The Calamity's Comfort: I Forged My Own Cheat on a Dead Earth

The Project Compass room was quieter than usual. Ward stood before the central display with a cup of coffee in one hand and several sleepless days behind his eyes. Around him, researchers moved between consoles, checking data streams that had become too important for anyone to trust to a single screen.

The screen showing the extinction probability was gone. The Ai was calculating the expected time to extinction in the background. In its place was a new interface. Ward touched the display.

"Open the Salvation Ranking."

The screen changed. Project Compass displayed something that wasn't purely military or scientific. A leaderboard appeared, and at the top was a simple heading: EARTH — GLOBAL CONTRIBUTION RANKING.

Ward looked at the researchers gathered behind him. "This isn't the normal leaderboard from the salvation system," he said. "It's one we made based on the system for Earth. It's comprehensive. Instead of focusing on just kills or cultivation we group everything." He tapped the screen. "The Earth Global Contribution leaderboard is measuring contribution to humanity's survival. Combat matters. Research matters. Leadership matters. Every meaningful contribution is being weighted."

Hale stood near the back of the room with Ross beside him. "So this is public?"

"Yes. It was judged to be a boost to moral. It's good to know that not just the champions can grow stronger. We on Earth can fight and grow too. Hopefully this strategy will push more people to work harder on their cultivation and to fight fearlessly."

Ross raised an eyebrow. "You're sure?"

"We've been fighting to keep the internet alive," Ward gave him a tired look. "Turns out keeping people connected is as important as food and water to keep them alive. It's also easier to keep the internet working than to secure enough food and water so it's the perfect distraction for the starving and dehydrated populace. If the internet goes out with their current living conditions order will collapse in a few hours."

A few researchers laughed. It was a small thing, but they needed small things. Ward pressed the final command, and the global ranking appeared.

EARTH — GLOBAL CONTRIBUTION RANKING

1. Kei (Qi Condensation Cultivator — World's Strongest — Sole True Healer)

2. Professor Ward (Leader of Project Compass and Multiple Major Projects)

3. Professor Obel (Inventor of the Beast Beacons)

4. Andy (Qi Condensation Cultivator — Fastest Man Alive)

5. General Ross (World Leader)

6. Professor Jennifer (Developer of Qi-Integrated Enhancing Drugs and Gene-Boosting Serums)

7. Commander Hale (Greatest Defense Strategist)

8. Professor Makisu (Developer of Qi-Integrated Weapons Prototypes)

9. Yato (Qi Condensation Cultivator — Shield of Humanity)

10. Jimmy (Qi Condensation Cultivator — Sword of Humanity)

Ross stared at the list. "You put yourself second?"

Ward took a drink of coffee. "The system did."

"The AI did so unbiased or did you influence its programming?"

" Do I look like I have the time, will or effort to do such a thing?"

"Nah...honestly every person in the top 10 ranking is too tired and busy to care about their ranking. I'm just joking."

"I know..... I miss my bed so much."

Hale looked at the screen. "Same."

Everyone in the room smiled at the thought of a bed. The list was already spreading. Despite the collapse of most traditional media, forums had survived. Bandwidth had become surprisingly easy to preserve because so many of the major media platforms had gone offline, leaving people with simple text-based forums and low-bandwidth communication. The leaderboard spread across the remaining networks within minutes.

People began arguing almost immediately.

**MAKISU IS SO HOT. SHE'S MY WAIFU.**

A reply appeared beneath it.

**JIMMY IS WAY HOTTER. I WOULD MARRY HIM TOMORROW.**

Another user replied.

**YOU PEOPLE ARE LOOKING AT THE WRONG PART OF THE LIST. KEI IS LITERALLY SAVING PEOPLE EVERYWHERE.**

Another:

**Kei saved my cousin. She was in the northern evacuation zone. She should've died.**

Then another.

**He saved my father in the hospital.**

**He saved my squad leader.**

**My brother was one of the cultivators injured at East Gate. He's alive because of Kei.**

The comments multiplied, and Kei's name kept appearing. Guardian angel. Savior. Humanity's guardian. The titles spread faster than the official ranking itself. For millions of people, Kei wasn't simply the strongest cultivator on Earth. He was the person who had saved someone's life—someone they knew, someone they loved.

Ward watched the messages scroll across another monitor. He looked back at the ranking. "That," he said quietly, "is why the ranking works."

Hale glanced at him. "Because people need heroes?"

"Because people need proof that what they're doing matters."

Hale looked at the screen again. "They are doing a great job."

Ward changed the display. "Now let's see what our Champions have been doing."

