Industrial Cthulhu doesn't believe in the end times.

Chapter 62 Abandon Illusions, Prepare for Battle

June 14, 2*30, the last day before the Great Cataclysm.

The managers of the various shelters under the jurisdiction of the Taimon base arrived at the base last night. After a short rest, the base held its final meeting.

On the list Su Xun had provided, there weren't many people suitable for the position, making it difficult to assign one to every shelter. Therefore, all shelters now have a 'backup' in their management.

In each shelter, there are at least twenty people waiting to take over the reins and lead the entire shelter under immense pressure when their comrades fall.

Qin Chang and Su Xun attended the meeting together. Of course, not every base sent all of its management backups this time; each base only sent one or two people.

Even so, hundreds of people participated in the meeting. The shelters based on the subways of various cities are managed in sections. In addition to the above-ground shelters in various places, the larger part, Taimon Division alone has hundreds of relatively independent units, which can directly accommodate a population of up to one million. The safe zone that can be radiated from this core is enough to provide a relatively stable and safe environment for tens of millions of survivors.

Qin Chang chaired the meeting. He had a deep understanding of the post-apocalyptic situation and said to everyone, "Once the cataclysm begins, the first thing we need to do is to clear the zombies from the shelters as quickly as possible."

"Yes, comrades, this will be a lot of pressure."

"We must withstand the pressure. During this process, countless people will not understand, and even our soldiers may waver."

Everyone looked grave; they knew what was going to happen next.

Those so-called zombies are all transformed from living people. Let alone facing their own loved ones, how could the survivors so naturally shoot at each other, even if they were just complete strangers?
Among them are many elderly people and children, and this change in mindset is by no means easy to achieve.

The solution to this problem was discussed when the shelter was first built, but even as a reborn person, Su Xun found it difficult to offer any good suggestions on this matter.

But this mindset must change. Su Xun took over the topic and said somewhat forcefully, "After each shelter returns, use this time to gather key personnel and release certain information."

"This is an inevitable choice that must be made in advance, otherwise it will cause irreparable and huge losses."

In his previous life, when the great catastrophe had just begun, Su Xun had witnessed far too many tragedies that resulted from people's unwillingness to kill zombies; it was a true hell on earth.

A son kills his father, a wife bites her husband, and a student tears a teacher apart.

There is no room for tenderness between humans and zombies. From the moment a zombie is born, it is the complete opposite of humanity, an irreconcilable and mortal enemy.

Su Xun said solemnly, "In this kind of thing, you must not take any chances. Zombification is irreversible. Once you become a zombie, it means you are already dead. From that moment on, all that drives them is the desire for flesh and blood."

The conference room was completely silent. Anyone who recalled that extremely terrifying scene would feel suffocated. Even in this solemn and serious occasion, sighs could still be heard from time to time.

Seeing the oppressive atmosphere, Qin Chang spoke up: "Cheer up, everyone. Now is the time when the masses need us the most. Anyone can fall, but we cannot fall; anyone can give up, but we cannot give up."

"Now, let's focus our energy on our actual work."

After Qin Chang finished speaking, he exchanged a glance with Su Xun.

Su Xun understood, opened his notebook, and stared intently for a while. In fact, much of the content had already been distributed to various departments. Big matters are addressed in small meetings, small matters in large meetings, and matters of utmost importance are left undiscussed.

The specific measures were discussed and devised by Su Xun and several experts in social sciences and military affairs. The main objective of this meeting was to emphasize the importance of these measures and urge all units to implement them effectively.

After organizing his thoughts, he said to everyone, "Especially in the shelter, the basic principle of one person, one room must be followed, and everyone must be isolated in their own space."

"This is not only to ensure the safety of survivors, but also to minimize the ethical implications—even zombies cannot be handled in front of their relatives."

"Of course, after such a long period of preparation, we have given ourselves ample leeway. Before dealing with the zombies inside the shelter, we should make sure that the survivors know the basic information about the zombies and that their relatives have become zombies."

"For those whose relatives are not in the shelter, take photos of their zombie-like state as evidence when time permits."

This is a necessary process; otherwise, some irrational members of the public will believe that their relatives were killed by mistake, which will greatly disrupt the order of the shelter.

To achieve this, ASEAN has not only increased its own production capacity during this period, but has also acquired almost all film cameras on the market that can be used in the post-apocalyptic world. In the process, it has also made breakthroughs in film production technology and can now produce film at the same speed as printing paper.

The arrival of the apocalypse itself will not completely destroy social order, but if the various shelters representing the organization make wrong decisions at this time, or even if they are not wrong but just slightly negligent, then the collapse of trust will trigger a terrible avalanche.

The current decision is still cruel, but compared to the situation in the previous life, it can be considered gentle.

"For those members of the public who are extremely irrational... take coercive measures as appropriate."

In times of chaos, harsh measures are necessary. Even with all that has been done in the past month, the apocalypse remains an unprecedented challenge for humanity, a brutal war unlike any other.

What we will face next is fighting against people, fighting against the land, and fighting against the heavens.

The struggle will become a long-term issue, involving everyone, as they no longer have the time and energy to care for those who go to extremes as they did in civilized times.

Those who are completely immersed in the past and unable to move towards the future... may also be the ones who will be eliminated in this apocalypse.

As the meeting drew to a close, Qin Chang stood up, gave a summary, and also said goodbye.

"Comrades, we have reached the most dangerous moment. We can say that we are now at a critical juncture of life and death."

"Although we all desperately hope that this catastrophe will not happen, reality does not allow us to take any chances."

"So, I hope that I can hear your voices on the communication channel again in the near future."

"Comrades, abandon illusions and prepare for battle!"

(End of this chapter)