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

Kunlun Base, Strategic Conference Room No. 1.

The light from the holographic projection sharply defined Su Ran's face, and his fingers moved rapidly through the air.

"Everyone, now that we have the 'heart,' it's time for us to toughen up our fists."

Su Ran's voice wasn't loud, but every word resonated with everyone.

"I propose that we immediately launch a three-step strategy."

Su Ran held up one finger: "The first step is that the 'Heart of Crystal Energy' must be mass-produced within a week."

The generals around the round table nodded in agreement.

There is no dispute about this; crystalline energy is the lifeline of future warfare.

The research representatives quickly stated that now that the path had been successfully established, they could even create an assembly line by hand.

As long as the supply of crystal nuclei is sufficient, mass production is not a problem.

"The second step is to complete the modification and upgrade of the exoskeleton armor within two weeks."

Su Ran spoke faster, her eyes sharp as knives: "Priority will be given to Awakened Ones, followed by Seed Players, and finally Special Forces Elites. With this skin, close combat will no longer be humanity's nightmare."

Su Ran didn't give them time to process it; with a wave of her hand, the scene changed.

A set of jet-black skeletal armor with an eerie glow appeared before everyone's eyes, its joints flashing with a strange blue light.

"As for the third step..."

Su Ran took a deep breath and described her blueprint.

"Within a month, I want to see the first real tactical mech, 'Cheng Ying,' roll off the production line at the Kunlun base. It will be seven meters tall, weigh eighteen tons, and be equipped with twin rapid-fire cannons and electric blades."

The entire room fell silent.

The pie in the sky was painted too big, so big that even these seasoned generals felt dizzy.

A lieutenant general in charge of logistics and equipment hesitated for a moment, but still raised his hand.

"Advisor Su, I'm not trying to discourage you. What I'm trying to say is that the energy problem has been solved, but the tactical mech 'Cheng Ying' still has some manufacturing issues."

The precision hydraulic bearings used in that level of mecha alone, along with the latency issues in neural connections, are simply beyond the mass production capabilities of current industrial precision!

"Yes, that involves the coupling of tens of thousands of precision parts; even the slightest error will render it immobile."

"We should proceed gradually; taking too big a step can easily lead to trouble..."

Doubts arose.

This is not cowardice, but a rational judgment based on the existing industrial base.

Su Ran did not argue, but simply looked calmly at the lieutenant general.

"We have Lu Yuan."

Su Ran interrupted him directly, her tone leaving no room for argument.

"Moreover, I left behind 500 top-of-the-line five-axis CNC machine tools and 200 tons of aerospace-grade titanium alloy at the Kunlun base."

Su Ran said with burning passion, "In this apocalypse, once the industrial machines of Great Xia are running at full power, there's nothing they can't build."

The leader's gaze was fixed intently on the dark blue "Heart of Crystal Energy" on the table.

This may be the only gamble that humanity has ever been able to turn the tide with.

Three seconds later.

"Bang!"

The leader slammed his hand hard on the mahogany table, the force so great that the water in the teacup splashed everywhere.

The old man suddenly stood up and shouted, "We can't wait any longer! The monsters outside are evolving; if we stand still, we're just waiting to die! One step slower, and it means the destruction of our nation and the extinction of our race!"

The leader surveyed the entire room, his voice booming like a bell, making everyone's eardrums ache.

"Immediately establish the 'Crystal Energy Weapons Special Operations Group.' Li Guodong, you will personally lead and coordinate this effort!"

"Whether it's energy, materials, or manpower, we'll open green channels for everything! Even if it means power rationing in residential areas, even if it means emptying the national treasury, we'll prioritize getting production lines running!"

"One month from now, I want to see our soldiers piloting mechs to retake the city!"

"yes!!!"

Li Guodong stood at attention, his roar making the glass vibrate.

……

Two hours later.

The meeting room was empty.

As the noise subsided, the frenzied atmosphere that seemed to ignite the air also faded away.

Su Ran slumped into a chair, rubbed her throbbing temples, and turned to look at Chen Changhe, who was organizing documents.

"Old Chen."

Su Ran's voice was hoarse and her tone was somewhat tired.

"How's that going?"

Chen Changhe paused.

He knew what Su Ran was asking.

Gene awakening agent.

This is something even more deadly than mechs.

