At that moment, the thin clouds formed by the rising water vapor were utterly incapable of resisting the blazing sun overhead. The oppressive heat continued to sweep across the globe. Programmer had no choice but to remain on the sunlit side of the planet, designing cooling and ventilation systems for the domes, while the main workforce was clearing vegetation and trees on the planet's night side. Without these measures, the domes would become slow-cooking steamers under the relentless rise in temperature.

Twenty minutes later, the man in beach shorts was directing Earth's tech personnel and engineers to construct a massive four-story-tall air conditioning unit near the outer wall of a dome. Suddenly, the bustling activity around him came to an abrupt halt. Everything—people, machines, even the faintest motion—froze in midair.

However, Beach Shorts was unfazed by the phenomenon. Without turning around, he asked, "Xu Yun Cheng, what do you want now? I've told you already, the chips I made are flawless. As long as you follow the signal, you'll be able to locate any member of the organization."

Xu Yuncheng approached from behind and replied, "There's no signal."

Beach Shorts turned his head in shock. "That's impossible! Unless... unless the chips were ground into powder..."

Xu Yuncheng was equally puzzled. "That Alien finally got some dirt on us. There's no way he'd just kill those people so easily. He and Huo Li are both top-level fugitives of the Interstellar Federation. He must be trying to clear his name somehow…"

Beach Shorts confidently replied, "My smart brain can briefly infiltrate the location data of Earth-based taskers. 2d14's system and smart brain watch have been moving back and forth between the forest and the coastline in the cleanup zone. Right now, they're stationary in the forest."

"That's because the Alien is the only creature capable of easily escaping the system's control," Xu Yun Cheng muttered to himself. "All he has to do is regenerate a new body and abandon the system-bound brain to sever the connection."

He paused for a moment before continuing, "I'll head to the cleanup team where 2d14 is. His real body won't be there. If all I find is a 'corpse' still bound to the system, that'll be the perfect proof he's an alien!"

With that, Xu Yuncheng turned and vanished into thin air.

Five seconds later, Xu Yun Cheng arrived and stared in disbelief. Under the night sky, the black-haired youth was quietly chopping trees and storing the logs in spatial containers while being assisted by the Guardian-version Huo Li. He thought his eyes were playing tricks on him—2d14 was an alien! He had to rely on those black threads to control his body, which meant his real body couldn't possibly be far away. Could it be that this alien was bold enough to keep the captives nearby? That was the only plausible explanation.

Determined, Xu Yun Cheng activated his time-manipulation ability again. Pushing himself to the limit, he slowed his perception of time to a ratio of 1,000:1, stretching a few seconds of real-world time into what felt like a whole week. Over that week, he painstakingly combed through every space within a 50-kilometer radius. Despite his thorough search, he found absolutely nothing.

The possibility that an alien would entrust its main body entirely to another human for safekeeping didn't even cross Xu Yun Cheng's mind. Only a completely insane alien would entrust their life to someone else!

By the time Xu Yun Cheng deactivated the time dilation, he was left mildly disoriented. Just then, a notification popped up from the main system:

"Ding! The main system has sent mission information to Savior 123. Savior Alliance operatives Douglas, Nick, and three others were confirmed dead one hour ago. Savior 123, please investigate the cause of the incident to prevent further casualties."

"Ding! System-wide announcement: Douglas, Nick, and three others were confirmed dead one hour ago. All taskers are advised to prioritize personal safety and exercise caution until the cause of the incident is clarified."

All five of them were dead! That was the first thing Xu Yun Cheng realized. A few seconds later, as the shock of the announcement began to wear off, he understood the deeper meaning: the main system likely already knew about his betrayal. The message wasn't just a report but a warning, a demonstration of the main system's control over the situation.

But so what? The main system, confined to that tiny board in Salvation Alliance Town, was nothing more than a shadow of its former power. It didn't even have enough server space to house its mainframe anymore. Even if it was one of the most advanced systems in the universe, its current scale and computing power couldn't compare to a website on a second-rate planet. It was no longer a threat.

