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

Time: 24 hours until the end of the world.

Location: Kunlun Mountain Base No. 1, underground helipad.

"laugh!"

A Y-20 "Kunpeng" heavy transport aircraft painted in dark gray camouflage slowly landed.

Su Ran stood at the arrival gate, with Bai Lu beside him, still wearing a military overcoat, her eyes timid but clutching his sleeve tightly, and Ye Xiao behind her looking depressed.

The hatch slowly opened.

A group of people dressed in various styles and looking bewildered were escorted down by fully armed special forces soldiers.

The only thing these people have in common is that they were all expedited by air from all over the country within the past 48 hours using a "special recruitment order" with the highest priority.

In the crowd, a burly man, as big as a black bear, was looking around casually with half a roast chicken in his hand.

Beside him was a young forensic doctor in a white coat, with a stern expression, wiping his glasses;

There was also a non-mainstream girl carrying a guitar bag and sporting a wolf tail hairstyle.

"Beast King Wang Meng, Poison Master Mo Yun, Sonic Boom Luo Susu..."

These were powerful figures whom Su Ran had to look up to in his previous life, and whose names each represented a forbidden zone.

At this moment, they are like a group of raw recruits participating in military training, forcibly "recruited" here by the iron fist of the country.

Li Guodong, holding a tablet computer, strode over to Su Ran, his eyes bloodshot: "Comrade Su, according to the list you provided, apart from five people whose information was too limited to identify, the remaining seventeen are all in place."

"This is the speed of Great Xia."

Looking at these young faces, Su Ran felt a huge weight lifted from her heart.

In their past lives, these people were scattered in various places. Some died in internal strife, some were swallowed up by hordes of corpses, and most of the survivors became lone wolves.

In this life, they are all in Kunlun.

This will be humanity's strongest "cradle of gods".

"Arrange for them to go to the special training camp in Area A, where they will be under complete closed management."

Su Ran withdrew her gaze, her tone serious, "Tell them not to worry about the cataclysmic events outside; their only task is to 'survive.'"

"clear."

Li Guodong nodded, then lowered his voice, "The commander is waiting for you in the Supreme Tactical Hall."

……

Eight hundred meters underground, the core tactical hall.

The huge circular conference table was filled with the highest-ranking officials from the military, political, and scientific research circles of the Great Xia Dynasty.

Each person had a cup of strong tea in front of them, and the ashtrays were piled high with cigarette butts.

The atmosphere was so oppressive it was suffocating.

"Reporting, sir!"

The Chief of the General Staff stood up, his pointer tapping on the massive holographic map. "As of one hour ago, the twelve super dungeons and one hundred and eight medium-sized shelters across the entire territory have achieved initial success in containing the inhabitants!"

"Although the process was somewhat chaotic and some areas experienced localized disturbances, order was not broken under the strong suppression of the army."

"Currently, the total number of people registered is..."

The chief of staff paused, his voice trembling slightly, "1.26 billion. The remaining personnel who haven't been evacuated are mostly doomsday theorists and conspiracy theorists; this group is extremely resistant to the safe zone plan."

Some voluntarily gave up evacuating, mostly elderly people. Time was too tight; we simply didn't have time to do any specific persuasion work.

A brief silence fell over the conference room.

1.4 billion people.

Even with all their efforts, more than 100 million people still failed to get into shelters.

Heaven helps those who help themselves.

You can't teach someone how to do something; you can learn it in one go if you teach someone how to do it.

But the end times will only give them a chance to regret, but never a chance to choose again.

The leader sat in the main seat and remained silent for a long time.

At this moment, any superfluous emotion would be irresponsible towards the greater good.

"The closure time remains unchanged."

The old man's voice was completely flat: "Those who miss the appointed time will no longer have their gates opened."

"yes!"

"Comrade Xiao Su."

The old man turned to look at Su Ran, who was sitting at the end of the table. "According to your prediction, there are less than 24 hours left. Besides the physical defenses, is there anything we've overlooked?"

All eyes immediately focused on Su Ran.

Over the past two weeks, driven by this young man, Daxia has accomplished an unimaginable relocation miracle.

Su Ran stood up.

He didn't look at the map, but instead looked at every general and high-ranking official present.

"Commander, esteemed seniors."

Su Ran's voice was calm and cold, "What if I told you that our greatest threat isn't in the sky, but on the ground?"

"What do you mean?"

A general frowned. "The underground city's defense level is at the nuclear war level; even a direct hit from a cobalt bomb wouldn't be able to penetrate it."

