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

Time: The fifth day after the red rain arrives, 08:00.

Basement level 2, Area A.

Time here seems to be disconnected from the outside world.

The air here is filled with the intoxicating aroma of hand-ground coffee.

The record player in the corner was slowly turning, playing Bach's cello suites in the air at a constant 24 degrees Celsius, as if it existed in two parallel universes with the collapsing world outside.

In the center of the rest area, Mo Yun opened a book titled "Polymer Materials Science," his brow furrowing slightly: "This doesn't make sense. Where exactly does Ye Xiao's energy come from? It can't have been generated out of thin air, can it?"

"Who cares how it came about?"

At the other end of the sofa, a young man with dyed silver hair was playing with his Switch. The screen displayed "Game Over," and he said with a smile,

"Anyway, as long as I'm not allowed to go out and fight zombies, staying here is fine. It's just that the internet speed is a bit slow, otherwise we could play games together."

"We are all special talents, and it's only a matter of time before we awaken this ability."

He is Zhao Tian, ​​a scout who awakened the "extreme speed" ability in his previous life, and now he is a game-addicted otaku.

Just then, the heavy alloy door with the biometric lock in the lounge suddenly let out a mournful cry.

"Beep! Error! Forced intervention!" The electronic voice hadn't finished broadcasting.

"boom!"

A loud bang.

The door wasn't open; instead, it was kicked out of its tracks by a foot wearing a black tactical boot, causing it to collapse with a crash and kick up a cloud of dust.

Three figures walked in through the smoke and dust.

Su Ran, who was in the lead, was dressed in a black combat uniform, and her eyes shone with a cold light.

Behind him on his left was a white deer with an innocent-looking face.

On the right was their old acquaintance, Ye Xiao.

Behind them was a whole row of fully armed, masked soldiers, their gun barrels pointed straight at the ceiling.

The once warm and cozy hall suddenly dropped to freezing temperature.

"Turn off the music," Su Ran said calmly.

Nobody moved.

Su Ran tilted her head slightly.

Swish!

A throwing knife flew from his fingertips, precisely severing the speaker's power cord, grazing the ear of the silver-haired youth Zhao Tian, ​​and embedding itself in the wall.

"what!"

Zhao Tian was so frightened that the game console in his hand flew out of his hand, and he jumped up from the sofa, his face pale.

"Now, it's quiet."

Su Ran walked to the center of the hall and glanced at the fifteen faces that were filled with fear, anger, or confusion.

He clapped his hands and said, "I am Su Ran, and I am the one who will decide whether you live or die next."

He pulled a stack of documents from his pocket and tossed them onto the coffee table.

"You have five minutes."

Su Ran raised his wrist to check his watch. "Get your individual exoskeleton, go back to your room, and change into your tactical uniform. If you don't appear at the elevator entrance in five minutes, the supervisory team will help you move."

The entire room fell silent.

"Advisor Su, what do you mean by this?"

Mo Yun was the first to stand up, trying his best to maintain the dignity of an intellectual.

"This doesn't follow the proper procedures. According to the 'Regulations on the Protection of Special Talents,' we are considered strategic reserve talents, and we are strictly prohibited from contacting Level 1 hazardous sources before completing competency assessments and training."

"Regulations?"

Su Ran laughed, her smile full of sarcasm. "Which year's regulations? The Gregorian calendar? Sorry, it's the first year of the Wasteland."

"We protest!"

"This is dictatorship!"

Russell screamed, clutching her arms tightly. "We're all top talents in our respective fields! The nation went to such lengths to bring us here to preserve the flame of civilization!"

"Yes! We want to see the commander!"

"This is an abuse of power!"

Once fear finds an outlet, it turns into anger.

These high-achieving individuals, who are lauded in their respective fields, now feel that their human rights have been trampled upon.

"Oh!"

Su Ran laughed, a laugh utterly sarcastic.

"The spark of civilization?"

He walked up to Mo Yun and looked down at this future S-rank poison magic god.

At this time, Mo Yun was just an arrogant scholar who couldn't even kill a chicken.

"You heard about what happened at Shelter 034 yesterday, right?" Su Ran suddenly asked.

Mo Yun's face paled in shock, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "I've heard. You ordered the burning of over six hundred civilians, including women and children. This inhumane atrocity will be forever condemned to the pillory of history!"

These words were righteous and awe-inspiring, prompting several "geniuses" behind him to nod in agreement, their eyes also igniting with a light of resistance.

"Well said."

Su Ran nodded and even clapped twice. "You stand firmly on the moral high ground. You are indeed a scholar."

The next second, Su Ran's eyes suddenly turned icy.

"In the apocalypse, strength is the only truth."

"Your proud academic qualifications, awards, and talents are less useful than a brick in front of zombies."

Su Ran's voice was as cold as a knife, "The country supports you not to be mascots, nor to preserve human civilization. You are weapons."

"Weapons are nothing but a pile of scrap metal if no blood is shed."

Su Ran bent down, staring into Mo Yun's terrified eyes: "You're saying the tragedy at No. 034 was caused by me? Then let me tell you, if No. 034 had had a capable squad of Awakened, those six hundred people wouldn't have died."

"Ye Xiao, teach these spoiled brats a lesson. Let them see what 'strategic reserve talent' really means."

Su Ran pointed to the solid brass sculpture used for decoration in the center of the hall.

It was a "Thinker" statue, weighing 400 kilograms.

"clear."

Ye Xiao twisted his neck, making a cracking sound.

He walked up to the sculpture without even squatting down to gather his strength.

"rise!"

With a low growl, Ye Xiao grabbed the base of the sculpture with just one hand, only one hand.

His arm muscles bulged instantly, like gnarled tree roots, with dark red energy subtly flowing beneath his skin.

"Buzz!"

He lifted the heavy bronze statue high as if it were a chick, even creating a gust of wind.

Everyone present stared wide-eyed.

Is this even human?!

"Watch!"

Ye Xiao roared and suddenly exerted force with his five fingers.

"Creak!"

A sickening metallic creaking sound rang out.

The incredibly hard brass sculpture began to deform and dent in Ye Xiao's hands.

"Smash it!"

boom!

Ye Xiao clasped his hands together and tightened them hard.

This priceless work of art was crushed into a pile of scrap metal in his arms!