Four hours after Su Wu took over Zhenhai City.
Zhenhai City, along with the large subsidiary shelter named Linhai by Su Wu at the edge of the coastline, had completely transformed into two bustling construction sites.
The rapid-setting cement production line, delivered to the Zhenhai City shelter, was successfully installed and began production.
The first batch of cement produced was immediately transported to the No. 1 exit of the shelter.
Under the escort of two submarines, dozens of underwater robots, which had been pre-deployed in the sea, used specially designed inflatable bladders to drain the seawater outside the No. 1 exit.
Construction officially began on the first undersea passage leading to the coast.
This undersea passage, with a width of 20 meters, could accommodate six parallel railway tracks.
It stood 12 meters high, divided into three levels.
Ultimately, it could house a total of 18 tracks, allowing 18 trains to traverse the passage simultaneously.
Considering that the entire Zhenhai City shelter had seven exit points capable of constructing such undersea passages, once all were completed in the later stages, and with trains departing every 2 to 3 minutes on average per track, these passages would be fully sufficient to allow 7,000 subway trains to operate simultaneously within them.
"According to the route mapped by the underwater detectors for the undersea passage," the actual distance from Zhenhai City to the Linhai shelter is approximately 117 kilometers.
"At an average speed of 75 kilometers per hour for subway trains, the entire journey would take about 1.5 hours."
"With strict control, in reality, six and a half, or even six undersea passages, could meet the needs of subway train operations."
"The saved space could then be repurposed into undersea highways, allowing the existing military and civilian vehicles from Zhenhai City to also contribute to transportation."
Seven undersea passages, each over a hundred kilometers long, would be considered an epic-scale mega-project even before the apocalypse.
Only Su Wu, with his access to rapid-setting cement—a material almost like a cheat—could swiftly construct such a project in the current post-apocalyptic environment.
However, even so, it would still take him nearly half a month to complete.
For a city on the brink of collapse, this timeframe is still somewhat lengthy, filled with elements of risk and gamble.
To this end, Su Wu also chose to simultaneously initiate construction at the Linhai shelter on land, conducting bidirectional construction to compress the final completion time of the undersea passage to within seven days.
"At the Linhai shelter, we need to build an underground port station responsible for receiving, as well as nearly half the distance, over 50 kilometers of undersea passage."
"Since all the necessary equipment and raw materials for construction must be mobilized from the farmhouse, we also need to set up four vertical takeoff and landing airports and plan a square large enough for the Azure Sky-Class transport drones to take off and land on a large scale."
Although the Linhai shelter is closer to Zhenhai City, considering the extremely harsh conditions on the sea surface there, it is more stable and reliable to transport materials from the farmhouse, nearly a thousand kilometers away.
However, this means that in the early stages, we particularly need to rely on air transport, necessitating the construction of a certain scale of supporting airports and control towers.
Apart from these considerations.
Once the undersea tunnel is completed and operational.
With its terrifying transport capacity.
The coastal shelter, which at its peak only accommodated hundreds of thousands of residents.
Is likely to be overwhelmed in a very short time.
Therefore, a diversion plan must be prepared in advance.
Around the coastal shelter, and even along the wide river basin on the way back to Jianghe City.
A large number of previously abandoned subsidiary shelters will be reactivated as temporary settlements.
Every conceivable corner will be meticulously improved.
Su Wu suddenly realized.
He seemed to have already mobilized all the available mobile forces at his disposal into this inevitably massive migration.
The number of people involved and affected.
Has already exceeded half a billion.
"The scale of mobilization is not a problem."
"The key is that everything must be done quickly."
"Only by acting fast enough."
"Can we truly reap the benefits of annexing Zhenhai City."
"Otherwise, if disaster catches up."
"It will all be meaningless."
Five hours into taking over Zhenhai City.
Another ten twin-winged helicopters braved the snowstorm.
Fully loaded with supplies, took off from the farmhouse.
This time.
They carried expensive vertical takeoff and landing equipment, along with some spider robots and construction materials.
