Industrial Cthulhu doesn't believe in the end times.

Is Chapter 9 really just a fantasy?

"Comrade Su? Or rather, Mr. Su? Why aren't you resting yet?"

"Director Shao, please just call me Xiao Su. You can't use the age from your past life in this one."

"Then don't call me Director Shao anymore, just call me Lao Shao, or Director Shao at most. From now on, we'll be comrades fighting on the same front."

When Su Xun first met Shao Xuezhen, he was not familiar with this pillar of ASEAN in his previous life. He only remembered that the old gentleman was refined and easy-going. However, the meeting was unexpectedly warm and friendly.

"Director Shao hasn't gone to sleep yet either."

"Get some rest. The apocalypse is still a month away. You can't afford to have any health problems. Get at least two hours of sleep first."

Seeing that he couldn't refuse the other party, Su Xun had no choice but to nod in agreement.

He arrived at the military base before Shao Xuezhen. Although it was called a base, it was actually a military port. It was not large in scale, but it was backed by mountains and faced the sea, so it was safe and secluded enough. The internal facilities were also quite complete.

It was already past 3 a.m. when Shao Xuezhen arrived. Su Xun was still discussing some issues with several office members who had arrived earlier, which could be considered as getting into work mode.

The atmosphere in the disaster recovery office is a mix of solemnity and excitement. Despite the impending crisis, everyone is giving their all to this important task.

So much so that even now, no one has gone to sleep.

Upon arrival, Shao Xuezhen immediately seized upon several members to reprimand them: "Don't you know how important Consultant Su is? If anything happens to his health, you will all be traitors to all of humanity!"

The members of the disaster recovery office are all outstanding backbone members in their respective fields, and many of them are of high rank. At this moment, they were rendered speechless by Shao Xuezhen's reprimand.

“Oh, no, no, it’s not that serious,” Su Xun stepped in to smooth things over. “Everyone’s busy, how can I be idle? My mission here is to handle these matters.”

"You also need to balance work and rest. Starting tomorrow, we'll arrange a personal assistant for you. Your health is of utmost importance. If any problems arise, it will have a significant impact on the entire plan."

Shao Xuezhen advised, "Protecting your own health is a greater responsibility to our work going forward."

Having said all that, Su Xun had no choice but to go back to sleep. However, in the midst of such a major event, he couldn't sleep soundly and woke up early the next morning.

"Director Shao? You haven't been resting, have you?"

"Sigh, I'm getting old, I don't need much sleep anymore."

Shao Xuezhen dragged Su Xun to get breakfast. Since his rebirth, Su Xun hadn't eaten anything properly. He had just grabbed something quick and easy at the research institute. So, he found the simple soy milk and fried dough sticks particularly delicious.

"Sigh, it's been many years since I've had this."

"What, are resources scarce in the apocalypse?"

“No, that’s not it.” Su Xun explained while eating: “Significant survivor organizations would control several granaries. If stored properly, the food in these large granaries before the apocalypse would be enough to feed those people for several lifetimes.”

"I say this mainly because superhumans don't really need to eat... at least I don't."

Mentioning superhumans, Shao Xuezhen frowned: "Are superhumans very strong? How strong are they? Can guns and cannons deal with them?" "Well, that's a bit complicated. To put it simply, in the early days of the apocalypse, superhuman life forms couldn't withstand firearms. As time goes by, ordinary firearms will be phased out, but new materials and technologies also exist in the apocalypse, and we can also create stronger weapons."

“It seems there is still a lot we need to know. How about this, after we have lunch, we’ll gather all the members of the disaster recovery office together, and you can give a more detailed explanation of the apocalypse situation.”

"it is good."

Su Xun quickened his pace, quickly finished his meal, and then went to the conference room with Shao Xuezhen.

A few minutes later, all the office members arrived, and Su Xun began this unique lesson.

"When we talk about the end times, the dangers and opportunities in the end times all come from spiritual power. This is the origin of all the extraordinary, and also the beginning of disaster."

"Its influence is ubiquitous. In terms of monsters, zombies, mutated beasts, mutated plants, etc., all come from it."

"In terms of communication, spiritual energy altered the electromagnetic environment, causing significant interference to existing communication equipment, leading to communication disruptions in the apocalypse and greatly affecting communication between various survivor bases."

Some of the members present nodded in agreement. The inability to use communications, and even many electronic devices, explained a lot of things. Otherwise, even a zombie outbreak would hardly destroy human industrial systems.

"In terms of the environment, the upward influence of spiritual energy has formed a large spiritual energy ring—in layman's terms, it is called the Nine Heavens Gale. This has prevented our spacecraft from entering the stratosphere, and satellites and other aerospace technologies have been rendered obsolete."

As they listened, many people's faces grew grim. The information they had previously received, which was what Su Xun had written at the research institute, only gave a general overview of the main dangers in the apocalypse. Now, hearing more detailed information, they gradually realized the difficulties ahead.

"In addition, spiritual energy has given rise to the appearance of secret realms, where some... well, unique monsters and buildings will be born."

"Architecture? What kind of architecture?" Shao Xuezhen was very surprised. Feng Zhengze had just denied the relationship between the apocalypse and aliens, so how could there be architecture in the secret realm where spiritual energy was generated?
Su Xun stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, and then explained, "We don't know the origin of the buildings in the secret realm. For us, these things are also unsolved mysteries, but there are some widely accepted speculations circulating among high-level extraordinary beings."

"This is related to the characteristics of spiritual power. We believe that spiritual power is a bridge between the real and the virtual. It can communicate between existence and non-existence, and connect the spirit and the matter. This is why it can be used by living beings."

"It is precisely because of this characteristic that the consciousness of the entire human race may have influenced reality, forming some fantastical creations in the secret realm, such as pavilions and towers in the East, churches and palaces in Northern Europe, and so on. This has also led to some related opportunities, such as certain spiritual herbs and medicines, and even weapons and equipment."

"Of course, this is just a conjecture at the moment, and there are still many unexplained issues. You can understand it in this way for now."

The people in the meeting room nodded in succession, their glances revealing a great deal of doubt and confusion.

Next, everyone raised many questions. As the discussions continued, the members in the disaster recovery office gradually gained a clearer understanding of the apocalypse, and correspondingly, many ideas emerged.

"Superpowered individuals? Since you know the identities of many superpowered individuals, we can make contact with them in advance!"

"I think you could compile a book called 'Apocalypse Survival Handbook,' print it out in large quantities, and find a way to distribute it to the grassroots level."

Soon, useful suggestions were offered. Time passed by, and Shao Xuezhen looked up at the window.

At noon, he could not see the moon, but he knew that in that extremely distant place, his compatriots were about to fulfill the long-cherished wish of their nation that had lasted for thousands of years.

(End of this chapter)