Apocalypse: The Primordial Pearl Recognizes Its Master, Starting with Infinite Space

Looking at the smiles on those people's faces, Staff Officer Chen stood there, somewhat lost in thought.

Commander Peng's words flashed through his mind—"I see hope for ending the apocalypse in Lin Chen." He had previously thought that Commander Peng was exaggerating.

Now, standing here, looking at these smiles.

He suddenly realized that perhaps Commander Peng was right, and that he understood the matter better than he did!

"Staff Officer Chen?"

He Jun's voice pulled him out of his daze.

"What's wrong?" Staff Officer Chen withdrew his gaze and looked at He Jun with a puzzled expression.

"Look at the crystal cores they're using."

"What's wrong with the crystal core?"

"They're still using first-tier crystal cores for their transactions!"

"What's wrong now?" Staff Officer Chen frowned.

He Jun explained, "We don't use the first-order crystal cores anymore. Many of the ones we collected are now just gathering dust in the warehouse."

Inside the shelter, those who could awaken their superpowers had already awakened them; the rest were ordinary people who couldn't.

The ability users have already reached the second-tier level on average. First-tier crystal cores are useless to ability users above the second tier, and they're just piling up in the warehouse without anyone checking them.

After hearing He Jun's explanation, Staff Officer Chen understood what he meant.

Given Lin Chen's and his team's strength, their ability levels must be quite high, yet they are still collecting first-tier crystal cores on a large scale, which is somewhat unreasonable!

Staff Officer Chen stared at the crystal cores, a thought suddenly flashing through his mind: "Do you think his collection of these crystal cores might be related to his ability to help others awaken their supernatural abilities?"

He Jun paused for a few seconds, then nodded: "Very likely."

The two fell silent again.

"Gentlemen, you're here again?"

Just as I was lost in thought, a somewhat familiar voice rang out.

The two looked up and saw the young girl who had greeted them that morning, smiling at them: "Brother Lin knows you're here, please come with me."

Putting aside their chaotic thoughts for the moment, the group followed the little girl back into the underground shelter.

It was the same conference room.

Lin Chen sat in his usual spot, smiling as he looked at the group, and casually asked, "Have you reached a decision? How will you decide?"

Staff Officer Chen nodded and sat down to his left.

"Mr. Lin, Commander Peng's meaning is—to each rely on their own abilities."

Lin Chen picked up his teacup, took a sip, and still smiled: "Commander Peng sees things clearly. A 10/90 split will definitely make the subordinates unhappy. Relying on individual abilities will shut them up."

He paused, then looked at Staff Officer Chen: "But aren't you afraid of working for nothing?"

Staff Officer Chen smiled faintly and said, "Soldiers believe in the supremacy of strength. If we truly gain nothing, the soldiers will only feel inferior and will be motivated to work harder. For us, this is another kind of gain, and it won't be a wasted effort, will it?"

Lin Chen was taken aback upon hearing this, then laughed and said, "That makes sense."

He then asked, "So, shall we set a time and place for us to meet?"

Staff Officer Chen thought for a moment: "How about 9:00 AM tomorrow, at the main gate of the wildlife park?"

Lin Chen nodded: "Okay."

He stood up and extended his hand: "Then I wish us a pleasant cooperation."

Staff Officer Chen shook his hand: "It's been a pleasure working with you."

Lin Chen released his grip and said with a smile, "Now that the cooperation has been agreed upon, I must do my best to be a good host."

He turned to the camera in the corner and shouted, "Xiaoyu, tell the canteen to prepare a table. I'm treating Staff Officer Chen and the others to a meal."

"Okay, Daddy." A little girl's voice came from the speaker.

Staff Officer Chen exclaimed in surprise, "I didn't expect Commander Lin already has a child?"

Lin Chen laughed and said, "No, Xiaoyu is an AI program."

Lin Chen told a little lie; of course, he wouldn't tell the other party that Xiaoyu was an AI life form.

After Liang Siqi's superpower was upgraded, instead of creating another little fish, she enhanced the little fish's anthropomorphic ability again, as if she was really making the little fish evolve towards a real life form.

Li Ya's hope of getting another little fish was also completely dashed.

The group returned to the restaurant lobby and went into a room in the corner.

This place was originally built by Lin Chen specifically for unforeseen circumstances.

The private room was being used for entertaining guests at that time.

As soon as we sat down, someone brought us hot tea, pastries, and fruit.

Staff Officer Chen stared at the things on the table, momentarily dazed—the tea was hot, the fruit was fresh. This wouldn't have been unusual before the apocalypse, but now it felt like a dream.

During the casual conversation, Staff Officer Chen asked, "Commander Lin, if there are similar opportunities in the future, could we continue to cooperate?"

Lin Chen replied without hesitation, "Of course."

High-level crystal cores will become increasingly rare in the future, so he certainly wouldn't let such an opportunity pass him by again.

Staff Officer Chen smiled and said, "Since Commander Lin also wants to continue cooperating, we need to establish communication channels."

He paused, then continued, "The power system has collapsed, causing cell phone base stations to malfunction, and the satellites have also inexplicably stopped working. Fortunately, the shortwave communication on the military vehicles is still usable. Within Guangzhou, sending a message shouldn't be a problem."

He glanced at Lin Chen: "I brought an extra military vehicle today, along with two soldiers who know how to operate it. I'd like them to stay and serve as liaison officers. What does Commander Lin think?"

Lin Chen was intrigued. With the mobile network out of service, long-distance communication between humans was indeed severely limited.

Within a range of 2-5 kilometers, walkie-talkies can still be used, but they are useless at longer distances.

Shortwave communication can transmit information over much longer distances; it is said that military-grade shortwave communication can reach thousands of kilometers!

In today's environment, this is equivalent to a dimensional reduction attack.

He also smuggled some military vehicles from the United States, but he didn't know how to operate them and they weren't put to good use.

With these two military communications officers, if they could teach everyone how to use them, he wouldn't be worried about long journeys in the future.

Lin Chen readily agreed.

Before long, the room door was pushed open again, and one exquisite dish after another was served.

A faint swallowing sound came from inside the room.

Staff Officer Chen blushed, extremely embarrassed.

Lin Chen pretended not to see it, picked up his chopsticks, and put a slice of beef into his mouth.

"Staff Officer Chen, let's have lunch."

As soon as he finished speaking, several pairs of chopsticks were stretched out at once.

Even Tang Xiaoran, who looked quiet and gentle, kept chewing rapidly without stopping.

Lin Chen ate quite casually.

At this moment, the door was pushed open again, and Li Ya came in carrying a dish.

Lin Chen's eyes lit up: "Xiaoya, you're back?"

Li Ya put down the dishes and sat down next to him: "I just got back. I heard you were entertaining guests, so I came to check on you."

As Li Ya spoke, she sized up Staff Officer Chen and the others.

"Yes, they are from the South City Military Region. They're here to discuss cooperation with us."

He briefly explained what would happen tomorrow, and Li Ya's eyes lit up when she heard the words "a large number of third-order individuals".

Then, Li Ya and Staff Officer Chen and others were briefly introduced to each other.