Countdown Day 11, 8:00 AM
At Cloud Top Heavenly Palace Building One, on the 1,000-square-meter rooftop terrace.
After days of extreme modifications, the originally open-air sky garden had been completely sealed by 12-centimeter-thick aviation-grade single-direction bulletproof glass. Above it, the entire roof was covered with dark gray monocrystalline silicon photovoltaic tiles.
At this moment, the terrace looked like a massive transparent glass box suspended hundreds of meters in the air. Sunlight refracted through the bulletproof glass, while the newly sealed graphene floor heating system radiated warmth upward, filling the entire space with a dry, comfortable atmosphere.
“Rumble—!”
Outside the building, the heavy-duty hoists that had already proven their worth roared again with deep mechanical force.
Lin Qi stood with her arms crossed, wearing clean black work pants and combat boots, watching as super-heavy cargo baskets weighing several tons were slowly lifted onto the rooftop.
As soon as the baskets landed, Old Ghost and dozens of exhausted mercenaries rushed forward, violently tearing off the waterproof tarps.
“Whoosh—!”
A thick earthy scent instantly spread throughout the sealed greenhouse—rich, slightly sweet, and full of organic decay.
It was soil.
Pitch-black, glossy, fertile Northeast black soil that looked like it could squeeze out oil under sunlight.
“Boss Lin, this is insane,” Old Ghost said, grabbing a handful and rubbing it between his fingers, disbelief in his voice. “To airlift 200 tons of this top-grade virgin soil from Northeast China overnight and hoist it hundreds of meters up here—just the logistics alone cost 30 million yuan.”
“This isn’t soil anymore. It’s like paving the ground with crushed gold. Even in Dubai, I’ve never seen billionaires spend like this to build rooftop farms.”
Lin Qi ignored his shock and calmly glanced at the mountains of soil.
Three million? Nothing.
In the coming apocalypse—where extreme heat and extreme cold would alternately ravage the world—ninety-nine percent of farmland would be submerged, frozen, or destroyed by acid rain and viral contamination.
At that time, even billionaires would trade their fortunes for a single wilted vegetable. Without fresh produce and vitamins, humanity would collapse into scurvy and immune failure inside sealed shelters.
She already had meat and grains stored in her space—but eating only those would eventually drive a person insane.
She didn’t just want to survive.
She wanted true vegetable freedom inside her fortress.
“Stop talking. Follow the blueprint and lay it out,” Lin Qi ordered coldly.
“Move!” Old Ghost waved his hand.
Dozens of mercenaries immediately transformed into “apocalypse farmers.”
First, they laid down aerospace-grade puncture-proof waterproof membranes. Then a root barrier layer. Finally, they evenly spread the 200 tons of black soil across 700 square meters of planting area.
The soil layer reached a full half-meter depth—enough even for fruit trees.
“Boss Lin, soil’s done. Next—‘Aurora’.”
Old Ghost snapped his fingers.
Another group brought in rows of highly advanced agricultural equipment.
These were full-spectrum plant growth lamp arrays purchased directly from top agricultural research institutes.
After the apocalypse, thick clouds, ash, and atmospheric disruption would block sunlight. Without photosynthesis, plants would die instantly.
“Click. Click. Click.”
As the lamps were installed overhead, Old Ghost pulled the main switch.
“Buzz—!”
The entire 1,000-square-meter bulletproof greenhouse lit up instantly.
But it wasn’t normal light.
It was a surreal blend of red, blue, and purple spectra—like an aurora trapped indoors. From outside, the glass remained pitch black. But inside, the space was bathed in dreamlike, shifting neon light.
These full-spectrum lamps could simulate and even surpass the most effective wavelengths of sunlight, accelerating plant growth dramatically.
“It’s beautiful…” a young mercenary muttered.
“Beautiful my ass! Install the water system!” Old Ghost slapped him on the head.
Now came the most critical system: water.
Without clean water, survival collapses. In the apocalypse, contaminated groundwater and collapsed infrastructure would make water the primary cause of massacres.
“Boss Lin, this is your custom aerospace-grade reverse osmosis circulation system.”
Old Ghost pointed at a massive silver unit resembling a server rack.
“This is space station technology. It can purify everything—bath water, vegetable wash water, even wastewater from human waste—down to nanometer filtration, UV sterilization, and mineral reconstruction.”
He patted the machine.
“Honestly, even if you pour in a bucket of sewage mixed with blood, the output will still be cleaner than bottled mineral water. As long as it runs, your entire water system becomes a closed-loop cycle forever.”
Lin Qi’s eyes finally lit up with satisfaction.
Bulletproof glass, geothermal heating, solar arrays, fertile soil, aurora lighting, and now a closed-loop water system—
This was no longer a house.
It was a self-sustaining apocalypse ark independent from Earth’s ecosystem.
“Connect it to the municipal water line. Start pressure testing. Also install hydroponic racks for the remaining 300 square meters,” she ordered.
Time passed.
By 3 PM, the rooftop transformation was complete.
Old Ghost and eighty exhausted mercenaries stood in formation inside the living room.
“Boss Lin, all tasks in the blueprint have been completed at 200% execution level! Please inspect!” Old Ghost said proudly.
Lin Qi said nothing. She checked the time, then took out the transfer tablet.
“Beep—!”
The final 500 million yuan payment was transferred instantly.
“Good work. Payment received.”
Her cold gaze swept across everyone.
“Black Hawk rules are simple. Take the money and disappear. From the moment you leave this door, forget everything you saw.”
“If I hear even a whisper about this fortress…”
A cold smile.
“That money becomes your funeral fee.”
Old Ghost laughed immediately.
“Don’t worry, Boss Lin. Our mouths are tighter than that vault door!”
Within minutes, the entire engineering team evacuated like a tide.
“Clang—!”
The 3.5-ton titanium vault door slowly closed.
The fortress was sealed.
Lin Qi stood alone in the warm silence, exhaling deeply for the first time in days.
She finally had a shell so strong even death couldn’t penetrate it.
She walked into the greenhouse.
Black soil, glowing aurora lights, soft humming water systems—
She opened sealed containers filled with premium non-GMO seeds.
Strawberries, cherries, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, cabbage, potatoes, sweet potatoes…
She planted them carefully, almost like a ritual.
In her past life, she had once been forced to drink sewage water just to survive half a rotten apple.
Now—
She stood up, brushing soil off her hands.
When the apocalypse comes, while others fight for bark and sludge water…
She would sit on a sofa eating freshly picked strawberries with morning dew.
At that moment—
A system notification exploded.
[Ding! Thousand-square-meter greenhouse operational!]
[Ding! Closed-loop water system online!]
[Ding! Self-sufficient ecological farming module activated!]
[Fortress Lv1 progress: 99%!]
[Warning: Water reserve insufficient. Please complete full water storage to unlock final threshold—“Absolute Defense Red Line.”]
Lin Qi’s eyes sharpened.
Tomorrow, she would drain half the city’s water supply.
The final step was coming.
And the countdown to the apocalypse’s slaughter line had begun.