Blue Star, Great Xia.
August 29, 2028, Western Calendar.
Guangnan Province. The scorching summer heat was at its peak, with outdoor temperatures soaring above 40 degrees Celsius.
In Dongjiang City, a three-story villa spanning nearly a thousand square meters stood secluded from the urban center.
On the second floor, inside a private gym maintained at a constant 25 degrees Celsius,
the room was filled with various fitness equipment.
A powerfully built man, standing over 1.9 meters tall, was performing a series of intense exercises—single-handed handstand push-ups, heavy squats, and weightlifting beyond current human records.
A closer look would reveal that the strength he displayed far surpassed known human limits.
Just then,
a phone placed nearby lit up with an incoming call, followed by the soft, melodic voice of a woman singing.
"A tiny little cloud, slowly drifting by~"
"Please take a little rest, pause for a while~"
"The mountain flowers are in bloom, I've just arrived up high, turns out you're here to see them too, oh my."
The ringtone played for nearly twenty seconds
before the burly man finally set down the heavy dumbbell in his hand. With one large palm, he picked up the phone from the table, swiped the screen, and tapped the answer icon.
"Hey, Yuanzhou, what's up?" His voice was deep and magnetic.
"Bro, you free to talk right now?"
The voice on the other end carried a hint of urgency and tension.
The man immediately understood what his younger brother was about to say.
"Yeah, I'm at home. Go ahead, what is it?"
"Bro, here's the thing—I'm coming back in three days. I'll send you a list later. Make sure you buy everything on it for me."
"What? You're coming back in three days? Is your wife coming with you? Mom's been looking forward to your return. You're quitting such a good job? And what's this list—why so secretive? Fine, got it."
After a brief silence, the man chuckled.
He knew his brother well. Unless something truly significant had happened, Li Tiang would never speak to him in such a tone.
The powerfully built man was named Li Dong, 27 years old, currently unemployed. He had served two years as a conscript and, after graduating from university, inherited the family business—living off rental income from properties, supermarkets, and factories.
His family owned several apartment buildings, office towers, and commercial spaces in the heart of neighboring Pengcheng, along with a sprawling shopping mall spanning thousands of square meters.
The annual rental income alone exceeded hundreds of millions. With no major expenses beyond avoiding reckless entrepreneurship, the family's wealth was virtually inexhaustible.
Li Dong had few hobbies—gaming, fitness, and occasionally taking his yacht out with a group of women for poker games at sea. That was about it.
His younger brother, Li Tiang, was different.
From childhood, Li Tiang had been exceptionally bright, dreaming of becoming a great scientist and inventing cutting-edge technologies.
He never disappointed his family, consistently ranking at the top of his class. His outstanding college entrance exam score of over 700 earned him admission to a prestigious double-first-class university.
Now graduated, he worked at a national defense research institute,
handling classified projects.
As such, Li Dong had never pried into his brother's work.
"Yeah, I quit."
On the other end of the phone, Li Tiang fell silent after listening, then finally nodded and spoke.
His tone clearly carried a hint of displeasure.
"Why resign? You're throwing away a bright future."
After hearing this, Li Dong paused for a moment, then decided to ask anyway.
He still wanted to know the reason.
"Brother, do you believe in the end of the world? Or a catastrophic apocalypse?" After a long silence, Li Tiang finally spoke.
Recently, Li Tiang had been repeatedly experiencing an extremely vivid dream—a vision of the world ending a year from now, along with fragmented memories of surviving the apocalypse for several years.
The dreams were so intense that they didn't fade upon waking, which deeply unsettled him. He immediately concluded that this wasn't just a dream but a genuine premonition.
There was another possibility—that he was a reincarnator. Of course, Li Tiang had no idea why he might have been reborn.
On the other end, Li Dong burst into laughter. "Do you really think I'd believe that? 2012 was over a decade ago. Who still buys into that nonsense? So, you resigned because of this so-called apocalypse?"
"Yeah, it's hard to explain right now. I'll tell you everything in three days." Li Tiang wasn't surprised his brother didn't believe him.
After all, in this day and age, anyone hearing about the end of the world would instinctively dismiss it.
What apocalypse?
That's just crazy talk.
"Fine."
After a brief exchange, the call ended.
"The end of the world? Did someone brainwash my brother?" Li Dong stared at his phone screen, then shook his head. Who could possibly brainwash a government official?
Besides, resigning didn't mean losing his official status.
Someone like Li Tiang, a registered talent in the National Human Resources Center, could easily return if he wanted.
Still, Li Dong didn't buy into the apocalypse theory. But then again, he wasn't originally from this world. In his past life, he had lived on a planet called Earth, and his name had also been Li Dong.
Or rather, Li Dong was a reincarnated soul who had awakened his past-life memories at the age of eleven.
As someone who had been reborn, how could he not have a cheat ability?
Li Dong's cheat was a wisp of golden heavenly flame, also known as the Forging Skyfire.
This very flame was the reason for his reincarnation.
Back then, Li Dong had been on a company team-building trip. On the seventh day, news broke that a meteor shower would occur at 7:30 PM, with the best viewing spot at XX Mountain—exactly where his company was staying.
The announcement drew swarms of tourists.
The meteor shower arrived as scheduled, but disaster struck. Amid the shower, one meteor suddenly transformed into a blazing fireball, streaking toward Li Dong like a falling star.
It struck him—and sent him hurtling into this world.
So far, the flame's abilities remained limited, perhaps because Li Dong hadn't fully unlocked its potential.
The possessor of this strand of Forging Skyfire can undergo daily tempering, eliminating impurities and strengthening the body. Even the soul can be tempered and enhanced to a certain extent, allowing the possessor to continuously break through the limitations of the human body, transcend mortality, and attain extraordinary power.
