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

Thirty floors underground, special training rest area.

The air was filled with the smells of safflower oil, liniment, and a sour, fermented sweat.

Mo Yun was lying on the ground, his bones felt like they had been taken apart and reassembled, and with each breath, his lungs felt like they were working like bellows.

Luo Susu was huddled in a corner, bandaging her swollen wrist. Her eyes were red and swollen, clearly she had just finished crying.

"When will this ever end...?"

Zhao Tiancheng lay sprawled on the cold floor, staring blankly at the mottled ceiling, his eyes unfocused.

"I want to eat braised pork belly, the kind with a good balance of fat and lean meat, the kind that sizzles with oil when you bite into it..."

"Just bear with it."

Mo Yun spoke up, "These are extraordinary times. If we don't fight with our lives on the line, we really will die."

"Pshaw, I don't believe it's really that scary outside."

Wang Meng, shirtless, snorted coldly; he was also the strongest among this group.

He waved his fists, as big as earthenware pots, at the air and said disdainfully:

"We have state-of-the-art exoskeletons, electromagnetic rifles, and we're even candidates for superhuman abilities. If we really encounter zombies, even mutated ones, I can punch them all and blow their heads off."

"Exactly, I also think Consultant Su is exaggerating a bit."

Another student chimed in, "I think it's just an excuse to try and tame us 'troublemakers'."

The atmosphere in the lounge became a little more lively.

That's just how people are; as long as they haven't seen the coffin, they always think they can beat the funeral procession.

"boom!"

A loud bang.

The heavy alloy door was kicked open without any politeness.

Everyone jumped up as if by reflex, assuming a defensive stance.

The grueling, almost brutal training that Su Ran had inflicted on them these past few days had at least created muscle memory in them.

The smoke and dust cleared.

Su Ran strode in, dressed in a black tactical trench coat and military boots.

Ye Xiao and Bai Lu followed behind, one on each side.

"gather."

Su Ran's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable penetrating power.

The group quickly lined up, and although their posture was still a bit stiff, it was much better than the disorganized mess they had been three days ago.

Su Ran walked to the center of the hall, his gaze sweeping over the group of pale-faced "geniuses," and shouted loudly.

"Who just said they could smash a zombie's head in one punch?"

Wang Meng shrank back and didn't dare to say a word.

"Commendable courage."

Su Ran nodded, then placed the newly printed photos on the table.

"Take a look at them all."

Mo Yun subconsciously looked down.

With just one glance, his scalp tingled, and a chill ran down his spine and straight to the top of his head.

The photo was clearly taken with a high-magnification telephoto lens, and the clarity is extremely high.

The first image is a close-up of a zombie.

It wasn't the slow-moving, rotting corpse from the movies, but a monster covered in black scales, crawling on all fours like a lizard.

Its mouth split open to its ears, revealing two rows of sharp, barbed teeth like a shark's, with fresh bits of meat hanging between them.

The second picture shows a sea of ​​corpses.

The valley was packed with countless heads, and in the center of the sea of ​​corpses, several mutated creatures the size of small elephants were roaring to the sky, their bone spurs glowing with an eerie blue light.

Just looking at the photos, you can almost smell the overwhelming stench and despair.

"Are these... zombies outside?"

Luo Susu's voice trembled, and she felt her stomach convulsing violently.

"Why are there so many? And why are there monsters that look like dinosaurs in there?"

Wang Meng swallowed hard; his boastful words from just moments ago vanished instantly, and his face turned as white as ashes.

"Advisor Su, this...this looks like a still from a movie, doesn't it?"

"Stills from the film?"

Su Ran casually pulled over a chair, sat down, and lit a cigarette. "This is a live image taken by a drone at the base gate ten minutes ago."

"hiss!"

A series of synchronized gasps of cold air were heard.

At the base entrance?

In other words, it's only separated by one door?

"This is my graduation gift to you."