Xu Yun Cheng opened an inconspicuous icon on his smart brain interface. Instantly, the wrist devices of all organization members disconnected from the Alliance's surveillance. Each device became an independent communication unit.

"All members, listen up: Plan B is now in motion!" he commanded.

Xiao Yi didn't know the specifics of Xu Yun Cheng's plans. However, one thing was clear: no matter who among the 2,500 saviors had joined the conspiracy, they all had to obediently work 18 hours a day clearing flammable materials and building firebreaks. Unless, of course, they were fine with dying alongside Earth's population inside the domes before humanity's extinction even played out.

.

A month passed, yet the solar flashes showed no signs of weakening. Despite the tireless efforts of saviors and every human on Earth working day and night, the forests and towns outside the domes had been reduced to near-barren wastelands. By now, no matter how much the sun flashed and flickered, nothing was left outside to catch fire.

But even with the giant air conditioners designed by Programmer constantly cooling the temperature, the heat inside the domes still gradually rose. In the tropical regions, the average temperature inside the domes had even reached 47 degrees. The inhabitants of Earth began to fall into a state of restlessness and fear triggered by the scorching heat. Who knew how long the solar burst would continue? Would the temperature inside the domes keep rising? Would anyone still be alive when it reached 60 degrees?

Now, all efforts were concentrated within the domes. Even during the pitch-black night, the ground outside the domes remained scalding, with nighttime temperatures exceeding 65 degrees Celsius. Under such conditions, not even ice-ability users could survive for long.

Inside the domes, the elderly, sick and weak, could no longer endure the rising temperatures. Fortunately, the global policy 'No One Left Behind—Prioritize the Vulnerable' allowed the elderly, children and the ill to reside near the giant air conditioners, where the temperature was maintained at a stable 35 degrees Celsius. This strategy prevented a massive loss of human life.

As the oppressive heat continued, fear and frustration spread among the domes' inhabitants. Quiet resentment against the 'prioritize the weak and sick' policy also began to take root. Tempers simmered, and Xu Yun Cheng found himself weighing whether to launch the rebellion early. He wanted to avoid the possibility of everyone—rebels and ordinary humans alike—dying from the unbearable conditions on Earth.

Just as tensions peaked, the main system finally dispatched another rescue mission to Earth.

This time, the reinforcements were a team of S-level and A-level ability users. Their primary mission was to deliver an extraordinarily valuable batch of life-saving resources—Energy Stones! These top-tier cosmic minerals, capable of fetching a staggering 30 billion star coins per ton on the interstellar market, had arrived in an unprecedented shipment of 20 million tons!

With the energy stones in place, the power supply was no longer a concern. A new air conditioning plan was finalized after collaborative discussions between engineers and Programmer. The plan proposed increasing the number of giant air conditioners in each dome from 5-16 units to between 100 and 500 units. As a result, every savior had to return to work, tirelessly participating day and night in constructing the air conditioners.

Of course, there were two exceptions.

As Xu Yun Cheng and the other saviors—both loyalists and traitors—pushed themselves to the brink of exhaustion, their movements sluggish and dark circles under their eyes, Xiao Yi was leisurely lounging atop Mount Everest. With his siliconized limbs spread out, he basked in the sunlight, gazing at the vast, dazzling white sky.

The black-haired youth squinted his eyes, enjoying the sunlight. He turned to Huo Li, lying beside him, and said with a hint of amusement, "Why didn't I think of this earlier? All you have to do is control my main body to complete missions and earn points, and I can keep using my backup body to go on vacation! What was I even thinking back then, foolishly building those domes?"

By now, the sky was perpetually covered by a thick layer of white clouds. However, the sunlight, with its incredible penetrating power, continued to scorch the Earth. The entire sky resembled a giant reflector, evenly spreading the sun's heat across the Earth.

The youth turned over, took a sip of room-temperature juice handed to him by Huo Li from the system's storage space. He close his eyes in contentment and praised, "Your spatial storage finally has food now! Well done!"

