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

(Some adjustments have been made!)

Su Ran, as if buying a large quantity of advanced individual soldier equipment that Old Wei had given him, put it all into his spatial storage.

After doing all this, he clapped his hands and slowly walked to the "Bone-Eating" mech with its chest hatch open.

Looking at Mo Yun inside.

"How are you feeling?"

"Very good. Even better than I expected."

Mo Yun nodded solemnly, his gaze falling on the coating on the outside of the mecha arm.

"My poison-based superpower means I can't charge into battle like Ye Xiao, but with this mecha, it can perfectly make up for my own weak defense."

"If you like it, that's good. These were made with a lot of effort by those old men from the Academy of Sciences."

Su Ran patted the mecha's cold legs. "Let's get out first. It's time to get down to business."

Mo Yun piloted the mecha, leaped off, and landed steadily.

"Professor Xie Wei."

He said earnestly to Wei Jianguo.

"No need to thank me! It's all for the sake of Great Xia!"

Wei Jianguo waved his hand grandly, displaying great generosity.

"Fight well! Show the might of the Awakened Ones of Great Xia through real combat!"

The old academician then turned to look at Su Ran, his eyes burning with fervor.

"Xiao Su, the front lines are dangerous. We'll be waiting for your triumphant return, bringing back real combat data!"

"Don't worry." Su Ran nodded.

He turned around, a gray glint flashing in his deep eyes, and his spatial power was activated with a roar.

The 5-meter-tall "Bone-Eating" mech vanished instantly.

"Let's go, Old Mo."

The two walked through the long corridor without returning to the ground, heading directly to the fast lane leading to the external helipad.

Along the way, red warning lights and blue traffic lights flashed alternately.

As Su Ran walked, she took out her encrypted tactical terminal and sent a brief message to Li Guodong:

[Old Li, Mo Yun and I are leaving. Arrange for someone to take over headquarters' daily operations; Mo Yun's tasks will be handed over to the General Staff.]

Almost instantly, the reply popped up:

【Received. Don't worry about things at headquarters. Have a safe journey and take care.】

No more nonsense. This was their unspoken understanding.

Su Ran put the terminal back in her pocket and turned to look at Mo Yun.

"Have you packed everything?"

"There's nothing to pack up; the battlefield doesn't need any extra stuff."

Mo Yun shook his head and strode forward.

"The combat suit is on my body, the mech is in your space, and my powers are always ready. That's enough."

Su Ran raised an eyebrow and chuckled softly.

"Great! Let's go then."

……

Helipad No. 3.

The Xuan Nu fighter jet was parked on the tarmac. The ground crew opened the hatch and saluted the two men.

Su Ran and Mo Yun entered the cabin one after the other, and the cabin door closed.

"Target coordinates to be determined."

Su Ran spoke to the AI ​​agent on the control panel.

"First, take off, enter the stratosphere and cruise at altitude, then fly towards the border of the Eurasian Plate."

The low hum of the engine rose up from under my feet.

The aircraft shook and lifted off the ground.

The Kunlun base shrank rapidly beneath the porthole.

Su Ran wasn't wearing a seatbelt, leaning back in her seat, and ran her finger across the holographic projection table beside her legs.

"drop!"

A semi-transparent light screen lit up between the two of them.

[Global Awakened Ones Mission Board - Tier 3 and Above Objectives]

The densely packed entries are arranged from highest to lowest score.

The top few lines all have scores of over 2500, but they are all marked with a glaring red suffix.

[Locked]

"They've all been stolen. Those guys are really quick."

Su Ran scoffed and slid her finger down.

"As soon as high-scoring targets are posted, top teams compete fiercely for them."

The allure of the third-order crystal core extract was too great; no one could resist the instinct for evolution.

Mo Yun leaned closer, her gaze sweeping across the screen, speaking rapidly.

"There are currently only about twenty teams worldwide that can score over 100,000 points."

For these top-ranked tasks, every single one has to be fought for.

Su Ran remained noncommittal, continuing to scroll down with her fingers.

After scrolling down a bit, the gray bar that wasn't lit up appeared.

He casually recited a few.

"Berlin C4 block, corrosive Tier 3 giant corpse, characterized by its ability to spew strong acid..."

"Lyon South Line, Sonic Wave Type Third-Order Alien."

"On the edge of the South American rainforest, there dwells a highly dangerous fire-armored beast with a body temperature exceeding one thousand degrees Celsius..."

When the fourth number was read, Mo Yun suddenly raised his hand and pressed it against the edge of the screen.

"Wait a moment."

Su Ran paused, raised an eyebrow at him, and asked, "What? Which one have you taken a fancy to?"

