Ice Age Apocalypse: I've Stockpiled Billions of Resources

The darkness in the air-raid shelter lasted for less than five seconds.

Lin Luo pressed the terminal on his wrist, and a soft, cold light swept away the shadows.

He stood up, walked to the thickened metal door of the air-raid shelter, and listened for a while with his ear pressed against the crack in the door.

The vibrations outside were subsiding; the aftershocks of the high-energy particle cannon were dissipating.

He turned around and saw Tian Xiaoyu and Natasha leaning against the wall, their breathing heavy.

The series of intense battles and extreme running they had just endured had almost completely exhausted them.

Lin Luo glanced down at his watch.

"The oxygen circulation system is normal, and the radiation level is below the safety line."

After he finished speaking, he made a gesture with his right hand in mid-air.

A visible, transparent ripple spread through the air; that was his cheat code—the Strange Space.

Lin Luo reached into the ripples and pulled out several large tactical supply packs, followed by several sealed buckets of purified water.

"Replenish salt first."

Lin Luo took out three dark blue vials from his bag. This high-concentration electrolyte nutrient solution was a special product of the Mars Laboratory, and it tasted like bitter almonds with sea salt.

Tian Xiaoyu took the medicine, unscrewed the cap, and poured it into her mouth. She frowned, her throat moved twice, and she casually wiped the liquid from the corner of her mouth.

"This stuff, no matter how many times you drink it, it tastes like seawater."

Although she was complaining, her pale face began to regain its color quickly.

Natasha finished the nutrient solution and let out a long sigh. She tucked her long golden hair behind her ear, picked up the sniper rifle beside her, and checked the magazine.

"My muscles are twitching; this stuff works very quickly."

Lin Luo didn't say anything, and he started moving things out of the strange space again.

This time it's real food.

Six stainless steel lunch boxes were neatly arranged on the cot. The lids were lifted, and the steaming aroma instantly filled the narrow bunker.

This was prepared in advance by Shen Kexin and stored in a strange space where time stands still. When it was taken out, it even carried the aroma of freshly cooked oil.

Braised pork ribs, braised beef, and two servings of fried rice piled up like small mountains.

Shen Kexin specially added a lot of minced cured meat and dehydrated vegetables to it so that Lin Luo could replenish his energy in the wild.

"Shen Kexin's cooking skills are a lifesaver."

Tian Xiaoyu grabbed her chopsticks, picked up a piece of pork rib, and stuffed it into her mouth.

The ribs were stewed until very tender; the bones would fall off with a gentle bite.

The rich sauce and oil exploded in her mouth, replenishing every cell she had used up.

Natasha stared at the plate of braised beef and picked up a large piece with her fork.

The beef, with its tendons, is incredibly chewy, and the savory broth slides down your esophagus, bringing a warm sensation.

"Hot food makes you feel alive in this world."

She ate voraciously, completely losing the cold demeanor she had as a sniper.

Lin Luo sat opposite the two, picked up a box of fried rice with eggs, and swallowed it in large mouthfuls.

The rice grains are glistening, coated with crumbled egg, and every bite is filled with savory diced cured meat.

In this environment, high-calorie, high-salt foods are the best heart tonic.

"The monsters in this city are too high level."

Lin Luo swallowed the meat in his mouth and looked at the terminal projection.

"But the Mars fleet has already lowered its orbit; Su Bo's actions were faster than I expected."

On the terminal screen, an aerial view of the city is being re-annotated.

Large swaths of the red danger zones are turning green.

The Martian Alliance's heavy strikes were not carpet bombing, but point-to-point destruction.

The screen switched to Su Bo's real-time view.

A futuristic-looking Mars shuttle is flying over the ruins.

The multi-barreled rotary laser cannon beneath the fuselage spewed blue flames in the darkness. On the street, several mutated crawlers climbing buildings were instantly sliced ​​into minced meat.

"Reporting to the city lord, the first and third infantry formations have occupied the central square. The orbital cleaners have completed a three-kilometer high-energy coverage of the core area, and no super-A-level energy reaction has been detected so far."

Su Bo's voice sounded unusually steady amidst the noise.

Lin Luo put down the lunchbox, tapped a few times on the projector screen, and zoomed in on a section. It was the port on the east side of the city.

"Subo, take over the port. I need the heavy cranes and deep-water warehouses there."

"Understood. The second mech formation is turning and is expected to engage in combat in ten minutes."

