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

"Notify all units to immediately put the entire riot police force on Level 1 alert!"

"Unpack all the tear gas! Get the riot shields to the front lines!"

"The propaganda officers brought loudspeakers and went down to every living area!"

We must seize control of the narrative within the first thirty seconds before any signs of rioting appear!

Anyone who dares to incite emotions at this critical juncture, just pin them down, no need to ask for permission!

Sun Desheng stood in front of the main control console in the command hall, his voice hoarse, his eyes fixed on the giant electronic screen on the wall that occupied half of the room.

On the screen, the holographic map of the twelve main bases emitted a faint green glow.

This green layer, which represents safety and stability, was more glaring to Sun Desheng than the high-level mutated beast.

He understands the grassroots level too well.

He spent thirty years working in the same department as the Home Affairs Bureau and the Publicity Department, handling countless mass incidents.

He knew better than anyone else that human nature is the most vulnerable thing to test.

If the pressure cooker lid is too tight, the boiling water inside will always find a way to spray out.

The people of Daxia were cooped up in underground air-raid shelters for more than a month, living in constant fear.

The only thought that kept them going was to finish the war, go back to their hometown, and live a peaceful life.

Now, in front of the entire nation, the leader personally shattered this idea.

Not only are they not allowed to go home, but they are also sending people across the border to fight a deadly war with no end in sight.

Sun Desheng paced anxiously back and forth in front of the control panel.

It was particularly jarring in the command center.

"Commander, oh Commander, this risky move you made was too reckless and ruthless..."

Sun Desheng lowered his voice and muttered to himself.

He had already mentally rehearsed countless catastrophic scenarios.

Large-scale protests erupted in Living Quarter No. 1; a wave of strikes broke out at Arsenal No. 3;

Physical clashes broke out between retired reservists and military police maintaining order;

Even worse... the enraged crowd caused a stampede, which then stormed the supply depot!

What won't a person do in the face of despair?

"You still underestimate the people of Great Xia."

The words the leader said in the highest conference room suddenly surfaced in Sun Desheng's mind without warning.

He stopped and braced his hands on the cold, hard metal tabletop, his knuckles turning white from the effort.

"Did I really underestimate the people of Great Xia?"

He muttered to himself in a very low voice.

Thirty years of governing experience taught him that prevention is the key.

Placing hope in vague and unrealistic national righteousness is gambling with the fate of the nation.

"On your marks!"

Sun Desheng loosened his tie, and a fine layer of sweat appeared on his forehead.

"The commander's speech ends in one minute! The next half hour is a matter of life and death!"

Dozens of communications officers and emergency response personnel in the hall all stood up straight.

"Getting carried away with passion only lasts for a short time!"

Once the speech ends, and the people regain their rationality, starting to consider their own survival and their food reserves, that's when the backlash will be at its fiercest!

His voice echoed in the hall.

"As soon as a red dot lights up on the big screen, the corresponding response plan must be activated within three seconds! Do you understand?"

"clear!"

Dozens of voices spoke in unison.

"All units, report system status."

Sun Desheng grabbed the microphone from the table.

"The first main server is functioning normally."

"The public opinion monitoring network is functioning normally."

"All three emergency response teams are in place, and riot control equipment has been distributed."

Inside the command center, dozens of technicians were typing rapidly on their keyboards.

The large screen lit up again.

The top is divided into twelve large sections, representing the twelve main bases of the Great Xia Dynasty.

Each panel has a green indicator light in the center.

Once a protest or riot involving more than 500 people breaks out in a certain area, the green light will turn red.

The atomic clock on the wall of the hall ticked.

It was 12:15 noon.

The national address ended on time, the live broadcast on the screen was cut off, and the national security monitoring map was restored.

The countdown starts.

First minute.

The entire screen is green.

Sun Desheng picked up his thermos and took a sip of the strong tea that had long since gone cold.

The fifth minute.

The entire screen is green.

The only sound in the command center was the hum of the exhaust fans.

Fifteenth minute.

The big screen remained completely green.

Not a single area showed a yellow light indicating unrest, let alone a red light indicating riots.

Sun Desheng's shirt was soaked with cold sweat and clung to his back.

He stared at the unchanging green light, and the unease in his heart not only did not subside, but instead grew wildly.

It's too quiet.

It was eerily quiet, so quiet it was unsettling.

Thirtieth minute!

The most dangerous psychological transition period is over.

Not a single abnormal pixel flickered on the large screen.

The twelve main bases and six thousand sub-living areas were like a stagnant pool.

Sun Desheng could no longer sit still; he pounced on the control panel like an enraged old lion.

