Industrial Cthulhu doesn't believe in the end times.

Chapter 53 If you love raising them, raise them more (Fourth update, please continue reading)
"Based on the epidemic prevention guidelines issued by the health center, local militia divisions have formulated plans to selectively capture and exterminate stray cats, stray dogs, and rats."

Hearing this, Su Xun nodded, thanking Tianzhu for the help. Although it was a little late, the plan that he had always wanted to do but had not been able to find a good entry point for still proceeded smoothly.

Fungi certainly don't exist. This action is basically filling in the gaps as needed, providing insurance for the pets of the general public. As for the test strips—the Academy of Sciences actually put a lot of effort into making these things, mainly to prevent people from realizing that they can't actually test anything.

Of course, the main reason for the operation was that stray cats and dogs in various places posed a great threat to humans, so a thorough cleanup was to be carried out before the end of the world.

The rats were just an afterthought. Su Xun didn't recall any incidents where they had proliferated to cause serious threats, but considering the potential for a large-scale reduction in mutated cats and dogs in the future, and the possibility of rats getting out of control, he decided to take this opportunity to get rid of them as well.

Yes, the food chain still works even in the apocalypse. Although there will be many changes, a new balance will also be formed.

Based on this, Su Xun originally considered including birds on the list, but ultimately gave up. Unlike North America, which is ravaged by natural disasters, there are no large flocks of mutated birds in China—or rather, even in civilized times, the number of birds in China is worrying.

The few remaining flocks of birds were partially restrained by some insect swarms.

For humans, the threat posed by insect swarms is actually greater than that of mutated birds flying around in the sky.

Instead of worrying about wild birds, we should try to reduce the number of domestic chickens. Domestic chickens are birds too, and there are more of them than all other birds combined.

In this matter, several food companies that manufacture military rations have been purchasing chickens, ducks, and livestock from rural areas at a relatively high price. As for the large-scale farms that are registered, there have long been corresponding policies to regulate them.

The colleague in front of me continued, "Currently, there is still a lot of resistance to this plan, especially regarding actions involving stray cats and dogs. Both domestic and international animal rights activists have protested and condemned us for animal abuse."

“Let them condemn us.” Su Xun shook his head: “Domestically, they’ll be detained for disrupting epidemic prevention work. For those abroad who want to protect animals, just ask for their addresses. We can each send them several thousand or even tens of thousands of cats and dogs. If they want to keep them, let them keep them as many as they want.”

The staff member who came to report opened his mouth, not knowing what to say. After pausing for a few seconds, he continued to report the next item: "The cat and dog shelters established in various places are already close to full capacity. Although we have tried to acquire new places, they are still not enough overall, and the management of them is not perfect."

"The higher-ups want to consult with Consultant Su about whether removing these extra animals would cause any negative consequences."

"No, kill them all, including those who resist too fiercely and cannot be caught, or those who have a tendency to harm others. They can be shot dead on the spot. Don't let the soldiers take risks. Don't let people fall before the cataclysm."

"Furthermore, when I mentioned sending the animals out, it wasn't just a casual remark. Once these animals are packed into boxes and put on ships, they go out to sea. If the cataclysm begins, they have little chance of returning to land."

Now is not the time to be soft-hearted, and no one here will be soft-hearted towards these animals—people are struggling to survive, so who will care about these stray cats and dogs?

The higher-ups were simply unsure whether large-scale disposal of these animals would create potential spiritual hazards. As for public opinion—when the East truly wanted to accomplish something, not only could the public's reaction not influence their decision, but it was also questionable whether the matter would even be known to the outside world.

The establishment of the shelters is already an effort by ASEAN to take into account the social impact, and it can be said that they have done everything they could, although almost no one knows that a large number of explosives are buried under each shelter.

Of course, if the catastrophe doesn't happen, these explosives won't have a chance to detonate, and shelters in various places will be transformed into large-scale cat and dog pet parks, which will not only strengthen the construction of spiritual civilization, but also add a new revenue-generating project to each region, achieving multiple benefits.