Mo Yun's fingertip stopped on a line of inconspicuous gray text.

[North African Plains: Mutant Peregrine Falcon. Bounty: 1800 points.]

Su Ran glanced at the number, 1800 points, which was considered low in this category.

"this?"

He became interested and clicked on the task details.

[Target F-093: Mutant Peregrine Falcon. Location: East European Plain. Threat Rating: Medium. Points: 41,000. Listed for: 5 days and 17 hours.]

"This target has been posted for almost six days."

Mo Yun stared at the line of text, "They haven't been eliminated yet."

Su Ran became interested and pulled up the detailed introduction.

A video clip pops up. The image shows an almost invisible gray shadow that sweeps across the ruins and disappears into the clouds in the next frame.

The lights on the radar were flickering, like a signal malfunction.

"Speed-based".

Su Ran narrowed her eyes and gave her judgment.

"That's right, and extremely fast."

Mo Yun immediately added that he had already accessed the hidden logs in the background.

"Two top teams took on this task one after another."

One team is a fire-based squad from North America, possessing wide-area coverage capabilities; the other is a trio of lightning-based fighters from Russia, known for their explosive speed.

"And the result?" Su Ran asked with great interest.

"They all gave up voluntarily."

Mo Yun paused, then uttered three words, "Can't catch up."

"Can't catch up?"

Su Ran raised an eyebrow. "Only third tier."

"It is not good at head-on confrontation, and its attack methods are limited."

Mo Yun explained, "The problem lies in that speed."

He pulled up the relevant data analysis.

"The instantaneous flight speed is estimated to be over 400 kilometers per hour, and the sharp turn radius is ridiculously small."

Conventional anti-aircraft fire cannot lock them down, and Awakened Ones are even less able to keep up.

Su Ran stroked her chin, her interest growing even stronger.

"Interesting. The most alluring prey is the one that can't be caught."

His fingertip hovered above the screen, ready to press the lock button.

"That's it."

Mo Yun didn't agree. He was silent for two seconds before speaking.

"Brother Su, to be honest... I don't think this goal is suitable for us."

Su Ran turned her head to the side.

"First, its destructive power is average. Killing it would not be of much significance to the advance of armored forces on the front line, and its strategic value is too low."

Mo Yun spoke calmly and presented his points in a very organized manner.

"Secondly, and most importantly, it excels in speed, which is where we have no advantage."

He looked at his hands and said,

"I am a poison-type awakener, specializing in area-of-effect damage. Brother Su, you are a space-type. Can your spatial coverage area instantly trap it?"

Neither of us has a speed-based superpower, so catching it would be too inefficient.

Su Ran remained silent and listened.

Mo Yun assumed Su Ran was weighing her options, so he continued to add...

"and,"

Mo Yun tapped the flashing icon with his finger.

"Headquarters has a mandatory alert mechanism in place for these tough challenges."

"A warning mechanism?"

Su Ran was taken aback.

Although he stayed at the Awakeners headquarters every day, as the commander-in-chief, his energy was mainly focused on the macro-level war situation and global resource allocation. He was not as clear as Mo Yun about the specific mission flow rules.

"right."

Mo Yun spoke up,

"If a detected Tier 3 mutated creature remains on the mission leaderboard for more than a week without being eliminated, this will trigger an automatic event."

"After it is triggered, a specialist will evaluate its characteristics and then group it accordingly."

Based on its weaknesses, assign a special team to counter it on a specific mission.

He looked up at Su Ran and said, "This peregrine falcon has been hanging for more than five days, and it will reach the warning line in two more days."

Its Achilles' heel is speed, so it should be handled by a speed-based or ranged suppression team.

After listening, Su Ran didn't rush to refute.

"Instead of wasting energy on such slippery targets, it's better to choose tougher, more destructive ones."

Mo Yun pulled up several other targets on the list.

"The tough, stationary Tier 3 beasts that are discovered along the front-line advance are the real troublemakers that can slow down the front-line advance."

"Solving one problem allows us to advance the front lines a step further."

Su Ran hummed in agreement, then remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

"Also... I want to test the defensive limits of this mech."

Mo Yun's gaze fell on his outstretched palm, where a faint, dark green mist seemed to be moving beneath his skin.

"If we're going to test the limits of defense, we need to find the monster with the strongest destructive power and the most ferocious attacks! Let's face it head-on and engage in close combat!"

Only in this way can I fully process the gruesome data and truly see just how much pressure this mech, combined with my superpowers, can withstand!

Su Ran didn't rush to press the lock button.

His fingertip hovered above the line of gray text, but his gaze was fixed on Mo Yun's face.

"Old Mo, what you said makes a lot of sense, and your analysis is very insightful."

