Chapter 69
Su Jing had just completed a small circulation in her meditation room at her villa deep in the mountains. Before the indigo spiritual energy swirling around her fingertips had fully dissipated, the system panel emitted a notification sound: "Global Channel New Messages 99+".
She slowly opened her eyes, got up and walked to the solid wood table by the window, lightly tapping the panel to select a channel—
The light blue logo of the People's Republic of China occupied half the screen, while Chen Yang's post, marked with a dark gray "Sharp Blade (People's Republic of China)," was trending, his words radiating reassurance.
"Brothers! I just arrived at the shelter in the east of the city to help out! The heating equipment inside is all brand new—"
The oil-fired boilers run 24 hours a day, and each cubicle has radiators, keeping the temperature consistently above 20°C! The shelter has even provided "I'm the God of Wealth" energy-boosting pills; each registered resident receives two, supposedly to enhance their cold resistance! The shelter is very orderly now; staff are helping everyone move their luggage, it's much safer than staying at home!
The message was accompanied by a photo: In the picture, green cots were neatly arranged in the spacious shelter hall, with folded military green quilts piled up next to them. A fuel-fired boiler in the corner was emitting wisps of white smoke, and several staff members in blue uniforms were distributing small transparent bottles containing pills to the people with patient smiles on their faces.
Less than two minutes later, Zhao Yue, from "Flying Swallow (China)," followed with a message of "gratification": "I'm helping to compile statistics on overseas compatriots returning to China at the community service center—"
As of this morning, 90% of overseas Chinese have returned home via chartered flights and ferries. Most have been assigned to nearby shelters and received warm clothing and medicine!
However, a few people are still hesitant, such as some compatriots in the United States and the European Union, who feel that their local areas can still hold out for a while. Having missed the last batch of charter flights, it's now difficult for them to return; tickets have long been sold out, and logistics have stopped.
The channel was instantly flooded with comments like "I'm relieved" and "Thank goodness I'm back home," with light blue icons appearing one after another.
- "User 156 from China": "I came back from America last week and am now in a shelter in a logistics park in the suburbs. I get hot meals and medicine every day, which is much better than fighting for supplies there every day! The supermarkets there are out of bread, and the shelters don't have heating, so it's freezing!"
- "User 327 from China": "My parents were traveling in Europe before, but luckily they caught the last charter flight and are now with me at the shelter in the west of the city. They received 3 Qi Gathering Pills. My mom said that after taking them, her hands and feet are no longer cold. They are so effective!"
In contrast, the red US logo and the gold EU logo conveyed a sense of anxiety, a stark contrast to the orderly demeanor of China.
- Jack the Red "Hunter (USA)": "Envy my ass! The shelters in the US are a joke! Half of the heating system is broken, and the rest can only maintain 10°C. The only warm supplies are thin sleeping bags. Forget about pills, there aren't even any cold medicine! I should have bought more health pills from 'I am the God of Wealth' back then, at least I could have withstood the cold a bit!"
- Emily, the Golden Nightingale (EU): "Our EU shelters are in even worse shape! The shortage of supplies is too great. Each citizen can only receive a thin down jacket, which is not enough to withstand -60°C! We wanted to buy medicine from China, but they prioritized supplying their own people and didn't have any extra to sell to us. Now we can only rely on the 500 pills we stockpiled before, which is not enough to distribute!"
Su Jing quickly scrolled through the messages, her fingertips pausing lightly on the panel—she could feel the reassurance of the Chinese users in the channel, and she could also understand the anxiety of her compatriots stranded overseas, but her focus at the moment was not on the shelter, but on the defense of her villa deep in the mountains.
The encounters with the Azure Wolf and Crimson Flame Tiger in the previous cultivation dungeon made her realize that even more ferocious monsters might appear under the extreme weather conditions of the apocalypse. Although the existing trenches could prevent humans from breaking in, they could not stop the huge monsters. A more solid barrier had to be added.
"Let's dig a moat." Su Jing had an idea. She got up, walked to the spatial entrance, and her consciousness sank into the freshwater lake in the "livelihood area"—
This is a "miniature freshwater lake" that she redeemed with points in the Cyber instance. It has a storage capacity of 500 cubic meters and the water is clear enough to be introduced into the area around the villa to form a barrier.
She then checked the "Tools Area": there were 2 small excavators (previously stockpiled to reinforce the trenches), 10 entrenching tools, 5 rolls of waterproof cloth, and "Quick-Setting Cement" redeemed from the system store, enough to dig and reinforce the moat.
Su Jing exited the spatial dimension, walked into the courtyard, and gave instructions to the two patrol robots that had just returned from the warehouse at the foot of the mountain: "Immediately start the two small excavators in the tool area and first measure the area around the villa—"
Centered on the villa, dig a circular moat 2 meters wide and 3 meters deep, 5 meters outside the existing trenches. The route should avoid solar panels and warehouses to ensure that energy supply and material storage are not affected.
"Instructions received. Excavator starting. Site surveying expected to begin in 10 minutes." The robot's electronic voice finished speaking, and one of them turned and drove towards the warehouse, quickly bringing out two small yellow excavators. The excavator buckets gleamed with a metallic sheen, making them particularly eye-catching in the sunlight.
Another robot took out a laser rangefinder and slowly moved around the villa, drawing clear red laser lines on the ground to determine the specific route of the moat.
While the robot was measuring, Su Jing took out 10 infrared alarms from her space—these were "smart infrared alarms" that she had redeemed with points. They had a detection range of 10 meters and could identify animal and human activities. Once triggered, they would connect to the villa's alarm system, emitting a piercing buzzing sound, and would also pop up a notification on her system panel.
She buried an alarm every 5 meters along the route marked by the robot on the inner side of the moat, fixed it to the prefabricated cement base with a screwdriver, and then wrapped the wires with a waterproof cloth to prevent water from entering and damaging it when the moat was dug later.
"The alarm system has been installed and connected to the main alarm system in the villa. Trigger test successful."
Su Jing pressed the test button, and the alarm on the second floor of the villa immediately emitted a "beep beep beep" sound. The system panel simultaneously displayed a message: "The infrared alarm is operating normally, and the detection range covers the inner side of the moat with no blind spots." She nodded in satisfaction and checked the wiring connections again to ensure that it would not malfunction in extreme weather.
By now, the sun was setting, casting golden rays across the ground around the villa. The robotic excavator had begun its first scoop of earth, the black soil billowing up and settling into small mounds on the nearby open ground. Su Jing stood in the yard, watching the excavator work methodically, then looked up at the distant mountains—
It was completely silent there, with only the rustling of the wind through the trees, but she knew that with the approaching extreme cold, unknown dangers could appear at any moment.
She walked to the control interface of the freshwater lake and lightly tapped "Open water valve"—
A stream of clear water flowed out through the pre-designed pipes and slowly moved along the shallow trench dug by the excavator. Although only a small amount of water was flowing out now, she knew that once the moat was completed and 100 cubic meters of water were introduced, this place would become a solid "natural barrier".
It can not only prevent monsters from entering, but also freeze when extreme cold arrives, forming a thicker defensive layer.
On the system panel, messages on the global channel continued to refresh. Chen Yang and Zhao Yue were still sharing the latest situation at the shelter, and requests for help from overseas compatriots stranded abroad occasionally appeared, but were quickly drowned out by reassuring comments from Chinese users. Su Jing turned off the channel and refocused her attention on the excavator's work.
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