After the man left, Qin Chang came over. Perhaps he had seen the staff member who had just left and knew what the discussion had been about, so he said to Su Xun, "Actually, I've always felt that we should also centrally control the pets scattered among various households. If a major catastrophe really comes, we should eliminate them all. If these things aren't controlled, they will still pose a huge hidden danger. We can't be soft-hearted when it comes to the safety of people's lives." Su Xun found that there was no shortage of hardliners in the organization on various matters. Hearing his plan, he sighed a little, "This kind of work is not easy. The opportunity to capture stray animals was brought about by the war in India. Otherwise, the pressure we would be under on this matter would be much greater than it is now."

"Moreover, only zombies are enemies who are completely opposed to humanity and are opponents that we cannot coexist with, while many mutated beasts can actually be won over."

"In many situations, we also share common enemies with certain mutated beasts, such as zombies or natural disasters."

"Among them, the domesticated pet mutants before the apocalypse are the closest to humans, especially dogs, many of which will fight alongside us."

In Su Xun's memory, in his previous life, there was a mutated dog king that evolved from a military dog ​​and reached the eighth level. It protected a base for a long time and especially liked people to call it "Dog Squad Leader".

“Our work is difficult and complex; we can’t generalize and condemn everything.”

Qin Chang didn't say anything more, and instead brought up another matter: "Currently, our protective gear factory is operating at full capacity, but there is still a large gap in overall production capacity. If we take the people of all ASEAN as an example, it is no exaggeration to say that it is just a drop in the ocean."

Providing a set of helmets and protective gear for as many people as possible was not Su Xun's first idea, but rather a suggestion from several members of the Sun Chasing Project.

This plan still has many problems. Based on Su Xun's experience, it may not have the desired effect. Zombies' attack methods are not limited to biting. For humans with thumbs, grasping is the ultimate skill that crushes most other animals, and this skill cannot be restricted by wearing gloves.

In this situation, not to mention that scratches can also lead to infection, once a zombie grabs or pounces on you, it doesn't really matter whether the zombie is wearing a helmet or can bite you, especially when being chased by a horde of zombies. After all, even a chaotic crowd can cause a stampede, resulting in heavy casualties, let alone zombies.
Moreover, zombies' weaknesses are limited to their heads and hearts. For most survivors, directly destroying a zombie's head is the most effective and convenient option. Now, they're going to put helmets on zombies...

We've got the Buckethead Zombie, but where do we find the Squash?

However, it's not fair to say it's completely ineffective. Aside from its negligible protection against bites, it is still a piece of protective gear, enough to provide some protection for many survivors.

However, the production of large-scale equipment becomes a problem. No matter how Cthulhu-esque it may seem, in this world where spiritual power does not yet exist, production still needs to adhere to basic principles.

—At present, 2*30 years from now, the total monthly production capacity of all normal helmets in ASEAN is only 15 million.

A regular helmet, the inexpensive kind, doesn't offer much protection.

"We have taken the lead with military enterprises, gathered a lot of civilian resources, and opened up some military technology indicators. By the eve of the great catastrophe, we expect to be able to produce 50 million sets of various protective gear. These items are more than enough to equip the active troops, but the militia can only be deployed in different regions."

“In some places, everyone can be provided with supplies, but in places where the local industrial strength is weak, supplies can only be distributed to key personnel or sealed in shelters for survivors to use.”

Looking at the relevant records, Su Xun felt a little tired. He rubbed his face and replied, "It's already pretty good. Besides, this matter has its advantages and disadvantages. There's no need to be too demanding. As for preventative measures, handcuffs are much more effective. It seems that everyone can have one now."

Thank you so much for your continued support! Although writing this book was truly difficult, I will do my best to add more chapters whenever I have the time and energy!
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(End of this chapter)