"Why? If you have a solution in mind, why do you say it is useless?" Eldest Princess Annie asked perplexedly, then seemed to have thought of something, and said to Perfikot: "Is it a matter of power or resources? If you need, I can convince my mother to offer her full support to you, granting you the royal privileges!"
Royal privileges are the highest authority that the Royal Family of Victor Empire can grant to a subject.
In the past, it was only bestowed upon heroes called to save the Empire during its most critical moments.
Evidently, in Eldest Princess Annie's eyes, this matter was as dire as those critical times the Empire had faced before, and Perfikot was the person she believed could save the Empire from this crisis.
But Perfikot shook her head and said: "No, the news about this disaster cannot be disclosed now, as it would cause public panic. Before things become irrevocable, we need a stable Empire to maintain the gathering and dispatch of various resources.
However, hiding the truth from the populace means we can only secretly mobilize social resources, and the energy we can use is limited.
Limited resources for a disaster that needs full effort to confront can only be a drop in the ocean; essentially, the Empire can only save a small part of the population and must abandon the majority.
Three years later, the temperature across the Empire's mainland will drop to minus forty degrees, and by then Langton City will be as cold as the Arctic, and everyone will freeze to death!
We neither have the time nor sufficient resources to help them, even if it is just to let them live a little longer."
As Perfikot said this, her hands involuntarily clenched, her knuckles even turning white from exertion.
Eldest Princess Annie noticed this moment and gently reached out to smooth Perfikot's clenched fingers, comforting her: "This is not your fault. If the Empire had realized the seriousness of the issue when you warned them, we wouldn't be in such a passive situation now."
Clearly, the consequences of the Imperial Parliament ignoring Perfikot's warning wasted nearly an entire year for the Empire.
"Those civilians..." Perfikot looked at her delicate hands, though reason told her she should abandon those civilians, the strong emotions in her heart still made her say to Eldest Princess Annie: "They need houses that are enough to resist and keep warm against cold, and also need a city-level heating system to ensure they won't freeze directly in a low-temperature environment.
Besides that, they need greenhouses to plant crops in extremely cold climates so they can get enough food.
Nothing can be grown on land at minus forty degrees; the low temperature will freeze all crops, and we can only artificially create an indoor environment for farming to produce enough crops.
These are not only needed by them but also necessary for the Empire to resist the calamity brought by this disaster."
Upon saying this, Perfikot shook her head helplessly, feeling a kind of powerless despair: "But the Empire has no technical foundation in these aspects! It's like asking a clueless noble brat to survive in the Arctic wilderness with nothing; there is no possibility other than freezing to death..."
Surviving in temperatures below minus forty degrees is indeed like wilderness survival in polar conditions.
A sturdy shelter, reliable heating methods, and sufficient food and supplies are indispensable.
Achieving these three points was a challenge even in Perfikot's world before her travel; much less in a world with only the technology level of the first industrial revolution.
Even with alchemy, Perfikot can only guarantee surviving three years of severe cold.
She even dares not to ensure her long-term survival as temperatures continue to drop further.
Eldest Princess Annie could understand Perfikot's powerlessness and despair, as facing a world-ending disaster, what could a young girl do? Perfikot had indeed done much for the Empire by warning them in advance.
But at this moment, Perfikot seemed to have thought of something suddenly, she looked at Eldest Princess Annie, and a flicker of hope seemed to ignite in her eyes: "Aunt Annie, would you publicly support me lavishly, in the name of the Royal Family, sponsoring me for a long-term Arctic scientific expedition?"
Though the question Perfikot asked was not wholly unrelated to the issue they faced, it certainly wasn't closely related.
Thus when Perfikot asked this question, Eldest Princess Annie was baffled, but she seriously replied: "Sure, if you need, I can convince my mother to provide support in the name of the Royal Family. As for the amount... I should be able to get you a hundred thousand gold pounds, which you deserve."
To Eldest Princess Annie, merely warning the Empire of an impending disaster was enough for the Empress to confer a title upon Perfikot, not to mention borrowing the name of the Royal Family.
"A hundred thousand gold pounds is not enough, but with the Royal Family leading donations, fundraising should be easier." Perfikot's words made Eldest Princess Annie more puzzled, but she quickly explained to the Princess: "Since the public cannot yet know about the disaster, then use false information to conceal the truth! Under the guise of Royal support for Arctic research, convene related resources, manpower, and technical power!
What Arctic research needs largely overlaps with preparations for this disaster! The preparatory work for an Arctic expedition can entirely overlap with disaster preparedness, and we can fully utilize this to get Empire's scientists to study these!
Moreover, we can proclaim as building a forward base on the New Continent, directly stockpile resources and build initial shelters! In this way, resources can be adequately allocated under confidentiality restraints to prepare for the disaster!"
Upon saying this, Perfikot found the plan more and more feasible.
And Eldest Princess Annie quickly understood Perfikot's strategy and excitedly said: "We can also use the guise of technical verification to renovate the Empire's slums, providing cold-resistant houses and clothing, allowing them to survive the disaster!"