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

Half an hour later.

Kunlun Air Base helipad.

A heavily modified heavy transport plane, with external weapon pods added to its fuselage, has completed its warm-up phase.

Li Guodong stood by the hatch and shouted, "Comrade Xiao Su, all the equipment is here."

He pointed to a pile of specially made equipment next to him, "High-strength alloy animal traps, titanium alloy chains, and specially made neurotoxins for mutated creatures are all here!"

Although you want to capture me alive, I'll say it again: your safety is the bottom line for Great Xia! Understand?

"Don't worry, Lao Li, I know what I'm doing."

Su Ran smiled and patted Li Guodong on the shoulder. Without saying much more, she boarded the plane.

The white deer followed closely behind.

The atmosphere inside the cabin was tense and somber.

Two rows of fully armed special forces soldiers were already sitting upright.

Although they were not awakened, each of them was a handpicked elite, with resolute eyes and a menacing aura.

Upon seeing Su Ran and Bai Lu approach, all the soldiers saluted in unison.

Su Ran nodded slightly, pressed the earpiece, and spoke in a completely detached tone.

"take off!"

boom!

The feeling of being pushed back instantly came as the massive transport plane raised its nose, piercing the sky like a sharp sword.

Below, the steel-cast Kunlun base rapidly shrank.

Su Ran sat by the window, looking down at the ravaged land below through the porthole.

The once bustling city is now lifeless, with long lines of abandoned vehicles blocking the highways.

This is the ultimate hell on earth.

"Seeing too many of these desperate scenes can really make you depressed."

Su Ran withdrew her gaze.

for a long time!

The captain's announcement came on again.

"We will reach the target airspace in five minutes. Please prepare for battle."

At the same time, the navigator in the co-pilot's seat quickly turned around and reported to the leader:

"Reporting to Advisor Su, based on the real-time thermal imaging data transmitted by the 'Sky Eye' drone, the target has been locked!"

"Coordinates: Northern foothills of the Qilian Mountains, codename 'K-7', abandoned mining area."

"Strong heat source reaction! Confirmation of a small mutated beast horde; a high-energy reaction is detected in the core area, suspected to be a second-tier mutated organism!"

"very good."

Su Ran smiled and tapped her fingers lightly on the armrest. "Hopefully, it will give me a surprise."

Whether it's to establish his authority or to serve as an experimental subject for Professor Zhang Qian, he is determined to obtain this second-tier creature.

……

K-7 abandoned mining area on the northern foothills of the Qilian Mountains.

The huge black transport plane hovered thirty meters above the ground, the strong airflow pressing the withered camel thorns below close to the ground.

"Rappel! Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

At the command of the special forces captain, several dark figures slid down the rope at lightning speed.

"Bang! Bang!"

With their tactical boots on the ground and without any unnecessary movements, the twelve team members instantly dispersed, forming a standard circular defensive position.

Su Ran was the last to land.

He raised his head, his gaze sweeping across the dark, deep entrance to the mine ahead.

"This smell is quite strong," Su Ran frowned.

The air was filled not only with a strong smell of sulfur, but also with a nauseating stench of decay.

"It's not just about the taste."

Bai Lu stood beside him, and at that moment her demeanor suddenly changed.

A faint light seemed to flicker in her eyes, and an invisible spiritual force spread out from her like mercury into the depths of the mine.

"I can sense many fluctuations of spiritual energy below."

The white deer's nostrils twitched slightly, its expression cold and stern. "One of them is rather special; it should be the second-tier one."

Having broken through to the second level, her sensory acuity is no longer what it used to be.

"In terms of specific quantity,"

The white deer squinted, observing very carefully, "One second-tier, one first-tier... fifty-three! And they're still increasing!"

Before he could finish speaking...

"roar!"

A roar exploded from the depths of the earth.

"All teams on alert! Establish a defensive line!"

With a roar, Jinlong, the special forces captain accompanying them, sent twelve elite soldiers scattering instantly, their heavy assault rifles locked onto the mine exit.

Even these elite soldiers felt their palms sweating slightly when faced with the unknown monster.

He rushed to Su Ran, his expression grave. "Advisor Su! I am Jin Long, the captain of the special forces team. Please give your instructions!"

"There's nothing to instruct on."

Su Ran waved her hand casually, her tone relaxed, "Be aware of your surroundings. If your life is in danger, shoot. Don't be afraid to waste bullets."

"clear!"

"By the way, Captain Kim,"

Su Ran suddenly called out to Jinlong, who was about to turn around, "I have an important task for you."

"Please give instructions!"

Jinlong's body trembled, and he immediately stood at attention, his eyes blazing with fighting spirit.

Important task?

Is it a decapitation strike? Or are they being used as human bait?

