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

Seventy-two hours.

These were perhaps the three craziest days Su Ran had experienced since her rebirth.

He hasn't closed his eyes since he crushed that mutated golden eagle over the Qinling Mountains.

From the snow-covered Changbai Mountain fortress to the sand-swept Taklamakan underground city;

From the humid and sweltering Nanling defense line to the bottomless Southwest mine refuge.

Su Ran, like a tireless ghost, leaped wildly across every strategic artery of the Great Xia territory.

Wherever they went, supplies poured out like a miracle.

Tens of thousands of tons of special steel, precision machine tools, and even disassembled and packaged heavy industrial production lines filled the warehouse.

When the last batch of heavy generator sets was left in the underground garage of the Shushan base, Su Ran almost collapsed in the cockpit seat.

"Return to Kunlun."

After saying those three words, he fell into a deep sleep.

……

At this moment.

Kunlun Base, 500 meters underground.

The once empty and desolate seventh assembly workshop of the "Luan Bird" has now been transformed into the "No. 0 Machine Room," the top-secret laboratory of the entire Great Xia.

The air was filled with high concentrations of ozone, solder rosin, and the smell of burnt insulation.

The indicator lights of hundreds of precision instruments flashed alternately, illuminating the dimly lit workshop in a bizarre and surreal way.

"Sizzle, snap!"

A blinding spark exploded in the corner, followed by a violent coughing fit and the smell of burning.

"No...no...this isn't right..."

Lu Yuan squatted in front of a huge worktable, his white lab coat now black as a rag.

He hunched his shoulders, staring intently at the blueprints, muttering to himself in a cryptic tone.

Opposite him, several elderly professors with gray hair were trembling with anger.

"Lu Yuan! The pressure in the liquid transmission pipeline has exceeded the critical value by 200%! That's double!"

An elderly engineer with thick-rimmed glasses waved a data sheet in his hand, spitting as he spoke, "You want to increase the pressure? Don't you even know anything about materials science? If this explodes, who's responsible?!"

Startled by the shout, Lu Yuan instinctively shrank back, his eyes darting away, not daring to look the old professor in the eye.

But his hands, covered in grease, gripped the corner of the drawing tightly, refusing to let go.

"There aren't those rules here..."

Lu Yuan's voice was so soft it was like a mosquito's hum, timid and slightly stuttering, "This, this is Consultant Su's blueprints... and, now... now it's not like before."

"Consultant Su provided sketches! Concepts! How can these be used as construction drawings?"

The veteran engineer was so angry he almost had a heart attack. "We researchers have to follow science! We can't just do whatever we want!"

"But...but..."

Lu Yuan lowered his head, like a child who had done something wrong, but his tone had a strange stubbornness.

"But the world has changed; that was the materials science of the past."

"You...you're absolutely unreasonable!"

The senior engineer turned to Chen Changhe, who had been silent all along, and complained:

"Academician Chen! Please do something about him! This kid has already wasted six first-tier fire-element crystal cores! Those are strategic resources!"

He could see that the young man was on the verge of collapse under the pressure; his body was trembling slightly.

Even though he was so frightened, Lu Yuan still didn't stop his calculations.

This is an almost obsessive fanaticism, a kind of fervor that only true geniuses possess...

Or traits that can only be seen in madmen.

Let him do it.

Chen Changhe suddenly spoke, his voice not loud, but it stunned the entire room.

"Engineer Chen?!"

"We studied it step by step for three days, but made no progress."

Chen Changhe pointed to the lifeless energy curve on the big screen, "Since Su Ran specifically asked him to come, it means he has extraordinary talent. Anyway, we're already in the apocalypse, what are we old bones afraid to gamble on?"

Lu Yuan suddenly looked up, staring at Chen Changhe in disbelief.

"Thank you... thank you Academician Chen."

Upon receiving approval, half of the timidity in Lu Yuan's eyes vanished instantly, replaced by a heart-stopping focus.

