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

"The political battle is over. Now, let's talk about science."

The old man sat back down at the head of the table, tapping his fingers lightly on the surface. His gaze fell on a group of doctors in white coats at the end of the long table. "Any results from the Academy of Sciences?"

An elderly man with gray hair stood up shakily.

Zhang Zhiyuan, President of the Longguo Academy of Sciences.

At this moment, this titan held a thin report in his hand, the veins on the back of his hand bulging.

"Commander, Advisor Su."

Zhang Zhiyuan took a deep breath and pressed the projector pen.

The holographic screen switched instantly, displaying a vast and profound star map.

On the other side of deep space, two lifeless dark stars intertwine like twins, with the distorted light around them forming an eerie vortex.

"During this period, the Academy of Sciences exhausted all means to detect all possible causes of species variation."

"Yesterday, 'Sky Eye' detected abnormal fluctuations, which were then analyzed by the 'Nine Chapters' quantum computer through three trillion simulations..."

Zhang Zhiyuan's voice trembled slightly as he pointed to the starry sky, "I think we may have found the source."

His voice trembled slightly as he pointed to the two dim stars: "About 1.3 million light-years from Earth, in the direction of the Hydra constellation. The merger of two neutron stars."

The meeting room erupted in uproar.

Neutron star merger?

"To the universe, this is just a tiny firework. But to carbon-based life, it's more terrifying than the Grim Reaper's scythe."

Zhang Zhiyuan pulled up a simulated waveform graph; the red peaks resembled a sharp sword piercing the Earth.

"The gamma-ray burst produced by the merger would theoretically sweep across the Milky Way, but that's not the most deadly part. Based on the characteristics of the 'Red Rain' sample provided by Consultant Su, our reverse modeling revealed that this merger was extremely special; it ejected a stream of particles carrying a high-energy dark matter virus."

"The speed of this particle stream is close to the speed of light, according to calculations..."

Zhang Zhiyuan glanced at the report and said, "Estimated arrival time on Earth: 14 days."

"What about the probability?"

Li Guodong couldn't help but interject, "I mean, could this thing really destroy the Earth?"

"In reality, the probability of it having a devastating impact on Earth's biosphere is..."

Zhang Zhiyuan held up one finger, "Less than 0.01%."

"In science, this can even be called an 'error,' a low-probability event that can be ignored."

Less than 0.01%.

This number caused the generals present to frown.

Under normal circumstances, this probability is almost negligible from a strategic perspective.

"One in ten thousand."

Su Ran, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke, her voice so calm it was frightening, "But in the casinos of the apocalypse, the house only makes one move. Not only will it come, but it will be even more intense than the model predicts."

In my previous life, the apocalypse broke out suddenly.

Those experts never understood why a single rainstorm could directly rewrite Earth's genetic map until their deaths.

In retrospect, it was a genetic contamination deep within the universe.

"Comrade Su Ran is right."

The old man said in a deep voice, "Now that the possible source has been verified, there's no need to harbor any illusions."

Once the source was identified, the atmosphere in the meeting room actually calmed down.

Compared to the unknown tales of gods and ghosts, a physical attack at least lets people know who killed them.

"Now that it's confirmed to be a biological mutation..."

Su Ran stood up from her seat and walked to the huge holographic map.

"Sir, I have a suggestion. It sounds crazy, but it could increase our survival rate by 30%."

"Speak," the old man said, his eyes piercing.

Su Ran turned around, a fierce glint flashing in her eyes, a look that made Li Guodong's heart skip a beat.

He knew this kid's eyes all too well; every time he saw that expression, it meant he was about to pull out all the stops.

"I request the highest level of authority to execute the 'Biozeroing' plan within the territory of Great Xia."

These words were like a depth charge, exploding silently in the conference room.

"Zeroing out? What does that mean?" the Minister of Agriculture asked instinctively.

"Literal meaning."

Su Ran raised her hand and made a cutting motion.

"When the red rain falls, the rate at which plants and animals mutate is beyond human imagination. Pet cats at home will turn into bloodthirsty beasts the size of cheetahs, and rats in the sewers will swarm to gnaw on armored vehicles."

Su Ran looked around, her tone icy: "Before the red rain falls, use the army and chemical weapons units to nip any potentially mutated creatures in the bud."

