The three chief project leaders had all chosen to station themselves here to ensure that this undertaking would be completed smoothly.
Each of them had set up tents beside Gu Ziming’s villa. They ate and slept inside those tents, all to monitor the progress at any moment and guarantee both timely and high-quality completion.
“Do you have something to report?” Gu Ziming asked the three men as they approached. They were usually busy at the front lines of their respective projects and rarely came to see him personally.
“CEO Gu, we’re here to report on the progress over the past few days,” said the project manager from Shield Armor Company. He skipped pleasantries and went straight to the point.
“Good. I was about to ask how far construction has progressed.”
“With multiple sections being built simultaneously, half of the estate’s perimeter wall has already been completed,” he reported. “The entire wall uses an ultra-high-strength alloy as the framework, filled with Special Graphene-reinforced concrete. The wall is 3 meters high, topped with a 0.5-meter high-voltage anti-climb system. The wall thickness is 0.25 meters. It can withstand rocket launcher strikes and the impact of a heavy truck traveling at 65 kilometers per hour.”
“That’s acceptable. Just make sure the main gates match the strength of the walls,” Gu Ziming replied. He did not want enemies breaking through from the entrance.
“Rest assured, CEO Gu. We’ve installed four main gates in the north, south, east, and west. All are made of ultra-high-strength alloy. The gates are seamlessly integrated into the wall structure, and in terms of protection, they exceed the surrounding walls. Each gate supports both mechanical and electric opening systems, which operate independently. After project completion, you can change the keys so that only you can open them.”
The Shield Armor Company manager added excitedly, “This is the most perfect project of my entire career. Not many clients have the financial strength that you do, CEO Gu.”
Gu Ziming simply listened to the flattery without reacting. There were plenty of people wealthier and more fearful of death than he was. Those individuals could spend even more on building safe houses.
Whether this project was the most perfect was irrelevant. As long as it met his expectations, it was enough.
“CEO Gu, our solar panels have been fully installed, and the intelligent water circulation system is also in place. What remains is system calibration,” said the head of the leading smart home integration company as he stepped forward.
“Very good,” Gu Ziming nodded.
“Our solar panels use the latest-generation materials with a conversion efficiency of 60%. We’ve paired them with high-capacity battery storage. Combined with 10,000 square meters of solar panels, the daily power generation is enough to supply a super-large factory. You don’t need to worry about electricity at all, CEO Gu.”
“As for the independent water circulation system you requested, we constructed an underground purification chamber near the villa. The system can remove impurities at a rate approaching 100%, producing near-pure water. It operates at high efficiency, purifying 2.5 liters of wastewater per second. The entire system is fully automated. The only manual task required is periodically disposing of the packaged waste residue, which can simply be picked up and discarded like regular trash.”
“I’d like two more of these systems. Is that possible?” Gu Ziming asked. He had initially wanted only one as a backup, but now he felt it was better to prepare more.
The purified water he had stored in his Infinite Storage Space was already more than enough. However, in a high-temperature apocalypse, water would be known as liquid gold. No amount of water was excessive.
Most exposed surface water on land would evaporate, and what remained would be extremely turbid and undrinkable.
In the early and mid stages of the original novel, a group in Donghai City had camped by the sea simply to distill seawater for drinking.
The leader of that group was Zhang Quanli, the second villain who appeared after Gu Ziming was eliminated in the original plotline.
Zhang Quanli was a boss-level figure. Compared to the original Gu Ziming, he caused Lin Fan far greater trouble.
“Yes, CEO Gu,” the manager agreed immediately. With experience from building the first system, the next two would be even faster.
As for payment, he had no concerns. Gu Ziming always paid half upfront and settled the remaining amount immediately upon completion. That kept everyone highly motivated.
The final report came from the warehouse supervisor. After glancing at the others who had finished speaking, he stepped forward.
“CEO Gu, warehouse construction is progressing very smoothly. The above-ground warehouse is nearly complete. As per your instructions, all warehouses use a triple-layer structure: an outer protective layer, a middle insulation layer, and an inner support layer.”
“For the underground warehouse, excavation has already been completed. We’re moving on to structural construction. The workers are highly motivated, and we expect to finish about two days ahead of schedule.”
“Good. As long as quality is guaranteed, for every day you finish ahead of schedule, I’ll provide 100,000 as a bonus for everyone’s meals,” Gu Ziming said calmly.
He did not offer 1 million as an incentive, fearing that excessive pressure might tempt them to cut corners.
100,000 divided among everyone was not a large amount, but it would boost morale significantly.
After all, everyone loved good food.
Once he finished inspecting the estate, Gu Ziming planned to visit the Biochemical Laboratory to see how much Special Graphene Qin Feifei and the team had produced.
Although he had installed his own insulation materials, he firmly believed in one principle.
Heat does not disappear. It only transfers.
The Special Graphene invented by Professor Liu Xiaoxiang, Qin Feifei’s mentor, was an excellent thermal conductor.
If graphene was attached to the walls and its other end extended deep into the ground, heat could be guided underground like lightning, effectively lowering interior temperatures.
Gu Ziming drove himself to the laboratory.
Looking at the three-story building, he was uncertain whether to keep it. It was the final legacy left by his parents.
However, renovating it would be complicated.
When it was first built, this area had been suburban. Now it had developed into an urban district.
Moreover, it was a Biochemical Laboratory. Such high-risk buildings involved extremely complex approval procedures.
Regardless of whether it would be preserved, all critical equipment and research data would be moved into the underground laboratory currently under construction.
There was no need to decide immediately.
Holding the highest level of authorization, Gu Ziming entered the central materials laboratory directly.
As soon as he stepped inside, he saw Qin Feifei asleep at a table in the corner.
Two or three other researchers were working on their respective tasks.
They were about to greet him when they saw him enter, but Gu Ziming gestured for silence.
He walked over to Qin Feifei.
Her entire body was dusty and smudged. Her white lab coat was stained with black marks, and her hair appeared slightly greasy. It was obvious she had not properly washed or rested for at least two days.
Yet, seeing her like this did not stir even a trace of disgust in Gu Ziming.
Perhaps it was sympathy for a beautiful woman.
Perhaps it was the complicated emotion of a boss seeing his employee working herself to exhaustion.
Or perhaps it was pure admiration for the dedication of a scientific researcher.
In any case, a complicated feeling welled up in Gu Ziming’s heart.