Su Ran pointed to the photo and said, "Congratulations everyone, because you're either incredibly lucky or incredibly unlucky. There are now hundreds of thousands of zombies surrounding the base. Tomorrow you'll all be members of the first echelon."

"Are you kidding me!"

Zhao Tian finally couldn't hold back any longer. He stepped forward and roared, "Advisor Su! We've only been training for three days! We haven't even hit the target properly yet! You want us to face this monster? I'm not going!"

"I told you to quit last time, but you didn't. Now you want to quit? It's too late!" Su Ran said impatiently.

"I demand to see the commander!"

Luo Susu screamed, fear overcoming reason.

"To see the commander?"

Su Ran laughed, but her laugh was somewhat eerie.

He stood up and walked up to Zhao Tian.

Contrary to expectations, Su Ran gently straightened Zhao Tian's crooked collar.

"Zhao Tian, ​​do you think you're some kind of special talent under state protection, so we won't dare let you die?"

Zhao Tian, ​​his neck stiff and his legs trembling, stubbornly insisted, "Isn't that right? My death would be a loss to the country!"

"It used to be."

Su Ran's smile vanished, her eyes instantly turning as sharp as a knife. "But now, times have changed."

"Academician Chen's research results are in. The outside air is filled with an element called Omega-9. Those zombies, those monsters, they are evolving every second."

Su Ran pointed to the ceiling, "And your genes have already begun to degenerate. If you can't unlock your genes in a real life-or-death battle, you so-called 'geniuses' are just a waste of resources."

"The country doesn't need a bunch of useless people who only know how to eat."

"and……"

Su Ran paused for a moment, drew a pistol from his waist, cocked it with a 'click', and casually lowered the muzzle, pointing it at the ground.

"This operation was personally approved by the commander. Military orders are absolute."

"Once on the battlefield, who dares to retreat a single step?"

Su Ran pointed to Ye Xiao behind her, "Instructor Ye will personally enforce battlefield discipline. If you don't want to die in the mouth of a zombie, then try dying under his blade."

Ye Xiao grinned in agreement, his Tang sword spinning in his hand, leaving a series of afterimages.

A deathly silence.

The few people who originally wanted to protest swallowed their words.

They could tell that Su Ran was serious.

"I'm not an unreasonable person."

Su Ran put away his gun, clapped his hands, and said, "Considering you're all rookies, tomorrow the regular army will first use heavy firepower to clear the area. Your task is to follow behind the tanks, provide backup fire, pick up any stragglers, and get used to the smell of blood."

"You don't even dare to go?"

Su Ran's gaze swept over everyone, her eyes filled with undisguised contempt.

"Then report to the incinerator in Zone D now. All you need to know is how to press the button to burn garbage there; it's absolutely safe."

Mo Yun took a deep breath and picked up the close-up photo of the zombie.

His fingers were trembling, but soon he gripped the photo tightly, his knuckles turning white.

"I'll go."

Mo Yun spoke up, "We'll have to face it sooner or later anyway. Rather than being eaten by stronger monsters later, we might as well take a gamble now before they've fully evolved."

"I'll go too."

Wang Meng gritted his teeth. Although his face was still pale, his pride as a man prevented him from backing down at this moment.

"Damn it, it's just zombies, right? I'll grind them down!"

One by one.

Although fear was written all over their faces, they had no choice under the pressure of survival.

"very good."

Su Ran glanced at her watch. "No extra practice tonight. Go home and get some rest. And remember to write your wills."

After saying that, he turned and left.

As he reached the door, he suddenly stopped, turned his back to the crowd, and said:

"Don't blame me for being heartless."

"If we don't push you, you'll be so scared your legs will turn to jelly when the door opens tomorrow."

"In the end times, those whose legs give way will usually be the first to die."

The door closed again.

All that was left were a room full of "future war gods" looking at each other in bewilderment, as if they had lost their parents.

……