Countdown Day 13, 11:00 PM
A black Porsche Cayenne tore through the abandoned industrial zone on the outskirts of the city like a lurking predator in the night.
As the apocalypse countdown drew closer, the oppressive heat in the air became more and more obvious. Even at midnight, the car’s thermometer still showed an abnormal 30°C.
Lin Qi lowered the window slightly, letting the wind whip across her face as she stared coldly at the massive, brightly lit facility ahead—
“Hongyuan Special Petrochemical.”
A medium-sized private refinery on the brink of bankruptcy. And her ultimate destination.
In the apocalypse—whether extreme cold or extreme heat—the power grid would collapse immediately. Without electricity, her 3.5-billion-top-floor fortress would become nothing more than a sealed steel coffin.
And those ten fuel-hungry military generator beasts would need an ocean of fuel to keep running.
The Cayenne stopped at the gate.
The factory owner, Zhao Hongyuan, was already waiting with several trusted men. When he saw Lin Qi, he rushed forward with an ingratiating smile.
“Boss Lin! You’re finally here! The goods—you requested everything is ready! Stored in the twelve giant tanks in the back zone!”
Lin Qi said nothing and followed him directly inside.
Behind several rusted iron gates, a shocking industrial sight appeared.
Twelve enormous metal storage tanks stood in the darkness—each over 20 meters tall and more than 10 meters wide. Like twelve steel mountains, they exuded a heavy industrial aura and a strong smell of diesel.
“Boss Lin, as you ordered, all 100,000 tons of diesel are -50°C Arctic-grade fuel, treated with top-level aviation anti-freezing additives!” Zhao Hongyuan patted his chest proudly.
“This fuel won’t freeze even in the Arctic. It ignites instantly, absolutely top-tier quality!”
A satisfied glint flashed in Lin Qi’s eyes.
She knew better than anyone what this meant.
Ordinary diesel would solidify like wax at minus 60°C in the apocalypse. She had personally witnessed entire military bases freeze into silence because their fuel turned useless overnight.
So she had bought out the entire refinery and customized 100,000 tons of extreme cold-resistant fuel.
“Good.”
She tossed a sealed encrypted transfer tablet to him.
“Final payment. Eight billion. Transfer it yourself. Ten billion total—this refinery and all fuel tanks are mine now.”
“Now, leave the facility. All of you.”
Within ten minutes, Zhao Hongyuan and his men disappeared without hesitation.
The massive refinery fell into dead silence.
Lin Qi walked to the main gate, shut off the power switch, and locked it tightly.
Then she turned back toward the twelve towering fuel tanks.
Her eyes no longer hid her desire.
She placed her palm gently on the first tank.
The jade pendant on her chest suddenly burst with a brilliant blue light.
“Absorb.”
In an instant—
The massive 20-meter storage tank, weighing thousands of tons and filled with diesel, vanished completely as if swallowed by a black hole.
Not even the anchor bolts remained.
“Next.”
She moved like a shadow through the night.
Swish—swish—swish!
Within two minutes, all twelve tanks disappeared.
The once crowded refinery yard became completely empty.
Inside her spatial storage—
A vast silent white void now held an astonishing sight:
a full formation of industrial steel fuel tanks, all filled to the brim with Arctic diesel.
100,000 tons of energy—sealed, preserved, eternal.
No evaporation. No degradation. Absolute stasis.
Her apocalypse lifeline.
“Energy storage complete.”
Lin Qi exhaled slowly and returned to the car.
2:00 AM — Yun Ding Tian Gong, Basement Level 3 Machine Room
The moment she pushed open the heavy soundproof door, the smell of machine oil and metal welding hit her.
Old Ghost was standing with several mercenaries, finishing final wiring adjustments in front of a row of massive machines.
“Boss Lin, you’re back.” Old Ghost wiped his sweat and pointed proudly.
“Ten military-grade ultra-silent V12 diesel generator sets—fully synchronized and online!”
Lin Qi looked at them.
Each generator was as large as a small armored vehicle, mounted on shock-absorbing bases and wrapped in aerospace-grade sound insulation armor.
Old Ghost patted one of them.
“These came from a Middle Eastern military base. Even at full load, with the door closed upstairs—you won’t hear a thing in the living room.”
“And two units alone can power your entire 1,200-square-meter fortress at full capacity.”
Lin Qi ran her hand across the cold metal surface, extremely satisfied.
This was exactly what she needed—industrial beasts that guaranteed endless power.
“Where are the fuel tanks?” she asked.
“In the hidden compartment behind,” Old Ghost replied, pointing to a reinforced door.
“We installed three 50-ton backup tanks connected directly to the pumps. But they’re all empty right now. Fuel trucks can’t come down here—you’ll need hoses to transfer fuel.”
He scratched his head.
“By the way… when is the fuel arriving?”
Lin Qi didn’t answer.
Because she didn’t need to.
She walked to the three empty tanks.
A cold smile appeared on her lips.
She was the fuel truck.
With a thought—
She unlocked her spatial storage.
“Release.”
A thick, golden-amber stream of diesel suddenly materialized in midair, pouring down like a roaring waterfall into the tanks.
Rumble—gurgle—gush!
Five minutes later—
All three tanks were completely full.
150 tons of fuel—instantly deployed.
And her remaining reserves barely changed.
She walked to the control panel and pressed the start buttons.
Rumble… hum…
The first two generator units roared to life.
Electricity surged through the fortress like blood entering a sleeping giant.
Despite the power, the sound was so well insulated that it was quieter than a normal car engine.
Perfect silence. Perfect power.
At that exact moment—
The system interface exploded in front of her vision.
[Ding! Detection: Military generator units operating smoothly!]
[Detection: 100,000-ton diesel energy storage linked!]
[Energy System (1/2) — Fossil Fuel Matrix ACTIVATED!]
[Fortress Lv1 progress: 85%]
[Final requirement: Complete geothermal system + rooftop solar array.]
Lin Qi’s eyes grew colder.
Only 15% left.
Her fortress was nearly complete.
And once the energy loop was closed—
The world outside would truly become irrelevant.