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

"You mean, a bio-exoskeleton armor?" Su Ran asked.

This was a backup plan he had previously proposed.

Since this thing is incredibly tough and can self-repair, could it be made into a bulletproof vest?

"Yes." Zhou Jian's expression turned serious.

"We tried. To preserve its defensive capabilities, the mycelium must remain active. Look..."

He led Su Ran to a small experimental table on the side.

On the platform was a restrained robotic arm covered with a layer of pigskin, over which was a layer of iron armor, and on top of that, a thick layer of white fungal carpet.

"The defensive capabilities of this fungal carpet are astonishing."

Zhou Jian picked up a large-caliber pistol and fired three shots at the robotic arm at close range.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The fungal carpet was dented by the bullet, but it bounced back instantly. The bullet got stuck in the fiber layer and was then slowly squeezed out.

"It can withstand close-range direct fire from 9mm pistol bullets and even cushion the impact of rifle bullets," Zhou Jian said.

"Isn't this great?" Su Ran raised an eyebrow.

"but……"

Zhou Jian took a deep breath and pressed a switch. "If the inhibitor device is damaged or runs out of energy on the battlefield..."

The red light on a small device binding the fungal carpet went out.

next second.

The fungal carpet, which was originally a "protector," suddenly tightened up as if going crazy!

Countless tiny mycelia instantly pierced the simulated skin (pigskin) on the robotic arm and penetrated deep inside!

"Pfft!"

The force of that instantaneous contraction actually made the hard robotic arm creak and groan.

If it were a human arm, the bone would have shattered into pieces by now.

"It will instantly turn on its host, treating the warrior as the nearest 'food'."

Zhou Jian's voice was somewhat low, "We have tried gene editing many times, but we have never been able to eliminate this predatory instinct."

For it to be strong, it must remain active.

"The current conclusion is: this is a highly defensive weapon, but it could consume the user at any time."

A brief silence fell over the laboratory.

The only sound was the metallic scraping of the mechanical arm being tightened, a sound that made one's teeth ache.

Zhou Jian looked at Su Ran and asked cautiously,

"Advisor Su, although the risks are high, this thing is extremely cheap to manufacture. If it were used as equipment for a suicide squad..."

In this apocalyptic world, human life is sometimes the cheapest commodity.

As a researcher, Zhou Jian has seen too many schemes that resort to any means to achieve victory.

"Cut it down."

Su Ran's voice suddenly rang out, cold, resolute, and without the slightest hesitation.

Zhou Jian was taken aback. "Advisor Su?"

Su Ran turned around and looked at the mechanical arm that was being devoured by the madman. A cold glint flashed in her eyes, but it quickly turned into determination.

"What we need is equipment that can be widely deployed throughout the entire army, not suicide weapons that turn soldiers into disposable expendables."

Su Ran raised her head, looked directly into Zhou Jian's eyes, and said, word by word,

"In Great Xia, a soldier's life is more valuable than equipment! We haven't reached the point where we need to rely on soldiers committing suicide to achieve victory."

Zhou Jian was stunned.

At this moment, the aura emanating from Su Ran seemed to him like a towering mountain.

A moment later, the burly man straightened his back, his eyes filled with respect.

"Yes, Consultant Su! The project is terminated immediately! The data is archived!"

"That's right."

The coldness in Su Ran's eyes dissipated, and she patted Zhou Jian's arm.

"Doing the 'moat' project to the best of our ability is the greatest protection we can give our soldiers."

Give me a month!

A fierce fire ignited in Zhou Jian's eyes, his gaze unwavering.

"I can completely control this thing within a month! If I can't, I'll eat all the mushrooms that grow in the lab raw!"

Su Ran smiled.

"Okay, I hope I don't live to see the day you eat mushrooms."

……

at the same time.

A communication channel exclusively for Awakened Ones.

There are only 24 hours left until the competition ends.

The electronic scoreboard on the wall was glaringly red.

[Sharp Sword Special Forces: 892,100 points]

[Awakened Headquarters: 835,400 points]

A difference of 56,000 points.

Normally, this score wouldn't be anything special.

But given that both sides have given their all, this is an insurmountable barrier.

The Awakened Headquarters also went all out.

Those with combat abilities rushed to the front lines, while those lacking combat abilities used their crystal core exoskeletons to reach the front lines as well.

"Have all the Awakened Ones logged in from all war zones?"

Mo Yun's voice was hoarse, clearly indicating that he had reached his limit.

"Yunzhou is in place."

"Tiannan has arrived."

"Northern Desert..."

The twelve individual portraits lit up one by one, each face etched with exhaustion.

"That's all there is to it."

Mo Yun pointed to the bright red number above his head and got straight to the point, "If a miracle doesn't happen, we're doomed to lose."

No one argued, no one spoke, only heavy breathing could be heard.

"A difference of more than 70,000 points, at their speed, will be widened to 100,000 points before dawn."

Mo Yun's voice was cold, so cold it was despair-inducing.

This is the most terrifying aspect of industrialized warfare.

It doesn't emphasize martial ethics, individual heroism, or even earth-shattering events.

It uses the most unadorned quantity, discipline, and steel, like a millstone, to slowly wear you down.

"Old Mo, what did the staff say?"

Chen Ke broke the silence, "What time is it? Still no idea how to break this deadlock?"

"The General Staff has exhausted all available tactics."

Mo Yun rubbed his temples, feeling his brain throbbing.

"The current score is the result of the staff optimizing our efficiency to the extreme."

He pulled up a heat map of the occupied territories across the country and ran his finger across it.

"Of these 800,000 points, 500,000 were obtained by the staff team through accurately locating the gathering areas of second-tier mutated beasts and planning the optimal clearing routes."

Mo Yun pointed to the cleared red dots on the map, "Now, we've basically cleared out all the known second-tier creature clusters. All that's left are the first-tier mutated creature clusters."

"How can we even compare like this?"

Ye Xiao's arms were still trembling slightly, and spittle flew everywhere.

"If we all spread out to deal with those Tier 1 settlements, we'll definitely lose in the end."

"The difference in numbers between the two sides is too obvious! Those special forces soldiers number two hundred, and they take turns, half sleeping and half going out to farm points. We can't even match their numbers!"

He got angrier and angrier as he spoke, "Yesterday in Yunzhou, I killed over five hundred mutated dogs, and my hands are still shaking!"

These words resonated with everyone.

This is sore.

We are mortals with limited energy.

Even for awakened beings, high-intensity battles lasting more than ten hours are their limit, and they must rest to recover their mental energy.