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

The doors to the operations room slowly opened.

The elderly man in charge of the central leadership stood up, fastened the top button of his Zhongshan suit, and strode out of the conference room.

Several bodyguards followed closely behind.

The generals also stood up one after another and walked quickly to their respective war zone command posts.

Only Su Ran and Li Guodong remained in front of the holographic sand table.

"Seven days."

Li Guodong held a cigarette between his fingers, but didn't light it. His gaze was fixed on the red dotted line at the edge of the map.

"I've worn this uniform all my life, fought countless battles, and practiced countless war games, but I've never fought a battle this rich in resources!"

He took a deep breath, took out a top-secret document from the secure drawer, and handed it to Su Ran.

"This is a list of spoils of war from yesterday, just compiled by the Logistics Support Department. Take a look."

Su Ran opened it.

On the paper, a set of numbers printed in bold black font immediately catches the eye.

[Daily recovery of Tier 1 crystal cores: 3.12 million.]

[Daily recovery of Tier 2 crystal cores: 64,000.]

Upon seeing this data, even Su Ran's pupils contracted slightly.

This is the terrifying benefit brought about by the full-power operation of the Great Xia war machine.

Harvesting at the front lines, operations at the rear.

These macro concepts have all been transformed into concrete data at this moment.

"Wealth is earned through fighting."

Su Ran spoke calmly, her fingertip pointing at the North China Plain plate.

"The war machine has finished warming up; now it's time for Great Xia to feed."

"That's right! With these massive amounts of crystal cores backing them up, those people at the research institutes have completely gone mad."

Li Guodong finally lit his cigarette and pointed to the clusters of shimmering green dots on the sand table.

"See those green dots?"

"Is it a factory for restoring production on the surface?" Su Ran asked.

"To be precise, it is a cluster of heavy industries that have revitalized the earth's surface."

Li Guodong exhaled a thick smoke ring.

"Yesterday morning, the No. 3 Industrial Zone in the North China Plain fully resumed production. All 102 fully automated production lines were in operation."

Millions of heavy artillery shells are being transported to the front lines via the newly repaired railway line.

Su Ran didn't speak, but instead turned to the second page of the document.

The above is the production line data for the new equipment – ​​the Crystal Core Exoskeleton Armor.

"The underground arms factory's production capacity is ultimately limited, and it cannot fully utilize its capabilities."

The surface safety zone has now been significantly expanded, and the General Armaments Department is directly constructing six large-scale crystal core exoskeleton production bases around the Yanshan Mountains.

Li Guodong flicked his cigarette ash.

"The daily production was originally 200 sets, but now it has increased tenfold. In another month or so, the elite troops on the front lines will be able to be fully equipped."

Su Ran nodded slightly.

When ordinary soldiers put on crystal core exoskeletons, their individual strength increases by more than tenfold. Combined with crystal energy rifles, they can easily slaughter first-tier zombie hordes and low-level mutated beasts.

"It's not just the military industry; the No. 01 Physics Institute also submitted a report."

High-precision lithography machines, CNC machine tools, microelectronic components...

The output of these core industries has fully recovered to half of its pre-disaster levels.

Li Guodong's fingers, holding the cigarette, trembled slightly.

"Xiao Su, we've not only secured our position, we're getting stronger. Great Xia's mobilization capacity is now countless times greater than before the catastrophe!"

Su Ran closed the file, her gaze calm.

"This is a positive cycle."

He placed his hands on the table, gazing intently at the sand table.

"The killings bring back crystal cores, which are then converted into energy and new weapons. These new weapons equip the army, allowing for even more efficient harvesting."

Humanity's overall strength is increasing at an exponential rate.

There was no internal strife like in the previous life, with each side fighting its own battles and warlords carving up the land.

When 1.4 billion people unite as one, that force is enough to crush any obstacle.

"The entire territory was recovered in seven days."

Su Ran tapped her fingers twice on the table.

"Once the border defense line is established, Great Xia will become the only safe zone in the world."

"Once the Sky Shield air defense system is activated, those mutated bird flocks in the sky will become easy targets."

Li Guodong laughed loudly, then stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray.

