Twelve hours had passed since the volcanic eruption. The temperature had dropped again, plummeting to 60-70 degrees at the surface. The sky had not become brighter. Instead, it had turned darker. "Damn, it’s pitch-black!" Yang Tianlong emerged from his room. Yesterday, right after Li Yu came out from the residential building in the First Outer City, he ran into Li Hang and Old Lü. Li Hang briefed Li Yu on the current power consumption and electricity storage situation. Li Yu immediately issued a power-saving directive. In the Inner City, they were to reduce air conditioning and lower power output, and limit lighting to 12 hours per day. The Underground Plantation was to maintain its current power supply. The electric fences were shut down. In the Outer City, light in the First Outer City was restricted to 8 hours per day. In the Second Outer City, it was limited to 6 hours per day. Additionally, all air conditioning in the breeding farms was turned off completely. With the current temperature, only a few cows and sheep might die of the heat; if they did, they would be butchered for meat. Electricity, electricity, now was the time for conservation. In the Second Outer City, many people began to emerge from indoors. But the boundless darkness seemed to open its jaws and swallow them whole. Although indoor power was limited, some streetlights in outdoor public areas were still shining. Right at the center of the Second Outer City, a high-powered searchlight was on. Some Extra Staff used this light to start fires and cook below it. Others had been inside for too long and came out to move around. But they soon found that the outside wasn’t as pleasant as expected; the air was thick with the sour stench of sulfur. Those who had planned to cook under the streetlights abandoned the idea when volcanic ash fell into their pots as soon as they were opened. The eruption had lasted for quite a while, but the volcanic ash continued to drift down. The sky, far from brightening, grew even darker with the accumulation of ash. Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs novelFɪre.net The sky, which was not so dark before, was now extremely difficult to see through without lights. The population of the Second Outer City was diverse. Previously, when there was light, the cooperation between Extra Staff like Zuo Ruxue and the Cooperative Personnel had been peaceful. However, now that it had grown darker, many people began to grow restless. Perhaps it was Li Yu’s previously decisive killings that had deterred some, preventing any commotion. But undercurrents were stirring. As the darkness prolonged, people’s emotions became increasingly difficult to control. As time passed, the temperature kept falling. And the sky grew darker and darker. Juzi Island, still part of Sha City, so when night fell, the zombies smelled the presence of humans and swiftly moved there. The Big Camphor Tree Base, being remote, had not yet accumulated a large number of zombies at its walls. Only a hundred or so zombies circled the walls, howling weakly. This howling made the Cooperative Personnel in the Second Outer City hear them too. The night, with zombies nearby, separated by a wall, even though the wall was over ten meters tall and four to five meters thick, still filled them with terror. The zombies scraped their nails against the wall; when their nails broke, they used their bones, producing a cringe-inducing sound. Like an evil spell, these sounds hovered over the people’s heads. The zombies’ howling echoed. Li Yu stood on the wall, looking down at these zombies, observing their changes carefully, just as in his previous life, the keratin layer of the zombies’ epidermis had fallen off. This transformation allowed them to survive in the extreme temperatures. Li Yu’s crossbow shot out, hitting a larger zombie in the head. The zombie fell to the ground, and the surrounding zombies, without any hesitation, howled and surged forward. The large zombie was dismembered instantly. Li Tie and others on the wall, shocked, found themselves speechless at this scene. They had never seen zombies eat their kind; what was happening? Unable to hold back his curiosity, Li Tie asked, "How come, after just a heatwave, the zombies have turned ?" Li Yu retracted his crossbow, crouched down, and grabbed a rope while replying, "Perhaps to adapt to this world, cannibalism is the same—for hunger, anything will do." Hearing Li Yu’s explanation, Li Tie suddenly recalled those they encountered before who resorted to cannibalism. It sent shivers down his spine. "Don’t just stand there gawking, come and help!" Li Yu called out to Li Tie and the others nearby. "Are we really going to haul one up?" Li Hang asked. Li Yu aimed at a zombie, threw the hooked rope with force, and it shot out. It caught precisely around a zombie’s neck, and Li Yu gave a tug. The rope tautened sharply, and Li Tie and the others quickly ran over to assist. Dapao even took an iron helmet directly, preparing to cover the zombie’s head to prevent injury after dragging it up the wall. Li Yu pulled with force, and his strong pull lifted the zombie into the air. The assisting Li Tie was dumbfounded at the scene. He hadn’t expected his brother’s strength to be so immense; the zombie weighed at least a hundred pounds and was yanked up into the air just like that. The zombie fell to the ground, and the other zombies flocked over, tugging at the rope.