To build an airport at the coastal shelter.
Paving the way for the subsequent large-scale transport of supplies by sixth-generation fighter jets.
Six hours in.
The first batch of merchant trains that received orders to return to the farmhouse.
After delivering the supplies procured from various parts of Dongzhou.
Loaded up with spider robots, various construction tools, and shelter life-support equipment.
Set off for the coastal shelter.
They will be responsible for reactivating the abandoned shelters around the coast, transforming them into habitable spaces.
At the same time.
A magnitude six earthquake lasting five to six seconds occurred in Zhenhai City.
Causing several minor to moderate accidents at a newly constructed undersea tunnel and a few factories.
Although the actual damage was not significant.
It cast a shadow over the hearts of all those in the know.
Because it indicated that the powerful geological disaster following the trajectory of the branch cyclone had already extended its reach to Zhenhai City.
From this moment on.
The entire Zhenhai City will truly enter the countdown to destruction.
March 30th.
The third day of Su Wu's takeover of Zhenhai City.
In a trench 2 kilometers away from the Zhenhai City shelter.
A large number of bubbles suddenly began to emerge.
The water temperature in the trench also rose rapidly, reaching levels hot enough to scald.
This indicated that the hot magma from beneath the earth had come into direct contact with the seawater there.
The danger escalated further.
Zhenhai City Shelter.
Joint Command Hall.
A group of high-ranking officials from Zhenhai City gathered here, each with a grim expression.
They silently watched the construction progress map displayed in the center of the hall.
Many were anxious but helpless.
"The fastest progressing undersea tunnel still needs at least 97 hours to be completed."
"We may not be able to hold out that long."
"We should have left immediately when we first got the news."
Some people regretted not being willing to part with the power and resources they held in their hands.
They hadn't left Zhenhai City before the surface environment deteriorated completely.
But now, it was too late to say anything.
Above the frozen sea surface locked in low temperatures.
Hurricanes exceeding Category 17, and deadly icicles that could fall like a torrential rain at any moment.
Completely eliminated any possibility of them leaving by air or across the ice.
Even attempting to leave by submarine was out of the question.
Because all the submarines had been taken over by Su Wu's Artificial Intelligence.
They were currently involved in the construction of the undersea tunnel.
They no longer had the authority to intervene.
"There's no need to be overly pessimistic."
"The main structure of our shelter is still quite sturdy."
"Even if magma were to erupt below."
"It wouldn't cause catastrophic damage immediately." Seeing the tense atmosphere in the hall, Ping Yuhan had to step forward to reassure everyone.
"But for safety's sake."
"It's best for everyone to stay near the safe room during this period."
"And only come out after the undersea tunnel is passable."
The safe room was a sealed living area inside the Zhenhai City shelter.
Its outer shell was made of a 10-meter-thick alloy metal.
Inside, it had an independent and comprehensive life support system.
Capable of sustaining thousands of people for several years.
In the initial design.
The safe room was considered the last fortress and refuge.
Intended as a fallback for the management of Zhenhai City.
However, perhaps even the designers hadn't anticipated.
That one day, the safe room would need to face earthquakes above magnitude 9 and the relentless erosion of magma.
It simply couldn't provide real protection.
Regardless of the anxiety in the hearts of Zhenhai City's elite.
Beneath the ice layer.
The robot-dominated construction team continued to build the undersea tunnel at a steady pace.
Unaffected by anything.
April 4th.
Things ultimately didn't develop in the worst possible direction.
Amidst the anxious waiting of all those in the know.
The first undersea tunnel was successfully completed.
When the final piece of Rapid-setting Cement on the tunnel's outer wall solidified.
And the tracks on the ground successfully connected the coastal shelter to Zhenhai City.
Ping Yuhan, who had received the news early and led his team to wait near Station 1.
Boarded the first subway train.
Becoming one of the first passengers.
As the train slowly started.
Sitting in Carriage 1, Ping Yuhan felt the slight vibrations beneath him.
For once, his heart was at ease.
No matter how high his position or how composed he appeared on the surface.
