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

Kunlun Base, Central Command Hall.

The points competition between the "Awakeners Headquarters" and the "Sharp Sword Special Forces" has been underway for three days.

With the latest data update, the points leaderboard in the upper right corner of the large screen has changed again.

[Awakened Headquarters: 692,100 points]

[Sharp Sword Special Forces: 625,400 points]

The gap in points between the two sides is rapidly shrinking at a rate of 100,000 points per day.

"They've caught up by a large margin again!"

An information officer responsible for data monitoring couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

"Yesterday the point difference was 170,000, and in just 24 hours, the gap has narrowed to less than 70,000!"

For a total score that can easily reach hundreds of thousands, this is already a dangerous distance where a comeback could happen at any moment.

"This is interesting; this is the resilience of a regular army."

Seeing such a points gap, Li Guodong's tone was filled with undisguised pride.

"Indeed very strong."

Su Ran's assessment was quite fair, even tinged with a hint of admiration: "Moreover, the Sharp Sword Force hasn't even used its full strength yet."

For the past three days, all the Awakened Ones have been mobilized, searching the entire map for densely populated areas to kill monsters and rack up points.

And what about the Sharp Sword Unit led by Lin Feng?

They not only have to rack up points, but also coordinate with the heavy equipment cluster to advance, and even abandon their mission to rescue people the moment they receive a distress signal.

Even so, they were still like a pack of tireless wolves, relentlessly pursuing the total points of the Awakened Ones.

This kind of execution is the most terrifying thing.

"Xiao Su, at this speed,"

Li Guodong jokingly remarked, "I'm afraid Bai Lu and the others are under so much pressure that they can't sleep right now, right?"

"A little suppression is good, otherwise they'll really think the world won't turn without them!"

Su Ran chuckled softly, shifting her gaze from the leaderboard to the much larger national strategic map.

The start of this life is much better than the previous one.

The Great Xia war machine has been warmed up and is now running at full power.

"Old Li, at this pace, it'll take a month."

Su Ran pointed to the edge of the map, his voice steady and powerful.

"Within a month, we will definitely be able to achieve the goal set by the leader of 'recovering the entire territory'."

At that time, Great Xia will be the first country in the world to climb out of the apocalyptic mire and complete liberation.

Inside the command center, many staff officers and technicians straightened their backs upon hearing these words.

However, just as the atmosphere reached its climax, Li Guodong's smile faded.

He remained silent for a moment, then pulled out a report with blood-red edges from a pile of documents and placed it in front of Su Ran.

"Miracles come at a price."

Li Guodong's voice sounded very hoarse. "What we lack most right now is a ground defense system."

Currently, patrols are mainly conducted by militia and exoskeleton teams.

Although the main force pushed through, quite a few escaped.

Especially those plains cities where the water has flowed back to the surface.

As he spoke, he pointed to the glaring red numbers above.

"With 60 million people deployed, even if the entire population were mobilized, casualties would still occur continuously in the face of such sporadic sneak attacks."

Su Ran looked at the casualty report, her expression remaining largely unchanged.

Even if the plan to bring back 60 million people can guarantee 99% safety, the 1% casualty rate would still result in the sacrifice of 600,000 people.

"This is the price we have to pay."

His gaze was sharp as a knife, and his tone remained resolute: "The future battles against crime will indeed be more difficult, more disgusting, and more torturous than the battles against sieges."

But as long as we control the overall direction, minor disturbances cannot shake our foundation.

This is also the cruelty of the doomsday game.

When faced with the survival of a race, there is no such thing as perfect zero casualties, only choices.

Li Guodong took a deep breath and nodded.

As a veteran, he understood this principle, but the mental hurdle was always difficult for him to overcome.

Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit heavy, Su Ran changed the subject. He looked around the busy command hall and asked in a low voice.

"Old Li, why haven't we seen the commander these past few days?"

"The leader has gone into seclusion again."

Li Guodong gave a wry smile and spoke.

"Another seclusion?" Su Ran frowned slightly.

The last time the leader went into seclusion, he approved a plan to bring back 60 million people after he came out.

This period of seclusion will inevitably lead to the unveiling of some shocking or unconventional plans.

"yes."

Li Guodong continued, "After the last meeting, the leader issued a death order to recover the entire territory within a month."

