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

North Africa, S71 Security Zone, Outpost 13.

The gale, carrying coarse yellow sand, lashed against the alloy gate of the safe zone like a knife.

This outpost is not large, and the permanent garrison consists of only one reinforced platoon.

Outside the barracks, several six-wheeled heavy transport vehicles roared with low rumbles, their exhaust pipes spewing black smoke.

The soldiers hurried along, carrying boxes of ammunition into the carriages.

Veteran Liu Qiang leaned against the car door, holding a record board in his hand, checking the supplies list.

New recruit Wang Hao carried a box of high-explosive grenades over and shoved it heavily into the carriage.

"Squad leader, we've been fighting this wretched place for two months, and six brothers have lost their lives."

So, is that statement really just going to be thrown away like that?

Wang Hao gritted his teeth, feeling extremely aggrieved.

Liu Qiang didn't even lift his eyelids, and drew a checkmark on the paper.

"The orders above are written clearly in black and white."

The outpost was dismantled, and all personnel retreated to the S4 core fortress, 150 kilometers away.

He caught sight of a young soldier moving crystal core grenades nearby and immediately shouted,

"This is a crystal core grenade! Place it gently! Don't hit the fuse!"

Wang Hao still couldn't swallow his anger, and muttered under his breath, his neck stiff.

"This area is so big, and once we leave, there won't be a single living person left."

If the mutated beasts emerge from underground again, and no one notices or eliminates them, wouldn't all the blood we shed in the past few months have been for nothing?

Li Si, a veteran who was disassembling the base of a heavy machine gun nearby, couldn't help but laugh when he heard this.

He deftly removed the barrel and stuffed it into the heat-insulated holster.

"You greenhorn, what do you know?"

Li Si tossed the heavy holster to Wang Hao, causing him to stumble.

"There are only about thirty of us in this lousy place!"

Two days ago, hundreds of second-tier sandworms emerged from the eastern sand dunes. If the base hadn't sent a crystal energy tank as support, we would have been able to survive.

Do you really think we can hold this outpost with just a few guns?

Wang Hao steadied himself, still stubbornly refusing to admit defeat.

"Well... we can't just give it away to these monsters for free!"

Li Si vigorously patted the sand off his body, and upon hearing this, rolled his eyes.

"Who the hell said they were given to them?"

The notice clearly states that this is a "low-value area".

This godforsaken place has no mines, no food, and even saliva has to be airdropped from headquarters.

Keeping it is just a waste of resources.

Captain Chen Gang strode out of the barracks, clutching the encrypted communication terminal that had just been turned off.

Hearing their conversation, Chen Gang walked over with a cold face.

"Li Si is right."

Chen Gang's voice was hoarse and sounded very rough.

"The global war zones have been reshuffled, and our desolate desert has been designated as an 'uncontrollable zone'."

All outposts were evacuated; not a single person was left behind.

He pointed to the undulating sand dunes outside the stronghold, which seemed to harbor deadly dangers.

"Once we retreat to the core fortress, the mutated beasts here will have swarmed back; then we'll focus our fire and kill them!"

"Stop dawdling! There's still half an hour left!"

Chen Gang suddenly waved his hand and shouted the order.

"All fixed facilities that cannot be taken away must be sealed up on-site! And quickly!"

Twenty minutes later, the convoy was fully loaded.

Chen Gang opened the passenger door of the lead car, jumped in, and grabbed the walkie-talkie.

"Attention all vehicles, depart!"

Heavy tires rolled over the yellow sand as the convoy drove out of the safe fortress they had guarded with their lives.

……

Meanwhile, torrential rains were pouring down on the South Asian subcontinent.

The torrential rain lashed against the armored vehicle's exterior like whips.

The temporary headquarters of the Third Army Corps of the Expeditionary Force was set up on a high ground in an abandoned town.

Commander Zhao Gang stared intently at the holographic screen.

On the screen, the blue dots representing friendly forces were leaving the high-risk rainforest area in batches and in an orderly manner.

"Sir! The third armored echelon has completely withdrawn from the N51 safety zone and is now retreating towards Passage Five!"

The operations staff officer reported loudly.

"Alright, let the fourth team speed things up too!"

Zhao Gang frowned, not daring to be careless in the slightest.

"The rainforest climate is so damn humid that the drive shaft of the armored vehicle is prone to jamming."

Tell the logistics and maintenance support company to keep a close watch; don't let a single vehicle fall behind!

The adjutant handed him a glass of water from the side.

Zhao Gang took the thermos and gulped down a mouthful.

"Sir, the men down there are a bit off."

The adjutant lowered his voice, his face showing reluctance.

"Everyone is whispering among themselves, saying that the territory they worked so hard to conquer is now being given away by the higher-ups with just a few words."

Everyone felt aggrieved.

"Being miserable is better than becoming food for insects!"

