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

Time resets to zero.

2024年7月15日，00:00:00。

There was no earth-shattering explosion, nor any thunder that tore the sky apart.

Eight hundred meters underground, deep within the medical center.

Su Ran suddenly felt a pang of heart palpitation, a biological instinct etched into his genes, as if a natural enemy was breathing right next to his scalp.

The white deer in her arms suddenly stopped struggling.

Her originally terrified pupils slowly expanded, eventually filling her entire eye socket and turning into an eerie, deep black.

She stopped screaming and leaned softly against Su Ran's shoulder like a soulless puppet.

His nostrils flared rapidly, and he made a low, unintelligible groan in his throat.

"They're here."

Su Ran patted Bai Lu on the back, handed her over to the arriving medical staff, and strode towards the elevator.

"Take good care of her, give her the best IV fluids, and don't let her get dehydrated."

The elevator ascended rapidly, heading straight to the core command center.

It's eerily quiet here.

Hundreds of generals and staff officers, who had seen it all, remained stiffly looking up, their eyes fixed on the huge monitoring wall.

The screen is showing a live broadcast of the ground.

In that very second, Su Ran heard that voice.

It wasn't the sound of rain.

But it wasn't the patter of rain; it was the dull rumble of countless tons of sand being poured down from the sky, crashing onto steel, cement, and the earth.

"Clatter, clatter, boom!"

The high-strength explosion-proof camera originally installed outside the "Nantianmen" outpost, which has night vision and infrared functions, can only transmit a scarlet red light at this moment.

That wasn't rain at all.

The dark red liquid cascaded down from the sky like a waterfall, so viscous that it stretched into threads, and under the bright light of the searchlight, it reflected a nauseating, oily sheen.

They hit the lens, instantly blurring the image, then slowly slid off, leaving behind shocking red streaks.

"Sizzle!"

The screen went black instantly in the lower left corner.

"Report! Red rain is extremely corrosive! All civilian-grade surveillance cameras deployed outdoors have failed! Lenses are corroded, and wiring is short-circuited!"

The technical advisor's voice trembled slightly.

"Switch to military lines."

Guodong roared until his veins bulged.

The screen flickered briefly before lighting up again.

Upon seeing this, everyone gasped in shock.

That's hell.

The once-glorious Lujiazui district of Shanghai, with its towering three-piece complex, is now being washed away by a red waterfall.

The rainwater seemed to have a strong corrosive and sticky quality, hanging on the glass curtain wall like a layer of writhing flesh.

The streetlights were still on, but the light they emitted, refracted by the blood rain, turned into an eerie dark purple.

A stray dog ​​shivers under the eaves in the corner of the picture.

Even if it was just a screen broadcast, everyone could clearly see that the dog's body began to convulse violently after it got a few drops of red rain on it.

In just ten seconds, its fur began to fall off, its muscles swelled up like air, its spine made a "crackling" sound, and its originally cloudy eyes instantly turned blood red.

"roar"

Even though no sound could be heard, the sight of the mutated dog opening its massive, fang-filled mouth and roaring at the sky still sent chills down the spines of everyone present.

"What the hell is this?" A major general's face turned ashen.

"A Tier 1 mutated beast, a corpse dog."

Su Ran said, "Its bite force can shatter riot shields, and its speed is twice that of a cheetah."

He surveyed the crowd: "Now, do you understand why we need a complete lockdown?"

Viewpoint switch.

Across the ocean, Liberty City.

It was midday there, the sun was shining brightly, but it was instantly swallowed up by blood.

Even through the screen, everyone could feel the desperate chaos.

Because there was no preparation, the streets were packed with protesters and police maintaining order.

The red rain fell on them, emitting puffs of white smoke.

Only a dozen seconds passed.

The person in the video began to scratch their skin frantically, their fingernails digging into their flesh, pulling out large chunks of blood and flesh.

They knelt on the ground and vomited, bringing up only black bile.

Immediately afterwards, the first "person" stood up unsteadily.

Its eyeballs had burst, and grayish-white pupils filled the entire eye socket.

His jaw snapped open as if dislocated, emitting a silent roar, before he lunged at his still convulsing companion.

Tear or bite.

The entire Freedom City Square instantly transformed into a battlefield.

"Turn it off."

Su Ran's voice interrupted everyone's trembling.

"The situation abroad is no longer of any reference value. From this moment on, Great Xia is the only isolated island."

The old man turned around and looked at Su Ran.

In those cloudy eyes, there was pity, but even more so, a euphoric joy at surviving a catastrophe and a deep gratitude for the young man before him.

Yes, thank you.

If it weren't for this young man, there would be people of the Great Xia among the crowd being torn apart by zombies in this scene.

There will be elderly people, children, and countless broken families.

"We won."

An elderly general, wearing the rank of lieutenant general, took off his glasses, wiped his red-rimmed eyes hard, and said in a choked voice, "1.26 billion people, all underground. All of them!"

The oppressive atmosphere in the command center was instantly ignited.

"Report your situation, all units!" Li Guodong took a deep breath and shouted.

"Report! Air tightness tests for dungeons one through twelve and all underground shelters are normal! Air circulation systems are normal! No 'Red Rain' virus intrusion detected!"