After that, he locked himself in the meeting room again.

I don't know the specific reason either.

"Commander, what are you thinking?"

Su Ran muttered to herself.

When the leader emerged from his seclusion last time, his entire demeanor had changed drastically, becoming as cold and sharp as a knife.

He even left himself a riddle-like saying.

Never forget to 'move forward'!

Su Ran still cannot determine its actual significance.

"I wonder what changes will occur in the leader after he comes out of this seclusion."

He muttered something to himself under his breath.

……

Kunlun, Institute of Physics No. 01, the special laboratory for the "Sky Shield" project.

The air here seemed to freeze, and the air pressure was so low that it was hard to breathe.

"Old Wu, are you even capable?"

Academician Wei Jianguo's eyes were sunken, clearly indicating that he had been staying up late for several nights in a row.

"We made a promise to Commander Chen to his face that we would get the prototype out in two weeks!"

There are only two days left until the deadline! We...

"Stop rushing me!"

On the other side, Chief Engineer Wu Jiayong suddenly looked up, his hair a mess, looking utterly disheveled.

"Why isn't it working...? Where exactly is the data wrong?"

Frustrated, he unfolded another massive design drawing, his eyes fixed on the parameters on the computer screen.

Since receiving the underlying code and design principles of the "Bio-level Frequency Identifier" from Lu Yuan last time,

Their development of the "Crystal Core Radar" has made great strides.

Midway through, they even brought Lu Yuan himself into the project team.

The entire R&D process is progressing rapidly and has reached the final stage—the final calibration of the core algorithm.

However, as Chief Engineer Wu looked at the nearly completed framework, a stubbornness belonging to the older generation of scientists welled up in his heart.

He let Lu Yuan go back to work on his mecha, deciding that this final and most glorious step must be completed by himself.

As a result, he got stuck.

For three whole days and three nights, they made no progress.

"Old Wu, just admit defeat. You're only hurting yourself by clinging to pride!"

"Why admit defeat? I've dedicated my life to radar; do you think I'd capsize in this little ditch?"

Wu Jiayong stuck out his neck, looking defiant.

"This isn't about whether the boat will capsize or not."

Wei Jianguo pointed to the complex, dizzying formula on the screen.

"This is a problem of mindset. We're craftsmen from the old era, used to step-by-step deduction. But this thing..."

Listening to Wei Jianguo's nagging beside him, Chief Engineer Wu's temper flared up instantly, and he retorted irritably.

"All you do is stand by and make sarcastic remarks! Can't you even help me figure out where the problem is?"

"I already told you!"

Wei Jianguo was also furious, pointing his finger at him.

"Bring that kid Lu Yuan back! He's the one who came up with the ideas earlier; he could see the problem at a glance. You just had to get stuck on it!"

"I just don't understand!"

Chief Engineer Wu slammed his hand on the table and stood up abruptly. "He didn't even do the calculations! How can he tell the answer at a glance?"

"They're a genius, what's there to be unhappy about?"

Wei Jianguo's words left him speechless for a long time.

Chief Engineer Wu's chest heaved violently, and he finally slumped down, deflated.

"well……"

He sighed deeply, his voice filled with exhaustion and resentment.

Stop thinking about it.

Wei Jianguo grabbed Wu Jiayong's arm. "Let's go."

"Where to?"

"Go find someone!"

Wei Jianguo said irritably, "Find that brat Lu Yuan!"

"I'm not going!"

Wu Jiayong's buttocks seemed glued to the chair; he wouldn't stand up no matter what.

"I said I'd do the final step myself. Why would I go begging to others now? Don't I have any shame left?"

Is it really that hard to admit someone is a genius?

Wei Jianguo poked him in the back in exasperation.

"They're probably annoyed with you by now. Can't you just finish the job in one go before letting them leave?"

"You insisted on leaving yourself a final step to show off your skills, huh? What do you say? Can't finish it?"

He got anxious and grabbed the person directly, saying, "Tens of millions of people outside live in fear every day, just waiting for this radar to protect them!"

"Is your influence, Wu Jiayong, greater than this?"

With this serious accusation leveled against him, Wu Jiayong was completely speechless.

His face flushed red, and he buried his head in his arms, remaining silent.

……