The Earth ranking disappeared, and a new heading appeared: CHAMPION KILL RANKING. The names followed.

1. Shinigami — 212

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

2. Ray — 68

3. Selene — 55

4. Hassan — 45

5. Freya — 40

6. Kira — 38

7. Ivan — 34

8. Leon — 33

9. Aria — 33

10. Victor — 33

One of the researchers whistled. "Shinigami again."

Another researcher leaned toward the display. "His kill count is almost as large as the next several combined."

"That's insane."

A younger researcher frowned. "If he's killing that many beasts, that means he's on our side, right?"

Nobody answered immediately. Another researcher slowly turned from his console. "We don't actually know that those are beasts."

The room became quieter.

"What?"

"We know the system records kills."

"Then what else could he be killing?"

"We don't know," he looked toward Shinigami's name. "And why is he the only Champion we can't spectate?"

Ward's eyes lingered on the number. Two hundred and twelve. Then he moved on.

"Show cultivation."

The display changed again.

CHAMPION CULTIVATION RANKING

1. Leon

Immortal Cultivation: None

Body Tempering Cultivation: Bloodline Awakening Foundation Realm — Peak, Stage 5

Self Cultivation: Self Expression Foundation Realm — Late

2. Shinigami

Self Cultivation: Self Expression Foundation Realm — Peak

3. Selene

Immortal Cultivation: Dantian Formation Foundation Realm — Peak

4. Ray

Body Tempering Cultivation: Bloodline Awakening Foundation Realm — Late, Stage 7

5. Freya

Body Tempering Cultivation: Bloodline Awakening Foundation Realm — Late, Stage 6

6. Kira

Body Tempering Cultivation: Bloodline Awakening Foundation Realm — Late, Stage 6

7. Ivan

Body Tempering Cultivation: Bloodline Awakening Foundation Realm — Late, Stage 6

8. Hassan

Body Tempering Cultivation: Bloodline Awakening Foundation Realm — Late, Stage 6

9. Aria

Body Tempering Cultivation: Bloodline Awakening Foundation Realm — Late, Stage 6

10. Victor

Body Tempering Cultivation: Bloodline Awakening Foundation Realm — Late, Stage 6

A researcher leaned closer to the monitor, his brow furrowing. "Wait."

"What?"

"Selene," he pointed toward the glowing profile on the screen. "She started Immortal Cultivation?"

Another researcher pulled up her older database files. "She did."

"Then where did her Body Tempering cultivation go?"

Nobody immediately had an answer. The unresolved question quickly transformed into another massive discussion topic across the survival forums. Why had Selene changed cultivation paths so drastically? Could a person genuinely abandon one path entirely? Was Immortal Cultivation fundamentally superior to the others? Could Champions cultivate multiple conflicting paths simultaneously?

The heavy speculation lasted for several minutes before an entirely separate anatomical detail overtook the chatter. A researcher looked back at the complete list.

"None of them reached Qi Condensation," he muttered.

The researcher frowned, shaking his head. "Earth has four."

That fact was almost absurd. Four Earth cultivators had already successfully reached the Qi Condensation realm through the frantic defense of the fortresses: Kei, Andy, Yato, and Jimmy. The Champions had direct access to an alternative world completely overflowing with pristine Qi, yet every single one of them remained locked inside the Foundation Realms.

A senior researcher leaned back in his chair. "Combat."

Ward looked over at him. "That's my guess."

"Fighting accelerates active understanding."

"Exactly," Ward pulled up a comparative projection graph. "Abundant environmental Qi helps with raw accumulation. It makes it significantly easier to build a heavy foundation, but volume accumulation isn't the same thing as active understanding or fine control."

The graph explicitly compared the Champions' cultivation progression with their direct combat exposure metrics.

"The Champions have been fighting but not nearly as much as Earth survivors. The Champions hunt when they can , rest when they are tired and cultivate at their pace. On Earth you fight till death and fight beyond it. Your family and everyone you care about is right behind you so how can you retreat or rest? Constantly pushing your body beyond it's limits would obviously propel them further despite less resources. How can cultivating out of duty compare to cultivating out of desperation?" the researcher noted. "That being said, the champions are still doing a great job. Their progress is still incredibly fast despite remaining within the boundaries of the Foundation Realms. It's faster than most people on Earth except for those four."

"How can we make the others like those four?"

"The four Guardians are completely abnormal," the researcher enlarged their specific authorization profiles. "They have Divine beast contracts."