Zhao Gang glanced at it, grabbed the laser pointer, and pointed to the large area of ​​rainforest marked in black on the map.

"This godforsaken place is full of unfathomable insect nests underground!"

"After killing one wave, another wave will hatch tomorrow. It's endless!"

The adjutant looked at the map, equally wary, and subconsciously swallowed.

"So we're just leaving like this, and those insect nests in the rainforest...we'll just let them go?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Gang's tone immediately became serious.

"Manage it! Of course we'll manage it! Even if they withdraw, our Great Xia's radar network will still be watching them closely!"

He turned his head, his eyes revealing a ruthless glint that belonged to a soldier of the Great Xia Dynasty.

"Our withdrawal is also to create a safe distance for strategic strikes!"

The adjutant suddenly realized what was happening and gasped.

"You mean... the higher-ups will use nuclear weapons later?"

Zhao Gang nodded without hesitation.

"To deal with such complex terrain where the underground nests are extremely deep and even heavy artillery cannot penetrate them, only nuclear bombs are the most effective."

Before he could finish speaking, an alarm sounded on the staff officer's terminal.

"Sir! Urgent message from the fifth echelon! A large number of mutated soldier ants have appeared in the swamp behind us and are following us!"

The staff officer suddenly looked up and roared.

"How many?" Zhao Gang's eyes sharpened.

"Radar indicates an initial estimate of three thousand! They belong to a low-level population, but move extremely fast!"

Zhao Gang grabbed the communicator without the slightest panic.

"Fifth echelon, listen up! Use heavy firepower to provide alternating cover, do not engage in positional warfare!"

Maintain your speed, fight while retreating, and withdraw to a safe zone!

On the front lines.

Company Commander Zhang Qiang slammed down the communicator and roared at the top of his lungs.

"Brothers! We've been instructed from above: don't fight these bastards to the death! Fight and retreat!"

The armored vehicle's tracks churned up the mud and water as it slowly retreated through the rain.

"Attack! Send them on their way!"

"Rat-a-tat-tat!"

The crystal core heavy machine gun instantly spewed out a dense beam of energy.

A swarm of black soldier ants crawled behind, making a screeching sound.

The soldiers of Daxia took turns firing in the bumpy carriage, tearing a retreat route through the rainforest.

……

Camp 71, the retreat camp on the edge of the Latin American rainforest.

Wheels crushed the dead branches, and heavy trucks formed an endless line. The roar of engines drowned out the sound of the rain.

"Hurry up! Throw away all that useless junk! Only bring crystal core weapons and compressed rations!"

Jack, a foreign mercenary, stood at the back of the carriage and shouted at the team unloading supplies below.

He was shirtless, with a ferocious wolf's head tattooed on his chest, but his face was filled with undisguised ecstasy.

At the rear of the column, Carlos struggled to throw a box of ammunition onto the truck bed and wiped the sweat from his face.

"Those high-ranking officials of Great Xia have finally seen the light! I don't want to stay in this godforsaken place for even a day longer!"

"I heard the higher-ups are getting serious?"

"The command center issued the highest-level clearing order."

A Black auxiliary officer nearby was wiping his bayonet, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

"The entire rainforest defense line, except for a few key mining areas, has been completely evacuated."

Jack leaned halfway out and peered through the firing port.

Deep in the dark rainforest, the treetops swayed, and faint hissing could be heard.

The tens of thousands of soldier ants hidden underground seem to be stirring.

"Let's get out of here and let these bastards play in this mud."

Jack threw away the cigarette butt and stomped it out.

"Once the strategic nuclear missiles of the Great Xia are ignited, no matter if they are third- or fourth-tier, they will all be turned into charcoal."

"Stop talking nonsense! Get in the car now!"

Jack grabbed Carlos and pulled him onto the train carriage, then pounded on the metal walls of the carriage.

The massive convoy, like a long dragon, drove away from this death zone and headed towards the core fortress hundreds of kilometers away.

The foreign soldiers did not show any signs of defeat or dejection; instead, they were filled with the ecstatic joy of surviving a disaster.

The lead vehicle ahead sounded its horn.

The convoy began to move.

Jack turned back and took one last look at the rainforest.

The cold, hard voice of the Great Xia war supervisor came through the public channel of the communicator:

"Attention all units in the Latin American theater. Six hours remaining in the evacuation countdown. All units to immediately move to Hill L3."

"Six hours later, the strategic nuclear forces will conduct indiscriminate physical cleanup of rainforest areas 01 to 45."

Upon hearing the words "physical purification," dozens of foreign mercenaries in the carriage whistled loudly.

"Blow them up!"

"Let these disgusting worms lay their eggs in hell!"

At the same time, half of the garrison troops remaining in the safe zones on this continent were executing the same retreat order.

Large numbers of troops and resources surged toward the core fortress node like the receding tide.

……