Chapter 111: The People Outside

Jingwei had no answer that would make his sister’s question hurt less.

He had spent almost a month ordering food, security systems and equipment capable of surviving disasters he honestly hadn’t believed in.

He had removed a meal variety because it contained mushrooms Zhiyi couldn’t eat, yet he had never called his mother and told her to buy additional water.

"I thought the shelter at headquarters would protect you," Jingwei admitted, although he knew how inadequate the explanation sounded.

Xinyi glanced around the overcrowded room. "You just said it can keep us alive for five days."

"I was wrong," he admitted. But honestly, who would have thought that his parents would have invited everyone into the shelter that was designed for 24 people.

His sister waited for more, but Jingwei couldn’t offer an excuse without lying to her.

Su Lihua moved closer and wrapped one arm around her daughter. "Is there another shelter nearby? Your company responds to disasters. You must have somewhere better than this."

Jingwei opened every Rong Security property within 30 kilometers of headquarters.

The disaster-response warehouse contained food, medical supplies, water filtration equipment and portable cooling units. The training center had showers, an underground level and independent generators. Neither had been designed as a shelter, but both were connected to headquarters through a shared underground loading network.

He expanded the plans.

"The training center can become a second protected area," Jingwei explained as he sent the schematics to Shichen. "It has independent ventilation and enough space to reduce the pressure on the main shelter."

Rong Jianfeng looked toward the internal door. "The training center isn’t secured against outside entry."

"It has fire shutters, reinforced equipment cages and access controls," Jingwei replied while reviewing the building systems. "Those won’t stop a determined attack, but they’ll stop heat from entering through the loading corridors."

Shichen studied the plans before highlighting three separation points. "Close these shutters and seal the vehicle ramp. The underground training rooms will retain cooled air if the portable units can be moved from the warehouse."

Jingwei checked the warehouse cameras. Four portable cooling units remained on wheeled platforms beside the loading bays. Batteries powered the small cargo movers used inside the underground network.

He connected to the warehouse controls.

"Can you move them remotely?" Zeyu asked as he leaned closer to Jingwei’s laptop, his interest overcoming the discomfort left by Xinyi’s question.

"The cargo movers are automated," Jingwei confirmed while assigning the first unit a destination. "They don’t need to use the surface roads."

Zeyu opened the loading map and corrected the route around a disabled freight lift. "Send them through Bay Four. The western ramp is shorter, and the batteries won’t overheat underground."

Jingwei adjusted the route.

On the warehouse feed, the first cargo mover activated. Its platform lifted beneath a cooling unit before carrying it toward the underground connection. A second mover collected water tanks, while a third began loading filtration equipment.

For the first time since answering the call, some of the fear left Su Lihua’s face.

"How long will that give us?" she asked, holding Xinyi closer.

Jingwei calculated the combined water, power and cooling capacity. "If you divide the population between both areas, 12 days without additional supplies."

His mother’s relief vanished before it had fully formed. "And after 12 days?"

"We solve the next problem before then," Jingwei replied, giving her the only promise he could keep.

Rong Jianfeng examined the route into the training center. "Who moves?"

"The main shelter keeps 24 people," Jingwei said as he displayed the original capacity. "Everyone else goes to the converted area."

His father’s attention shifted toward the executives gathered behind him. "You expect me to decide who remains inside the secure shelter."

"Yes," Jingwei answered without offering to make the choice for him.

Several people close enough to hear began arguing before Rong Jianfeng muted the shelter microphone.

Through the camera, Jingwei watched his father attempt to impose order.

Senior executives moved closer to him while security personnel blocked the storage cabinets. Relatives gathered around Su Lihua and Xinyi, each of them aware that the safest area held fewer than half the people present.

The world outside had ended, but hierarchy remained alive inside the concrete room.

Hanchuan watched the silent argument before turning toward Jingwei. "You can use every Rong property and employee still available to you."

Jingwei understood the limit beneath the permission. "But nothing from our shelters."

"Nothing that reduces Zhiyi’s survival," Hanchuan confirmed, his tone remaining calm rather than apologetic.

Jingwei looked toward Zhiyi.

She had already entered the new population into a consumption model. The numbers reflected what Hanchuan had said: 68 strangers connected to Jingwei by blood and history, but not part of the calculations that protected her.

"The restriction is reasonable," Zhiyi concluded as she adjusted the expected battery life of the cooling units. "Rong Security has enough resources to address the immediate problem."

Jingwei returned his attention to the family feed. He didn’t resent her agreement. The shelter at Xiling belonged to her because she had understood what the rest of them refused to accept.

His guilt belonged to him for the same reason.

Rong Jianfeng restored the audio connection after nearly three minutes. Anger had deepened the lines around his mouth.

"Forty-four people will move to the training center," he announced. "The security teams will divide between both locations."

"Move the water and filtration equipment before opening the internal corridor," Jingwei instructed, highlighting the sequence on his father’s tablet. "Once the groups separate, close every shutter between them."

His father studied the instructions. "You’re treating our own employees as a threat."

"I’m treating 68 frightened people as 68 frightened people." Jingwei kept his voice controlled despite his father’s expression. "Their job titles won’t matter when the water runs out."

Rong Jianfeng didn’t agree, but he began issuing the orders.

Behind him, Xinyi moved away from their mother and returned to the camera.

"You really didn’t believe it?" she asked, keeping her voice low enough that their father couldn’t hear.

Jingwei looked at the preparations surrounding him. "Not enough."

"You believed enough to leave."

The accusation wasn’t angry. That made it worse.

"I followed Hanchuan," Jingwei admitted, refusing to protect himself with another incomplete explanation. "I thought that if Zhiyi was wrong, we would lose money and laugh about it later."

Xinyi looked toward the food, clean lights and working cooling system visible behind him. "But she wasn’t wrong."

"No," Jingwei replied as regret roughened his voice. "She wasn’t."

A security alarm interrupted them.

Rong Jianfeng turned toward the shelter entrance as the exterior camera appeared on the wall behind him.

Nineteen people crowded into the reinforced corridor outside.

Some wore Rong Security uniforms, while others carried children or supported relatives weakened by the heat. They had reached the underground level after the upper floors lost cooling.

One of the employees struck the door with both hands.

Su Lihua moved toward the screen and recognized him. "That’s Manager Zhao. He has worked for your father for 18 years."

Rong Jianfeng reached for the door control.

"Don’t open it," Jingwei ordered, rising so quickly that his chair struck the floor behind him.

His father froze with one hand above the release.

"They’re our people," Rong Jianfeng argued, turning toward the camera with disbelief.

Jingwei looked at the 68 people already exceeding the shelter’s capacity and then at the 19 waiting outside.

"They were warned to evacuate yesterday," he replied, forcing himself to accept the same calculation Hanchuan had made at Jinhai. "If you open that door, more will follow."