The meeting hosted by the Pengcheng authorities lasted seven consecutive days.
Li Dong had been staying at the Pengcheng administrative building throughout this period, handling meals and lodging there while delegating most of his work to family members or subordinates.
There was no other choice—the volume of official matters requiring coordination was overwhelming.
Many government projects required participation from various enterprises.
Of course, Pengcheng authorities provided participating companies with relevant technical guidance and support.
They wouldn't make enterprises work for nothing.
Around 9:00 AM on April 12th, Li Dong collected a stack of documents and returned by vehicle to the Shelter Base in Dongjiang City.
During the journey back,
Li Dong witnessed numerous citizens succumbing to viral outbreaks.
As the weather warmed,
the number of citizens transforming into Zombies continued to rise.
It was impossible to guard against completely. Most people wore masks outdoors as protection against viral infection.
This was because transmission vectors for the Mutated virus were multiplying, and the virus itself kept evolving, even splitting into dozens of variants.
While some mutated strains had become harmless to humans,
others remained deadly.
Literally so.
When these activated, they wouldn't turn people into Zombies—just kill them outright.
Moreover, natural viruses were also mutating. With seasonal changes, many citizens fell ill with conditions like colds or fevers.
Hospitals nationwide were stretched to their limits,
with doctors and nurses working nonstop.
"The Mutated Zombies are increasing. Several cities in the Boro Ancient Country have reportedly fallen completely. Rumor says they're considering nuclear purification?"
Li Dong swiped across his tablet screen while observing the streets through the armored vehicle's window.
Just moments earlier, a citizen's latent Zombie virus had activated on the street. After attacking several people, the individual was quickly subdued by arriving patrol officers.
They hadn't shot the infected outright because such specimens retained research value.
"I wonder if nuclear purification would actually help—it might even accelerate their Aberration further?"
Li Dong shook his head, clearing these thoughts.
This Military-grade All-Terrain Armored Vehicle was purchased through Pengcheng's official procurement platform.
Military vehicles might not be cutting-edge, but they were durable, reliable, and hard to break.
Li Dong had ordered one hundred such vehicles (machine-gun-free versions) through the platform.
Produced by an armaments conglomerate, full delivery would take another month.
Pengcheng authorities had plenty of quality resources—cooperation with officials was always the right move.
Li Dong had even placed an order for firearms and ammunition, though approval was still pending. If denied, no matter—they could manufacture their own.
With modified CNC machines and sufficient raw materials, firearms production was feasible.
While Li Dong lacked technical firearms knowledge, his younger brother had assured him it was entirely possible.
...
Similar official meetings were occurring nationwide across the Great Xia Empire.
Municipal authorities everywhere were convening local enterprises and conglomerates for discussions.
The primary goal was mutual understanding through communication, leading to cooperative agreements.
Returning to the Shelter Base, the military-grade off-road vehicle was parked by the driver in the underground garage of the Base Main Building.
The underground garage of the Base Main Building housed numerous rugged civilian off-road vehicles, all prepared for the apocalypse.
The entire underground garage of the Base Main Building contained no fewer than fifty vehicles of various types.
Among them, over thirty were professional All-Terrain Arctic Survival Vehicles capable of starting and operating in temperatures as low as -70 to -80 degrees Celsius.
This was just one of the many underground garages in the base; there were several others.
"Almost finished, right?"
Li Dong rode out of the underground garage on a small electric scooter, feeling in high spirits as he observed the increasingly well-equipped base.
Workers and construction machinery were still bustling around the site.
Low-rise buildings were being put into use one after another, and truckloads of supplies were being transported in and out of the base.
Upon returning to the base, Li Dong's first priority was to call a meeting.
He needed to relay the contents of the official conference to the base's engineers, scholars, experts, management, and technical staff.
He also had to inform them about the tasks assigned to them by the Pengcheng authorities.
Before returning, Li Dong had already discussed the meeting with his younger brother, instructing Li Tiang to organize the attendees in advance to discuss task handovers, appoint responsible personnel, and more.
There was still a lot of work to be done.
Li Dong wasn't the only one doing this. Many CEOs, major business owners, state-owned enterprise leaders, corporate executives, and others were also rushing to organize meetings with their department heads upon returning.
There was no other choice—the matter was too significant.
No single individual could handle it alone.
In a matter of days, major enterprises and corporations would begin launching their own Shelter construction plans.
Market resources would further shrink—an unavoidable consequence.
Fortunately, Li Dong had already spent most of his available funds, leaving only a few billion in reserve.
By next month,
money would still be usable, but its purchasing power would no longer be as strong.
No amount of money could buy more supplies, as various resources would be under official control, preventing individuals from hoarding too much.
In the conference hall of the Base Main Building,
hundreds of engineers, scholars, experts, relevant personnel, and senior technicians had gathered.
"We must prepare for the worst. This isn't just a catastrophe for one nation—it's a disaster that will affect the entire human civilization of Lanwen."
"Let me ask—when will all the base's construction projects be fully completed?"
"Based on your vision, Mr. Li, it will likely take until November to finish everything."
"That slow?"
"Yes."
"What are the current material reserves in the base?"
"Let me report on that. Currently, the grain storage facilities hold 500,000 tons of premium rice, 300,000 tons each of barley and wheat flour... 20 tons each of rice flour and millet flour."
Comment from a user:
These numbers are enough to feed 10,000 adults for centuries.
"300,000 tons each of coarse/old rice, 300,000 tons of various pickled vegetables (primarily napa cabbage), 100,000 tons of frozen fresh meat."
"30,000 tons of canned fruit—approximately 70.56 million cans, 50,000 tons of canned meat—about 100 million cans."
"3 million tons of purified/drinkable water."
"300,000 tons of various edible oils."
"200,000 tons of table salt, and 500,000 tons of crude salt..."
As the staggering figures of supplies were announced, everyone present felt a wave of relief.
In truth, the disclosed supplies were still somewhat understated.
These were only the reserves of the Shelter Base, not counting the personal stockpiles of individuals.
Yet, such an abundance of resources was more than enough to ensure a comfortable life for everyone in the base during the apocalypse.
"100 tons of various medicines, including 20 tons each of traditional Chinese medicine and unprocessed medicinal herbs..."
"Our base has one Sewage Purification Room, capable of processing 20,000 tons of sewage daily at full capacity. We have a total of nine such rooms."
"Currently, the base has a certain power generation capacity, producing 2 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per day."
The Sewage Purification Rooms aren't just for human use—livestock in the base also benefit from them.
The base's electricity comes from multiple sources: besides geothermal power, there's also fuel-based, thermal, and Biogas power generation.
"5 million tons of high-quality coal."
"2 million tons of pig feed, 800,000 tons of fish feed... 200,000 tons of forage..."
The pig feed here includes feed for piglets, growing pigs, and mature pigs at various stages of development, and the same applies to fish feed.
There's also shrimp feed, crab feed, and more.
"Total reserves of various types of Nutrient Soil for cultivation: 6 million tons... Fertilizer reserves: 3 million tons..."