The communication was disconnected, and the sound of artillery fire from outside became more regular.

This is the pace of expansion of the Martian army's occupied territories; each explosion represents the eradication of a monster's lair.

"You plan to turn this place into a new base?"

After Tian Xiaoyu finished eating, she leaned against Lin Luo's chest, fiddling with the buckles on his tactical vest.

Lin Luo nodded.

"This place has an industrial foundation from the old era and a well-developed water system. Although there are many mutated creatures now, as long as it is cleaned up, with Martian technology, this place can become the best transit point for supplies."

He looked toward the window, which was sealed off by alloy plates, but he could still imagine what was happening outside.

Those giant mutants that once drove Earthlings to despair are nothing more than targets made of flesh and blood in the face of Martian lasers and particle weapons.

"Those monsters evolve very quickly, but they have no brains."

Lin Luo sneered.

"They only know how to devour, but we know how to create civilization. As long as there is enough energy, this entire city can be covered by our power grid and laser towers. At that time, any octopus or crab that dares to show its head will be ready-made cooked food."

Natasha put down her fork and wiped her mouth. She stood up, walked to the small window of the air-raid shelter, and looked out through the narrow crack.

The distant night sky was cleaved by the searchlights of the Martian mothership. Beams of blue light descended from the heavens, like a divine miracle.

"If this city develops, we will be able to bring more people back from Mars."

Natasha turned her head, a hint of expectation in her eyes.

Lin Luo stood up, put the remaining food back into his spatial storage, and then took out a few bottles of purified water and handed them to the two of them.

"This is just the beginning. Su Bo has already taken over the power plant. What we need to do is turn this dead land into a bridgehead for the Martian Alliance on Earth."

He walked to the door and placed his hand on the heavy alloy wheel.

"Let's go, the outside is almost cleared up. Let's see how much loot Subo left us."

Lin Luo turned the axle with force.

With a creaking sound, the heavy metal door slowly opened.

Outside, the smell of gunpowder had not yet dissipated, but the nauseating stench of the mutated creatures in the air had been completely evaporated by the high-energy weapons.

Several miniature reconnaissance drones, flashing red lights, flew low over the entrance.

On the street not far away, a squad of Martian soldiers wearing exoskeleton armor were advancing in formation over the ruins, their electromagnetic rifles flashing with a cold light.

Lin Luo stepped out the door, his feet resting on a piece of asphalt shards heated red by a laser.

He looked up.

In the sky, the enormous Martian orbiter hovered silently above the clouds, like an eternal steel fortress, suppressing this chaotic land.

Good news kept coming from the terminal.

"The occupation of the southern district is complete."

"The West District Power Hub has been successfully restarted."

"A large-scale cold storage facility has been discovered and is being taken over."

Tian Xiaoyu followed behind Lin Luo, drawing her long sword from her back. She glanced at the temporary watchtower being built in the distance, a slight twitch at the corner of her mouth.

Natasha, carrying a sniper rifle, lagged half a step behind, guarding Lin Luo's flank.

The three walked through the empty streets toward the makeshift command post set up by the Martian army.

In the distant ruins, a mutated dog that had miraculously survived had just poked its head out when it was instantly incinerated by a laser beam descending from the sky.

Lin Luo did not turn around.

He looked at the tallest building in the city center, which was the location of the city lord's mansion that he had chosen.

On the rooftop there, the red flag of the Mars Alliance was being planted by several soldiers.

The flags fluttered in the smoke-filled wind.

Lin Luo stepped over the broken remains of an octopus tentacle.

His boots thudded heavily as he stepped onto the hard ground.

Amidst the surrounding ruins, the footsteps of Martian soldiers echoed, and the roar of machinery reverberated over the city.

The clouds in the sky completely dispersed, revealing the long-lost starlight to Earth.

The light fell on the charred streets, casting a cold glow.

Lin Luo stood on the street, watching the advancing lights of Mars in the distance.

He pulled open the collar of his tactical vest, letting the cool breeze brush against his neck.

Behind him, Tian Xiaoyu and Natasha stood on either side, their shadows stretched long by the distant explosion and projected onto the shattered wall.

The distant roar continued, but that was the frequency of the Martians.

Lin Luo put away the terminal and placed his right hand on the pistol at his waist.

His gaze was fixed on the steel forest that was awakening ahead.

A cold night wind blew by.

The Martian flag waved violently at the highest point of the ruins, its shadow obscuring the rubble below.