Preparation

When the beasts returned to the mountains, all was silent.

At the base, people looked at one another in dismay.

Then some of them collapsed straight to the ground. The joy of the previous night's victory was like a bucket of cold water dumped right over their heads.

Their resolve was no longer as united as before.

The crowd broke into discussion. Before long, voices calling to give up began to rise. Some wanted to rally enough people behind their view to use public opinion to demand that everyone leave the base and flee to a safer city. Others wanted to head straight for the county seat and seek the army's protection.

The board members listened to the discussion, their faces livid.

Should they stay and defend the base, or withdraw?

All the senior and mid-level managers began weighing their options.

At that moment, Gao Zheng said, "Let's all go to the conference room first and discuss this."

Thanks to Gao Zheng's longstanding prestige, all the senior and mid-level managers followed him back to the office building.

In the conference room, the directors and other vice presidents sat in the front rows, while the department managers and heads sat farther back.

Until Gao Zheng spoke, the room remained heavy with silence.

Lin Chenxing looked around at everyone present. A few department managers had uncertain expressions, while some looked utterly defeated, their fighting spirit completely gone. Only a handful had any real resolve in their eyes.

Seeing this, Lin Chenxing felt a surge of reluctance.

Clearly, they had now entered the apocalypse described in the novels.

He had crossed into this world and created such favorable conditions. How could he just sit helplessly and wait to die in the early days of the apocalypse without accomplishing anything?

He had read plenty of similar apocalypse novels in his previous life. His memories of them weren't very clear, but he vaguely recalled that many protagonists had started with worse advantages than he did. How had they managed to turn things around in similar situations?

Lin Chenxing kept thinking and searching his memories, trying to find a way forward.

But his memories were too hazy for him to recall any specific solutions.

Fleeing was out of the question. How could he abandon such a perfect foundation so easily?

But with so many powerful monsters, how could they possibly defend the base?

Just then, Guo Qichang suddenly said, "What we saw and heard just now were probably flying creatures and the larger beasts that live on the ground, right?"

"That's right," Gao Zheng replied. "Old Guo, do you have an idea?"

Guo Qichang pointed at the ground beneath their feet. "If the sky and the surface are both dangerous, why don't we go underground?"

One manager's expression shifted from terror to delight in an instant. He stood up and shouted, "Exactly! If we travel underground, without coming up to the surface, we won't have anything to fear. There's no way they could find us underground."

He Qishun shot the manager a glance and said slowly, "Don't get excited too soon. Underground isn't as safe as you think."

Meng Chang followed up, "That's right. We brought this up during our last discussion. We can't afford to let our guard down against the rats."

"Based on our observations and estimates, there are at least several hundred rats underground in this area. That's the conservative estimate."

"I know about the rats," Guo Qichang said. "There's danger below too, but it's still less dangerous than above."

"As we expand the underground space, we can also clear out the rat nests and eliminate the threat in advance."

"Old Guo's proposal is viable," Gao Zheng said. "But if we start, we'll have to assign a team to protect the workers. That will leave us with fewer people for outside exploration. Also, who will be in charge?"

Guo Qichang crossed his arms. "Since I came up with the idea, I'll put it into action. But I'll need Director Meng to assign some people responsible for planning and design."

"Fine. I'll give the orders when the time comes." Meng Chang nodded slightly in agreement.

Seeing that matter settled, He Qishun offered his own opinion. "Besides building an underground base, I think we need to start exploring the area toward Chuilong Town as soon as possible. We have too much to do and nowhere near enough people. We need to rescue as many survivors as we can while we still have the chance and bolster our manpower."

Gao Zheng said gravely, "This is indeed our top priority, but we can't rush it. We need to proceed steadily and cautiously. We can only save more people if we make sure we're safe first."

"Here's what we'll do. You take a team to search the nearest village, Hejiao Village, and try to get back before dark."

"Tomorrow, you'll stay at the base and rest for a day. Then Tianxing will take another team to a different village."

"If we have the manpower to spare after the base's construction and defenses are taken care of, we'll put together another team to handle your logistical support, so you can explore farther afield."

"Chenxing will be in charge of that team. The three of you can discuss the schedules for your respective groups among yourselves."

Hearing Gao Zheng's arrangements, Lin Chenxing felt a surge of confidence and spirit. "I'll make sure Director He and Director Ma have all the logistical support they need, so they can explore and rescue people without worrying about anything else."

Gao Zheng continued, "After last night's battle and what we saw today, I'm sure everyone has some idea of what we're facing."

"Our explosives aren't very effective against those monsters, especially the ones with naturally tough hides."

"And after last night's battle, most of our melee weapons are badly worn."

"What does that tell us? Given our current methods and how quickly the monsters are evolving, it may not be long before our explosives and weapons can no longer hurt them."

"How are we supposed to face these monsters going forward? We can't hide forever."

"Chenxing, Meng Chang, what ideas does the research institute have?"

Lin Chenxing was only in charge of the research institute. He usually just offered suggestions and wasn't familiar with many of the research details. After thinking briefly, he replied, "Fight beasts with beasts. That's our best option right now. As monsters evolve, their attacks grow stronger along with their defenses. Their claws, teeth, and bones can be used to make weapons that are sure to injure other monsters."

As the research institute's director and a researcher himself, Meng Chang often had a more technical perspective than Lin Chenxing. He offered a more detailed suggestion: "Using the materials directly is definitely the fastest and easiest option for now. But I suggest we reserve some of the bones for the research institute to study. We can analyze the underlying reasons for the changes in the bones. If we can use that knowledge to improve our existing forging techniques, even better."

Lin Chenxing suggested, "We should set aside at least one corpse from every type of monster for the research institute, so we can make the best use of everything."

Gao Zheng nodded slightly. "Then let's proceed with that plan for now. The research institute should work faster today to figure out how to use those bones to make bone weapons. When the Exploration Team heads out tomorrow, we should try to make sure everyone has one."

"Meeting adjourned."