He was still an ordinary person at heart.
He too feared death.
Now that he could distance himself from danger, a sense of relaxation naturally emerged.
Turning his head to look out the subway train's window.
Under the soft lighting inside the carriage.
He could clearly see the close proximity of the gray walls outside.
Ping Yuhan knew that behind those walls.
There were at least 20 underwater submersibles converted from sightseeing submarines.
Patrolling the area.
Tasked with maintaining the tunnel and being ready for emergency repairs at any moment.
At this time.
His assistant handed him a tablet.
Whispering to him.
"A communication from Jianghe City."
Ping Yuhan took the tablet and answered the call.
On the screen appeared a young and familiar figure.
The young leader named Su Wu, who ruled over a population of hundreds of millions and had recently incorporated Zhenhai City into his jurisdiction, was the one in question.
"Why not wait until the official opening of the tunnel before taking the train?"
"The undersea passage isn't very stable right now."
Su Wu's eyes were filled with concern.
After all, Ping Yuhan was still the chairman of Zhenhai City.
He held a position of significant importance.
If something were to happen, the impact would undoubtedly be severe.
"There's no other way."
"Everyone is getting impatient."
"Leaving earlier will save us from the constant worry here."
Ping Yuhan's voice was calm and soothing, carrying a hint of relief after putting down a heavy burden.
Like an old man about to retire and step down.
"I see."
Su Wu seemed to understand.
He was well aware of the current situation in Zhenhai City.
Just two hours ago.
During a not-too-intense earthquake.
A stream of magma had even flooded a cultivation room in Zhenhai City's shelter through a crack in the floor.
Resulting in casualties among two staff members who were inspecting the area.
Such visible and deadly dangers.
Given the pampered nature of the people in Zhenhai City, it was inevitable that they would feel restless.
"Then I'll temporarily dispatch a mechanized army to go through the water."
"To ensure the safety of your train as much as possible."
The dangers faced by the undersea passage.
One was the tearing and compression caused by unstable geological activities.
The other was the scattered Amethyst Crystal Entities that might sense the presence of living beings in the passage and actively cause destruction.
With the mechanized army escorting.
The situation would be slightly better.
However, such a large-scale mobilization might seem a bit excessive.
Their existence was more about showing Su Wu's concern.
It couldn't be a regular practice.
After escorting Ping Yuhan's train, the mechanized army would return to the coastal shelter.
To continue participating in the original construction work.
After a brief conversation.
Ping Yuhan turned his head again to look at the unchanging gray walls outside the window.
He sighed with mixed emotions.
This might be the last time he enjoyed such high-level treatment.
Once he arrived in Jianghe City.
The halo of being the chairman of Zhenhai City would be stripped from him.
He would become just an ordinary wealthy man under their jurisdiction.
For the rest of his life, he might not have to worry about material conditions.
But that would be all.
"I hope I made the right choice."
"Choosing Jianghe City might be better than choosing the capital of Dongzhou—"
Ping Yuhan was on the first subway train.
Behind him, other trains were starting to depart one after another.
According to the unspoken understanding between both sides.
The first batch of passengers, naturally, were the middle and upper-level managers of Zhenhai City and their relatives.
This group numbered around 30,000 people.
At the same time, to ensure their basic dignity and provide them with more space for luggage.
The number of people in each carriage was limited to 80.
Only one-fifth of the full capacity.
And after them.
Were the lower-level official managers, wealthy families from the private sector, and so on.
For them, there were no special privileges.
Each person could only carry standard personal luggage like ordinary people.
They had to squeeze into carriages with up to 400 people.
As for other properties.
If they wanted to take them, they would have to pay a high transportation fee of 95%.
Moreover, to avoid wasting the precious transport capacity in the early stages.
Ordinary supplies that are too bulky or heavy in mass are directly prohibited from being taken.
Additionally, the families of the armed soldiers maintaining order in the shelters and the families of the workers producing critical supplies in the factories are also included in this batch of prioritized evacuations.
As a special form of reward.
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