"Alright, I have to go to the General Staff Headquarters to check on the progress. What about you? Aren't you going to check on the Awakened geniuses?"

Now that the leader has given the order, the "humanoid nuclear weapon" program must be implemented as soon as possible.

"it is good."

Su Ran stood up and straightened her clothes.

"I'll go to the General Staff Headquarters first to see if there are any serious threats from mutated creatures."

……

Kunlun Base, Physics Research Institute No. 01, Tactical Mech Testing Area, Three Floors Underground.

Behind the massive explosion-proof glass curtain wall, the deafening roar of machinery filled the air.

"Hey kid! Have some decency! This is a prototype! A prototype!"

Wei Jianguo shouted into the communicator, his eyes twitching.

In the center of the arena, the "Cheng Ying" tactical mech is performing a series of tactical maneuvers that defy the laws of physics.

Slide, side cut, back throw.

The mecha, weighing eighteen tons, displayed extremely counterintuitive agility under Ye Xiao's piloting.

"Old Wei, this really isn't my fault!"

Ye Xiao's excited voice came through the loudspeaker.

"You're the ones who made me conduct all-around testing! How can we get data if we don't push it to the limit!"

boom!

With a side kick, the mech smashed a second-tier mutated wild boar, a test subject, to pieces.

Lu Yuan stood in front of the control panel, his eyes fixed on the frantically jumping data stream on the screen.

"Neural synchronization rate exceeded 96%."

Lu Yuan typed rapidly on the keyboard, his eyes fixed on the data stream.

"The peak overload of each joint of the mech has reached 95% of the design limit. The pilot's physiological characteristics are stable."

He turned to look at Wei Jianguo and swallowed.

"Old Wei, if an ordinary person drives Chengying, the overload of the main body will cause internal bleeding."

Commissioner Ye's action just now caused an instantaneous overload of twelve Gs, but it had no impact on physiological data.

The entire research staff gasped in astonishment.

The physical strength of a second-tier peak awakened being can perfectly withstand the terrifying recoil force brought about by the extreme operation of the mecha.

Wei Jianguo sighed and slammed the communicator on the table.

"Until there's a breakthrough in materials science, this thing will truly become a super toy exclusively for awakened beings."

Outside the glass curtain wall, Bai Lu, Mo Yun, and Zhu Jingye stood side by side.

"With this, Brother Ye's combat power has increased dramatically."

Zhu Jingye looked at the mechs displaying their might on the field with envy in his eyes.

"Once mass production begins, I'll apply for one too."

Mo Yun's expression remained as serious and calm as ever.

"Don't be blindly optimistic. Old Ye is a pure physical enhancement type, and his compatibility with mecha is high. We are different."

He raised his right hand, and a cloud of dark green poisonous mist swirled in his palm.

"If I release toxins while piloting a mech, the strong corrosiveness will dissolve the mech's internal life support system and delicate wiring first."

Before it could even kill the enemy, the mech disintegrated from the inside.

Bai Lu crossed her arms over her chest, her expression aloof.

"The same goes for mental power; it will be significantly weakened by the heavy alloy composite armor."

She looked at the mecha, her eyes showing little emotion.

"External forces are ultimately external forces; the level of one's own evolution is what truly matters."

After speaking, Bai Lu turned her head and asked Zhu Jingye beside her.

"He didn't come?"

"After Su left, he hasn't come back. He's probably still coordinating the battle," Zhu Jingye answered honestly.

Bai Lu subtly pursed her lips.

At this moment, Wei Jianguo and Lu Yuan in the control room also realized the fatal bug that there was a serious incompatibility between magic-type and poison-type ability users and mechs.

"Xiao Lu, can the Chengying coating withstand Mo Yun's poison-based superpower?"

Old Wei frowned and asked.

"The outer coating is fine, but the inside is not."

Lu Yuan pulled up a 3D model of the mecha's complex internal structure.

"Commissioner Mo Yun's poison gas is released from within his body, and our existing filtration system will be paralyzed instantly."

After pondering for a moment, Wei Jianguo waved his hand and said, "If it's not suitable, then change it!"