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

The temperature in the conference room dropped to freezing.

After Su Ran put forward the theories of "isolated island" and "corpse emperor", the air pressure dropped to freezing point.

Qian Liye's forehead was covered in sweat, and Sun Desheng gritted his teeth.

Although Zhang Xiao and Wang Jianjun, who were advocates for war, did not speak, the heaviness in their eyes was hard to hide.

Caught in the middle, Li Guodong watched the two groups of people on the verge of conflict, his brows furrowed deeply.

As the director of the National Security Bureau, he was all too aware of Su Ran's value.

From before the apocalypse began until now, Su Ran's prophecies have never been wrong.

But as one of the high-ranking officials of the Great Xia Dynasty, he was also well aware that the grassroots troops and civilians had truly reached the brink of collapse after a month of high-pressure exploitation.

"Calm down, everyone."

Li Guodong coughed lightly, his voice low and hoarse.

"Xiao Su, your sense of crisis is correct, and I completely agree with it."

Li Guodong looked at Su Ran, his tone sincere.

"But what you old buddies said is also true. The state apparatus is indeed under too much strain, and people aren't made of iron."

He looked at the leader who was sitting in the main seat with his eyes closed and rested, and tentatively offered a proposal.

"Can we compromise?"

Li Guodong gestured on the table.

"With the defense line pushed to the border, the Great Xia mainland can be considered a safe zone for the time being."

We can allocate 20% of our military production capacity back to people's livelihoods, prioritizing the shortage of winter clothing and medical supplies to stabilize public sentiment.

"At the same time, the tens of millions of troops on the front line are working in three shifts to take turns resting."

One-third of the troops will remain stationed at the border, while the remaining two-thirds will be deployed in batches to eliminate the mutated creatures in neighboring countries, nipping the danger in the bud.

He looked around. "This way, we can calm our emotions without letting our guard down. What do you all think?"

Sun Desheng and Qian Liye exchanged a glance, their tense expressions easing slightly.

Securing 20% ​​of production capacity and some troop rotations is already the bottom line.

Their goal is simply to hope that the military industry can relinquish some of its production capacity so that ordinary people can catch their breath.

I never dared to hope that I could return to the pre-apocalyptic standard of living.

"I agree with Director Li's plan," Sun Desheng nodded.

"I object."

Without even a second's hesitation, Su Ran abruptly ended the warming atmosphere in the meeting room.

"Xiao Su, this is the safest option right now."

Li Guodong's face stiffened, and he sighed.

"Fighting a war requires more than just passion; it also requires a solid foundation among the people and their support!"

"Trying to smooth things over won't solve the crisis of the apocalypse."

Su Ran rested her hands on her chin, her gaze sharp.

"Old Li, Da Xia is now a critically ill patient, and its resources are already running out."

If you spread the limited resources evenly, you won't be able to feed the people or arm the expeditionary force.

The final result was that both sides lost.

The power of the state apparatus is finite; the wheel must be turned relentlessly in one direction!

Sun Desheng finally couldn't hold back any longer and suddenly stood up, the chair legs scraping against the floor with a screeching sound.

"Advisor Su! You keep talking about fighting to the death, fine, even if we do as you say, commit the entire army and keep the arsenals running non-stop! What about the defenses?"

He pointed to the long border line on the outskirts,

"The Great Xia's long borders rely entirely on manpower. If you send all your main forces out to fight, who will protect the security of the country?"

If advanced mutant organisms from abroad bypass the main defenses and infiltrate the mainland, what will the common people use to stop them? Those reserve soldiers who have just learned to shoot?

"Old Sun has hit the nail on the head."

Qian Liye slammed his fist on the table beside him and chimed in, "It's easy to launch an attack, but difficult to defend the homeland. If the rear falls into chaos, the front lines will inevitably collapse."

Faced with the furious questioning from the two directors, Su Ran not only did not panic, but instead curled up a cold smile.

"Director Sun, who told you that the defense line has to be filled by people?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Su Ran lightly tapped the tactical terminal with his finger.

The central screen displays a series of images.

It's no longer a strategic map, but a test video.

The scene depicts a closed-off simulated city ruin.

A wide circular trench was dug around the perimeter, filled with grayish-white, cotton-like wriggling tissue.

A dozen or so zombies were driven toward the trench.

The moment they stepped in, the previously lifeless organization instantly came to life.

Countless fine mycelia burst forth, tightly binding and dragging the zombie, corroding it completely within minutes.

The tissue absorbed nutrients and grew thicker at a visible rate.

"hiss!"

Several gasps of shock echoed in the conference room.

"What is this? A new biological weapon developed in the lab?"

General Zhang Xiao's eyes widened.

"This is the research result of Dr. Zhou Jian's team from half a month ago."

Su Ran tapped the table, the sound steady.

"This thing is called an inducible phagocytic carpet. It has no sense of pain, no intelligence, only the instinct to feed. Most importantly, it is absolutely controllable."

He straightened up and pointed to the long border line on the map.

"Plant these along the border, around the outskirts of the recaptured cities. They will become the most impregnable wall of the Great Xia!"

Su Ran's gaze swept over Sun Desheng's blank face.

"With this, low-level mutated beasts simply can't get past!"

Even if high-level mutated beasts tried to force their way in, their speed would be severely slowed down, making them easy targets for the heavily armed, stationary defenses!

"With this biological defense line, we can free up at least 80 percent of the garrison troops."

With each word Su Ran spoke, Sun Desheng's face grew paler.

Without any worries about the future, the policy of adhering to the old ways instantly lost its foundation.

"nice one!"

Zhang Xiao roared with joy, "With this, we can save a lot of effort in ensuring the defense line!"

"Now that we have the troops, we have the confidence to not worry about the rear."

Su Ran's sharp gaze swept across the entire room.

"Are we going to stay home and recuperate like tortoises?"

With the defense problem perfectly resolved, Qian Liye gritted his teeth and posed the last, fatal practical question.

"Even if our defenses are sound, our resource reserves won't be enough to withstand a global war!"

Qian Liye spread his hands wide, expressing his bitterness.

"Our resources are right here! We manufacture guns, cannons, and tanks. Which of these doesn't require massive amounts of iron ore as raw materials?"

What can't be done without oil as an energy source? Without these, nothing can be done!

The fervor of the pro-war generals was instantly suppressed.

Solving one problem only brings up another, more pressing one.

Faced with this seemingly unsolvable resource impasse, Su Ran suddenly smiled.

He laughed wildly, laughing with an air of utter disdain for everything.

"Director Qian, the resources within Great Xia are indeed insufficient, but have you forgotten about me?"

Su Ran spoke calmly.

"What about your initial supplies?"

Upon hearing this, Qian Liye smiled.

"Advisor Su, you may not be aware of daily energy consumption. Daily energy consumption is now three times that before the catastrophe."

How long can your reserves last?

"Once the army has crossed national borders and asks me for ammunition, can I say that we're running out of energy and need to cut the ammunition supply in half?"

"No. We still have the whole world."

Su Ran re-activated the global sandbox and circled the continents of America, Europe, and Australia several times with her finger.

"I propose that we formally launch the 'Global Resource Plunder' plan."