Messages in the doomsday shelter group chat were rapidly refreshing by the dozens at this moment.
It could be said that nearly all group members had surfaced to comment.
The video just shared contained too much shocking information—enough to drive people mad.
"Are they insane? Just for some minor regional conflict, they'd release this kind of virus? Aren't they afraid of losing control?"
"We're screwed!"
"Hunter Zhang Ge, is there still time for me to stock up on supplies now?"
"Won't this zombie virus spread to our Great Xia Nation immediately? Though it's tens of thousands of kilometers away..."
"I suggest you prioritize stocking self-defense weapons over supplies. Getting bitten and infected would be worse."
"Group members needing protective gear can contact me for custom orders. I can even craft full-body armor—European plate armor included."
The chat kept flooding with various opinions.
Some entrepreneurial members even advertised their services, with the more hands-on ones offering to forge weapons—provided they were paid in money or supplies.
Of course, these weapons excluded firearms, which remained strictly prohibited in Great Xia Nation.
Then Hunter Zhang Ge chimed in: "Don't panic. According to my intel, this virus isn't as exaggerated as in movies—just an enhanced variant of rabies. Its fatality and infection rates are low, single-digit percentages. Transmission isn't airborne or waterborne like fictional portrayals either."
"Huh?"
"Wait really?"
"So it won't spread here immediately? Makes sense—reality isn't a movie."
"That's a relief. I thought doomsday had arrived."
Hunter Zhang Ge's explanation immediately eased the group's tension.
Their worst fear—waking up to find everyone outside turned into zombies—was too horrifying to contemplate.
"The virus has an incubation period post-infection. Administering relevant vaccines during this window should prevent onset—even standard rabies vaccines offer some protection. Rest assured, modern science can handle this minor viral threat," Hunter Zhang Ge continued.
Even if these zombies evolved into Tyrant zombies like in films, they'd be shredded by the metal storm of 30mm autocannons—humanity's violent artistry at thousands of rounds per minute.
What carbon-based lifeform could withstand that? Reduced to dust instantly.
Even silicon-based entities would be pulverized.
If 30mm failed, humanity had larger options—120mm cannons packing enough punch?
Still insufficient? Try 300mm coastal artillery or naval guns.
Or the ultimate 800mm super artillery—all within human engineering capabilities.
As long as industrial systems remained functional, even extreme cold wouldn't compromise survival.
"The emergence of zombie-like viruses proves those European aristocrats never regarded commoners as human," Li Dong mused while reading the chat, piecing together the implications.
Yet he remained certain: such bioweapons couldn't have been developed by the European Federation alone. Other nations or organizations must be involved.
For instance, the Far Star Union, and possibly even the Polar Bear Federation, might get involved.
As for the Great Xia Nation, that's simply unthinkable.
After all, the national conditions are different. Great Xia values its people above all else and prioritizes the stability of the state. The elder statesmen of the cabinet and the remnants of the old imperial family have loftier aspirations and ideals.
That constitutional monarch who abdicated, though long deceased, still profoundly influences the nation.
He was a legend of his time—on this ancient land with eight thousand years of civilization, few sages in history could compare to him. He stood in a league of his own.
An orphan who grew up on the kindness of strangers, with no family backing or powerful patrons, he rose up with nothing but a scavenged, battered rifle. Rallying millions, he spent decades rebuilding a strong and civilized nation from the ashes.
In wars abroad, he never suffered a single defeat.
Today, the reason Great Xia is recognized as one of the three global powers is entirely due to the foundation laid by that emperor.
Of course, Great Xia's foreign propaganda department refuses to acknowledge itself as a superpower.
Instead, they insist that the true superpowers are the Far Star Union, the Polar Bear Federation, and the Europa Federation—conveniently excluding themselves.
They are the three poles of the world.
This move has left many other nations utterly baffled.
[Huh, you're not?]
[Wait, if you're not, then who is? Me?]
[Bro, are you messing with us?]
But the propaganda narratives of other countries unanimously agree that Great Xia is a superpower. If you won't admit it, fine—we will.
Setting that aside—
In Great Xia, biological laboratories and all forms of human or animal experimentation are strictly regulated.
The idea of releasing viruses on the battlefield is simply impossible here.
Because it wouldn't even be worth it. With Great Xia's national strength, if they truly wanted to crush a smaller nation, they could just roll right over them.
Meanwhile, most other countries on Blue Star don't have such stringent controls—or lack the capacity to enforce them.
Many nations on Blue Star are trapped in perpetual warfare, without even a functional government. How could they possibly regulate anything?
Refugees flee in droves.
People are traded like livestock, and organ trafficking has become an entire industry.
In weaker, poorer nations, or those engulfed in endless conflict, these horrors are already commonplace.
Multinational conglomerates, restricted by their own countries' laws, simply take their operations abroad. They offer vast sums of money or weapons to secure permission from foreign governments or rebel forces.
And so, biological laboratories are established under these very conditions.
After all, it's not their citizens being used as test subjects.
Conducting research overseas means even the most forbidden experiments won't face repercussions at home.
As for international law and Interpol?
By the time they come knocking, all evidence has already been destroyed. There's nothing they can do.
And the nobles, tycoons, corporate elites, and financial backers abroad—desperate for longevity, for immortality—will go to insane lengths.
Of course, this isn't something one person can push alone. They organize. They form alliances.
Even within the Far Star Union and the Europa Federation, these aristocrats, magnates, and corporate power players wield considerable influence behind the scenes.
Billions of dollars are routinely invested to support biological research laboratories worldwide, primarily focused on anti-aging drugs and life-extending medications.
Compared to reports in some Daxia media about foreign billionaires undergoing blood or heart replacements, these efforts are on an entirely different scale.
With the ongoing wars, the influx of refugees into the Europan Federation has become overwhelming. The occasional disappearance of a few individuals goes entirely unnoticed.
People from Black Africa, lured by tales of the Europan Federation's generous welfare system—where even the air is fragrant, and the land flows with milk and bread—have been migrating there in droves over the past few decades.
In reality, they are nothing more than refugees to the Europan Federation.
Some of these refugees become expendable materials, sent to various biological research labs for experimentation, while others become undocumented laborers, generating massive profits for capital. In short, every resource is exploited to its fullest.
It's common knowledge that the Far Star Union has its Super-soldier program. Naturally, the Europan Federation and the Polar Bear Federation have similar initiatives.
Biological experimentation is unavoidable.
Humanity's research into viruses cannot be halted.
"According to Tiang, this virus has other variants and even carries its own radiation?" Li Dong turned off his phone screen and stood up, gazing at the roaring construction site ahead.
In Li Dong's line of sight, over a hundred large machines were operating across the six-square-kilometer plot of land.
Hundreds of specialized vehicles were also at work.
Massive quantities of materials were being transported in and out.
Thousands of workers carried out their tasks in an orderly fashion. Donghua Village had now been renamed the Daqin Heavy Industries Technology Headquarters, and the land to its south, along with some previously unused areas, had been completely cleared.
Single-story, prefabricated steel-framed industrial buildings had been erected on what was once farmland.
These were called single-layer workshops.