Chapter 70
Su Jing stood in the courtyard of the villa deep in the mountains, watching two small yellow excavators working methodically on the ground—the buckets plunged into the damp soil, lifting brown clods of earth high into the air, landing on the temporary mound outside the moat. A few dry grass roots were mixed in with the clods, slightly whitish from the sun.
After an afternoon of digging yesterday, the outline of the ring moat is now clearly visible: a 2-meter-wide and 3-meter-deep ditch extends along the perimeter of the villa, avoiding the solar panel array on the west side and the warehouse on the north side, like a dark belt, firmly protecting the villa in the center.
"Dig the river channel on the left side another 20 centimeters deeper, ensuring the lowest point is at least 3 meters, to prevent the monsters from jumping," Su Jing instructed the control panel.
One of the excavators immediately adjusted its bucket angle and repeatedly dug into the shallows on the left side of the river. Amidst the splashing mud, the river depth gradually reached the required level. The patrol robot next to it used a laser rangefinder to monitor the situation in real time, and the panel continuously displayed the following information: "Current average river depth is 3.02 meters, width is 2.05 meters, which meets the design requirements. Remaining excavation length is 10 meters."
In less than half an hour, the last 10 meters of the river channel were excavated.
Su Jing walked to the edge of the riverbed, bent down and touched the soil on the inner wall—it was moist but not loose. She took out "rapid-setting cement" from her space and instructed the robot to spray it evenly along the inner wall of the riverbed: "A thin layer is enough, mainly to prevent soil erosion and ensure that the ice layer does not collapse in extremely cold weather."
The cement hardens quickly after being sprayed, forming a light gray protective film on the inner wall of the river channel. You can feel its obvious hardness when you touch it.
Next was water diversion. Su Jing focused her mind into the system space and found the miniature freshwater lake in the "livelihood area"—the lake surface shimmered with light, the water was crystal clear, and the system indicated "500 cubic meters of water storage, water quality meets standards, ready for direct use".
She lightly tapped "Open Water Valve" on the panel and selected "Flow Rate 10 cubic meters/hour". Outside the space, a silver metal pipe suddenly popped out of the ground at the edge of the river. Clear water gushed out from the pipe and flowed into the river with a gurgling sound.
As the water flowed in, Su Jing walked slowly along the river channel, observing the changes in water level. It took one hour for 10 cubic meters of water to fill a 100-cubic-meter river channel. When the water level reached 2.8 meters, she closed the outlet valve, leaving a 20-centimeter height to prevent overflow.
At this moment, the moat resembled a green ribbon, encircling the off-white prefabricated villas. Sunlight shone on the water, reflecting dappled patterns of light, forming a "double defense" with the outer trenches.
A system panel pops up a notification: [The moat has been dredged, forming a natural barrier that can effectively prevent low-level monsters (such as blue wolves and wild boars) from entering. The defensive effect is enhanced after freezing in extremely cold weather.]
After the water diversion was completed, Su Jing began installing infrared alarms. She took out 10 white alarms from her storage space, each with a prefabricated cement base—marks had been made on the inner side of the river channel, with one point every 5 meters.
She bent down to fix the base to the ground, then attached the alarm to the base, tightened the screws with a screwdriver, and then pulled out a waterproof cable from the space to connect each alarm in series, finally connecting it to the main alarm on the first floor of the villa.
“Start testing.” Su Jing pressed the “test button” on the main alarm. All 10 infrared alarms lit up with red indicator lights at the same time and emitted a long “beep” sound. The alarms on the second floor of the villa responded in sync. The piercing buzzing sound echoed in the deep mountains. The system panel popped up a message: “All alarms are connected normally. The detection range covers 10 meters with no blind spots. It can identify moving targets (weight ≥ 5kg).”
She then had the patrol robot walk past the alarm, which immediately triggered the alarm. The panel accurately displayed "Moving target detected, location: near alarm #3 on the east side of the river channel," and the test results were exactly as expected.
Just as Su Jing was checking the last alarm, a notification suddenly popped up on the system panel: "New Message from Global Channel."
She casually clicked on it—the light blue logo of the Flower Country still dominated, while the dark gray "Sharp Blade (Flower Country)" Chen Yang's latest statement brought reassurance: "The East City Shelter has added 10 heating boilers today, and the temperature can now be stabilized at 22℃. A batch of medicines has also been replenished, and each citizen can receive an extra healing pill, which is said to prevent frostbite infection. It's so thoughtful!"
Zhao Yue, nicknamed "Flying Swallow (China)," followed closely behind: "The last batch of compatriots stranded in Europe finally returned home yesterday. Although they missed the chartered flight, they were on a rescue ship sent by China. They have now been assigned to a shelter in the south, received down jackets and Qi-gathering pills, and are finally safe!"
In stark contrast to the red US logo and the gold EU logo—the message from the red "Hunter (US)" Jack, filled with urgency, flooded several screens: "Does anyone have any extra healing pills? The US shelter is going crazy with shortages! More and more people are getting frostbite, and ordinary ointments are useless. Can anyone sell me some healing pills? I'll trade them for gold! Price is negotiable!"
His message received only a few scattered replies, but no one was willing to sell.
- "User 098 from China": "Why didn't you stockpile them before, and now you're in a hurry? Our medicines are given priority to our compatriots and shelters, where would we get extra to sell to you?"
- "User 456 from China": "Why didn't you think about this when you were stealing other people's supplies? Now no one is helping you, serves you right!"
Emily, the "Golden Nightingale (EU)," also expressed her anxiety: "The EU's shelters are only 30% complete, heating equipment is only half-finished, there is a huge shortage of warm supplies, and forget about getting any medicine! The 500 pills I bought from 'I am the God of Wealth' have long been used up. Now I can only watch helplessly as people suffer from frostbite, and there is nothing I can do!"
Su Jing quickly scrolled through the messages, her fingertips pausing lightly on the panel—
She understood Jack and Emily's anxiety, but at this moment her focus was entirely on the villa's defenses, leaving her with no extra energy to concern herself with the plight of other countries. She turned off the channel, walked to the riverbank, looked at the calm water, and then looked up at the meditation room on the second floor of the villa—
The new prefabricated houses are already on their way and will soon be completed. Together with the moat and infrared alarms in front of her, as well as the previous trenches, solar panels, and supplies, her doomsday fortress is being perfected step by step.
As the sun gradually sank behind the mountains, it bathed the surface of the moat in a golden glow. Patrol robots slowly patrolled the outer edge of the moat, their red scanning eyes occasionally sweeping across the water. The red indicator lights of the infrared alarms stood out vividly in the twilight. Su Jing stood in the center of the courtyard, took a deep breath, and could feel the indigo spiritual energy in her Qi Hai acupoint gently pulsating—
With only 5 days left until the apocalypse, her defense preparations are mostly complete. All she needs to do now is wait for the new prefabricated houses to arrive and complete the final expansions so she can calmly cope with the impending extreme cold and unknown dangers.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com