But in this Blue Star world, there is no such thing as extraordinary power, so Li Dong saw no need to expose himself. He had no desire to become a lab rat dissected for study.
Still, Li Dong found himself somewhat believing his younger brother's words. After all, if he could be reborn into this world, wasn't it possible that the so-called end of the world might also occur?
Li Dong shook his head, clearing away unnecessary thoughts, then opened the StarChat app on his phone. He clicked into his chat with Li Tiang and saw an image.
The image listed all the supplies Li Tiang had requested to purchase.
"The quantity of these supplies seems a bit excessive?" Li Dong frowned as he examined the amounts on the image.
Premium rice: 10,000 tons
Wheat flour: 100,000 tons
All-purpose flour: 100,000 tons
Coarse/old rice: 500,000 tons
Pickled cabbage: 200,000 tons
Various vegetables: 200,000 tons
Frozen fresh meat: 1,000,000 tons
Canned fruit: 100,000 cans
Canned meat: 100,000 cans
Purified/drinkable water: 3,000,000 tons
Cooking oil: 10,000 tons
Salt: 10,000 tons
Petroleum energy: 200,000 tons
...
Such massive quantities would require special approval procedures to purchase even in the vast and resource-rich Great Xia nation.
Before Li Dong could finish reading, Li Tiang sent several more images. "Brother, there's more."
Image.jpg:
Ultra-large excavators x2, model Lihai Rxj-9722
Large excavators x20, model Jianhu xp-3610
Medium excavators x30, model Tianlan t-418
Small excavators x50, model Weixing nc-917
Large transport trucks x10, model Lanli bd760
Medium transport trucks x20, model...
Small transport trucks x50, model...
...
Image.jpg:
Cement: temporarily 1,000,000 bags
Steel: provisional order of 10,000 tons
Rebar: provisional order of 10,000 tons
River sand: provisional order of 1,000,000 tons
Aluminum alloy: ...
Titanium alloy: ...
...
Image.jpg:
Various cold medicines, fever reducers, painkillers, anti-inflammatory drugs, antibiotics, blood pressure medications, antiviral drugs, etc.: approximately 10,000 tons
Specific models listed below:
Cold medicine: 999 Cold Relief Granules, Xiaju Granules...
Painkillers: Ibuprofen, Aspirin...
Antibiotics: Amoxicillin Capsules...
Anti-radiation: Potassium iodide, stable iodine, biological stimulants...
This wasn't all. Li Tiang then sent several more images, including clothing, petroleum energy, and various chemical raw materials.
The sheer volume of supplies listed left Li Dong speechless. The quantities were simply too massive—even if the Li family liquidated all their assets, they couldn't afford it.
Just the 1,000,000 tons of frozen fresh meat alone would cost tens of billions. Even at wholesale prices, the Li family's total assets, if sold off, would barely reach a few billion—nowhere near enough.
Not to mention, they still needed to construct the Shelter, which would be another enormous expense.
"Bro, I really can't get the supplies you asked for. Have you calculated how much money all this would cost? Just that one million tons of frozen fresh meat alone is already dozens of times the value of our Li family's assets."
Helpless, Li Dong sent a message to Li Tiang.
Beep~
Li Tiang immediately replied, "Bro, my bad. I made a typo and added two extra zeros. Ten thousand tons of frozen fresh meat should be enough. If some things really can't be purchased, forget it. I'll handle it when I get back."
Buzz~~~
The phone rang.
Seeing it was his younger brother Li Tiang calling, Li Dong answered, "Yuanzhou, even ten thousand tons of frozen fresh meat isn't cheap. The cheapest frozen pork, bought wholesale, would still cost over 14,000 per ton. For ten thousand tons, even with discounts, it'd still be 140 million."
He complained over the phone. That much money could fund so many of his parties.
He could've cycled through countless beautiful girls with that.
Honestly, he still wasn't entirely convinced the apocalypse was coming. Part of him even thought it might just be his brother's prank.
"Bro, just trust me on this. If we don't spend this money now, when the apocalypse hits, it'll be as worthless as scrap paper. And prices will only get more insane later."
"How urgent is this? How much time do we have to prepare? Did you get some inside info?"
"It's not super urgent. We have at least a year to prepare. I'm 90% sure. Bro, believe me. Liquidate assets fast, buy up resources, and build a Shelter. Once the government starts restricting supplies, we won't be able to get some things even if we want to."
"Alright."
Li Dong agreed with a single word before ending the call. He lazily scrolled through his contacts for supplier contacts.
Over the years, Li Dong had been managing the family business. Despite his carefree, party-loving facade, growing up in the family's influence and leveraging their connections had earned him a vast network, including many business owners.
Soon, he found a rice supplier in his contacts—a note labeled "Boss Wang, Northeast Region Grain Merchant."
This was a major grain supplier from the Northeast, backed by state-level resources, highly capable, and well-connected. He regularly supplied Li Dong's supermarket chain.
"Hello~ Boss Wang, this is Li Dong from Tianhua Supermarket in Guangnan Province. Remember me?"
"Ah, Young Master Li! Of course I remember. How's your mother doing?"
"Mom's in great health. She's vacationing in Qingkang Province right now. I'm calling to discuss a big deal with you."
"What kind of big deal?"
"A deal worth several hundred million."
"You're not joking, are you? Can your little supermarket handle that much grain?"
"Our supermarket can't, but the Li family can."
"Haha~ Fair enough. Business is business, Boss Li. If the order's big enough, I can give you a 5% discount."
"..."