"this……"

The entire conference room was deathly silent.

Even the generals, who were used to seeing death, were shocked by the cruelty of this plan.

This is simply... a plan to wipe out the family line.

"Advisor Su, this is going too far!"

An old general slammed his fist on the table, his face flushed red.

"Let alone whether it can be done, even if it can, how much panic would it cause?"

The people are still at home waiting for government aid, and you're going to rush in and kill their dogs? The apocalypse hasn't even arrived yet, and social order has already collapsed!

"Order can be rebuilt when it collapses, but once life is gone, everything is gone."

Su Ran refused to back down, retorting sharply, "In half a month, a single banyan tree will be able to tear this entire building to shreds, and you will regret your mercy today!"

The painful memories of my past life are still vivid.

Although the first wave of zombies was terrifying, humanity was able to barely resist thanks to their firearms.

What truly caused the complete collapse of humanity's defenses was the massive mutation of plants and animals that began in the second week.

The overwhelming swarms of mutated birds and the insatiable hordes of mutated rats—that was true despair.

All eyes were focused on the elderly man at the front.

This is a difficult choice.

On one hand, there are potential future threats; on the other hand, there is current public sentiment and social stability.

The old man closed his eyes, his fingers unconsciously rubbing together on the table. A full minute passed before he slowly opened his eyes, his gaze revealing a world-weary and resolute look.

"no."

The old man uttered two words, his voice not loud, but as heavy as a thousand pounds.

Su Ran frowned, about to speak, but was stopped by the old man raising his hand.

"Comrade Su Ran, I understand your feelings. But this proposal is rejected."

Su Ran frowned: "Commander, this is the most efficient way to eliminate potential threats. Mercy can kill."

"This is not mercy, this is reality."

The old man stood up, walked to the map, and waved his hand.

"First, it's impossible."

"The Great Xia Dynasty is vast, and countless birds and beasts roam its deep mountains and forests. There are hundreds of billions, even trillions, of living beings! Even if we used up all the bullets in the entire army, could we kill them all?"

"You can't kill all the rats, cockroaches, or the insect eggs hidden underground. A touch of red rain will cause them to mutate again."

Su Ran fell silent. Indeed, it's too difficult to nip the problem in the bud.

"Second," the leader turned around, his gaze sharp.

"Even if we cleanse the country completely, turning it into a barren wasteland, what about abroad? Won't the mutated wolf packs of Siberia move south? Won't the mutated insect swarms of Southeast Asia move north? Can we just put up caps on our borders?"

"No," Su Ran said in a low voice.

"Third, and most importantly."

The old man pointed to his heart. "We created 'Shangri-La' to preserve civilization. If, for the sake of survival, we start mass slaughtering living beings now, even pointing guns at people's pets, then what's the difference between us and wild beasts?"

"Before the red rain even falls, the people's hearts will be scattered. External forces are just looking for an excuse to attack us. If you start a fire here, they will immediately slap the label of 'crimes against humanity' on us, and may even unite to carry out military intervention. How can we build 'Shangri-La' then?"

The old man walked up to Su Ran, patted him on the shoulder, and said earnestly:

"Xiao Su, you are a sharp blade, which is good. But governing a large country is like cooking a small fish. Some things cannot be solved by math alone; political considerations must also be taken into account."

Su Ran took a deep breath, and her tense body slowly relaxed.

Su Ran fell silent.

He had to admit that the leader was right.

In his past life, he was a lone wolf. He was content with just himself and had no one to worry about. Eliminating any threat he saw was the best solution.

But now, he carries the weight of a nation on his shoulders.

The country is so large that a change in one part can have far-reaching consequences.

This kind of "table-flipping" scorched-earth policy is not feasible at the national level.

"I was too hasty."

Su Ran nodded, the ruthlessness in her eyes fading, replaced by calmness.

"Since we can't eliminate it at its source, we can only strengthen our defenses. The external defense level of 'Peach Blossom Spring' must be upgraded by another order of magnitude. We need more automatic cannons and thicker alloy walls."

"That's right!"

The commander smiled, and the atmosphere instantly eased. "Give us whatever you want! We all suffer from the fear of insufficient firepower!"