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

The hatch of the Xuan Nu fighter jet closed.

The two ion engines roared to life, and the fighter jet instantly cut into the stratosphere, cruising at full speed toward the North American continent.

Inside the cabin, Su Ran leaned back in the shock-absorbing seat, flipping through the coordinates on a tablet.

"First stop, Boston Genome Research Center." He swiped a line across the screen.

Ye Xiao leaned closer for a glance, then crossed his arms.

"This place is quite famous; it had many controversial projects before the disaster."

"Regardless of what it did before, from today onwards, it belongs to the Xia family."

Su Ran put away the tablet.

Transoceanic flights are boring and tedious.

A few hours later, the fighter jet slowed down and landed in an open area of ​​a large complex of buildings.

Ye Xiao pushed open the hatch and jumped out first.

The surroundings were eerily quiet; there were no zombies or mutated beasts in sight.

The autumn wind swept up the waste paper on the ground, making it swirl in the open space.

Apart from the dark red patches left from the early stages of the disaster, the main structure of the building complex is intact.

"There were no signs of forced entry, and the door lock system was locked from the inside."

Ye Xiao tapped the outermost blast door with the hilt of his knife and turned to look at Su Ran.

Su Ran nodded in acknowledgment.

Ye Xiao didn't hesitate either, drawing his Tang sword from his back and slashing down through the crack in the door.

A piercing metallic scraping sound rang out as the heavy alloy lock tongue was severed.

He kicked the door open.

The two walked inside.

"The retreat was very orderly."

Su Ran looked around and came to a conclusion.

"It seems that the higher-ups issued an evacuation order for this place before the disaster fully broke out."

The key personnel have presumably all taken the data into the underground bunker. These heavy equipment items that can't be moved are stored here.

Along the way, various precision instruments, whose names I don't know, were neatly arranged under dust covers, and there was no scene of chaos and documents scattered all over the place.

"They've protected it so well; it seems they're planning to return to the ground and take over after the disaster is over," Ye Xiao said.

Su Ran's gaze swept over rows of expensive centrifuges, fully automated gene sequencers, and cleanroom workbenches.

"The American government has finally done something decent."

No more nonsense.

A thought arose.

The boundaries of the infinite space expanded instantly, and invisible fluctuations covered the entire experimental building.

A tremendous suction force surged forth.

brush!

Hundreds of high-precision devices in the entire laboratory, along with the reagents in the constant-temperature storage cabinets, vanished into thin air in an instant.

They transcended the dimensions of reality and landed steadily in the infinitely vast, absolutely still space in Su Ran's mind.

It took less than three minutes in total.

"Let's go, next place."

Su Ran turned and left, her steps light and swift.

For the next two hours, the Xuan Nu fighter jets swept across the east coast like ghosts.

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and Fort Detrick, a high-level biosafety laboratory, were uprooted one after another.

The whole process went surprisingly smoothly.

Looking at the mountain of top-notch medical research equipment piled up in the space, Su Ran breathed a sigh of relief.

The tools Academician Chen Changhe needed are all here.

He looked up and gazed in the northwest direction.

"The important business is done."

Su Ran returned to the driver's area and re-entered a series of coordinates into the navigation system.

"Time to meet those local bullies who call themselves nation-builders. Directions: Great Lakes region, Beacon of Freedom Alliance."

……

At the same time.

North America, Great Lakes region, Detroit military airport.

The cracks on the runway were filled with high-grade cement, and the areas on both sides where decommissioned passenger planes were originally parked were cleared out and dozens of camouflage air defense positions were set up.

There was even a long red carpet laid out in front of the airport terminal.

On both sides of the red carpet, a fully armed soldier stood every five meters.

These soldiers, dressed in old-fashioned National Guard uniforms and carrying standard American automatic rifles, served as a guard of honor.

If it weren't for the faint traces of ruins on the distant horizon, one would never guess that the apocalypse had occurred two months prior.

Dozens of people stood on both sides of the red carpet.

The group of people were dressed in well-fitting suits and looked extremely official and formal.

