Chapter 550: Chapter 345: Apocalypse Countdown—One Week Before

Several years flew by, and now it was the final week before the Apocalypse.

The Candle Dragon Radio Telescope had been damaged and repaired by Li Xiang several times. The Black Mist Star Realm was now on their doorstep; in a week at most, the "Heavenly Dog Devouring the Sun" would take place.

It was happening at the exact same time as in his previous life.

Although Li Xiang had made countless efforts, allowing the world’s population to prepare far more thoroughly than in his past life, he could neither change the direction and speed of the Solar System’s trajectory nor stop the "approach" of the massive Black Mist Star Realm.

This "approach" was relative. From the perspective of Earth, the Black Mist Star Realm was spreading over and engulfing the Solar System. But from the perspective of the Star Realm, a pebble (the Solar System) was hurtling toward it and plunging into a vast lake (the Black Mist Star Realm).

Regardless of the perspective, Li Xiang was as insignificant as an ant. He lacked the power to shift the stars, and he could not change the outcome.

Over the past few years, there had been sporadic Exotic Beast invasions on Earth. These came from beast eggs floating on the periphery of the Black Mist Star Realm or were simply wandering beasts. Fortunately, these outliers weren’t very powerful; many had been abandoned or exiled from the Star Realm. They provided the nations of Earth an opportunity to drill their forces. While they caused some disturbances, all were ultimately hunted down and killed.

The country had also launched numerous drills of various types, such as the "Polar Night–Natural Disaster Joint Defense" series, the "Endless Night Front" large-scale military-civilian joint exercise, the "Cold Snap–Beast Tide Response" multinational coordinated exercise, "Operation Dawnbreak," a comprehensive apocalyptic survival drill, and "Project Black Shield," an Underground City defense stress test.

Some were conducted at the city level, some were large-scale, nationwide drills, and others were international cooperative exercises. Of course, within the cities, individual streets and communities also organized frequent drills, but these focused primarily on taking cover, evacuation, distributing supplies, firefighting, and first aid.

But a drill was just a drill. Having never experienced the true harshness of the Apocalypse, everyone remained deeply anxious.

...

In Li Family Village, the houses on the surface had long been empty; everyone had moved into the Underground City to live.

However, as each of the past few years grew colder than the last, many elderly people with underlying health conditions passed away.

Li Family Village alone had lost more than ten of its elderly residents. One year, eight of them passed away. Among them was Third Granny.

Some were indeed very old, and even with the Spiritual Medicine Li Xiang provided, they couldn’t hold on. Their oil had run out, and their lamps were extinguished. It was a helpless situation.

The conditions in Li Family Village were actually considered good. In other countries and regions, the elderly population had declined even more sharply.

However, perhaps it was a blessing to pass away during a time of peace.

For some countries, the sharp decline in the elderly population meant a sudden drop in pressure on their pension systems. Of course, for other nations, with the Apocalypse arriving, it was every person for themself, and everyone was left to their own fate; their social security systems had long since collapsed. There was widespread chaos and unrest, but Li Xiang couldn’t concern himself with it all. In the end, the situation was still far better than in his past life.

Third Granny had been Granny Li Xiang’s best friend in the village—they were practically sisters—so Granny Li Xiang was heartbroken for a long time. Fortunately, now that everyone was living in the Underground City, several of Li Xiang’s aunts had moved in to keep the old woman company. What’s more, Li Xiang’s maternal grandparents, Jiang Cai’Er’s maternal grandparents, and various other relatives were all living together. The lively and bustling atmosphere greatly improved Granny Li Xiang’s mood.

The villagers from the surrounding countryside had also moved into the Underground City, and everyone had a place to live. Whereas before they had lived scattered across the rural landscape, they were now all "crammed" together in the Underground City, which paradoxically made things even more lively.

Every household had stockpiled ample supplies, especially things like rice, flour, cooking oil, salt, pickled vegetables, preserved mustard greens, instant noodles, canned fruit, and compressed biscuits. They also stored common medicines like adhesive bandages, gauze, povidone-iodine, and rubbing alcohol.

In such uncertain times, it was essential to have food and medicine at home for emergencies. Although the Underground City had its own hospitals, supermarkets, and restaurants, having a personal stockpile brought people peace of mind.

As for *Li’s Breathing Method and Body Techniques*, everyone had a copy. Many people carried it on their person daily, practicing whenever they had a spare moment. The closer the Apocalypse loomed, the more diligently they trained.

Firearms were still banned for the general populace, but a militia had been formed. Members could participate in training drills and live-fire exercises.

...

The more precious plants from Li Xiang’s backyard had all been transplanted to the underground farm: the peach tree, the gourd vines, the chili tree, the Golden Thunder Bamboo, the wintersweet, and more.

