In the apocalypse, I hoarded goods and handed over my storage space to the government.

"What are you staring at! What the hell are you looking at! Get out of here!"

Wang Hu's shout snapped Wang Lei, Liu Hao, and the others back to reality.

"Hey! They're here!"

The group suddenly realized what was happening and acted swiftly.

Several men donned heavy heat-resistant suits and wielded enormous iron rakes to remove the slag floating on the surface of the molten steel, guiding the pure molten steel to a ladle on the other side.

"Brothers, open your eyes wide!"

Li Hu, his face covered in grease and sweat, grinned widely and roared as he pointed at the surging torrent of iron.

"The stuff we're forging, once it leaves this workshop, will be a tank against monsters, a cannonball to blast their heads off!"

The heat was intense. Liu Hao, panting heavily, swung his iron rake while wiping away sweat.

"Tiger! How many tanks do you think we can make with this one batch?"

"How many vehicles?"

Li Hu chuckled, his eyes reflecting the firelight. "Well, one furnace should be able to make at least seventeen or eighteen vehicles. As long as this fire doesn't go out, we'll build a hundred, a thousand, even if it's just for this!"

As Wang Lei listened to the rough yet inspiring roar in his ear and looked at the molten steel in front of him, his thoughts surged.

My mind was filled with my master's ancestral teaching: "The molten steel must not cool down."

I didn't understand it before; I thought it was just a workshop slogan.

But at this moment, amidst the deafening roar, he finally understood the weight of those words.

What's flowing here is molten iron?

This is clearly the backbone that supports the Great Xia Dynasty so that it will never bend!

……

At the same time.

North China, First Machinery Plant.

This place is much more brutal than a steel mill, with a focus on "violent aesthetics".

"Attention! The 10,000-ton hydraulic press is preparing to descend!"

"Everyone, move back behind the yellow line!"

The alarm lights flashed wildly.

"BOOM!!!"

Like a thunderclap from a clear sky.

The 10,000-ton hydraulic press crashed down, the enormous impact causing the entire ground to tremble.

A special steel ingot, under immense pressure, was forcibly compressed into a dense armor plate.

"Next! Don't stop!"

The forging worker, shirtless, wielded huge iron tongs, precisely feeding another steel ingot into the press.

Meanwhile, in the assembly workshop next door.

Hundreds of workstations are operating simultaneously.

"Buzz!"

The robotic arm lifted the newly forged armor module and, amidst the blinding flashes of electric arcs, welded it to a newly manufactured chassis.

"Track assembly installed! Tension test normal!"

"Turret hoisting ready! Watch out, that's a 30mm cannon!"

"Energy transmission line construction has begun!"

A series of instructions echoed through the workshop.

The brand-new Guardian-2 main battle heavy infantry fighting vehicle is being rapidly assembled on the production line.

……

Shift your gaze westward to the Northwest Chemical Industry Base.

The air here is filled with a pungent smell.

The enormous reaction tanks and the tangled web of pipes operate silently.

A technician wearing glasses was staring intently at a screen displaying a constantly fluctuating stream of data, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

"Reactor No. 3, pressure critical! Warning, pressure critical!"

"Stay calm! Don't panic! Inject coolant!"

"Nitrogen circulation system, power up to 90%! Then reduce it!"

He speaks very quickly, his voice calm and professional.

Behind him on the production line, rows of yellow cylindrical shells were being precisely injected with a viscous liquid by robotic arms.

High-energy mixed explosives.

One of these is enough to raze a three-story building to the ground.

……

From the Yanshan Mountains to the Taihang Mountains, from the Qinling Mountains to the Kunlun Mountains.

Across China, thousands of factories reignited their furnaces on the same day.

Kunlun, the highest command center.

On the huge holographic sand table, blue dots representing the industrial base lit up one after another.

"Report! Yanshan Steel Plant, the first batch of molten steel has been successfully produced! Daily output is expected to recover to 30% of pre-disaster levels!"

"Report! The first 'Guardian-2' infantry fighting vehicle has rolled off the production line at the North China Machinery Plant! Engine test run successful!"

"Report! The first batch of high-energy explosives has been loaded onto trucks at the Northwest Chemical Base and is expected to arrive at the front lines in six hours!"

Excited reports echoed throughout the hall.

Standing in front of the sand table, looking at the continuous blue light, Li Guodong felt as if his blood was burning.

The 60 million people who returned to the mainland this time have drained nearly 30% of the able-bodied labor force from the major bases.

This is a high-stakes gamble with no way out!

The chips represent the nation's destiny; the dealer represents natural disaster.

Su Ran stood to the side, hands behind his back, watching the constantly fluctuating and soaring industrial index.

A slight smile played on his lips, and his thoughts became increasingly clear about the future.

Just then.

"Buzz!"

Su Ran's wrist terminal vibrated slightly, and a message popped up.

Sender: [Lu Yuan]

Content: [Commander Su, the 'Bio-energy-level frequency identifier' has been successfully improved and is ready for testing at any time.]

Upon seeing this message, Su Ran's eyebrows shot up, and a glint of light flashed in her eyes.

The efficiency of the God of Machines is indeed reliable.

He quickly turned the terminal screen toward Li Guodong, his voice brimming with excitement.

"Old Li, good news! Lu Yuan has it all sorted out. The 'Bio-energy-level frequency identifier' has been improved and can be tested now."

Su Ran looked at Li Guodong and extended an invitation, "Shall we go take a look together?"

Li Guodong paused for a moment, glanced at the screen, and a hint of joy flashed in his eyes, but it quickly faded away.

"Xiao Su, I won't go."

He shook his head, waved his hand with a wry smile, his gaze still fixed on the complex industrial distribution map.

"With so many people returning at once, I can't feel at ease if I don't keep an eye on things. Construction has just started on the ground, and there are so many people and so many things to deal with. If any of these things goes wrong, it could be a matter of life and death."

Sixty million civilians, armed with newly acquired rifles, guarded the roaring factories.

All around was the menacing darkness, and overhead was a flock of mutated birds that could pounce at any moment.

The so-called "limited military protection" is as fragile as a piece of paper.

In key defense zones, the troop ratio can still be maintained at 50 to 1, but in the peripheral areas, it can be as low as 150 civilians for every one regular soldier.

Meanwhile, the main force of the army was still fighting on the front line, engaging in a meat grinder-like slaughter with the zombie horde.

After the leader completed the detailed planning and arrangements last time, he has finalized the final timeline.

One month after the end of the Red Rain!

No matter the cost, the entire territory of Great Xia must be wiped out within a month, and the battle line must be pushed to the border!

There are now less than twenty days left until the deadline.

Seeing that Li Guodong's gaze was still fixed on the screen, Su Ran didn't ask any more questions.

He stopped being coy and nodded emphatically.

"Okay, then keep an eye on it and contact me immediately if anything happens."

Without wasting any words, Su Ran turned and left, saying, "I'll go take a look."