Chapter 29
The overhead lights in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs press conference hall were blindingly bright, and the large black characters "Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China" on the off-white backdrop were particularly eye-catching. The audience was packed with journalists from various countries, their red camera indicator lights flashing in a continuous barrage, and the air was thick with a tense atmosphere of questioning—everyone's focus was on the "overseas citizen recall order" issued by the People's Republic of China yesterday.
"Speaker, is your country's sudden issuance of a recall order for overseas citizens, requiring them to return within 15 days, related to the recently circulated 'anonymous letter warning of doomsday'?" A reporter from CNN raised their hand first, their voice deliberately sharp. "There are reports that your Ministry of Emergency Management received an anonymous letter mentioning threats such as -60°C extreme cold and monsters. Is the recall order in response to these unknown risks?"
Before the spokesperson could speak, a reporter from the European Union News Agency immediately added: "We have noticed that your country has recently been intensively requisitioning construction equipment in several provinces, suspected of constructing large-scale underground facilities. Is this related to the recall order? Can the safety of EU citizens in China be guaranteed?"
The murmurs from the audience instantly grew louder as reporters crowded forward, microphones in hand, trying to catch a more detailed response. Just then, the side door of the press conference opened, and Minister Zhou of the Ministry of Emergency Management strode in—he was wearing a dark gray suit, his tie impeccably tied, a folded document in his hand, and his face bearing his usual composure. Upon seeing him, the spokesperson immediately stepped aside to make way: "Regarding the issues of public welfare and those concerning overseas citizens that everyone is concerned about, we would like to invite Minister Zhou of the Ministry of Emergency Management to provide further responses."
Old Zhou walked to the podium, tapped the microphone lightly with his fingertips, and the noisy hall instantly quieted down. "First of all, thank you all for your concern for the rights and interests of our citizens." His voice carried throughout the hall through the speakers, his pace steady. "The purpose of issuing this recall order for overseas citizens is to protect the lives and property of our compatriots overseas. Recently, extreme weather has occurred in many parts of the world, and the risk of war has increased in some areas. As a responsible country, our country has an obligation to provide convenience for overseas citizens to return to their motherland. This is just normal population flow guidance and has nothing to do with any 'rumors'."
"Then why is it a 15-day emergency period?" the CNN reporter pressed. "And your country's emergency management department has recently purchased a large number of generators and insulation materials, which is not in line with the scale of 'normal weather response'."
Old Zhou picked up his water glass, took a sip, and slowly began to speak: "The 15-day timeframe takes into account both international flight scheduling and citizens' preparation time; it's not an 'emergency.' As for the procurement of supplies, it's to cope with the usual low temperatures in winter. Northern my country stockpiles disaster relief supplies every year in advance; this is standard practice and has no special purpose." His gaze swept across the audience, his tone firm, "Regarding the safety of EU citizens, my country will, as always, protect the legitimate rights and interests of foreign nationals in China; there's no need for excessive concern."
After the press conference, Zhou didn't linger and went straight back to the Ministry of Emergency Management by car. As soon as he entered the office building, Sister Zhang from the General Affairs Department greeted him with a stack of documents: "Minister Zhou, these are the site selection plans for shelter construction submitted by various regions, totaling 127 underground site selection points, covering key areas such as Northeast, North China, and Northwest China. There is also a list of material procurement; 20,000 5-kilowatt gasoline generators have been ordered, and the insulation material is enough to cover 1 million square meters."
Old Zhou took the document and strode into the conference room, which was already filled with heads of various departments. The projection screen displayed a "National Shelter Construction Progress Schedule," with 30 projects marked in red as "First Batch of Key Projects," each with a note stating "Main structure to be completed within 7 days." "There's no time to waste," Old Zhou said, slamming the document on the table and pointing to the northeastern region on the screen. "The anonymous letter mentioned that the extreme cold would begin in the north. The three underground shelters in the northeast must be prioritized for construction. Dispatch the construction teams today and build the framework as quickly as possible. The insulation layer must be 5cm thick and fire-retardant. The generator and coal must be transported to the site in advance to ensure they are usable as soon as they are built."
