Li Dong stepped out of the vehicle and glanced around the Shelter Base before heading straight through the main building's entrance.
The security personnel stationed at the door recognized Li Dong, so they didn't stop him.
Of course, if an ordinary worker or a stranger tried to enter the main building of the base, they would absolutely be barred. Even engineers from the Great Qin Heavy Industries Technology Company had to present an Entry Permit to gain access.
This was because some of the research projects in the main building were confidential—though only in a commercial sense.
Once inside, Li Dong made his way directly to his younger brother Li Tiang's office.
Third floor of the main building, inside an office.
Knock knock—
Li Dong rapped on the office door.
"Come in," Li Tiang's voice called from inside.
Creak—
Li Dong pushed the door open and entered.
"Brother, what brings you here?" Li Tiang looked up in surprise when he saw it was Li Dong.
Most of the affairs at the Shelter Base no longer required Li Dong's direct supervision. This was because he had hired professional managers to handle these matters.
At most, Li Dong would occasionally drop by to check on the construction progress.
The underground shelter was currently about 70% complete. In two months, it would likely reach 90%.
The remaining 10% would involve finishing touches—like turning a rough structure into something polished and fully equipped with all necessary systems and devices. Otherwise, the underground shelter wouldn't be functional.
Now, Li Dong mainly dealt with business owners and high-ranking executives from major corporations.
"I came to check on things. Have you heard about that island nation in the east dumping nuclear wastewater?" Li Dong pulled up a chair and sat down as he spoke.
"I just saw the news."
Li Tiang nodded.
"How's our Aquatic Product Farming Project coming along?" Li Dong asked next.
"Preliminary tests have been promising. Right now, one farming pool can yield about 2,000 kilograms of grass carp. With the AI Supercomputer assisting, we can monitor real-time changes in water quality data and let the AI make adjustments. Scientific farming reduces fish mortality and increases meat yield."
Li Tiang was quite pleased as he explained.
The water quality data mentioned included oxygen levels, temperature, ammonia nitrogen, pH, and more.
Aquaculture couldn't succeed with poor water conditions.
Since they couldn't find professional aquaculture experts, they had to take matters into their own hands.
Of course, Li Tiang had help—such as hiring experienced farming personnel to guide the modification of the farming pools.
Though humans could survive without fish after the apocalypse, fresh fish meat would become an extremely scarce resource.
During the Extreme Cold Apocalypse, rivers and lakes would freeze over, and even the oceans might solidify. In such conditions, getting a bite of radiation-free fish would be a rare luxury—unless it was farmed.
And it wasn't just fresh, uncontaminated fish meat.
After the apocalypse, even eating a single piece of fruit would be difficult.
Days after the meteorite struck Blue Star, temperatures could skyrocket to over 70 degrees Celsius. From the poles to the equator, the entire planet would turn into an oven.
Fires also broke out simultaneously, and the fruit trees currently cultivated by humans on the surface might be burned to death by the flames and extreme heat.
The ensuing frigid weather would then freeze all the surface fruit trees to death.
Unless the fruit trees were transplanted into an Ecological Park to prevent them from being burned or frozen.
But putting this into practice wouldn't be easy.
First, constructing an Ecological Park required vast resources—it needed to maintain a stable temperature, supplement sunlight for illumination, and more.
Just the Thermostatic system alone would stump many people.
After all, this was an Ecological Park built to withstand temperatures of minus sixty to seventy degrees Celsius, incomparable to the ones existing today.
"2,000 kilograms? That's quite a lot," Li Dong remarked.
The Aquaculture Room used a pond covering about one acre, with a depth of just one and a half meters.
It was worth noting that the highest yield from top-tier freshwater fish farming in the country currently maxed out at 2,500 kilograms per acre, though this involved various contributing factors.
Of course, experimental data was just that—it couldn't sustain such high yields indefinitely.
Because aquaculture also required massive amounts of feed.
Once feed supplies ran short, alternative solutions would be needed—like growing plants to feed the fish.
Fish feed would eventually be depleted unless they could establish contact with the outside world to obtain a steady supply of resources, including feed.
"By the way, I almost forgot to discuss the main issue. I want to inform a small group of people about the meteorite asteroid that's going to hit Blue Star, to win them over first," Li Dong said.
"When?"
"About half a month from now. Before that, we need to finalize the list of people to recruit."
"Got it. I'll notify them to attend the meeting when the time comes."
Informing a select few in advance was a decision Li Dong had carefully considered. After all, by May, the approaching meteorite asteroid would be observable by amateur astronomers.
Once news of the impending impact spread online, it would become common knowledge.
There would no longer be any need for secrecy.
The Shelter Base couldn't afford traitors, and the base had to remain firmly under the Li family's control.
So the selection of those to recruit had to be handled with extreme caution.
...
Li Dong stayed for lunch at the base's cafeteria.
Then he spent the entire afternoon wandering around the Shelter Base.
After the midday break, the construction workers resumed their bustling activity, the roar of machinery nearly deafening.
The lowest underground level of the Shelter had already been cast, with the entire floor sprawling in all directions, appearing incredibly spacious.
With a usable area of four square kilometers, how could it not be?
Of course, some sections still looked quite cramped.
Many rooms had been reserved, even including factory spaces.
Each room had a different function and purpose, though they were still empty and not yet operational.
As he walked through, Li Dong saw many workers busy with tasks like laying electrical wiring and plumbing.
Various systems were also being installed, such as central air conditioning and filtration systems.
After inspecting the still-rudimentary underground Shelter, Li Dong headed to the Aquaculture Room.
For now, the Aquaculture Room was housed in a twenty-meter-tall building, with each floor standing four meters high—five floors in total, covering an area of one thousand square meters.
Meaning, each floor had roughly one thousand square meters of usable space.
Of course, not every floor was used for raising fish. Some levels were dedicated to cultivating fry, shrimp larvae, or crab larvae.
Li Dong gazed at the farming pool ahead, teeming with fish—so densely packed there must have been at least a thousand.
The aquaculture density was extremely high.
"How many resources could this pool of fish trade for after the apocalypse?" Li Dong wondered to himself.