These single-story factory buildings are typically used for production, storage, and logistics.
Most importantly, such structures offer ample space—tall, open, and conducive to the layout and operations of logistics and production.
Moreover, they are inexpensive to construct, easy to install, simple to expand, and straightforward to maintain and manage.
For now, they can temporarily meet the needs of the Great Qin Heavy Industries Technology Company.
Some of the heavier production equipment and raw materials can be stored here for the time being. According to Li Tiang's vision, he practically intends to relocate the entirety of humanity's existing industrial system into the underground shelter.
Humanity cannot afford to lose its current industrial framework.
Losing it would mean civilization regressing by centuries, reverting to the feudal era.
After all, reality doesn't have the kind of "systems" found in novels.
Building a large-scale underground shelter tens of meters—or even deeper—beneath the surface would require an enormous amount of manpower and resources.
A project of this scale cannot be accomplished by just a few individuals.
Thus, Li Tiang plans to harness the collective strength of the people and the expertise of construction teams to build a truly massive shelter—one capable of housing the entirety of modern civilization's industrial system underground.
Even if the complete industrial system can't be preserved, at least half of it must be salvaged to prevent too severe a regression.
What could Li Dong do?
Naturally, he would support his younger brother. After all, with a name like "Dong" (sinking the boat), how could he lack the courage to burn his bridges and go all-in?
Since they were going big, they might as well bet everything.
The plan was to construct the underground shelter in three layers. At the fastest estimated pace, it could be completed just before the apocalypse arrived.
To speed things up further, they would need more powerful machinery and more workers.
In Li Tiang's blueprint, this underground shelter would not only withstand nuclear strikes but also resist earthquakes below magnitude 9.
As for quakes above magnitude 9? Unfortunately, there was little they could do—such scenarios were beyond consideration.
To date, no human structure has survived a quake of that scale unscathed unless it was far enough from the epicenter.
Well, simulated structural resilience isn't always accurate.
What if the shelter was directly at the earthquake's epicenter?
It could very well be torn apart.
The earth splitting open, the ground heaving several meters high—such forces would be enough to topple even buildings supposedly rated for magnitude 9.9 or 10+ earthquakes.
As for the shelter's design blueprints—
Li Dong's younger brother, Li Tiang, had consulted numerous geological engineering experts, civil engineering masters, and architectural designers, compiling their data and proposed designs. These were then refined using big data analysis and weak AI, running simulations on a supercomputer dozens of times before arriving at the final blueprint.
According to the design, this shelter would not only feature complete water, electricity, and heating systems but also a fully self-sufficient ecological agriculture setup, along with comprehensive drainage, waste disposal, and ventilation systems.
Even in the apocalypse, it would retain some degree of industrial production capability.
The above-ground structures would be connected to the underground shelter, all constructed with advanced cold-proof and insulation materials—capable of withstanding temperatures as low as -100°C.
No one knew whether the surface temperature in Dongjiang City, Guangnan Province, would plummet to -100°C in the future.
But it never hurt to be prepared.
The current cold-proof and insulation materials aren't particularly expensive, but once restrictions are imposed from above, all kinds of supplies will skyrocket in price.
Especially those materials that can protect against the cold, retain warmth, and provide insulation.
Li Dong watched as truck after truck of steel bars were hauled through the gates of the Shelter base.
Rivers of sand and gravel piled up like mountains on the ground.
Dozens of large cement mixers continuously churned out freshly mixed concrete, which workers swiftly carted away for use.
Over a hundred excavators rumbled in simultaneous operation.
Buzz—
Just as Li Dong was admiring the massive scale of the construction work before him, his phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket.
Before the ringtone could even play, he yanked the phone out and tapped to answer.
"Hello, this is Li Dong."
"Bro, it's me, Tiang. Did you see the video in the group chat just now?"
"I saw it."
"Listen, that video is just the beginning. This virus will keep mutating, and the infection rate will keep rising."
"And then?"
"The transmission methods will evolve over time. Right now, it's only spread through bites, but in a year, this virus might combine with others, leading to multiple infection vectors."
"The Infected usually lose their rationality and ability to think, or their bodies undergo Aberration. They feel no pain and hunt and feed aimlessly, like wild beasts. Oh, and animals can get infected too."
"By the time the apocalypse hits, they might even develop extreme resistance to the cold."
"From what you're saying, it sounds like these people will keep releasing and studying this virus?" Li Dong asked gravely.
"Of course. Human greed knows no bounds," Li Tiang replied after a brief pause.
"But I suspect other factors might also trigger mutations—like rising temperatures releasing ancient viruses once trapped in ice."
Li Dong asked, "Will humans develop evolved individuals?"
"Bro, have you been watching too many movies? This is reality. There won't be any 'evolved' people. The Infected will only experience Aberration, decay, swelling, or death—or dissolve from high radiation exposure."
"Of course, if you get vaccinated in advance and build immunity, infection won't be much of a threat."
"..."
The two continued talking for a few more minutes before hanging up.
"Damn, first Meteorites, now a zombie-like virus? Trying to die faster or what? Why mess with viruses of all things?"
Li Dong cursed under his breath after ending the call.
With current technology, humanity has no way of controlling the subsequent mutations of a virus.
Because viruses are unpredictable—no one knows what they'll mutate into after release, or how deadly they'll become.
What's worse, the coming earthquakes could destroy so-called biolabs, releasing all the viruses being studied worldwide.
Hundreds of different viruses, mixed with ancient ones—who knows what kind of abomination they'd mutate into?
Who knows if the mutated virus would even be lethal?
And earthquakes, tsunamis—they could also cause nuclear leaks.
Just because a nuclear power plant has strong seismic resistance doesn't mean we can ignore the risks—nuclear leaks have happened before.
Radioactive nuclides aren't something the human body can withstand. After all, we're not Kryptonians.
Li Dong took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, pulled one out, lit it, and looked up at the 800-meter-high mountain to the east.
At that moment, the unnamed mountain was being slowly excavated by a massive tunnel boring machine, with rubble and soil being transported out via conveyor belts.
The engineers operating the machine continuously checked for any positioning errors.
They were drilling an air-raid shelter—one of the entrances to the underground Shelter—so they wouldn't bore completely through the mountain.
A building would also be constructed at this entrance as camouflage.
"Now this is what I call a proper machine. Just looking at it feels satisfying," Li Dong remarked, exhaling a puff of smoke.
...