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

The instruction has been issued.

A few minutes later.

The central holographic projector in the headquarters lights up.

More than a dozen beams of pale blue light descended, coalescing into the phantom images of the heads of state of each member state.

Holographic images of the top officials of major underground bases in Europe, such as Gaul, Hans, and Tulip, appeared one after another.

"I believe everyone has already seen what the Great Xia has done."

Pierre glanced around, his tone icy.

"They looted our territory with impunity. One man, with a knife, cut open our blast door!"

And that "special survivor" from Great Xia! He used his supernatural abilities to completely empty our supplies.

Pierre roared through gritted teeth.

"Gentlemen, this is robbery! This is a trampling of the entire civilization of Europe!"

"Mr. Pierre, we are not blind, we saw it."

But anger solves nothing. The question is, what can we do?

Italian representative Augustus spread his hands.

"The mutated creatures on the ground are already giving us a huge headache. The Great Xia can send people through hordes of monsters and easily cut open the gate. What can we use to stop them?"

"Yes, the military strength of the Great Xia Dynasty has now completely exceeded our comprehension."

Some people echoed this in despair.

"Don't be discouraged yet, take a look at this."

The Hans representative, von Stein, snorted and projected a document into the air.

"This is a top-level coded communication sent by the White House of the United States overnight yesterday."

All eyes turned to that direction.

"The U.S. Secretary of War, Hagesey, sent a special reminder that the Great Xia Expeditionary Force has completed its assembly and is about to launch a global armed sweep."

He read it in a deep voice.

"Hasn't this message already been broadcast globally in plaintext?"

Augustus exhaled a smoke ring dismissively.

"Do we really need those Americans to hypocritically remind us?"

"You didn't understand Hegelian's meaning."

Pierre tapped the table. "The Great Xia Expeditionary Force, conservatively estimated, is in the millions."

Once this fully armed army sets foot on the European continent, do you think they'll just be passing through?

The atmosphere at the conference table froze instantly.

A million-strong army.

Anyone who has such an army entrenched above them will never be able to sleep soundly.

"Are the Americans implying that we should unite to stop Great Xia?"

Andrzej, the representative of the Tulip Country, sneered.

"They welded their own underground bunkers shut in Colorado and hid in North America like cowards."

Now you want to use us, Europe, as cannon fodder? To test the limits of Great Xia's firepower?

"The Americans promised that as long as we can hold back the Great Xia Expeditionary Force, they will provide more advanced gene therapy and weapons support in the future."

Pierre said in a deep voice.

"They're all empty promises!"

Augustus interrupted without hesitation.

"We in Europe shouldn't have listened to the bullshit advice of the United States back then, abandoning hundreds of millions of civilians and keeping only a few million 'elite people' to hide underground!"

The survivors on the surface now hate us to the core; they want us dead more than the mutated creatures do!

The expressions of everyone present changed slightly.

Above the wasteland of Europe, there are millions of survivors who have lived through the crucible of flesh and blood.

Among them, there are no fewer than a thousand powerful individuals who have awakened special abilities.

These wasteland survivors hate the current underground government.

"The Great Xia has just won the war to reclaim its territory. There are no monsters in their country, and their industries have fully resumed operation."

Augustus became increasingly excited as he spoke, his words flowing freely.

"They still hold a complete arsenal and countless awakened individuals in their hands."

To touch Great Xia now is tantamount to suicide!

"So what do we do?"

Baltic representative Voye's eyes were sharp.

"Sit and wait to die? Wait for Great Xia to drain our entire fortune, and then order us around like dogs?"

"Perhaps... we can try a different approach and take the initiative to contact Great Xia."

Andrzej tentatively began to speak.

"They broadcast globally, calling for the formation of a defense line."

If we were to join the Great Xia system, we might be able to preserve our current position.

"Are you crazy?!"

Before he could finish speaking, Pierre abruptly stood up, pointed at Andrzej, the representative of the Tulip Country, and began to hurl insults at him.

"Join them? That would mean handing over all control!"

We have millions of elite bloodlines left, and they will all be forcibly incorporated into their ranks!

"Follow Yu Cheng's orders and go to the front lines to be their expendable supplies!"

"Utterly foolish!"

Stein also criticized with a look of disdain.

"If we hand over our trump cards, we will become a complete vassal of the Great Xia!"

Once shackled by economic and resource constraints, Europe will forever be a slave to Great Xia!

"That sounds nice, but they just raided seventeen of our national-level strategic bases!"

Andrzej gritted his teeth and spoke.

"What's the panic? Those war reserve depots were originally built to deal with external emergencies or to store supplies for industrial reconstruction after the return to the surface."

Pierre forced back some of his arrogance.

"Even if it is completely lost, it will not threaten the internal ecosystem of our underground bunker for decades!"

We have enough food to last for decades!

"Everyone, calm down."

Augustus sighed and sat back down in his chair.

"I suggest that we maintain absolute silence from now on."

Cut off all external communications, no response, no protest, no compromise.

"As long as we don't show ourselves, the Great Xia Expeditionary Force wouldn't be so insane as to send their army here just to start a war with us, would they?"

"Even if we take a step back and assume they really intend to forcibly tear open our shelter..."

He suddenly raised his head, a desperate madness flashing in his eyes.

"We will immediately unlock the safety mechanisms of the underground tactical nuclear arsenal!"

"At worst, we'll all perish together, and send them a nuclear bomb!"

The differences are growing.

Some advocated following the United States' hints and secretly sabotaging Great Xia;

Some people wanted to surrender in exchange for living space;

Many others, however, were clinging to a sliver of hope and wanted to continue feigning death.

The sounds of arguing echoed in the holographic conference room, much like the bickering at the UN General Assembly before the catastrophe.

Just then, Arthur, the Nordic representative who had remained silent until then, tapped on the table.

"Clang! Clang!"

The crisp sound silenced all the arguing.

"Gentlemen, there's no point in arguing here."

His gaze swept across the entire room.

"Have you noticed that one person is missing from today's highest-level meeting, which concerns the very survival of Europe?"

Everyone was taken aback.

Pierre frowned and looked at the empty space in the holographic projection.

"Is the leader of the Kingdom of John not online?"

"It's not just that it's not online."

Arthur sneered.

"From the moment Great Xia broadcast its global message, the underground bunker of the Tower of London in the Kingdom of John has severed all contact with us."

"What are these damn island bastards trying to do?"

Augustus cursed.

"What do you want to do?"

Woj narrowed his eyes, leaned back in his chair, and spoke in a low voice.

"Gentlemen, let's take a look back at history."

Whether it was the Age of Exploration, the era of the collapse of the colonial system, or the later era of American global dominance…

Voye paused, his gaze deep.

"Although the people of John's Country are known as troublemakers, they always manage to make the right choices that are most beneficial to them at historical turning points."

The meeting room fell silent.

These politicians had to admit that the people of John's have a frighteningly keen sense for political opportunism.

"Contact the Kingdom of John."

Pierre took a deep breath and gave the order.

"Use all available resources to find out what they're planning. See which side they're going to take this time."