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

Communication was cut off.

The holographic tactical console went dark.

The meeting room returned to its dim lighting.

Su Ran leaned back in the high-backed chair, her spine, which had been taut for many days, slumped slightly.

A wave of fatigue washed over me.

"Everything is finally arranged."

He raised his hand to rub his swollen brow, his voice slightly hoarse.

I've been on edge the whole time.

Since my rebirth, I've been racing against time.

"Stockpiling supplies, building shelters, scaling crystal core technology, the Great Xia's global military campaign, and now it's starting to recruit awakened forces from all over the world..."

Su Ran murmured softly, her gaze unfocused.

Everything felt like a dream.

It all started with making that emergency call before the red rain began.

The fate of the Great Xia Dynasty and the lives of 1.4 billion people seemed to rest on his shoulders alone.

He cannot afford to make even the slightest mistake.

"Everything is steadily improving."

A glint appeared in his eyes, and a very faint smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

"I really hope... the day when humanity completely returns to the top of the food chain will come soon."

Before he could finish speaking, his eyelids grew heavier and heavier.

His breathing gradually became long and even.

He closed his eyes uncontrollably and fell into a deep sleep.

The lounge was deathly silent.

Ye Xiao had just sprang up from the sofa, opening his mouth to say something cheeky.

Mo Yun took two quick steps, grabbed Ye Xiao's shoulder, and pointed to the main seat.

Upon seeing Su Ran's sleeping face, Ye Xiao immediately swallowed his words.

He quietly zipped up his jacket and made an exaggerated shushing gesture.

Bai Lu stood up.

She moved with extremely light steps. She walked to the locker, took out a windproof blanket, and slowly approached Su Ran.

Unfold the blanket.

He held the edges with both hands and gently covered Su Ran's body.

She gazed at the man.

This is the man who pulled her out of the dark and hopeless mental hospital and gave her a new life.

A rare tenderness appeared in Bai Lu's icy eyes.

"Sleep, sleep. Have a good night's sleep."

She murmured in a very low voice, barely audible to herself, "As long as we're here, no one can bother you."

Mo Yun walked to the control panel and dimmed the indoor lights.

Everyone left the room in unison.

……

Our vision spans tens of thousands of kilometers. The continent of Europe.

Deep in the Alps, the headquarters of the Pan-European Underground Union.

Inside the holographic conference room, the atmosphere was as oppressive as a powder keg filled with explosives.

More than a dozen dark blue beams of light descended.

Holographic images of the heads of underground governments from various countries float in mid-air.

Their former elegance and arrogance had vanished, replaced by rage and fear on every face.

"The Great Xia armored formation has advanced into Central Asia! The mutated beast hordes along the way have been completely slaughtered!"

Pierre, the representative of Gaul, slammed his fist on the table, spitting as he spoke.

"Within a month at most, tens of thousands of armored vehicles will be crushing the heart of Europe!"

"A month? Pierre, you're being too optimistic!"

The Hans representative, von Stein, braced his hands on the table, his eyes bloodshot.

"Take another look at their individual soldier equipment! Exoskeleton armor! They've also mastered the technology to extract energy from mutated beasts!"

Outpost radar indicates they are advancing very quickly!

Perhaps in just twenty days, the Great Xia's cannon barrels will be shoved into the ventilation shafts of our bunkers!

Two weeks ago.

These politicians are still arguing about whether or not to join the Great Xia system.

At this point, the issue is completely obsolete.

The Great Xia, with the roaring tracks of its twelve million expeditionary troops, reduced the options to a single one:

How can one integrate into the Great Xia system so as not to be disposed of as trash?

"They must submit. Only by submitting can they retain their current status."

The Italian representative, Augustus, spoke in a hoarse voice.

"The problem is, how do we bring them under our control?"

Da Xia Mingma issued a statement demanding a restructuring of the global order.

We are facing not only the Great Xia Expeditionary Force, but also the survivors on the ground who would love to devour us alive!

This is the sword of Damocles hanging over their heads.

Early stages of the disaster.

This group of tycoon politicians abandoned hundreds of millions of ordinary people, taking a small number of elites to hide in underground bunkers.

The millions of wasteland survivors who emerged from the crucible of blood and flesh harbor a deep-seated hatred for the underground government.

These are a group of evil spirits who have eaten human flesh and drunk the blood of beasts.

"Once we open the blast door and welcome the Great Xia army in, Great Xia will absolutely not interfere in our internal strife."

Augustus wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

"At that time, without the protection of the Great Xia's military, tens of millions of thugs outside will storm in and smash every bone in our bodies!"

"Learn from the Kingdom of John!"

Baltic representative Voye gritted his teeth.

"What did that old fox Boris do?"

He dragged those old conservatives from Parliament to the ground and hanged them in front of tens of thousands of people!

Let their blood quell the rioters' anger!

"idiot!"

Pierre scoffed, "You want to be like Boris? Do you even think you can?"

"Boris dares to play like this because he has enough chips in his hand!"

Stein pulled out an intelligence document and projected it onto the center of the group.

The light screen flickered.

"Look at the terms Boris offered!"

He declared all ground survivors to be a "privileged class," exempt from the Great Xia's mandatory conscription order and from going to the front lines to exterminate mutated beasts.

All combat duties will be handled by the underground government's standing army!

The meeting room was deathly silent.

"John's country can do this because they have a strong foundation."

Augustus shook his head with a wry smile, "They have preserved nearly two million people underground, while less than six hundred thousand survive on the surface."

With its own resource reserves, it can easily support this mob on the surface!

"And what about us?"

Augustus looked around, his tone bleak.

"Less than six million Pan-European underground elites remain."

"Across the entire continent of Europe, at least six million wasteland survivors still live like wild dogs!"

We simply can't afford to raise them.

Not to mention that the global extermination program released by Great Xia contains an ironclad rule:

All incorporated forces must transfer 25% of their troops to the Great Xia command to fight on the front lines.

If we follow the example of the Kingdom of John and enshrine the survivors of the earth.

Then those 25% of the combat slots must be filled by underground elites!

Who would want to die?

"If you can't afford to raise it, then don't raise it."

A chilling voice pierced the deathly silence.

The Tulip Country's representative, Andrzej, slowly raised his head, his eyes flashing with a venomous light.

Everyone turned to look at him.

"What Great Xia wants is a Europe that obeys. Great Xia only looks at the numbers when it comes to soldiers, not their background."

He tapped his fingers on the table, speaking slowly and deliberately.

"Since the surface mobs pose a threat to us, why keep them alive until the bunkers are breached?"

Pierre's pupils contracted sharply.

"you mean……"

"The Great Xia expeditionary force will arrive in twenty days."

With a blank expression, Andrzej uttered the hellish command, "Before Great Xia takes over this place, activate the 'Cleanup Protocol'."

"Open all underground armories and release the heavy mechanized units. Spend ten days conducting an indiscriminate cleanup of the surface."

Andrzej's words were cold, devoid of any human warmth.

"Kill all those troublemakers who are special survivors. Pack up the remaining old, weak, sick, and disabled, and use them to fill the 25% of the manpower quota, then hand them over to Great Xia."