Industrial Cthulhu doesn't believe in the end times.

Chapter 84 Words on the Blackboard

Su Xun came for the secret realm and did not intend to establish his command post within the Haiqu Safe Zone, but rather in a location relatively close to the secret realm.

The Daizong Secret Realm group has not made any moves yet. Even if they eventually resolve the crisis here, they may have to stay here for a considerable period of time to fully utilize the power of this secret realm.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, we cleared out the zombies in Haiqu City. From now on—until that giant beast surfaces—this place will be relatively safe.

After using artillery to clean up the area around the hospital, everyone quickly got into the vehicles. They didn't have the same comprehensive defenses as the shelters. Being in the wilderness, if the artillery fire attracted a large horde of zombies, the situation they would face would probably be even more critical than in the shelters.

In fact, some scattered zombies have already been attracted here, but they are not numerous and are being dealt with one by one by the infantry around the position.

In the post-apocalyptic world, vehicles are essential for long-distance travel, and these several thousand people formed a vast convoy.

From here, the convoy split into three groups. One group consisted of civilians recruited along the way, while another group of military vehicles escorted these civilians towards the safe zone.

The other force is the artillery unit, which needs to attempt an attack when the secret realm changes. The location of the school is not very suitable as an artillery position. A considerable number of soldiers accompany this artillery unit, serving as guards and protectors of the position.

The last group, Su Xun's convoy, circled around and shook off the attracted zombies before finally arriving at the school on the outskirts of the city.

Haiqu is nestled between mountains and the sea, and the school's location is not low. On a clear day, one can clearly see the city shrouded in fog ten kilometers away, which should also be one of the considerations for the General Staff in choosing the location for the command.

The campus was deserted, with no one and no zombies. When they arrived at the school gate, Su Xun got out of the car and looked around. There was a fairly wide open space in front of the school gate. It seemed that something was going to be built after it was leveled, but no construction had started. There were only some sand piled up on the open space.

"This is a good spot. Tell the convoy not to park at the entrance, but to park inside the playground. This is a good buffer zone."

He turned around and pointed to the gatehouse above: "If we just set up two machine guns on this, we can block this road and this open space."

Jiang Yi smiled gently from the side: "The General Staff will consider these matters."

“That makes sense.” Su Xun chuckled and then asked, “When will the other teams of superhumans from the shelters arrive?”

"The team from Binhai will arrive today, but there is no news yet for the other areas. We need to wait patiently."

Portable communication devices are quite precious, and not every team can prepare one before going out. Su Xun only brought two from the base this time, one to the temporary command post and the other to the artillery unit.

Communications, communications!

How much of modern society is built on communication?

The catastrophe has only just begun, and those who have experienced that convenience will find it difficult to adapt to and tolerate the current communication conditions.

Su Xun glanced at the faintly visible thick fog in the distance. Whether he could make a breakthrough in this matter might depend on what he gained this time.

The group entered the teaching building. Just as Jiang Yi had said, Su Xun didn't need to worry about many things personally. During the construction of the command post, he had some free time, so he thought he would familiarize himself with the environment.

Despite saying he wasn't worried, Su Xun still casually offered a few suggestions as they walked.

"There should be enough dorm rooms. We can stay in the original student dorms at night."

"Where is the school cafeteria? Can we borrow the cooking team?"

"The walls surrounding the school could be reinforced to prepare for potential accidents."

"Regarding the water issue... let's ask those superhumans to find a way to dig a reservoir." If it weren't for the fact that there are now shelters, these schools would actually be very suitable places to serve as survivor bases. In his previous life, Su Xun often used various campuses as his bases, and Xu Huan's first survivor camp in Binhai City was located in Binhai Agricultural College.

As they chatted casually, the group entered a classroom, but their voices became quieter.

Before the cataclysm, the students at this school also participated in a large-scale military training program. The classrooms did not retain the teaching traces of peacetime; instead, one could feel the intense atmosphere of intensive training as soon as one entered.

The desks were arranged neatly. Since the Great Cataclysm, not even enough time has passed for them to collect much dust. On the blackboard at the back, a map of the entire country was drawn in chalk. Every curve on the map was detailed and accurate. I wonder how much effort the person who drew it put into it.
Beside the map was a line of words that Su Xun recognized.

“2*30年6月15日，距今还有4天。”

Those were the words that Su Xun had also counted day after day. There was also a small blackboard in his office every day, with the same words on it.

Upon seeing it, all the efforts of the past month suddenly came to mind, and the faces of many people reappeared in his memory. Su Xun was surprised to realize that those days had only just passed, and he couldn't help but feel a surge of emotions.

Although the time was short, it felt like a lifetime had passed.

The number 4 was specially marked in red chalk, and the countdown stopped on that day, presumably because they left from there and entered the shelter on that day.

Su Xun walked to the podium, then suddenly turned his head and noticed that there was also a lot of writing on the blackboard in front of him.

The entire blackboard was covered with instructions for entering the shelter. A section in the middle had been erased, leaving four powerful characters in the blank space.

Adversity strengthens a nation.

Looking at those words, Su Xun felt an indescribable stirring in his heart.

These four words have appeared more than once in major disasters experienced by Eastern peoples. This is not a simple word, but a declaration of war, a declaration to heaven and earth of the indomitable will of the Eastern people.

Who left this?
What did the person who left these words say in this classroom?
It's actually difficult to verify now; it could have been an ordinary teacher, a student, or even a soldier serving as an instructor.

If Su Xun and his group hadn't arrived, perhaps these traces left behind would never have been discovered until the school collapsed and everything was buried in dust and ruins.

But it doesn't matter. Su Xun knows that this will will never disappear. As long as the people on this land exist, it will never perish.

It resides in my heart, and in the hearts of millions of others.

As Su Xun stood on the podium and turned around again, he seemed to have transformed into a teacher in this classroom. He could almost see groups of students standing solemnly beside their desks. Their edges had been smoothed by military training, and their skin had been tanned by the scorching sun, but their eyes were brighter and more determined.

Where are they now? How many are still alive? How many have died?
Su Xun could almost see one clear gaze after another gathering on him.

Is this what you've been hoping for?
How could I let him down? How could I let him go?

Please rest assured, I, my comrades, and the millions of compatriots still alive will definitely rebuild a new world in this dark age!

Su Xun slowly raised his right hand and saluted the empty classroom.

Was he looking at the map? Or at the students?

No, actually there's no difference.

(End of this chapter)