Since Golden Thunder Bamboo grew in clumps, only a portion of it was transplanted, leaving the rest on the surface. After several years of severe cold, most of it had frozen to death—despite bamboo being known as one of the "Three Friends of Winter." However, the survivors were all "Alien Species." These Alien Species were highly adaptable. They remained on the surface, and whenever Zhao Xueqing had free time, she used her Spirit Plant Telepathy to help them grow. Li Xiang had high hopes for them.

Their family’s shops had also been relocated to the commercial plaza in the Underground City, and business was as brisk as ever.

"Chubby baby, round and sweet, riding horsie down the street! Off to Chengdu, what a treat! Chubby baby, can’t be beat! White horse jumping, oh so high! See his big sword fill the sky! Swing it round and round and round, picking up the Copper Coins from the ground! Lots of coins, what a dear! Buys a sweet bun, right over here! But the sweet bun isn’t sweet! Chubby baby starts to weep! Little darling, do you know who the chubby baby is? You don’t? It’s China’s national treasure, the giant panda!"

Jiang Cai’Er had later given birth to a daughter, who was now just five months old and beginning to babble. Jiang Cai’Er was holding her, singing her the nursery rhyme.

As for their two sons, they were already out playing. Thanks to Li Xiang’s nurturing and their own outstanding talent, both were already Tier Five Transcendent. Li Xiang didn’t have to worry about their safety for now. Although the younger brother, Li Zezao, was mischievous, his older brother, Li Yuchen, kept an eye on him and made sure he didn’t cause any trouble.

After having two sons and one daughter, Jiang Cai’Er declared she was done having children. If Li Xiang wanted more, he could find someone else to have them with.

Whenever Jiang Cai’Er said that, Li Xiang felt a pang of guilt. ’It always feels like she’s found out about something.’

’But then again,’ he would think, ’she’s probably just kidding. She’s always so absorbed in her research, she couldn’t have possibly found out.’

Their little daughter was named Li Xinyue, and her nickname was Yueyue.

The character "Yue" (玥), according to the ancient *Guangyun* rime dictionary, means "divine pearl." This expressed their hope that she would shine brilliantly like a pearl, and it also symbolized that she was the apple of their eye—their precious treasure.

The character "Xin" (昕) was chosen for its meaning, "the light of dawn," as defined in the ancient dictionary *Shuowen Jiezi*. The reason for this choice was that around the time Jiang Cai’Er became pregnant with her, her "miniature artificial sun" project had achieved a major breakthrough. By the time their little daughter was born, the first prototype had been successfully developed. It now hung high above the farm in the Li Family Village Underground City.

Since it was a first-generation prototype, it still required more experiments and tests on its various parameters. Jiang Cai’Er felt there was significant room for improvement, so it had not yet been put into mass production.

By her fourth year of university, she had already obtained eight doctoral degrees and more than ten master’s degrees, achieving a Fusion of multiple fields. She had published over 500 papers in high-impact journals, with a cumulative impact factor exceeding thirty thousand. She was an undisputed academic titan who shocked the world. In that same amount of time, an average person would have been lucky to graduate with a bachelor’s degree.

She led or participated in as many as seventy to eighty different research projects. She had several national key laboratories under her command, staffed by over three hundred researchers, all of whom were highly educated experts.

Now, all of these laboratories had naturally been relocated to the Li Family Village Underground City. Ninety percent of her research team members had moved with her. A small number who were unwilling to come, for various personal reasons, were not forced to do so.

Because some of the experiments were too "hazardous," the labs were distributed throughout the main city and its twelve satellite cities based on their respective risk levels. Jiang Cai’Er herself rarely conducted experiments personally anymore. Instead, she focused on guiding the overall direction, holding various project meetings, listening to reports from her teams, and providing scientific oversight.

Additionally, she was responsible for the Underground City’s various unmanned systems, which included a large number of drones, robotic dogs, missiles, automated turrets, radar, and other surveillance and Defense equipment.

The drones ranged from small quadcopters to large, fixed-wing reconnaissance-and-strike UAVs capable of carrying missiles.

Her two sons had grown up in Tsinghua Garden, attending its early education programs and affiliated kindergarten. Her young daughter, however, would have to be educated within the Li Family Village Underground City.

The Li Family Village Underground City was designated Number 03 among the country’s 72 Hive Underground City clusters, a fairly high ranking. The only two preceding it were those in the Imperial Capital and Shanghai.

With the exception of a few major city clusters, the other sites were numbered from east to west, and then from north to south.

As for Jiang Cai’Er’s Cultivation, she had broken through to the Saint Tier (Tier Nineteen) by the time her sons were two years old. She had since advanced another step and was now at Tier Twenty. Li Xiang, who had spent the last few years helping nations across the globe construct their underground cities and farms, had also made immense progress, reaching Tier Twenty-Two.

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