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

"A global resource plundering plan."

The moment those eight words were uttered, the air in the entire conference room seemed to freeze for a beat.

"You just said that Great Xia's resources are running out, and there is a shortage of food and steel."

Su Ran's gaze swept across the room, her tone icy, "If you don't have it at home, go get it from outside."

He drew several striking red lines on the holographic sand table.

It points directly to the Siberian plains, Middle Eastern oil fields, and the breadbasket of the Americas.

"Of the more than two hundred countries on Earth, all but Great Xia have been wiped out. What does this mean?"

"This means that all of the world's resources are ownerless!"

Su Ran's voice rose, revealing undisguised madness.

"The open-pit coal and iron ore mines of Siberia, the crude oil reserves of the Middle East, the underground grain silos of the Americas! They're right there!"

"I'll personally lead the team! I'll be in charge of clearing out their mines! Emptying out their oil fields!"

"Excavate all usable industrial mother machines, rare metals, and even the crystal cores from high-level mutated beasts, and transport them back to Great Xia!"

These words were like a bombshell, shattering everyone's reason.

After a brief silence, the pro-war faction erupted first.

"It should have been done a long time ago!"

Zhang Xiao, this veteran of iron will, was flushed, and even his breathing became a little heavier.

"Since the outside area has become a no-man's land, why can't we go and take it?"

The Crystal Core Force is ready for airdrops at any time! Send them all out to scout global resource situations!

"I've been eyeing that juicy piece of Siberia for a long time too!"

Wang Jianjun echoed him, his eyes gleaming with the light of a hungry wolf.

The generals' interest was instantly reignited; they could almost see the Great Xia's battle flags planted all over the world.

But the atmosphere was completely different across the long table.

Director of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Lin Changqing, frowned deeply, his face contorted in a nervous expression.

He glanced at the fanatical military, then at Su Ran, and after holding back for a long time, finally couldn't help but speak.

"Advisor Su, I have reservations about this plan."

Lin Changqing pushed up his glasses, his tone heavy.

"What do you call this? This is plunder! This is outright robbery!"

"Director Lin, this is the end of the world, and you're still spouting nonsense about gentleness, kindness, respect, frugality, and humility?"

Zhang Xiao glanced at him sideways.

"This is not being pedantic!"

Lin Changqing did not back down, and his voice became stern.

"Everyone, we are the Great Xia! The bottom line of our five thousand years of civilization is here! We are fighting a war of defense, and the people support us, because it is for survival and to protect our homeland."

But if we actively send troops to plunder the whole world, the nature of the problem changes completely!

"What's even more frightening is what the people at home would think if the state apparatus led the way in abandoning all moral principles and engaging in transnational robbery?"

"What the superiors do, the subordinates follow! If the state can plunder supplies from abroad without any scruples, why can't ordinary citizens plunder their neighbors' food supplies?"

He placed his hands on the table, his bloodshot eyes sweeping over the crowd.

"Furthermore, generals, have you considered this? Once hundreds of thousands of troops cross the border and fight in a wasteland without legal constraints or moral boundaries, people's greed will be amplified infinitely!"

Once the army degenerates into warlords fighting for their own interests, who can guarantee that they will still be the soldiers protecting the Great Xia?

Once this door is opened, the moral order we have established in the underground city will collapse instantly!

Upholding the bottom line of a nation refraining from evil is upholding the bottom line of civilization for the entire nation.

Lin Changqing summarized, word by word.

What makes us human is our moral compass.

If we're willing to abandon all sense of shame for the sake of evolution, then what's the difference between us and those monsters outside that devour each other?

"What we must uphold is the bottom line of being a decent human being!"

Lin Changqing's words were echoed by several civil officials.

Once order collapses, internal chaos will inevitably ensue.

These words, delivered with conviction, cooled down the previously heated atmosphere in the conference room.

Indeed, the foundation of internal order is built upon national credit and moral guidance.

Once the door is opened, Pandora's box can never be closed again.

Su Ran listened quietly, showing no sign of anger.

He picked up the teacup on the table and drank the cold tea in one gulp.

"Director Lin, what you said makes perfect sense. Your logic is sound, your vision is far-sighted, and your intentions are noble."

Su Ran put down her teacup and stared at the person opposite her.

"But I'll only ask you one question."

"A year later, hundreds of thousands of mutants that had evolved to the fourth and fifth order from overseas crossed the Himalayas like a tide."

"When you tear apart your proud moral foundations and chew up and swallow the people in the twelve main bases alive."

His voice was low and menacing. "You intend to persuade them with a few moralistic essays?"

Lin Changqing opened his mouth, but choked, his face turning bright red.

"I... I didn't mean that. We can achieve steady development through our own internal processes..."

"Our own development takes time, and that's what we lack most!"

Su Ran interrupted him without any politeness, her voice low and fierce.

"The bottom line of civilization is something only living people can define. If humanity goes extinct, leaving only a bunch of beasts on this blue planet, who will write the history of your civilization?"

He straightened up, his gaze disdainful, "In order to ensure the continuation of the Great Xia dynasty, I don't mind bearing the infamy of being a bandit."

Even if it means plundering the entire world, even if it means getting blood on my hands.

As long as future generations can open their textbooks in a safe and peaceful land, point at our portraits, and curse us as "brutal and barbaric," I'll accept it!

He turned abruptly and looked around at the officials whose faces showed signs of struggle.

"Let's broaden our horizons, everyone!"

This is not geopolitics between nations; it is a species war between humanity and mutated creatures!

On the chessboard of species survival, being soft-hearted is tantamount to betraying one's own kind.

The entire conference room fell completely silent.

Radical resource plundering and conservative bottom lines of civilization collided violently like two mountains.

No one can completely convince anyone else.

The pro-war faction looked menacing, while the conservatives were filled with worry.

All eyes eventually converged on the very front of the long table.

There sat the true commander of the Great Xia Dynasty.

The old man remained in the same posture leaning back in his chair, and he didn't utter a single word throughout the entire argument between Su Ran and Lin Changqing.

Another cigarette butt stood upright in the ashtray on the table.

He slowly opened his eyes, placed his hands flat on the table, and his gaze swept over everyone on both sides of the long table.

"Has everyone stated their position?"