"Communications team! Check the backbone network! Check the underlying base stations! Were the data lines deliberately cut? Is the signal lost?"

He roared until his voice cracked.

It's unreasonable that there were no riots; the only explanation is that the true situation below couldn't be reported!

The system crashed!

The technical manager sitting in the front row was startled and, sweating profusely, frantically retrieved the underlying code and data packets.

"Reporting to the Director! Network feedback at all levels is normal! Packet loss rate is zero! Backbone lines are unobstructed!"

"fart!"

Sun Desheng slammed his hand on the control panel.

"How come there wasn't even a single alarm for people cursing in the street when everything was so unobstructed? With 1.2 billion people, not even one person smashed a bowl or caused a disturbance?"

Do you think this is some kind of cultivation journey? Call the base station directly!

The technical supervisor scrambled to get to the internal line and switched several frequency bands in succession.

"Test complete! The signal really wasn't lost!"

The technical supervisor looked up, his voice dry.

"Chief, nothing really happened down there."

I don't believe it.

Sun Desheng bypassed the technician and pulled over the microphone on the main control panel.

"Connect me to the emergency control center at Taihang Mountain Base No. 8! Find Lao Zhao!"

The communication frequency flashed twice, and then the connection was established with a "beep".

"Old Zhao! This is Sun Desheng! What's the situation on your end?"

Sun Desheng roared at him.

Why are the riot police's location signals all stuck in place? Did something go wrong and they smashed the base station?

Tell me the truth, and I'll send the army to suppress them!

A noisy background sound came from the other end of the phone, mixed with loud shouts and the heavy clanging of metal.

"Director Sun?"

Old Zhao's gruff voice came through the radio, tinged with doubt and a hint of breathlessness.

"What are you pressuring? What are you using to pressure us? Who are you trying to pressure with the army?"

"Suppress the riots!"

Sun Desheng was so anxious he was jumping up and down. "The leader has finished speaking, and no one is causing trouble? No demonstrations? No strikes?"

"What a load of nonsense!"

Old Zhao yelled at the top of his lungs, "Do you think ordinary people are idle? They've all gone to work!"

"Get to work?"

Sun Desheng was stunned, and almost dropped the microphone in his hand.

"After the leader finished speaking, the square was quiet for more than a minute. My palms were sweating, and I even had my riot shields ready."

Old Zhao poured it all out like beans.

"And what happened? The old lady who said she wanted to go home came along with seven or eight of her friends and started yelling that she wanted to take the sewing machine."

They said it would get cold at the border in two months, and the young men on the front lines needed cotton-padded coats, so they had to work overnight to make tactical vests and cold-weather gear.

"And those furnace workers from the former No. 5 Heavy Industry Factory. After hearing the commander say that the monsters outside are taller than buildings."

Without even eating, they went straight back to the workshop and reignited the No. 3 blast furnace, which had been shut down!

They said they wanted to produce more steel and build more cannons for the expeditionary force.

He even grumbled and said he couldn't leave this mess for his grandson.

Old Zhao took a deep breath, his tone revealing a hint of malice and pride.

"The production efficiency of the entire Base 8 is now much higher than the wartime peak!"

I've sent all my riot police to the logistics department to move artillery shell boxes!

Sun Desheng opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

He stood there, feeling as if a string that had been taut for decades in his mind snapped.

"Take over to the logistics support department of the third line of defense," he said again.

"Beep! Click!"

"This is the third line of defense, please speak."

The sound of an electric microphone came from the speaker.

"This is Sun Desheng! How's the situation over there? Have there been any incidents of soldiers rioting, throwing their guns, or disobeying orders in the reserve camps?"

Sun Desheng spoke very quickly, bombarding everyone with questions.

The other person was stunned for two seconds.

"Reporting to Director Sun, we did not disobey orders."

The communications officer swallowed hard. "The camp is a bit chaotic right now."

"Chaos? How is it chaotic?"

Sun Desheng's heart sank. "Was there any physical altercation? Was the emergency response plan activated?"

"It's not that kind of mess..."

The messenger's voice carried a strange sense of helplessness.

"There were just too many requests to join the fight. Those reservists who had just been discharged from the front lines even overturned the company commander's desk."

"Flip the table? Are they planning a rebellion?"

Sun Desheng instantly caught the key words and his eyes widened.

"No, they forced the company commander to sign the list of the advance troops going abroad."

Several troublemakers even made threats, saying that if they were dared to stay in the country to guard the border, they would take guns and cross the border to fight the mutated beasts.

The correspondent smiled wryly, "Right now, the division commander is whipping them one by one on the parade ground with a belt; he can't control them."

Sun Desheng's hand holding the microphone froze in mid-air.

He opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

"Beep beep beep..." The communication ended.

The command room was completely silent.

Dozens of eyes turned to Sun Desheng.

Sun Desheng didn't speak. He seemed to be possessed and then switched to the emergency lines of several other main bases one after another.

"Report from South China Base No. 3! No disturbance! The workers at the Third Machine Tool Plant went straight back to work after hearing the commander's speech!"

"Northwest Base 5 reporting! All normal!"

"Donghai 11 Base Report..."

One report after another echoed in the command hall.

There were no complaints, no fears.

There was only a near-savage will to survive and a madness to fight to the last drop of blood for the sake of future generations.

One hour.

A full hour has passed.

On the giant electronic screen that occupied half of the wall, the twelve main bases were still shining bright green.

There were no red lights. There were no warnings.

This is the answer sheet that the 1.2 billion people of Great Xia have submitted to the nation in the most silent yet deafening way.

Sun Desheng slowly put down the microphone in his hand.

His hands, which were bracing themselves on the table, were trembling uncontrollably.

The older generation often says that the people of Daxia are the most honest and the most protective of their own.

They would argue with vendors over a few cents' worth of vegetables, and sue their neighbors over a few square meters of residential land.

He seems selfish and mercenary.

But someone actually put a knife to their child's neck.

When the leader exposed the bloody truth and told them that if they didn't go out and fight for their lives, their descendants would become food for monsters.

These normally most honest and unassuming people will not hesitate to put a sharpened razor blade in their mouths and transform into the most ferocious pack of wolves on this planet.

Sun Desheng leaned against the edge of the control panel and exhaled a long breath.

Throughout this global catastrophe, he always considered himself an actuary.

Calculate how many kilograms of synthetic grain are needed to save a life, and how many propaganda slogans are needed to quell a potential riot.

Sun Desheng closed his eyes and took a deep drag on his cigarette.

"I was wary of monsters, and I was wary of people. But today, I realized how wrong I was."

Amidst the swirling smoke, he forced a bitter yet proud smile.

"I've spent my whole life calculating the people's hearts, and today I've lost everything."

"Commander, oh commander..."

Under the dazzling lights of the hall, Sun Desheng slowly straightened up.

"You're right. I, Sun Desheng, have indeed underestimated the people of Great Xia."

The war machine of the Great Xia Dynasty has been put into the highest gear.

It crashed down upon the bloody storms beyond its borders.

……

It's 8 PM.

Kunlun Base, Supreme Operations Conference Room.

On the large screen, the holographic map of the twelve main bases glowed with a blinding green light.

This green light indicates that the security situation throughout the Great Xia region has been good over the past eight hours, with no mass incidents occurring.

"Snapped!"

Zhang Xiao slammed a military intelligence briefing onto the table.

The old general wasn't even wearing his military cap today; his head was covered in sweat, and his face was flushed.

"I've led troops for decades, and I've never seen anything like this!"

Zhang Xiao, speaking loudly, walked around the chair with his hands on his hips.

"As soon as the afternoon speech ended, the phone lines in several war zones nearly burned out."

He stopped and pointed to the briefing, "Those greenhorns in the reserves have all gone mad! The petitions for combat readiness are piled up half a meter high! They're all covered in bloody handprints!"

Li Guodong, a cigarette dangling from his lips, casually asked, "Are they all rushing to go abroad?"

"you do not say!"

Zhang Xiao slapped his thigh. "These kids, when they're fired up, they're even more reckless than the regular army!"

Upon hearing this, everyone chuckled softly.

My nerves, which had been tense all day, finally relaxed for a moment.

Sun Desheng sat opposite him, with a thermos cup in front of him.

He didn't laugh along, but instead picked up a stack of summary reports and slowly stood up.

"Old Sun, how's things going on your end?"

Zhang Xiao teased, half-jokingly.

"Didn't you frantically deploy riot shields and tear gas yesterday? You used them all, didn't you?"

"It wasn't used."

Sun Desheng answered honestly and handed the report to his superior.

"I really learned a lesson today."

All eyes turned to that direction.

"Last night I worked through the night to develop seven anti-riot plans, and the emergency response team was fully armed and in place, just in case something serious happens after my speech at noon today."

Sun Desheng sighed, "As a result, there were zero riots at the twelve main bases. Not to mention riots, there wasn't even a single demonstration or gathering."

"Sir, you're right."

Sun Desheng rested his hands on the edge of the table, looking at the elderly man at the head of the table.

"The resilience and fighting spirit inherent in the people of Daxia cannot be calculated from cold data."

"I deeply regret my actions and apologize to the organization. I truly underestimated our people."

After he finished speaking, he bowed deeply.