The veteran, who had been through countless battles, instantly had eighteen requirements flash through his mind, and his blood boiled with excitement.

For the country, for the people behind him, Jinlong was willing to die a thousand deaths!

Give me your gun, and put it away first.

Su Ran pointed to the modified tactical rifle in his hand.

"yes?"

Jinlong's tense expression froze instantly, and his "Ah" was filled with bewilderment and disbelief.

At this critical moment when he's about to fight to the death, should he put his gun away?

What kind of new tactic is this?

Before Jinlong could react, Su Ran flipped her wrist.

The spatial fluctuations vanished in an instant, the rifle disappeared, and a professional high-definition camera was shoved into his arms.

"I'll keep the gun for you for now; you're in charge of this."

Jinlong held the camera, looking at his empty hands, feeling completely bewildered.

"Advisor Su... this, this is a camera?" Jinlong asked suspiciously.

"That's right. You know how to use it, right?"

Su Ran said seriously, "This is related to the important task I'm going to give you later."

"Report! I know how to use it. I'm a former reconnaissance soldier and a photography enthusiast, so I'm very familiar with this kind of equipment."

Seeing that Advisor Su mentioned the important task again, Jinlong's expression became serious.

"That's great, it's a perfect match for my major."

Su Ran nodded in satisfaction, and even thoughtfully opened the lens cap for him. "When we're fighting later, you don't need to lift a finger. Just hold the lens steady and record me."

Jinlong: "..."

He was a top soldier who had killed countless enemies, but at this moment he felt like a fool.

He wanted to cry, really.

"You're going to make a promotional video for yourself? Like Ye Xiao's?"

Bai Lu, standing to the side, couldn't bear to watch any longer. Her usually cool and aloof face was filled with speechlessness, and her brows furrowed into a deep frown.

"Advisor Su, when did you develop such a perverse sense of humor? Staging a photoshoot at a life-or-death moment?"

In her mind, Su Ran had always been a leader who was strategic, mysterious, and unpredictable.

When did you start thinking about creating buzz for yourself?

"This isn't a perverse sense of humor; it's a strategy."

Su Ran ignored Bai Lu's complaints and said calmly, "The effect of Ye Xiao's video is obvious to all. In this desperate era, food and water alone are not enough; people need faith and spiritual support."

"The people need to see that even second-tier monsters are nothing but chickens and dogs in our eyes. We need an invincible figure to shatter all fear."

Su Ran paused, then turned to look at Bai Lu, her tone becoming meaningful.

"Besides, I'm the head of the Awakened Headquarters. If I don't pull some strings, how will you be motivated? I'll show you what a true powerhouse is like."

He said this with an air of self-righteousness, then glanced at Bai Lu and said, "Stop talking nonsense and get ready to work."

Indeed, in apocalyptic times, an invincible figure is needed to tell everyone.

Monsters can be slaughtered like chickens.

"rational!"

Bai Lu's eyes lit up, and her gaze towards Su Ran became even more different. She pointed to herself, somewhat eager to try.

"Should I record one too?"

"Yours is already being edited."

"Do I have any material?" Bai Lu asked, looking puzzled.

"Use that scene from when you broke through,"

Su Ran smiled mysteriously, "I've already thought of a title: 'The First Second-Order Awakener of Great Xia'."

Why is Bai Lu able to advance to the second tier while you can't, since you are all awakened beings of the Great Xia Dynasty?

Have you ever seriously reflected on yourself?

Am I not trying hard enough?

It's time to get the awakened ones moving. If everyone thinks they can just lie down after awakening, how can Great Xia cultivate humanoid nuclear weapons capable of achieving physical sainthood?

"I refuse!"

Bai Lu instantly bristled, nearly drawing her sword. "What's so interesting about advancing a level? It doesn't showcase my strength at all. And that title, it's so stupid."

Just as the two were joking around, a series of teeth-grinding, rapid friction sounds abruptly broke the relaxed atmosphere.

That was the sound of claws scratching at rocks.

"They're here!" Su Ran called out in a low voice.

Dark shadows surged forth like a tide.

Those were dozens of enormous mutated rock rats, each the size of an adult wolfhound, with protruding fangs and bloodshot eyes.

They were incredibly fast, like a horde of crazed demons, rushing towards the special forces!

"Enemy attack!! Open fire!!"

Jinlong roared instinctively, his muscle memory, honed over years of special operations, outpacing his brain.

He took a sudden step forward with his left foot, lowered his center of gravity, raised his gun with both hands, and instantly locked the muzzle on the dark figure rushing to the front.

However, he froze on the spot, looking down at the Sony camcorder in his hand, and his whole body shattered on the spot!

Oh no, the gun's been taken away!

All I had was a heavy, cumbersome video camera!