10 The Eve of the Apocalypse

After finalizing the firearm matters, the security manager left. The construction team began demolishing the villa's surrounding walls, and an excavator followed closely, digging deep pits.

Since it was a standalone villa that didn't affect other homeowners' houses, Ye Xingchen's renovation plans weren't hindered by the property management. However, it piqued the curiosity of many neighbors.

Ye Xingchen casually came up with a reason to brush them off, without explaining anything to them.

The terrifying experiences during the doomsday had made his heart incredibly cold, making it difficult for him to feel any compassion for unrelated people.

Even if he were to say that the apocalypse was approaching, who would believe him?

The inevitable outcome would surely label him as a madman, with overt or covert mockery. It was better to say nothing at all.

Moreover, the residents of this upscale villa area were all very wealthy. Ye Xingchen also didn't want them to know and start frantically hoarding supplies.

In that case, wouldn't it hinder his own resource accumulation?

Construction work inevitably produced some noise.

To prevent complaints from neighbors and obstruction to the construction, Ye Xingchen spared no expense and had the security company install noise reduction facilities.

Sound barriers were set up around the construction site with good soundproofing effects, reducing the noise by about 30 decibels.

Building upon this, soundproof protective films were installed, and noise-isolating panels were used to contain the noise source.

Additionally, since the area consisted of standalone villas separated by small courtyards, the distance between each villa was already significant.

Hence, the resulting noise was almost negligible.

But even so, the neighbor Liu Qilong still came knocking.

"Stop, all of you, stop! Who allowed you to carry out construction here?"

Ye Xingchen walked up and asked, "What's the matter?"

"What's the matter? You've disturbed my mother's rest. The construction must stop!"

The standalone villas in this area were all identical and were already very upscale. Liu Qilong thought that Ye Xingchen was going to transform the villa into an even more luxurious one. This made him feel inferior as a neighbor, prompting him to obstruct the construction.

Hearing his words, a hint of mockery curved at the corner of Ye Xingchen's mouth.

Still daring to mention your mother?

In a short while, you, this beast, will probably devour your entire family.

With the advent of the apocalypse, under the dire circumstances of hunger and cold, human morality had deteriorated, and cannibalism was not uncommon.

But consuming one's own kin was exceedingly rare.

Even a tiger wouldn't eat its own cubs, indicating what kind of creature Liu Qilong was.

Ye Xingchen spoke lightly, "Apologies, we've already implemented thorough noise reduction measures that fully comply with construction standards. If you don't believe it, you can use professional instruments for measurement."

Liu Qilong knew that this excuse wouldn't hold up, and he angrily exclaimed, "Do you know this is illegal construction? I'll sue you!"

Ye Xingchen coldly smiled, "We have all the necessary permits. If you don't believe it, you can call the police immediately."

Unlike high-rise buildings, construction in standalone villas wouldn't affect other floors' residents, so there weren't many restrictions. Moreover, he had paid the security company a substantial sum, ensuring that all the paperwork was in order, capable of withstanding any official investigation.

Seeing Ye Xingchen's composed demeanor, Liu Qilong was taken aback for a moment and left fuming.

It was just a minor incident.

Not long after, vehicles from a pharmaceutical company arrived, unloading medicines into the villa. Then, banquet orders from several restaurants arrived and were discreetly stored by Ye Xingchen in his extradimensional space.

Subsequently, Ye Xingchen didn't need to stay there any longer. He drove to the electromechanical market and purchased a hundred generators. With the excessive deliveries to the villa over the past few days drawing too much attention from the villa's residents, he decided to have the market owner deliver the generators to his former company's warehouse. This location was remote, nearly devoid of people, and lacked supervision – a very discreet place, allowing him to store supplies in his extradimensional space without arousing suspicion.

Once the generators were stored in his extradimensional space, Ye Xingchen faced a dilemma. He had the generators now, but he lacked fuel. Without fuel, a generator was no different from scrap metal. However, the country had strict controls on fuel, requiring identity registration even for filling a fuel can at a gas station, and stating the purpose of the purchase.

While it was certain that he could obtain a significant amount of fuel through gas stations and refineries, Ye Xingchen had no connections in that area.

This presented a headache.

Even with connections, it would be difficult to obtain a sufficient amount of fuel without raising official suspicion.

After pondering for a while, Ye Xingchen had an idea.

"I can only clear out the oil reserves from a refinery when the apocalypse arrives."

There was a large refinery in the outskirts of Jinghai City, supplying the entire southwestern region's fuel needs. Given the electricity requirements of his villa, the refinery's oil reserves could last him for thousands of years. If he managed to infiltrate the refinery, he could transfer all the fuel to his extradimensional space without anyone noticing due to the instantaneous nature of his space retrieval.

It was a perfect plan, but the timing wasn't right now. After all, the sudden disappearance of an oil reserve would undoubtedly attract official attention, potentially causing trouble.

The two to three days before the apocalypse were the most suitable. By that time, if there were no clues, no one would pay attention to this matter when doomsday arrived.

A week later, a ten-meter-high, three-meter-thick wall, reinforced with five layers of thirty-centimeter-thick steel plates, had been built. Now, the construction of the equally thick circular dome was underway, designed to prevent anyone from staying atop the fortress.

Simultaneously, a large quantity of insulation materials had been transported, commencing the insulation of the villa's external walls.

Ten days later, the fortress was completely built, and the installation of a one-meter-thick, four-layer titanium alloy gate, along with air filtration systems and related security equipment, began.

Soon, it was May 25, 2023 – just one day left until the world's end. The concrete structure of the fortress had been specially treated and had fully solidified, meeting the required hardness standards. Even extreme cold weather couldn't affect it.

The construction of the fortress was now complete. After joyfully settling the final payment, Ye Xingchen received a discreet box from the security manager. Inside were an AK rifle and a handgun, with only a thousand rounds of ammunition.

After concluding the transaction, the security manager left with delight, and Ye Xingchen headed to the refinery.

Upon observation, Ye Xingchen was pleased to find that the oil reserve was separated by a tall wall. He didn't even need to infiltrate the refinery. He sat in his car outside the wall and, with a thought, transferred the entire oil reserve to his extradimensional space.

Then, he casually drove away, just like an ordinary passerby.

As for the sensational impact of an oil reserve suddenly disappearing, it was no longer his concern.

Glancing through the window at the setting sun, Ye Xingchen finally relaxed his constantly tense heart.

"Here comes the apocalypse!"