Mo Yun was about to breathe a sigh of relief, thinking that Su Ran had listened to his strategic analysis.

"But the goal is still to choose it."

Su Ran pressed down with her fingertip, and with a "click," the gray text lit up with dark red, changing to "[F-093 locked]".

Mo Yun's brows furrowed suddenly.

"Brother Su, this doesn't suit us..."

"Listen to me."

Su Ran leaned back in her chair, her voice low.

"The battles of the future will not be so comfortable."

"Every time I encounter someone, they're just easy prey, easily subdued by your poisonous fog and trapped in my spatial net?"

Mo Yun opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything.

"Today it's a peregrine falcon, tomorrow it might be a burrower, and the day after tomorrow it'll be cloaked."

Su Ran tapped the almost invisible gray shadow on the screen with her finger.

"You always pick monsters that you can fight head-on, it's really satisfying."

But the battlefield will never play out according to your script!

Inside the cockpit of the Xuan Nu fighter jet, only the low hum of the engine remained.

"Let's get back to this Bone-Eating Mech."

Su Ran changed the subject,

"I support your desire to test its defense limits."

But have you considered that defense is only one aspect of a mech?

"Brother Su, what do you mean?"

"Professor Wei designed this mecha for Awakened Ones to use on the battlefield."

Su Ran narrowed her eyes, her gaze gradually hardening.

"If one day, you're alone in a ruin, and a peregrine falcon traveling at 400 kilometers per hour suddenly strikes you head-on..."

He gave a cold laugh.

"Are you going to pull out your terminal first, request a speed-type squad from headquarters, and have them fly over to take over the battlefield?"

By the time they arrive, the grass on your grave will be three feet tall.

Mo Yun's pupils suddenly contracted, and he opened his mouth, but said nothing.

"If the mech can't even handle a small peregrine falcon, then it's not your problem."

That was a fatal flaw in the scenario designed by Mr. Wei.

Su Ran shook her head, her tone resolute.

"Since it's a prototype, and since it's a training exercise, we must take this opportunity, even at the risk of our lives, to fix these loopholes!"

This is also the most crucial piece of combat data that Elder Wei hoped we would bring back.

Mo Yun remained silent for a few seconds, then his expression slowly changed.

"I see."

He took a deep breath, and his speech became extremely rapid again.

"So, Brother Su, what's your real purpose in coming out for this training trip...?"

"The goal is very simple!"

Su Ran brought up the global mission dashboard, swiping his finger across the long list of targets.

"Name out all types of mutated creatures one by one."

Speed-type, Poison-type, Regeneration-type, Stealth-type... they've got it all.

"Give them all a beating?" Mo Yun gasped.

"Take a full scan."

Su Ran nodded, her gaze chilling. "The future has no script; every day is a live broadcast."

Mo Yun stared at the light screen, and the hesitation in his eyes gradually faded.

"...That makes sense."

Mo Yun slowly exhaled a breath of stale air. "We can't always stay in our comfort zone."

He raised his hand and tapped a few times on the virtual keyboard, bringing up a blank report template.

"I'll have to give a suggestion to the Awakened Headquarters later."

Su Ran froze, while Mo Yun stared at the screen, his brows slightly furrowed.

"The current squad assignment relies too heavily on matching players based on their ability tags."

Fire-type attacks are good against tanky, durable enemies, while lightning-type attacks are good against burst-damage dealers—both are easy tasks for them.

"Huh?" Su Ran was stunned.

"We need to increase the training for Awakened Squads in responding to different situations."

Mo Yun's fingers tapped rapidly while he muttered incantations.

"Force each team to take on one unrelated task each month."

Force them out of their comfort zones. Even if they can't win, they have to fight; that's what makes real-world combat data truly meaningful!

As he spoke, he was already listing items in the report.

Su Ran looked at him without saying a word.

But I couldn't help but complain in my heart.

Old Mo, you've been thoroughly marinated by all that stuff at the Awakeners Headquarters.

People have been taken out for training, and they've all been equipped with mechs.

My first reaction wasn't to think about how to tear the peregrine falcon apart, but to think about going back to headquarters to submit a report to improve the regulations.

Before the catastrophe, this would definitely have been a project manager who worked overtime until he went bald.

Su Ran's lips twitched almost imperceptibly.

but……

"That's a good thing."

A system like this can't be sustained by just one person.

"Take it, and hand it in together later."

Su Ran simply went along with it and added,

"Not only the training categories, but the review system also needs to be changed. Each team's non-specific tasks will be documented separately."

It is also used as a criterion for squad rating and resource allocation.

"I've got it." Mo Yun said without looking up.

Outside the cabin, the clouds churned like a raging sea.