Chapter 129 Decision_1

The phone connected.

The conversation between the elder and the Wallfacer was routed through a private channel that only Sophon could eavesdrop on.

Lin Sen: "I take the liberty of contacting you, as the storm in the Three Great Polar Zones has accumulated full energy, and is now preparing to breach the high-pressure belt and head south.

"Are our defense facilities and resource reserves sufficient to weather this disaster?"

The elder: "Mr. Lin Sen, first of all, let me thank you for your suggestion 20 years ago to build shelters, as we were among the earliest to begin constructing underground Permanent Shelters. We are now the only country in the world to have completed shelters for the entire population.

"Although your suggestion involved our internal affairs, we still allocated a portion of resources to the construction of underground Permanent Shelters, aside from our mainstream defensive strategy.

"Our Permanent Shelters were built with military havens in mind and are fully capable of withstanding the planetary storm that is coming our way.

"Over the past two decades, we have built two thousand shelters of various levels that can accommodate tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands, with most of the smaller cities having one or more small shelters, and the larger cities having built large shelters nearby.

"Together with the emergency excavated shelters and the temporary shelters hastily converted from urban underground facilities this year, we have enough space for over a billion people nationwide to take refuge, with some room to spare. We have also accommodated a lot of people from other countries.

"In the face of crisis, responsibility is the only way!

"The food reserves in our shelters will also sustain us through this disaster. We have never taken the issue of food lightly, and have enough to last us several years.

"Of course, as a part of the global community with a shared destiny, we will also provide some aid to other regions.

"However... our nearly a century's worth of efforts will all turn to nothing.

"That doesn't matter, though, nothing will stop us from reconstructing our home.

"Mr. Lin Sen, I suppose you have more to say?"

It's now a global community with a shared fate, and great nations must shoulder great responsibilities, but if Lin Sen made some excessive demands, they naturally would not agree.

Lin Sen knew that from the moment this plan was proposed, his future was also heading into the unknown.

Lin Sen continued, "What if... the planetary storm intensifying further by one or two levels before it reaches us?

"Can we withstand it?"

The elder was somewhat puzzled. How could a natural disaster like a storm suddenly intensify by one or two levels? No force could boost its strength, but the elder replied anyway, "This... please hold on, I need to consult with the Science Advisory Board."

Soon, the elder had his answer, his brows tightly knit together. He knew there must be a reason behind Lin Sen's question, although he hadn't yet figured out the key point.

The elder said to Lin Sen: "The results are not ideal. The underground shelters could withstand an intensified planetary storm.

"But many of the hastily converted shelters, and those using city underground facilities, couldn't handle it.

"Especially many in the big cities are converted from subways and the like, their protection levels are too low.

"Mr. Lin Sen, please just state your plan directly!"

Lin Sen hesitated for a moment, but then revealed his idea: "There is a plan..."

Following that, Lin Sen explained a proposal to alleviate the storm hitting Europe and America to the elder.

The elder's brows remained furrowed, his body trembling slightly, but years of composure kept him from losing his demeanor.

The elder paused the conversation with Lin Sen; he had to quickly come up with countermeasures, as the talk with Lin Sen could wait.

The elder was known for his swift and decisive actions, but at the moment, he was plunged into deep contemplation:

Firstly, the Science Advisory Board must immediately estimate the potential losses that the storm could bring us.

Secondly, the Advisory Staff would need to list the conditions we would require from the PDC and the Wallfacer if we agreed to the plan, and these conditions had to be critical in the post-disaster scenario.

This negotiation was crucial, and it was necessary to gauge the PDC's bottom line in order to secure our leadership after the disaster. In this world, everything can be shared except for status and leadership.

Lastly, and most importantly, what role does the Wallfacer, Lin Sen, play in all this?

The power of a Wallfacer is but a castle in the air; once doubted by everyone, a Wallfacer would be toppled from their pedestal.

Some time later.

Science Advisory Board: "First, Lin Sen's plan is feasible. By using this plan, we've also roughly estimated how much more we'll lose.

"According to our calculations, the best time to intervene would be in three weeks, which means we only have three weeks left to adjust and deploy.

"In fact, before this, we had already placed 98% of the population in underground shelters. The current task is simply to move people from temporarily converted shelters to Permanent Shelters.

"With three weeks' time, we can relocate everyone with our capabilities. Our losses will not be overly significant.

"The key issue is the large industrial equipment, much of which cannot be moved underground. We've used methods of fortifying on-site, but these are unlikely to hold up in such a storm."

The elder: "Understood, no matter what, human resources are most important. If equipment is lost, we can build it anew."

Science Advisory Board: "Actually, this may not be such a bad thing for us. Our industrial system has many flaws in its design; this might be a good opportunity to devise a new and better industrial system.