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

Kunlun Base, third basement level, central strategic command hall.

There is no day or night here.

Only on the huge holographic sand table, countless red and blue light dots jumped wildly.

"East China Sea Theater Command requests fire support; ammunition supplies are critically low!"

"Alert! The Sky Eye System has detected a swarm of flying mutated beasts, located directly above the Yanshan Safe Base!"

The staff officers hurried along, none of them even bothering to look up at Su Ran, who had just walked in.

His gaze swept over the bloodshot young faces, but he didn't linger, heading straight for the core area.

In the core area, in front of a huge electronic map.

The leader stood with his back to the hall, his figure somewhat hunched, like a silent sculpture.

"Commander." Su Ran stopped three steps away.

The old man slowly turned around.

He seemed to have aged even more in just a few days.

"Little Su is here."

The commander forced a smile and pointed to the chair beside him, "Have the tests for those kids been arranged?"

"Everything is arranged."

Su Ran spoke up, "Experts from the Academy of Sciences will develop individual training plans for each person based on the test results."

"very good."

Su Ran glanced at the bustling scene around her with a serious expression, her brows furrowed slightly, and she spoke in a low voice.

"Sir, I have something I'd like to report to you privately."

The leader paused slightly in his teacup, glanced at Su Ran, his gaze filled with trust rather than inquiry.

"Come with me."

Without hesitation, the commander gestured with his chin toward a heavily guarded passage to the side.

The two walked one after the other through three iris verification doors and entered a completely sealed, top-secret conference room.

The heavy alloy door slid down silently and locked with a "click".

Su Ran didn't waste any words and got straight to the point.

"Sir, Director Li should have already submitted the projection report on the accelerated rate of disaster evolution to you."

"I've seen it."

The old man pulled out a chair and sat down, wearily rubbing his temples. "That report came at just the right time. The conclusions from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences have put Zhang Xiao and Wang Jianjun's group at ease."

"That's how people are. Even when facing death, as long as they know what death looks like, they feel more at ease."

He smiled, then his tone suddenly became firm, "Now the two factions have reached a consensus. The 'clean-up' plan will not stop; it will only be carried out more resolutely and ruthlessly."

Su Ran nodded; this was in line with his expectations.

Fear stems from the unknown; this is a common human failing.

"but,"

The old man abruptly changed the subject, his gaze instantly becoming as deep as the sea. "Little Su, you didn't call me here specifically just to confirm this, did you?"

"Of course not."

Su Ran met his gaze without flinching. He suddenly clenched his right hand in mid-air, and a thick, heavy parchment document appeared out of thin air in his grasp.

"Sir, this is a unified compilation of the timeline of the evolution of mutated creatures that I have gathered over the past few days."

Su Ran pushed the documents in front of the old man.

The leader's expression turned serious. He put on his glasses and his gaze fell on the cover.

"The Next Decade: A Timeline Report on the Evolution of Alien Species"

The old man's hand, which was reaching for the document, paused in mid-air for half a second before he firmly grasped it and turned to the first page.

[Day 7 after the Red Rain Cataclysm: Tier 2 creatures are appearing sporadically. Characteristics: Hardened leather armor, immune to light weapons.]

Next to this line of text, there was a heavy red underline, with the annotation: Due to population factors, it has been moved up to the 4th day.

Page 2.

[Four months after the Red Rain Cataclysm: Tier 4 mutated creatures appear. Characteristics: They begin to possess territorial awareness, and some have evolved unique attack methods, such as: pus corrosion and sonic attacks.]

The old man remained calm and continued flipping through the pages.

Page 3.

[One year after the Red Rain Cataclysm: Fourth-tier mutated creatures emerge, including the Corpse King and the Beast King. Characteristics: They acquire intelligence, possess the ability to command hordes of corpses and beasts, and can actively devour crystal cores to complete targeted evolution. The lethality of firearms will be significantly reduced.]

Upon seeing the words "awakening intelligence," the old man's pupils contracted sharply.

[Three years after the Red Rain Catastrophe...]

[Three years after the Red Rain Catastrophe...]

……

"Enlightenment..."

The leader slowly closed the document, his brow furrowed. "Are they becoming smarter?"

"Yes."

Su Ran added, "Because of the 'Peach Blossom Spring' project, the early evolutionary rhythm was disrupted. The appearance of the second and third tiers was at least half as early as I remember. After reaching the fourth tier, the enormous energy requirements will slow down their evolutionary speed, and the timeline will gradually return to normal."

The leader closed the document.

Even for an old man like him who had weathered countless storms, his chest heaved violently as he breathed.

"ten years……"

The commander resolutely declared, "This is the war script for the next ten years."

"That's right," Su Ran said.

"good!"

He uttered only one word, yet it carried immense weight: "Now that we know when they grow brains, let's cut off their heads before they do."

Seeing that the time was ripe, Su Ran looked at the old man in front of her who was the backbone of the entire country and took a deep breath.

The real purpose should be revealed.

"Commander."

Su Ran straightened his back. "At this stage, whether it's the strategic direction of ground clearing, the aerospace defense system, or even the research and development of crystal core technology, everything has been on the right track under my guidance."

The old man looked up at him, his eyes questioning.

"The macro-level guidance I can offer is already quite limited."

Su Ran clenched her fists slightly on her knees, her tone tinged with nervousness.

"I would like to apply to resign from my position as Special Advisor to the Joint Command and shift my future focus entirely to the construction and special training of the 'Awakener Headquarters'."

"What did you say?"

The old man seemed to doubt that he had misheard and suddenly looked up.

"I want to step down from my current role."

Now that Su Ran had spoken, she didn't hesitate any longer and quickly explained, "Commander, you should know that I am not a military genius, nor do I understand advanced scientific research. The reason I can sit in the command seat and command those battle-hardened generals is purely because I have memories from my past life."

He pointed to the documents on the table.

"I know who the powerful Awakeners will be in the future, and I also know when the monsters will evolve to a higher level. But these are just memories, not abilities."

Su Ran stood up and said, "The strategic layout is now complete. How to fight and how to deploy troops are the expertise of General Zhang Xiao and his team. How to build mechs and how to utilize crystal cores are the business of Academician Chen and Lu Yuan."

He looked directly at the old man and said sincerely, "If I continue to stay in that position, not only will I not be of any use, but I may also interfere with their professional judgment by giving orders from an outsider."

Su Ran believed that this heartfelt statement was enough to persuade the old man.

Let him lead a small team of several dozen people to kill zombies, he can do it.

But to let him command a million-strong army in battle would be irresponsible towards the lives of the soldiers.

After all, which leader doesn't want a clear power structure and professionals in their field?

However, he was met with a cold snort.

I disagree.