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

(Word count has been increased in the previous chapter!)

"I'm back."

The commander's voice was somewhat hoarse.

"You and Bai Lu fought a very well in the battle of the S-11 defense line."

The military has reviewed the Warcraft Legion's combat data; one of Great Xia's sharpest weapons can now be added to the roster.

"Tactical victories cannot change the strategic predicament."

Su Ran got straight to the point, staring intently at the old man.

He reached out and pointed to the huge global catastrophic satellite imagery above his head.

"Old Li conveyed your eight-character strategy to me."

Su Ran's voice was slightly deep, "I don't understand."

The leader finally raised his head.

Those eyes, weathered by time, were deep and calm, yet possessed a sharpness that seemed to see right through one.

"What don't you understand?" the leader asked.

Su Ran met the leader's gaze and spoke very quickly.

"It's too empty."

"The Great Xia Expeditionary Force is fighting on two fronts. Although the crystal core exoskeleton has been deployed, the soldiers' physical strength is already approaching its limit."

Third-tier peak mutated beasts began to appear in organized groups.

With the Yellowstone volcano erupting and nuclear winter approaching, humanity's living space is being compressed.

Su Ran pressed her hands against the edge of the sand table, her knuckles turning slightly white.

"The living space of the Great Xia is shrinking, and the monsters are getting stronger."

"You have been in seclusion for thirty-five days, and the entire core group is waiting for you to make a decision."

At this critical juncture, what Daxia needs is a specific direction to break the deadlock, and a core strategy for the next stage.

Instead of saying, "Give up your illusions and keep fighting."

Su Ran took a deep breath, her tone extremely firm.

"Given your position and vision, it's impossible that you only prepared these eight words. What are you planning?"

The entire model area seemed to fall into a deathly silence.

The only sound coming from the other end of the hall was the rapid clicking of keyboards.

The commander looked at Su Ran for a full half minute.

Then, a faint, indifferent smile appeared on the old man's lips.

He took out a pack of Daqianmen cigarettes from the pocket of his Zhongshan suit, pulled one out, but didn't light it; he just held it to his nose and smelled it.

"Little Su."

The leader turned around and faced the huge world map.

"Li Guodong said you have a wolf-like nature in your bones, and once you bite your prey, you won't let go. I think he's wrong."

The leader pointed to Su Ran's chest.

"You're not a wolf, you're a chess player. You're afraid that the Great Xia game has reached a dead end."

Su Ran didn't reply.

He was indeed afraid.

He knew better than anyone how the Great Xia Dynasty had perished in his previous life.

The leader placed the unlit cigarette back on the table and put his hands behind his back.

"You brought back memories of the future. You used your infinite space to help Great Xia stockpile a massive amount of resources."

You saved Great Xia from the initial zombie horde outbreak and allowed them to build an ironclad defense line.

The leader's voice was calm, yet every word struck Su Ran's heart like a hammer blow.

"But the road ahead is an unknown night. No one knows whether they will stumble and fall, or encounter an even more terrifying monster."

The leader stepped forward and patted Su Ran's shoulder heavily with his withered but powerful hand.

"I know you have a lot of questions."

The leader looked past Su Ran and at the satellite image covered in volcanic ash, his voice low and menacing.

"You're still young, you need to think things through."

Su Ran stood there, stunned.

Why do I need to think about it more?

What are you thinking?

The details of the front lines and the rear during this period flashed through his mind.

Professor Wei Jianguo's core weapon, Professor Zhang Qian's Warcraft Legion, Academician Chen Changhe's Awakening Potion Project...

Su Ran still couldn't figure it out for a while.

The leader seemed to understand Su Ran's confusion and spoke up.

"The speed at which human technology is iterating is beginning to lag behind the speed of evolution. Steel will become brittle, and energy will be depleted."

"In a world that belongs only to monsters, what makes humans think they can survive?"

Su Ran stood frozen in place.

How can humans survive?

Su Ran's breathing gradually became heavier.

He vaguely sensed what lay behind that thin layer of paper, a direction that was both extremely insane and extremely cruel.

Seeing Su Ran's reaction, the commander nodded slightly.

"You've just returned from the front lines, go and rest. The battles to come will only be tougher than these."