"Report! Temperature control in grain silo No. 3 is normal!"

"Report! All nuclear power units in the national power system, except for those on surface transmission towers, are operating normally!"

The series of powerful reports acted like a stabilizing force, allowing the underground fortress to regain its footing.

Su Ran walked to the holographic sand table and looked at the lit green dots.

That was the last spark of human civilization.

"Comrade Su Ran."

The commander stood up, walked up to Su Ran, and gave her a very standard military salute with a solemn expression.

Swish!

All the generals stood up in unison and saluted.

This salute is to the savior.

The conference table was quickly cleared, and the core members sat around it, the atmosphere shifting from tense to pre-battle planning.

"Comrade Xiao Su, how should we fight this next battle?" the old man asked directly.

"The rain will stop in seven days. According to standard tactics, could we send out a reconnaissance company to clear out some areas and restore some surface facilities?"

An operations staff officer asked urgently.

All eyes turned to Su Ran.

He is a reborn being, and also the only one with an "omniscient perspective".

"Don't rush."

Su Ran said seriously, "The rain will indeed stop in seven days. But for 24 hours after the rain stops, the concentration of the virus in the air will still be lethal."

"When will you open the door?" Li Guodong asked.

"Day 8".

Su Ran made a hand gesture, "At noon on the eighth day, the red mist will be decomposed by ultraviolet rays. That will also be the time when the first batch of mutated creatures complete their 'initial evolution'."

"We need to open the floodgates during that window of opportunity, push out all heavy firepower, and establish a five-kilometer absolute security zone centered on the base."

"Remember, it's about pushing them out, not walking them out."

"Although there are relatively few mutated plants and animals in the first batch after the Red Rain ends, don't expect to fill the gaps with infantry."

Su Ran's sharp eyes shattered the generals' illusions: "Take the mutated dogs we just saw as an example. They can reach speeds of 20 meters per second, and their claws can pierce through bulletproof vests. Apart from tanks and exoskeletons, ordinary mortals are nothing but easy prey in front of them."

A collective gasp filled the conference room.

Stray dogs? 20 meters per second?

This violates basic biological knowledge!

"But don't despair too much."

Su Ran changed the subject, "Red Rain is fair; since it can create monsters, it can also create gods. After Red Rain ends, a lucky few among humanity will undergo autonomous evolution, that is, awaken to transcendence."

"These people are the future humanoid nuclear weapons. As for the others..."

Su Ran paused for a moment, then continued, "If you want to become stronger, you have to roll around in piles of corpses a few times. All kinds of suffering, all living beings must be saved, one cannot live without going mad. When the time comes, we can encourage courageous people to participate in the cleanup mission; we don't raise overgrown children."

"In this life, we have a population base of over a billion. If even one in ten thousand people awakens, that would be an army composed of awakened individuals."

"in addition……"

Su Ran pointed to the red liquid on the screen, "I suggest we immediately set up a special task force to study the components of the red rain."

"At the same time, strengthen the management of the safe zone. During the Red Rain period, the infected organisms of the Red Rain virus are highly contagious. Once scratched or bitten by an infected organism, you will be quickly turned into a zombie."

……

The meeting ended at 3 a.m.

Su Ran walked out of the command hall, feeling exhausted but incredibly excited.

First level, perfect completion.

If we can just get through these seven days, and wait for those "gods" to gradually awaken, we can then combine them with the firearms and industrial system that the Great Xia Dynasty has preserved.

In this life, the countdown to the counterattack has begun.

Back at the medical center.

At the entrance to the ward, several special forces soldiers were standing guard with live ammunition.

"Advisor Su."

Upon seeing Su Ran, the soldiers immediately stood at attention and saluted, their eyes filled with awe.

This young man was their savior and a miracle for the country.

"How is she?" Su Ran pointed to the ward.

"She received two bottles of IV fluids and just fell asleep. But..."

The squad leader hesitated for a moment, "Just a moment ago, the monitoring equipment showed that her brainwave frequency suddenly became very strange, and even interfered with our communication equipment."

Su Ran's heart stirred.

Interference with communications?

Spiritual energy overflowing?

This is a sign of transcendent awakening.

She truly deserves to be the future empress.

Su Ran gently pushed open the door.

The ward was dark, with only a small nightlight on the bedside providing a faint light.

The white deer curled up in the blanket, like a wounded fawn.

"The empress who is about to awaken also has this side to her; it's quite endearing."

Su Ran clicked her tongue, and was about to tuck the blanket around her when her movement suddenly stopped in mid-air.

The white deer is not asleep.

She was trembling.

Not out of fear, but because of... some kind of indescribable excitement?

She had her back to Su Ran, her hands gripping the bedsheets tightly, her knuckles turning white.

"Su... Ran..."

The girl's voice was hoarse, with an ethereal quality she had never heard before, as if it came from another dimension.

Su Ran's pupils contracted slightly, and she whispered, "I'm here."

The white deer slowly turned around.

In the dim light, Su Ran could see her face clearly.

"hiss!"

At that moment, even Su Ran, who had lived two lives, couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine.

The white deer opened its eyes.

There were no whites in their eyes, no pupils, only two bottomless abysses that could swallow light.