Spring 2019 arrived with warm winds and blooming plum trees around the compound perimeter.
Level 2 basement expansion completed.
Living quarters for up to fifty people, redundant generators, full water recycling plant, NBC air filtration system, expanded armory, secondary command center.
Expenditure: 280 million RMB on final fit-out and equipment.
[Ding! +29,400,000,000 RMB cashback]
The team ate together in the new mess hall for the first time — hotpot, rice, fresh vegetables from the test hydroponic bay.
Tang Ning broke the quiet.
"Never imagined I'd be eating like this while working for a guy half my age."
Chen Hao chuckled. "He pays. He plans. He doesn't waste lives. That's enough for me."
Dr. Xu raised a cup of tea. "To survival."
Zhao Wei nodded. "And to whatever comes after."
Old Huang sat under the table, tail thumping happily for scraps.
Later that evening, final PI summary for the month:
"Family evicted from second rental after missing payments. Now squeezed into a single damp room in the suburbs. Li Na deleted all social media accounts. Zhang Mei stopped contacting relatives. Li Jian Guo's injuries healing slowly — no money for follow-up treatment."
Li Wei stood on the roof, watching distant city lights flicker through the night haze.
The silence from his old family was absolute now.
No calls. No messages. No more begging through neighbors.
Only quiet, gnawing desperation.
He scratched Old Huang's head.
The apocalypse clock continued its inexorable countdown.
And Fortress Zero grew stronger every single day.