The ultimate war of the future will be a battlefield for the awakened.

"Difficult, more difficult than ascending to heaven."

Chen Changhe took off his glasses, rubbed his bloodshot eyes, and sighed.

"Biology is different from mechanics. Machines are inanimate; as long as the formula is right, you can put them together and they will move. But biology... it is alive."

"The reason why the crystal energy converter was able to be developed in four days is because you provided a near-perfect structural model, coupled with Lu Yuan's abnormal intuition. We were just filling in the blanks."

The old academician looked at Su Ran and said with a wry smile, "But the awakening drug... we're basically groping for stones in the dark. But the Omega-9 virus is too domineering. I'm not confident that we can make any breakthrough progress in the next three months, or even six months."

Su Ran fell silent.

Although I was mentally prepared, hearing the definite answer still made my heart sink.

In the past, due to a technological stagnation, humanity lacked the equipment to develop awakening potions.

Rebirth isn't a magic bullet; since the previous life didn't exist, it can't force humans to gain an unfair advantage.

But time waits for no one.

"Could we let Lu Yuan give it a try?"

Undeterred, Su Ran asked, "Then you must be very talented..."

"Please don't!"

Chen Changhe waved his hands in fright, "That kid has a typical engineer's mindset, which is 'as long as it works.' Let him do biology? Do you believe he'd dare to inject liquid nitrogen into blood vessels? Everyone has their own expertise, and this can't be rushed."

Su Ran nodded helplessly.

This is a dead end.

The equipment has been upgraded, but the people using it are still stuck in the same place.

At this stage, ordinary people with mortal bodies can still handle it, but what about when the crystal core level is upgraded in the future?

The combat power of mechs will increase exponentially, so the operators must also have sufficiently strong physical strength.

This necessitates awakened individuals to act as mecha pilots.

"I'm going back to the lab to keep an eye on things, even if it's a clumsy method, I'll find a way."

Chen Changhe patted Su Ran on the shoulder, picked up the documents, turned and left, his back looking somewhat hunched.

Su Ran leaned back in her chair, staring at the glaring light from the ceiling, silently repeating to herself:

Faster, faster!

Just then, the heavy soundproof door was suddenly pushed open.

"Little Su!"

Li Guodong, accompanied by his bodyguards and clutching an encrypted document, rushed in with unsteady steps.

Su Ran sat up straight instantly: "Old Li, what's wrong? What happened?"

"Something went wrong at the front."

Li Guodong walked up to Su Ran in a few steps, lowered his voice, and spoke with a hint of horror.

"It's Bai Lu. That crazy girl didn't follow the main group; she went and stormed into the heart of Jiangcheng's CBD all by herself."

"She's surrounded?"

Su Ran frowned. With Bai Lu's S-level mentalist strength, running away was always an option if he couldn't win, unless he encountered something he simply couldn't understand.

"We weren't surrounded."

Li Guodong swallowed hard and spread the documents in his hand in front of Su Ran. "Take a look at the photos she sent back from the Jinmao Tower in Jiangcheng."

Su Ran lowered her head.

The photo is blurry, taken while moving at high speed, and also has severe electromagnetic interference noise.

The camera was shot from below, looking up at the inner atrium of the Jin Mao Tower.

What should have been a magnificent atrium with a steel and glass structure has now been completely transformed.

Countless dark red, fleshy tentacles, resembling blood vessels, densely covered every floorboard.

They seemed to be alive, slowly wriggling and contracting.

At the very top of the building, a gigantic, spine-chilling ball of flesh, like a malignant tumor, parasitized there, expanding and contracting with some kind of rhythm.

On the surface of the fleshy mass, one can vaguely see countless distorted human faces wailing.

A feeling of nausea, stemming from physiological instinct, rushed to Su Ran's heart.

"Su Ran, you're very knowledgeable, do you recognize this?"

Li Guodong looked tense, his stomach churning. "What the hell is this? A mutated beast?"

"No."

Su Ran stared intently at the fleshy ball, her fingertips digging deeply into her palm. "This isn't a mutated beast, it's... the mother nest."

He looked up abruptly, his eyes filled with disbelief and shock.

How could this thing appear in the first week after the Red Rain ended?

In the previous life, this kind of mother nest that could incubate mutated creatures indefinitely did not take shape until at least three months after the apocalypse!

Has the timeline been moved forward again?