After a while, Huo Li hesitantly asked, "Xiao Yi, haven't you rested enough? The juice is practically boiling under the sun."

The black-haired youth didn't even open his eyes as he replied, "Mount Everest is the highest peak on our home planet. Of course, I have to take in the natural beauty while I'm here!"

Huo Li glanced around with a face full of disbelief. The once-icy peak had long since melted away, leaving nothing but yellow dirt and bare rocks. After multiple small landslides, there was little left of the so-called 'world's tallest peak.'

"Xiao Yi, what's even worth seeing here? Besides, if you didn't insulate yourself while sunbathing, you'd be roasted alive by now. Can you even feel the sunlight through that silicon shell?"

In the searing 80-degree heat, both their skin had morphed into silicate shells. However, unlike the crude black shell from before, the youth now resembled an exquisite gemstone sculpture. His entire body shimmered with a glazed, jewel-like radiance.

The black-haired boy half-opened his eyes and shot a dissatisfied glance at Huo Li. "What's wrong with me taking a vacation while Xu Yun Cheng and his group are working themselves to death?"

"Sure, we have tasks too, but working an 8-hour shift versus an 18-hour one is a big difference," he added smugly, clearly enjoying their misfortune.

The 'black-haired youth' paused for two seconds to consult Xiao Yi before replying, "Go ahead!"

2d14 cheered enthusiastically, "Yay! Thank you, Master Huo Li!"

.

After two months, summer in the northern hemisphere was finally coming to an end. The entire planet managed to survive thanks to the main system's funding, which cost 30 million star coins for each Earthling. The temperature inside the domes was no longer rising; instead, it gradually began to decrease.

However, the prolonged exposure to intense sunlight had caused vast amounts of ocean water to evaporate into the atmosphere, forming clouds thousands of meters thick above the continents. Due to the high temperatures, these clouds stubbornly refused to condense into rainfall. But now, as the solar flickers gradually weakened and the sunlight lost its intensity, the dense, dark clouds loomed ominously as if ready to crash down at any moment.

Xu Yun Cheng stood by the observation window of the dome, staring at the vast, oppressive cloud with an expression of deep concern. He blocked his system and spoke to Programmer through his smart brain, saying, "Plan B must begin immediately. Even if they're not fully prepared on the other side, we have to launch the full assault today! We can't stay here and die with the Earthlings!"

Programmer's voice replied through the smart brain, "I've already sent the message to the Interstellar Federation. The attack on the Salvation Alliance Town will commence in one hour."

Simultaneously, Programmer briefly hacked into the defectors' systems, broadcasting a message that reverberated in their minds: "The full-scale attack begins in one hour. At that time, I will exploit a system vulnerability to create a teleportation array leading to the Salvation Alliance Town. Once established, we can leave Earth for good. Everyone, follow the plan and prepare for battle!"

.

59 minutes later, Programmer was preparing to hack into the system's transmission channels, planning to covertly teleport hundreds of defectors back to Salvation Alliance Town. The saviors who betrayed humanity were eager as they prepared their weapons and offensive abilities.

"Finally, we can leave this cursed Earth!"

"At last, we'll take over that damned Salvation Alliance Town!"

But just as the final moment approached—

"Ding! Attention, all mission participants. The teleportation array will undergo system maintenance starting today. All system transmission functions will be temporarily offline. Keep up the good work in the apocalypse world. Good luck!"

A system notification suddenly echoed in the minds of every participant.

The defectors: "..."

.

At the same time, on a beach 30 miles below the coastline, Huo Li, who was digging for shells with Xiao Yi, casually remarked, "Hah, you don't want to die with us? That won't do. You're staying here, Xu Yun Cheng."

The black-haired boy crouched on the sand and nodded in agreement. "Of course, he has to stay! Otherwise, who's going to handle the hard labor during flood relief efforts? Hey, this blue one looks nice."

"There's a scratch on it," Huo Li replied with a chuckle and tossed a small shell toward the youth. "Let's keep the one I found!"

Black-haired youth, "Xu Yuncheng will never figure out where things went wrong."