"I'm not referring to defensive fortifications. Chaos inevitably arises from within."

Su Ran's gaze sharpened like a knife. "Ordinary people, as long as they come into contact with a single drop of Red Rain, or even just be exposed to the mist emitted by Red Rain for a long time, may mutate."

"Our Base One is impregnable; I have no worries."

Su Ran pulled up surveillance footage from over two thousand other small and medium-sized shelters, "but what about those air-raid shelters, underground shopping malls, and even makeshift tunnels..."

Although order was still maintained in the scene, chaos and overcrowding were unavoidable.

"There are many people, a lot of things, and a rudimentary ventilation system."

Su Ran coldly posed the most terrifying hypothesis: "If some fool secretly opened the crack just to take a peek at the outside world, and ended up coming into contact with the red rain and getting infected with the virus."

"During the Red Rain, the virus can be transmitted through infected individuals. In a confined space, a single zombie can turn tens of thousands of people into a pot of human flesh porridge in just three hours."

Once a zombie horde breaks out inside, it will be a massacre that wipes out the entire population in that enclosed underground space!

The sturdy shelter has become an inescapable grave!

"this……"

The Minister of Health's face turned pale instantly.

The old man also fell silent.

Humans are always the most uncontrollable factor.

He stared at Su Ran, his gaze as deep as the sea: "Little Su, what's your suggestion?"

Su Ran took a deep breath.

"In times of chaos, harsh measures must be taken."

After a moment's thought, Su Ran organized the lines she had prepared in advance: "In order for those 1.2 billion people to survive, we must implement 'absolute silence throughout the territory'."

Su Ran held up three fingers.

"First, from this moment on, seal off all external passages. No matter who it is, even if ten thousand people are kneeling outside begging for help, even if they are your relatives, do not open the doors until the red rain stops. Whoever opens the doors will be a sinner who drags the entire city down with them."

"Second, sever all non-essential physical connections to the surface. All vents that can connect to the outside world should be under the control of designated personnel, and flamethrower soldiers should be on duty 24 hours a day."

"third……"

Su Ran paused for a moment, her eyes turning incredibly fierce.

"At each critical juncture in the shelter, an absolutely loyal and ruthless supervisory team must be deployed."

"Once someone is found to exhibit early signs of abnormal changes such as fever, convulsions, or grayish-white pupils..."

"No treatment! Kill them on the spot! Cremate them!"

Dead silence.

Absolute silence.

Even the sound of people swallowing their saliva seemed jarring.

Shoot him on the spot?

Those are our compatriots! They might have been neighbors, colleagues, or even children just a moment ago!

For a moment, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.

"If we don't do it this way..."

Looking at the hesitant faces, Su Ran's voice softened but became even heavier, "Of these 2000 small and medium-sized shelters, at least half will become ghost towns in seven days. The billions of people we rescued will rot from the inside out."

Li Guodong's hands were trembling as he looked at his superior.

The old man remained silent for a long time.

"allow."

He slowly stood up, his body slightly hunched, but the hesitation in his eyes had vanished, replaced only by an iron will.

"Let's do as Comrade Su Ran says."

"Notify the entire army to form 'military patrol and enforcement teams,' armed to the teeth, and stationed in every residential area."

"Tell the soldiers, this gun isn't for killing, it's for saving lives. If there's any blame..."

The old man looked around, took off his military cap, and placed it on the table.

"I'll carry it."

"If I don't go to hell, who will?"

The generals in the conference room stood up in unison, their eyes red-rimmed, and gave a standard military salute.

"yes!"

……

As I walked out of the meeting room, the lights in the corridor seemed particularly dim.

Su Ran leaned against the wall and let out a long breath.

The feeling of having the lives of millions on the scales was not pleasant, and even after being reborn, he still felt a heavy weight on his heart.

"Old Li, do you think I'm cruel?"

Su Ran looked at Li Guodong beside her.

Li Guodong took out his cigarette case, his hand trembling slightly, and it took him two tries to light it.

"It's very cruel."

Li Guodong took a deep drag on his cigarette, gave a bitter laugh, and said, "But I would rather have this cruel order than this tender demise."

He patted Su Ran on the shoulder. "Go and rest. It's only the last dozen or so hours, so make sure you're well-rested. Once that door really closes... this world will truly change."

"I can't sleep, I'll go wander around other areas."

After Su Ran finished speaking, she turned and walked towards the elevator.

As the elevator doors closed, he took one last look at the huge electronic countdown timer.

18:00:00.