“Minister Zhou, the construction team is not in serious trouble, but the transportation of materials will take time, especially since temperatures have started to drop in parts of the Northeast and the roads may become icy.” The head of the transportation department said with a frown, “Moreover, some provinces have reported that their steel and concrete stocks are insufficient and they need to be transferred from neighboring provinces.”
"Prioritize supplies for shelters!" Old Zhou's tone left no room for argument. "Have the railway bureau set up a 'shelter supply train' to prioritize the transport of steel, concrete, and insulation materials; regarding the icy roads, have the highway bureau send de-icing trucks to clear the routes in advance, ensuring 24-hour uninterrupted transport, and guaranteeing that the main structures of the first batch of shelters are completed within 7 days." He paused, then added, "In addition, notify the medical department to allocate basic medicines such as cold medicine and antibiotics to each shelter, preparing enough for 10,000 people, to avoid shortages of medical supplies during the extreme cold weather."
The people in the meeting room immediately stood up and started working, their phones ringing and reports mingling. Old Zhou walked to the window, watching the busy staff below, and pulled out a copy of the anonymous letter from his pocket—he had circled the words "-60℃ extreme cold for 15 days" in red pen. His response at the press conference was merely to avoid causing panic, but he knew in his heart that every detail in the anonymous letter could not be ignored—from generator power to the location of the shelter, the suggestions in the letter were so precise that they didn't seem like a prank, and the overseas recall order was a decision made by the higher-ups after weighing the options: it could both allow overseas citizens to return to the relatively safe country and reserve manpower for possible future crises.
Meanwhile, the international reaction continues to unfold. The U.S. State Department issued a statement on its website, saying that "China's recall order lacks transparency and could trigger regional panic"; the European Council held an emergency meeting to discuss "the impact of China's unknown actions on global supply chains." The Times of London's front page headline read, "China may possess evidence of 'doomsday threat,' recall order hides a secret," accompanied by a photo of Zhou Enlai responding at a press conference.
Ignoring the international skepticism, Lao Zhou was focused on the real-time updates on the construction progress on his phone—the foundation of a shelter in Northeast China had been excavated, with live footage of the excavator showing the frozen soil being broken up layer by layer; a special train carrying insulation materials for North China had departed and was expected to arrive at its destination tomorrow morning. He picked up a pen and wrote "7-day countdown" at the end of the anonymous letter copy, then dialed the technical department: "Any progress in investigating the sender of the anonymous letter? Even finding a small clue could confirm the authenticity of the warning."
“Director Zhou, we checked the surveillance footage from the post office in the suburban town. The sender was wearing a baseball cap and a mask, so we couldn't see her face. We only know she was a woman, about 1.65 meters tall. After sending the letter, she left in a white van with the license plate obscured. We haven't found any more clues yet.” The head of the technical department said with a sense of helplessness. “We have expanded our investigation scope and retrieved surveillance footage from surrounding roads. We are still tracking her.”
"Keep investigating, don't overlook any details." Old Zhou hung up the phone and looked back at the projection screen—the progress bar for the first batch of 30 shelters was slowly advancing, and the red "7-day countdown" was particularly eye-catching in the corner of the screen. He knew that this was not only a countdown to the construction of the shelters, but also a countdown to preparing for unknown natural disasters. Every step forward meant one more layer of protection in the future.
Meanwhile, in her villa deep in the mountains, Su Jing was scrolling through international news on her phone. Seeing Lao Zhou's response at the press conference, a slight smile played on her lips—she knew all too well the official explanation of "normal population movement," which meant the anonymous letter's contents had likely been taken seriously by higher-ups. She put down her phone, brought up the system panel, and prepared to check the final supplies before the dungeon opened, only to find a new button—"Global Channel"—with a note below stating, "Requires 500 points to activate; supports real-time communication among global dungeon participants; automatic translation for multiple languages."
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