The other two construction teams invited by Gu Ziming were also highly renowned within the industry.
One was a leading enterprise in full smart-home installations, and the other specialized in warehouse construction.
The person in charge of the smart-home company assured, “We have no problem. The solar energy system and water circulation system you requested can be completed within a week. As for the villa renovation, it may take slightly longer, but it will definitely be finished within ten days.”
Seeing that the others had already made their commitments, the head of the warehouse company hurriedly pledged, “CEO Gu, for the warehouses and underground spaces you require, we will deploy twelve teams to work simultaneously. The task will be completed within ten days!”
Gu Ziming planned to build five large above-ground warehouses, five large underground warehouses, and two underground rooms of 200 square meters each around the villa.
The above-ground warehouses would store daily necessities such as clothing, electrical appliances, furniture, and even some vehicles. The underground warehouses would hold drinking water, canned food, weapons, gasoline, and essential strategic supplies like common medicines.
As for the supplies inside the Villain’s Space, those were reserved as backup. The materials he could carry with him at all times were what truly belonged to him.
Of the two presidential suites, one would serve as a backup safe house, and the other would be converted into a laboratory.
The safe house would be built 300 meters away from the villa, connected by two passageways. These two passageways would further extend 1 kilometer to the north and south respectively, functioning as emergency escape routes.
The underground laboratory would be used to conduct post-apocalyptic improvement experiments and to test whether organisms had mutated due to the apocalypse.
To ensure his plan would be completed on schedule, Gu Ziming used his financial leverage to encourage the workers on site, “Everyone, I know the timeline is tight, but I will raise the benefits to the highest level. As long as the work is completed on time and with quality, I will personally give each of the three project heads a bonus of 200,000 yuan, and each of your team members will receive 20,000 yuan. Let’s push through these twenty days!”
Although the timeline and payment had already been agreed upon when negotiating with the companies, the three project leaders and the workers who overheard the news could not help but feel excited.
After all, while the company would certainly distribute bonuses for such a large order, it would never be as generous as Gu Ziming. A single bonus nearly doubled their income.
One of the leaders said, “CEO Gu, you’re too kind.”
Another added, “Even without the bonus, we would complete it on time and with quality.”
The workers echoed, “Thank you, CEO Gu!”
…
At Lin Fan’s home.
He had no intention of going back to work. In front of the entire company, he openly cursed his manager as a stupid dog and even slapped a colleague who tried to mediate before turning around and leaving in style.
After all, the salary for this month’s work would only be paid next month. Once the apocalypse arrived, whether it would even be paid was uncertain. Even if it was, a string of numbers would be useless if they could not buy anything.
He could have simply stopped going to the company, but the resentment in his chest from being reborn at the end of the world had been suffocating him. Now, he had finally vented it.
“This won’t do. The supplies I bought with this little money won’t last more than a few days in the apocalypse,” Lin Fan thought as he looked at the instant noodles and canned food he had bought for 6,000 yuan.
“Online loans? Credit cards? Or mortgage the house?”
“I’ll do all of them! This ill-gotten wealth rightfully belongs to me!”
…
“CEO Gu, the cruise ship you asked me to investigate has news. In Island Nation, there is a 200,000-ton luxury cruise ship currently up for sale,” Xiao Zhang reported immediately over the phone.
“Have you found out why it’s being sold?” Gu Ziming asked.
A transaction worth several billion yuan was extremely complicated. Any small obstacle could delay it for half a year or even longer.
“Yes. The previous owner operated luxury tourism but died in an accident and left behind massive debts. The creditors are now liquidating assets and hope someone will take over the cruise ship in exchange for cash. The sooner it is delivered, the better.”
“Good. Arrange a flight to Island Nation immediately. I’ll go personally to negotiate with the creditors,” Gu Ziming decided. He needed to speak face to face, and bringing the cruise ship back would also be a considerable challenge.
“System, is there any way for me to control the cruise ship myself? I don’t want any outsiders on board.”
A 200,000-ton cruise ship required over a thousand crew members to operate normally. In the apocalypse, that would be a ticking time bomb.
Of course, that number was due to its function as a luxury floating hotel. Even simply operating the vessel still required a significant number of crew.
[Ding, the solutions are as follows:]
[Solution One: The host may exchange for a fully automated intelligent control system to replace 100% of crew functions. Cost: 100,000 Destiny Points.]
[Solution Two: The host may exchange for specialized bionic robots. Each costs 100 Destiny Points. 1,000 robots are required to replace the original crew, but only 24 are needed to pilot the cruise ship.]
[Note: Specialized robots can only perform specific single tasks.] Visit g.com for the full chapter.
“As long as it can be solved, that’s enough,” Gu Ziming thought. He only needed to secure the cruise ship as soon as possible. With such a massive vessel, it could serve as a gigantic warehouse for storing supplies.
It seemed he would need to increase his Destiny Points.
Thinking of Destiny Points, he could not help but wonder what Lin Fan would do without that 200 million yuan.
As expected, it would be the usual routine: loans, mortgaging the house, paying only deposits when shopping. When the apocalypse arrived, all debts would be automatically erased.
Intercepting this would be more difficult than cutting him off from a lottery win, but it was not impossible for Gu Ziming.
“Captain Wang, help me investigate someone,” Gu Ziming instructed his head bodyguard.
As the wealthy second-generation villain of the original novel, he naturally had a few capable subordinates.
Captain Wang, whose real name was Wang Qu, was Gu Ziming’s most trusted subordinate. Ruthless in temperament and formidable in combat skills, he was a reliable enforcer.
According to the plotline, his character and strength were solid.
In the early stage of Gu Ziming’s conflict with Lin Fan, the presence of numerous bodyguards prevented Lin Fan from gaining any advantage through force.
Lin Fan then devised a plan, using supplies to sow discord among Gu Ziming’s men, showcasing the protagonist’s courage and cunning.
As Lin Fan expected, the bodyguard team descended into chaos over limited supplies. Yet Wang Qu remained fiercely loyal, suppressing six subordinates alone. In the end, however, one of them seized an opportunity and stabbed him from behind. All the bodyguards perished together.
After losing his protection, Gu Ziming naturally became the stepping stone for the protagonist to shine with that crooked smile.
“Understood. Who would you like me to investigate, CEO Gu?” Wang Qu asked. His crew cut, tailored suit, and sunglasses could not conceal the intimidating aura of his broad, hardened face.
“Lin Fan. He lives in Dongyang Residential Community, Building 9, 24th floor, Unit 2403,” Gu Ziming said directly. “Find out what he has been doing recently. Inform me immediately if there’s any news.”
“Yes, CEO Gu,” Wang Qu replied. After arranging the necessary security matters, he left.
Watching his departing figure, Gu Ziming could not help but sigh softly, “My entire life feels like walking on thin ice. Tell me, can a villain ever reach the other shore?”