Ward nodded in agreement. "Whatever the underlying mechanism behind those contracts is, it grants them localized advantages nobody else on Earth possesses."

Another researcher looked toward Kei's profile. "So the rest of Earth is still far behind."

"By a considerable margin," Ward stated flatly.

Down on the forum feed, a new comment flickered into view.

**Honestly, if Kei had been sent to the other world, he'd probably be stronger than Leon.**

Another response appeared almost immediately.

**He already might be. Kei can fight Grade 2 beasts. Leon got swatted by one and smashed into pudding.**

A counter-argument came seconds later.

**That happened before Leon learned Sage Breathing. The same Sage Breathing everyone on Earth had access to since day one. Kei has had an entire week of headstart over Leon.**

Another user joined:

**Yes. And now he's peak Bloodline Awakening Foundation. He has True Strikes, a weapon, Sage Arts. He can definitely fight Grade 2 beasts now.**

The thread multiplied instantly.

**Leon has 33 kills. Kei has been fighting on Earth this entire time. Obviously Kei is stronger.**

**He's sightseeing and still ahead of everyone on Earth.**

**Kei has a fraction of Leon's Qi and he's still stronger.**

**Leon hasn't even been fighting properly. He's been going around sightseeing.**

**He's sightseeing and he's still ahead.**

**Leon's soul is damaged. How much of his strength can he actually use?**

**If they fought under equal conditions, Leon would stomp.**

**Kei completed his spirit blood in day 1 of the apocalypse and has succeeded in teaching his friends the divine beast contract method. Now his entire group is at Qi Condensation. Leon can't even teach Sage Eyes to his friends. No wonder he's named Leon. Even his parents knew he was gonna grow up to be a big L.**

**Damn! Bro woke up and chose violence.**

Someone finally posted a pragmatic interjection:

**You two realize neither of them is going to read this argument, right?**

The digital argument continued without a single pause.

**Someone who relies on borrowed power is just a hero made out of paper. Kei is using a divine beast contract to be this strong. How strong is he really without it?**

**How strong is Leon without the Universal Vessel, dumbass? Is your brain for decoration?**

**Kei had access to cultivation methods an entire week before Leon. Even with a head start, we still can't be sure who's stronger. Doesn't that clearly mean Leon is ahead?**

Another account appeared at the bottom of the feed.

**Shinigami solos both.**

The responses came almost instantly.

**Shut up.**

**You can keep glazing Leon, but when the beasts come knocking he isn't gonna save you.**

**Guess we'll find out when Leon returns and makes Kei eat dirt.**

**Guys, chill. Leon and Kei would probably be friends if they meet.**

Ward stared at the rolling text strings on the display, and then he closed the window completely. "Humanity is doomed." he muttered.

Hale glanced over from his console. "Because of the monsters?"

"No," Ward pointed toward the blank monitor. "Because people are already arguing about fictional fights between individuals who have never met and would likely never fight if they meet."

Hale almost smiled. "Let them do it. They need to vent their frustration. They are most likely arguing just for the sake of arguing. Everyone is pent up due to the feeling of helplessness."

The room gradually returned to its regular work routine, though the ranking remained locked onto one of the prominent secondary displays. Earth finally possessed individuals strong enough to fight the Gates, the data actively proved it. Humanity had a functional frontline, it had weapons, it had cultivators, and it had dedicated researchers developing new ways to accelerate both forces simultaneously. It had leaders. It had heroes.

Hale looked at the four Qi Condensation cultivators listed among Earth's strongest, and then shifted his gaze toward the alternative display. Leon. Shinigami. Selene. The others. People were rapidly becoming stronger, but the Gates were becoming stronger too.

Ward opened the global projection map. The Bastions appeared as small points of light scattered across the dark topography, heavily surrounded by active Gate indicators. The computational network was almost done processing the threat levels, and Ross watched the active calculations.

"How much time is left for us?" he asked.

Ward didn't answer immediately. The computer finished its final sweep, and a new number materialized against the screen.

PROJECTED TIME UNTIL HUMANITY'S EXTINCTION

**75 DAYS 6 HOURS 49 MINUTES 18 SECONDS**

No one looked surprised. Everyone looked downcast but they all already expected something similar in their hearts.

Hale stared at the map. "Can we change it?"

Ward looked at the four names on Earth's ranking, then at Leon's name on the Champion display, and finally at the pulsing red Gates.

"We have to," Ward said.

The timer continued its steady countdown.

**75 DAYS 6 HOURS 49 MINUTES 12 SECONDS**

Humanity finally possessed people strong enough to fight the Gates; they simply didn't have enough of them.