They are the first government team of the "Beacon of Freedom" alliance, who were elected through democratic procedures just three days ago.

Although it was a makeshift operation, it had all the necessary equipment.

The Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, and the Chief Security Officer each have their own responsibilities.

Upon closer inspection, however, the temperament of this group of people is quite disjointed.

Most of those standing at the core of the inner circle are Awakened Ones.

Even when they're dressed in bespoke suits, their inherent charisma is undeniable.

The ferocity and ruthlessness forged from months of survival in the wasteland clashed sharply with the elite demeanor of a politician.

These people are high-ranking awakened individuals within the alliance, and they are the core force supporting this makeshift organization in the wasteland.

Those standing in the outer circle were mostly state-level legislators or professional managers who were pre-apocalyptic figures.

After the catastrophe, they used their management experience to carve out a share of the pie in this new regime that revered force.

A young man in a gray plaid suit with his hair meticulously styled raised his wrist and glanced at his gold watch.

He paced back and forth a couple of times, his expression revealing impatience.

"Father."

The young man lowered his voice and moved closer to a middle-aged man standing at the front.

"You don't need to wait here too."

In his eyes, his father was the first president of the "Beacon of Freedom" alliance.

To personally come to the front to act as a greeter at the airport is simply an insult to the nation.

The middle-aged man's name was Joe Luke, and he was the leader of this group.

Before the apocalypse, he was just a farmer, managing a farm of several hundred acres.

If it weren't for the apocalypse, he might have spent his old age peacefully on the farm.

But fate is unpredictable. No one expected that less than two months later, a farmer would rise to the position of the founding president.

Hearing his son's grumbling, he turned his head.

A sharp gaze swept over.

"Hunter."

Joe Luke's voice was deep and husky.

"First, in such formal diplomatic settings, do not call me father. Address me as Mr. President."

Hunter-Luke's expression stiffened slightly, and he quickly bowed his head: "Yes, Mr. President."

"second."

Old Luke withdrew his gaze and looked towards the gloomy southern sky.

"Face is built on absolute strength."

Great Xia is currently the absolute pinnacle of military power on this planet. The weak must submit to the strong!

His tone was frighteningly rational.

"Let's face reality. We desperately need the support of Great Xia!"

We need to obtain the Great Xia's quota of crystal core weapons, and even more so, we need those gene potions in their possession that can help people advance in rank!

Without Great Xia, our 200,000 people would only be considered a slightly larger survivor stronghold!

Old Luke sneered, his gaze sweeping over the group of politicians and awakened individuals behind him, each with their own ulterior motives.

"Don't even mention standing here in the cold wind waiting. If Great Xia is willing to accept us, I'd be willing to kneel on this tattered red carpet to greet them at the airport right now!"

Old Luke was an extremely clear-headed man.

He knew that what Great Xia wanted was not an ally, but an absolutely obedient agent.

This agent can become stronger, but only if he/she is as loyal as a dog.

He was also well aware that if the "beacon of freedom" wanted to solidify its current position, it would have to face a group of old-era tycoons and politicians hiding in underground fortresses.

When the underground government emerges, it is necessary to gather enough power to fight back, and the only way to achieve this is to cling to the powerful backing of the Great Xia.

"Only when Great Xia acknowledges our status and provides us with weapons will we truly be the ones calling the shots in North America!"

After listening, Luke swallowed and remained silent.

Just then.

A muffled rumble came from above the clouds.

The sound was initially very distant, but within just two seconds it transformed into a terrifying roar that ripped through eardrums.

It wasn't thunder.

It's the sonic boom generated when a high-powered ion engine breaks the sound barrier!

Everyone present looked up abruptly.

A heavy fighter jet with an extremely futuristic design, trailing two dazzling crimson tail flames, pierced directly through the clouds and hovered directly above the airport.

A tremendous amount of air pressure crashed down on them.

Old Luke steadied himself, facing the fierce wind, his heart skipped a beat.

"They're here..."

The will of the Great Xia has descended.

(I don't know if I can finish writing before 12 o'clock. If I can, I'll post another chapter. If I can't, I'll add more words at the end of this chapter.)