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

"By the way, Comrade Xiao Su,"

Li Guodong's voice was very low, as if he were conveying a hot piece of information.

"There's something else. The commander asked me to pass on a message to you."

"What did you say?"

Su Ran raised an eyebrow and asked curiously.

"Actually, I find this sentence very strange, and I don't quite understand what it means."

Li Guodong stared into Su Ran's eyes, his tone serious, "The commander said, never forget 'Forward'!"

"What does this mean?" Su Ran was slightly taken aback.

"I don't quite understand either."

Li Guodong shrugged with a wry smile and spread his hands. "The commander also said that if you ask what this means, please let me know."

Let me tell you, 'Just remember it, don't overthink it.'

"???"

Su Ran was completely bewildered, not understanding why the leader had also become a riddle teller.

Never forget to 'move forward'!

Su Ran leaned back in her chair, her fingers unconsciously stroking the tabletop.

"Could it be...?"

He thought to himself, "Is the commander doing this because of what happened when I resigned last time? Is he trying to encourage me?"

"Comrade Xiao Su,"

Seeing Su Ran remain silent, Li Guodong patted him on the shoulder, "Since the commander told you not to overthink it, just relax. Overthinking won't do any good."

"That's true, there's no point in thinking about it too much."

Su Ran composed herself and nodded, saying, "I'll focus my attention more on the Awakener Headquarters. This week is tight on time and has a lot of tasks."

"It's a good thing for young people to have pressure," Li Guodong said with a smile.

……

The next day, at 3 PM.

The core conference room of Kunlun Base.

The atmosphere today is very unpleasant.

In the past, at such expanded meetings, everyone would usually exchange a few words in hushed tones as they entered, sharing information from their respective departments.

But today, the air felt frozen.

Nearly a hundred bigwigs from the military and political circles sat upright, and no one whispered among themselves.

Because the person in that position had already arrived.

When Su Ran pushed the door open, the first thing she saw was the leader sitting at the end of the long table.

The old man was wearing a faded old military uniform, without any medals, and was holding a enamel mug that bore the marks of time.

It looks the same as before.

But Su Ran's heart skipped a beat.

Not right.

If we were to describe the leader before his seclusion as a majestic, all-encompassing mountain.

The old man who walked in at that moment was like a bloodstained blade hidden in an old scabbard.

The usual gentleness and refinement were completely gone from those cloudy eyes; in their place was a coldness, a resolute determination that left no room for negotiation.

Su Ran's heart pounded wildly.

"Just how much of an impact did my report have on the leader?"

What caused his demeanor to change drastically overnight?

Su Ran walked to his seat and sat down. Li Guodong sat next to him, also with a serious expression, clearly having noticed the tense atmosphere.

Time's up, the gate closes.

"Everyone's here, let's begin the meeting."

The leader put down his teacup, the porcelain bottom tapping against the wooden table.

"clatter."

That sound resonated in everyone's hearts.

"Comrade Wang Jianjun, please tell us your plan."

"yes!"

Wang Jianjun suddenly stood up. Being a northerner, he didn't mince words and directly activated the holographic projection.

He first pulled a lump of iron from the toolbox under his chair and slammed it onto the mahogany conference table with a loud bang.

It was a severely deformed tank road wheel.

"Take a look!"

Wang Jianjun pointed to the piece of scrap metal, his voice rough, "This is the road wheel of a Type 99A main battle tank that was withdrawn from the front lines yesterday. It was scrapped after less than two weeks of use!"

"We currently have over 10,000 tanks operating outside, and the number of road wheels, track shoes, and drive shafts worn down every day is astronomical!"

He looked around, his gaze piercing. "I know exactly what kind of output the underground factory at the Kunlun base has."

"The lack of large forging presses and special steel smelting furnaces severely limits the production capacity and range of parts that can be manufactured for heavy equipment!"

"We've been in a state of inventory depletion, we're just sitting around eating our reserves! Our current inventory can only sustain the front lines for another six months at most."

Wang Jianjun stretched out a finger and waved it fiercely in the air, spittle flying everywhere.

"Six months from now, our tanks will have no gun barrels to replace, and our soldiers will only have bayonets left."

"Therefore, I propose that we immediately mobilize 30 million young and middle-aged laborers to return to the surface and restart the industrial zone!"

His words were spoken with a resounding force.

Thirty million.

Return to the surface.

These words are so heavy, so heavy that they make it hard to breathe.

"I object."

On the right side of the conference room, an administrative official wearing gold-rimmed glasses raised his hand with a frown.

"General Wang, we understand your feelings. But thirty million is too much."

He was the head of the Civil Affairs Department, and he spoke very calmly, "Everyone knows the situation on the ground. Although the main force has cleared it once, how many mutated species are hiding in those nooks and crannies? Who can guarantee anything?"

Especially now, we're detecting more and more of those strange birds in flocks in the sky, but we haven't even finished building our city's defense system yet.

"Most of the factory areas are located on the outskirts of the city, which are themselves hotspots for mutated beasts."

How can we protect 30 million civilians who go up there? If something goes wrong, who will bear the responsibility?

"Even if we can't bear it, we have to!"

Wang Jianjun slammed his fist on the table, his eyes wide with anger. "Without shells, the soldiers on the front lines will have to bite with their teeth! A dead soldier is dead, but a dead worker isn't?"

Anyone can sacrifice themselves for the continuation of the race! Including me!

As soon as he finished speaking, Academician Zhang Qiankun, the representative of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, also stood up to speak.

"Our Academy of Sciences does not express opinions, it only states facts."

He was very agitated and spoke urgently, "Alienated creatures are extremely sensitive to noise and heat sources!"

The sounds of the surface factories operating, along with the heat they generate, will attract monsters from within a hundred miles!

"Not going up is tantamount to waiting to die!"

General Zhang Xiao, a proponent of war, slammed his hand on the table in strong support of Wang Jianjun.

"Without heavy industry support, if the army is wiped out, how many days can the underground base hold out?"

"General Zhang, have you considered another aspect?"

The head of the Civil Affairs Department dropped the pretense of civility and retorted sharply, "Thirty million civilians have returned to the surface and are well protected by us, but this will have another impact."

Who would want to stay underground and eat meager rations after this? A large-scale unauthorized escape would occur, and the newly established order of the underground city would fall apart within three months.

The two sides traded blows, and the tension grew increasingly palpable.

The military needs equipment, and the civil affairs department needs support.

This is a dead end.

The leader sat in the main seat, remaining silent throughout.

He lowered his eyes, like an old monk in deep meditation.

"Advisor Su."

Li Guodong, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up, passing the buck to them, "What are you thinking?"