After saying that, he seemed to have thought of something, suddenly stood up, found the sketch model of the "Primary Crystal Energy Converter", and quickly slid his finger across it, pointing to one of the parts.

"This... if it were the old-fashioned electricity, it definitely wouldn't work. But this is crystalline energy! It's a high-energy particle stream generated by the fusion of Omega-9 elements!"

He spoke faster and faster, his voice still trembling slightly, but his logic was frighteningly clear.

"Since the conventional approach isn't working... then we'll take a different approach!"

Lu Yuan suddenly turned around, like a wild cat rummaging through a trash can, and pulled a section of silver-gray hose from the pile of waste.

The researchers around looked at each other, not daring to utter a sound.

"The nerve bundles of a mutated wild boar?" Chen Changhe's eyelids twitched.

"right!"

Lu Yuan's eyes shone with an alarming intensity. Ignoring the oil smeared on his face, he declared, "The crystal core is alive, so the conductor must also be 'alive'! This mutated nerve bundle has an energy affinity two hundred times greater than copper wire!"

"But this thing is too brittle; it turns to ash as soon as it's electrified."

"Then put a bulletproof vest on it!"

Lu Yuan grabbed the electronic pen and started drawing frantically on the workbench, his hand moving so fast that it left afterimages.

"The outer layer is insulated with superconducting ceramic, the middle is filled with liquid nitrogen, and the core uses a nerve bundle as an induction core! The structure... the structure has been changed to a 'Klein bottle' type of infinite loop!"

"Since we can't block it, let the energy wander around inside on its own! That way we can control it!"

At this moment, Lu Yuan completely forgot his social anxiety and the old professor's reprimand.

He was immersed in his own world, and although his voice was hoarse, it was unquestionable when he gave orders.

"Quickly... could you... preheat that 3D printer? I need a new mold."

"Mr. Zhang...could you please...calculate a frequency for me?"

"Engineer Li... could you remove a few more of those nerve bundles...?"

Although the words used were all in a consultative and pleading manner, the atmosphere in the entire laboratory was instantly ignited.

The inspiration of genius is contagious.

Three hours later.

A strangely shaped device, covered with silver-gray tubing like a mechanical heart, lay quietly on the test bench.

It is only the size of a basketball. At its core, the crimson crystal core is locked inside a translucent ceramic chamber, like a heart waiting to beat.

"Huff... huff..."

Lu Yuan slumped to the ground, his hands trembling uncontrollably.

After he finished, he reverted to his timid, socially anxious self, shrinking into a corner and barely daring to breathe loudly.

"Prepare for the test."

Chen Changhe's voice was trembling.

This may be the first time in human history that energy from the gods has been put on the reins.

"Energy injection, magnetic field constraint activated."

As the command was given, Lu Yuan tightly closed his eyes, unable to bear looking.

hum!

A deep, resonant hum, like the breath of an ancient behemoth, instantly made everyone's eardrums bulge.

The crimson crystal core suddenly lit up!

But this time, there was no explosion, and there was no loss of control.

The raging red energy flowed along the mutated nerve bundles, swirling and buffering wildly within the structure of the "Klein Bottle," before finally being tamed into a pure, intoxicating blue light.

That is the luster of civilization.

"The output power is stable!"

The young researcher in charge of monitoring the data shouted until his voice cracked—it was the scream of witnessing a miracle: "Heat peak under control! Energy conversion rate... conversion rate 98.5%!!!"

"My God! This is the density of a nuclear reactor! But this thing is only the size of a football!"

"It's done...it's really done..."

Chen Changhe gripped the railing tightly, tears streaming down his face.

This is not a converter at all.

This is the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and it will lead to humanity's counterattack!

The cheers nearly blew the roof off the workshop.

Only Lu Yuan.

He remained huddled on the ground, staring blankly at the blue halo.

The light shone on his face, which was covered in dirt and wounds, making his bloodshot eyes sparkle.

"Commander Su...you really didn't lie to me."

He sniffed and muttered something under his breath, in a voice only he could hear:

"With this 'Luan Bird,' you can fly."