Industrial Cthulhu doesn't believe in the end times.

Chapter 227 The golden cicada escapes from its shell
In the end, Su Xun didn't say what position he would assign to Xiao Zhenru. A strong person who has always been at the forefront of the extraordinary can actually be placed anywhere, so this would make it more difficult to arrange a position.

It's not bad to keep her in this state of being able to go wherever she's needed. This girl is usually not idle. The Psionic Research Institute will grab her to do various experiments whenever there's nothing to do, such as participating in the testing of miniaturized jet weapons. This is just one of them. She herself has also provided a lot of valuable data to the research institute as a sample.

If this guy ever has any disciples or grand-disciples in the future, he can probably brag about it to his disciples.

Master, what research are you responsible for at the research institute?
—Responsible for being studied!

Moreover, the Corps has never treated her poorly. For extraordinary individuals like her, one of the policies of the military reform is that the level of extraordinary ability is directly linked to the military rank. Although she does not have real power, the related benefits and salary are already at the maximum level. If she really needs a position, she can ask the Corps to customize one for her. These are all minor issues.

Yin Danyi was quite disappointed with this answer.

Su Xun rolled her eyes: "You care about her so much, you don't actually like her, do you? Do you want me to play matchmaker for you? I'll tell her in advance."

"Don't you dare!" Yin Danyi raised her hand to stop her. "Why are you pressuring me to get married? Everything else is negotiable, but not this!"

He spoke very seriously, and Su Xun glanced at him, slightly puzzled: "What's wrong?"

"..." Yin Danyi was unusually silent, and did not speak for a moment.

"Because of the Great Cataclysm?"

"That's it."

Su Xun patted his shoulder: "It's time to move on. We can't go on like this forever."

"We'll see." Yin Danyi sighed, gazing absently at the distant sky, her eyes filled with complex emotions, and it was unclear what she was thinking.

Seeing this, Su Xun simply stopped trying to persuade him and just told him to get familiar with the work as soon as possible.

Along the way, Su Xun also saw several behemoth-like mechanical constructs parked in a relatively safe area. Their size was comparable to some alien species. These were a batch of mining machinery that had been dispatched from nearby. Many engineers who had survived from Pengcheng Heavy Industry were here to debug and repair them. The battle of Daizong was not over yet, but these things were already ready. Crystallized mineral deposits were simply too important. The entire legion had long been eager for those pure spiritual energy crystals.

"Once we've figured out the transportation routes within the secret realm, and if we discover similar mineral veins in other areas in the future, we'll need you to make a trip there."

"no problem."

Yin Danyi returned to Xinfu and went to find Qin Chang, Zhai Chao and others who were currently in charge of municipal affairs to take over her work. Su Xun then picked up a few more people and set off for the old site of Qibaoshan Mine in Haiqu.

Just over half a month has passed, but there have been many changes here. In the cold winter, some plants still grow here. They have not mutated, but they have developed an exceptionally strong vitality in the rich and abundant spiritual energy environment. When Su Xun arrived here, he felt a throbbing in the peach pit on his body. The vitality that was about to burst out had reached an uncontrollable level.

But as soon as Su Xun's mental energy touched it, the other party seemed to sense his intention, and the excitement gradually subsided.

This performance relieved Su Xun; the dog was much more cooperative than he had imagined, and it seemed that his previous worries were somewhat unnecessary.

However, the original plan will remain unchanged, and the people in the surrounding danger zone still need to be relocated. Platoon leader Chen Ming will remain to guard the area, but the corps has sent more personnel and equipment to the site. The cave dug by the mutated dogs can serve as a defensive stronghold. Although the number of troops that can be deployed is not large, it is relatively easy to defend and difficult to attack. It was thanks to this cave that the group of mutated dogs was spared from being immediately wiped out by the troops and held out until Su Xun arrived.

Upon seeing Chen Ming, Su Xun didn't exchange many pleasantries, but instead asked, "I see signs of a new battle nearby. Have more mutated beasts arrived? Are there any casualties?"

"Yes," Chen Ming replied, "We repelled four waves of mutated beasts that were attracted here, and there were no casualties!"

As he spoke, Chen Ming added somewhat embarrassedly, "Moreover, most of the mutated beasts we killed ended up in our stomachs. In the meantime, several of our warriors have advanced to higher ranks or become superhumans..."

This was an unexpected bonus. Looking behind them, Su Xun could indeed see that the overall strength of this group had increased. Apart from environmental factors, these people must have really eaten a lot of good food recently.

Even a single squad or platoon, when equipped with weapons and fortifications, can achieve overwhelming victories against mutated beasts of relatively low rank. Moreover, this area is of considerable importance and is equipped with a number of advanced weapons.

However, there's no reason to guard against thieves for a thousand days. If this continues, there will inevitably be casualties. Fortunately, Su Xun came here to solve this problem. If the peach pit in his hand plays a very important role, then it's not impossible to build a new base city around this place in the future, and then these problems will be solved.

Su Xun glanced into the depths of the cave. It was basically still in its original state. The soldiers had only built some fortifications near the cave entrance, which did not cause any major changes.

"How have you been lately? Have you encountered anything unusual?"

When Su Xun asked about this, Chen Ming frowned and led Su Xun to a location inside the cave: "If we're talking about unusual situations, this should be the largest one."

Su Xun looked at the cave wall that Chen Ming pointed to. There was a pit about a meter deep there, which looked like it had been dug out recently. There was nothing unusual about it.

"what happened?"

“The silver that was originally here has disappeared,” Chen Ming said. “When some soldiers were building fortifications, they discovered by chance that the natural mithril on the inner wall of the cave was only a thin layer. After digging in for a few dozen centimeters, it disappeared. We found the same thing in several other places.”

Su Xun approached the excavated pit and took a look, finding that it was indeed the case; further inside, only a very small amount of ordinary silver remained.

"We have reported this problem before, but the relevant orders have not yet been issued."

Su Xun nodded, clearly indicating that the information was still at some intermediate level and had not yet been transmitted to him.

When Su Xun came last time, he carefully examined the condition of this mine and was certain that everything was normal. This was a recent event.

Perhaps it was because I killed that mutated dog here that I frightened the life nurtured by this mine? The other party's behavior was clearly a case of shedding its shell, leaving only an outer shell behind while the rest of the creature had already escaped.

“They shouldn’t have gone far,” Su Xun said to Chen Ming. “You guys prepare to evacuate. I’ll go look around the area; maybe I can find them.”

(End of this chapter)