description is simply “hero.”

Lance, like a big boy, sits in silence for a while and then says, “I thought it was just a small corner of the paper; I didn’t expect it to be the headline. I’m really sorry, Zheng Rong.”

Xiang Yu suddenly says, “Cry it out; it’ll feel better.”

The food arrives, and Xiang Yu helps himself to chopsticks, eating noodles.

Lance and Zheng Rong sit across from each other quietly. After a moment, Zheng Rong feels a bit better and says, “Regarding the military’s failed ‘smuggling’ plan, I have a new idea. Would you like to hear it?”

Lance is taken aback: “Zheng Rong, whatever you want to do, I’ll fully support you; no, first you must think it through…”

Zheng Rong replies, “I’m thinking.”

Lance wisely remains silent, with only the sound of Xiang Yu slurping noodles filling the shop.

“The beef is thin,” Xiang Yu comments.

“The dumplings are also good.” Zheng Rong pushes a plate of dumplings toward him, clarifying his thoughts and telling Lance, “I plan to apply for research funding from the Historical Research Institute to leave the main city of Ireland and conduct field research in several places.”

Lance looked as if he had been struck by lightning, frowning, "What? Can you repeat your idea from the beginning?"

Zheng Rong restated the hypothesis he had previously discussed with Joseph. Lance remained silent, casting a complicated glance at Xu Zhenqing, as if he found it hard to believe.

"The blood sample report will be out soon," Zheng Rong said indifferently. "After comparing the DNA fragments, if my guess is confirmed, I plan to start searching for ways to enhance human combat abilities. Dr. Joseph calls this process 'Awakening.'"

Xu Zhenqing paused his eating and chimed in, "That's an apt description." Zheng Rong picked up a dumpling and fed it to Xu Zhenqing, silencing him. Lance remained silent, his expression darkening.

"I need a lot of data and literature to explore this idea, so I need to search for ancient relics."

Lance replied, "How will you find them? I don't care about the feasibility of this project; the ground is crawling with Maya aliens’ detection radars. It’s too dangerous!"

Zheng Rong said, "I've preliminarily identified five locations: around Xi'an, several pyramids in ancient Egypt, the Ganges River basin in India, the ruins of ancient Babylon, and most importantly, the Maya temples."

Without thinking, Lance immediately rejected, "How large of an archaeological team do you need? Such undertakings require military escort, and even after reaching the destination, a lot of time is needed..."

Zheng Rong coldly replied, "It's a small-scale excavation—no, it's tomb raiding. No complex equipment, just the simplest tools, brainpower for puzzles, and digging. You should know, many things get messed up because of the military. Your so-called escort would only expose us once we leave the underground city's protection; under the Maya aliens’ detection, we would be annihilated immediately. Do you believe that?"

Lance said, "Okay, after I return from my leave and report to the military, I'll request support from higher-ups to give you the best equipment and funding, regardless of whether your idea is feasible..."

Zheng Rong interjected, "I'm just sharing my opinion, not asking for your views."

Lance replied, "I can't condone you doing this alone, leaving the refuge for such a distant place. Zheng Rong, how did you even come up with this?!"

Zheng Rong said, "I'm not alone; Xu Zhenqing will protect me. He's capable of handling any emergencies."

Xu Zhenqing nodded readily but frowned, "It's always better to have more people; you've never talked to me about this..."

Zheng Rong quickly picked up another dumpling and stuffed it in Xu Zhenqing's mouth.

"If you reveal my plan to the military, you, Lance," Zheng Rong warned, "you know my character; we won't have any further contact after that."

Lance acted as if he hadn't heard, saying, "Let's settle the bill."

Zheng Rong shrugged, and the three walked out of the restaurant. Lance intentionally lagged a bit behind and whispered to Zheng Rong, "Zheng Rong, give me three days; I’ll think it over seriously."

"This has nothing to do with you," Zheng Rong replied without hesitation. "I’m telling you this because I see you as my last family. After stepping out of the underground city, my personal survival is no longer important..."

Lance said, "But if you all pay for this with your lives..."

"There will be someone to continue this plan," Zheng Rong replied stiffly. "Maybe Lin Siyan or Joseph; scholars are very persistent, and this persistence is different from yours as soldiers."

"We go with a belief, actively seeking death; soldiers are passively obedient..." Zheng Rong suddenly realized how cruel that sounded, and his tone softened again. For the first time since Zheng Feng's death, he looked seriously into Lance's eyes.

"Lance, I know you love us and consider my brother and me family," Zheng Rong said. "This is the only thing I want to do."

Lance replied, "Yes, I love you, Zheng Rong. You finally understand, and I’m very happy."

Zheng Rong took that brief conversation as a farewell to Lance and turned away. Xu Zhenqing was carrying a large bag of instant noodles and packed dumplings, while Zheng Rong grabbed him by the collar and dragged him home to start preparing for their archaeological journey.