Chapter 854: On the Eve of Crisis

North American War Zone, Sixth Fleet of the Circum-Atlantic.

Hundred-meter beehive underground branch, circular meeting room.

Seventeen high-ranking officials in various uniforms silently examined the detailed reports in their hands.

On the AR curtain wall, natural light was projected, dispelling the oppressive feeling of being underground.

"Your Excellency Andre."

"You mean, cancel the investment in technological transformation?"

"Focus all efforts on cultivating Awakened Ones?"

Directly opposite Andre, a balding middle-aged man tugged at his tie, feeling the air a bit stuffy.

Large beads of sweat dripped from his forehead.

The information conveyed in the report was too shocking.

In the trial, the Awakened One named Lin An erupted with combat power so incredible it was almost unbelievable at the final battle.

"That's right."

Sitting in his wheelchair, Andre gave a slight nod with a somewhat pale face, his eyes full of indifference:

"No need to waste resources restoring technology."

"As the apocalypse progresses, only individual strength can possibly resist this apocalypse."

"All resources will be poured into the Awakened Ones, and a new round of mutation projects will be launched."

His words were simple, but their meaning left no room for doubt.

"But..."

Clad in navy blue military uniform, the former Commander-in-Chief of the Atlantic Seventh Fleet, a four-star general, opened his mouth.

His expression was full of reluctance, as well as an obstinate clinging to past glory.

"We still have six aircraft carrier fleets operating normally! Nuclear submarines on the ocean floor, overseas military bases in each war zone, strategic launch wells..."

"Are we really supposed to abandon all of these!?"

"Once we stop the industrial recovery projects, we will soon lose..."

"Idiot, are you questioning me?"

He asked softly.

Andre gave no face to this former military power faction, bluntly cutting him off.

His eyes blazing with anger, the interrupted general clenched his fists tightly, breathing heavily through his nostrils.

No wonder he was so agitated.

In many military judgments, restoring industrial capacity and the military-industrial industry is considered the optimal solution against the apocalypse.

As long as we mobilize firepower to rebuild the large-scale land, sea, and air forces, we might not be unable to wipe out zombies and mutants.

Under firepower coverage, zombies are just moving flesh.

Impressive, but special events are rather troublesome.

Scanning the surroundings, Andre's gaze toward everyone was full of mockery and pity.

"I know what you're thinking, and I can even guess that you believe the limit of third-stage power is nothing more than a self-propelled nuclear weapon."

"Use your brains."

"Just taking Lin An as an example, he casually unleashes several sonic-speed impacts, releasing group skills; any regular force would suffer devastating blows."

"Unless we grasp his coordinates in advance and launch a large number of nuclear missiles above Mach 7 in an extremely short time, there's no way to kill him!"

"But don't forget, his strength in the death match was only at the second level..."

With a crisp vibration, the cracked diamond-shaped mirror surface revealed the full picture of Lin An's attack.

That was the sword stream storm Lin An summoned in the final battle.

After just a dozen seconds, the footage finished playing.

Following that, came Andre's cold voice:

"Tell me."

"A human, an Awakened One... can produce an attack of this magnitude."

"What about third-stage mutants? Fourth-stage?"

"Do you still think this is the world before the apocalypse?"

"Truly... laughable to the extreme..."

Hearing Andre's undisguised mockery, the faces of many high-level officials turned dark.

Merely the footage just played was far more impactful than the text in the report.

Humans, how can they be this strong..

Too lazy to waste more words with everyone.

In his wheelchair, Andre silently used mental power to steer the chair outward, preparing to end the meeting.

Before leaving, he casually tossed a recording-stone-like prop onto the conference table:

"Our disaster progression has reached 73.3%."

"Take a look, take a look at what this bunch of idiots is going to face..."

The cold voice echoed as the alloy door closed, reverberating in the vast meeting room.

A few seconds later, a roar and howl rose.

"Damn it! Who does he think he is? Half a year ago, it was just a lump of rotten meat bred by a son of a bitch!"

"That brat is mocking us!"

Half a minute later.

After venting their anger, the crowd took a deep breath, then looked doubtfully at the audio-visual prop Andre had finally thrown out.

His face flushed with anger, the nearest general snatched up the stone and, to his surprise, discovered an inconspicuous label stuck on it.

【Kloi Strategic Nuclear Submarine: stationed at coordinates 99-81-57】

On the label, the time in the lower right corner was, shockingly, just two hours ago.

Their hearts jolted, several people suddenly felt uneasy, and they then used the prop to play the footage.

A few seconds later, a hazy light screen appeared in the meeting room, looking like video footage.

Beep—Kloi is diving, current depth 377, pressure normal, equipment operating normally.

In the picture, the seabed is dim and bluish, with the camera positioned roughly on the submarine's side.

Beep—diving depth 411...

A series of log-like recordings played, clearly made by the submarine's crew.

Hiss—

Oh my God. There's even a rotting zombie here? I saw it tangled in seaweed?

The worker's voice came through muffled, as he observed the surroundings via the submarine's external camera using a handheld device.

A complaint rang out:

Damn, I have no idea how these monsters got into the sea... it's bad enough they're everywhere in the city, but could these guys actually swim?!

Beep—diving depth 454

Really disgusting... Mark.

Did you see that shark? Its head was bitten off, yet it could still swim...

I saw it... keep stealth mode. Those infected creatures are terrifyingly strong... last time our propeller almost got smashed...

Beep—diving depth 499

Beep—diving depth 613

In the meeting room, the crowd's expressions grew grave. With hands on the table, an officer-like Awakened One hesitated and asked:

What is this submarine doing? What does this footage mean?

Without turning, a high-ranking official who knew part of the information replied slowly:

They're probably looking for a piece of equipment? I recall the nearby Kloi Safe Zone reported a mission issued in the surrounding waters.

They probably just wanted to have a look?

As soon as he finished speaking, the dive depth in the footage had already reached 700.

In an instant, a loud buzzer and panicked shouts rang out:

Beep—diving depth 771

Good God! What is that?! Something is approaching us at high speed!

Alarm! Alarm! Unknown impact detected! Alarm!

Damn! That thing is crashing into us!

Bang!!!

The picture shook violently.

All that could be heard was a bone‑chilling screech as the metal violently deformed, screaming wildly from the recording.

In the final frame, a black shadow that blotted out the sky swept across and snapped the hundred‑meter‑long strategic nuclear submarine in half.

Zzz—

The picture froze, turning into endless darkness.

In an instant, the meeting room fell silent.

The crowd was clearly startled by the sudden turn of events.

What... what just attacked them?!

Is it a mutant whale, or what?!

They stared at each other, eyes full of panic. The black shadow that suddenly appeared in the deep sea destroyed everything in an instant.

Two seconds later, a line of report flashed across the ending footage.

According to the last transmitted image.

The Kloi strategic nuclear submarine, in 1.2 seconds, was struck by an unknown black shadow about 1,175 meters long; the impact speed was Mach 3.

Zzz—

The picture switched, the view suddenly shifting to a high‑altitude reconnaissance drone.

All that could be seen was a calm, enclosed sea, a vast black shadow occupying the entire field of view, silently lurking beneath the surface.

Boom!!!

A kilometer‑high water column shot up.

In an instant, a massive tentacle shot up from the seabed and smashed the hovering drone to pieces.

A few seconds later, the drone's wreckage drifted on the waves, as if nothing had happened.

Zzz—

The explanation updated again.

Black background, white text:

According to intelligence analysis and maritime reconnaissance.

That black shadow is a third‑rank mutant creature? One of the tentacles of the mutant Hai Yao Kasien; the mutant's total length...

4,717 meters!!