My Apocalypse System Arrives 10 Years Early

Chapter 522 - 335: Nature’s Grace Pacifies the Land, a Rainbow Spans the Turbulent River

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Of course, since Luo Feifei was clad in the Electric Light Illusion Armor, her true face was hidden, so the general public didn’t know her identity. However, a state media drone was following her. After all, Luo Feifei was a Major.

Across the country, all sorts of celebratory activities were held to commemorate surviving the catastrophe.

Suzhou’s Master of the Artless Garden hosted a themed event, "The Lotus’s Lament and Rebirth." Workers salvaged shared bicycles that had been washed into the ponds by the flood. Artists then transformed them into an installation piece titled *Iron Lotus*, and visitors could ring the bicycle bells to pray for good fortune.

In the north, the Xiongan New Area held a "Resilient City" exhibition. The centerpiece was a model of the underground utility tunnels, which had remained operational after being submerged for 72 hours. On-site, engineers demonstrated a stress test of the Crystal Vein waterproof layer, which Li Xiang had helped design.

Various post-disaster recovery efforts were also urgently underway, covering everything from ecological restoration and rebuilding daily life to economic recovery.

Zhao Xueqing was the clear choice to lead the emergency ecological restoration efforts. For instance, she and her original special-ops team introduced a genetically modified, fast-growing species of reed, rebuilding Dongting Lake’s wetland vegetation barrier in just 72 hours. Drone surveillance confirmed that migratory birds had already returned to forage.

This wasn’t the only place, either. She was needed in many other locations.

Great floods are often followed by great plagues, so the National Health Commission launched "Operation Blue Shield." Yao Yao led a team to distribute self-heating herbal sachets for disease prevention in the hardest-hit areas. This effort, combined with one of Jiang Cai’Er’s research breakthroughs from Tsinghua Garden—a "nano-scale virus detector"—successfully prevented any outbreaks.

For economic recovery, the central bank issued 500 billion in special "Resilience and Reconstruction" loans. Local governments rolled out various stimulus measures, like issuing consumer vouchers and doubling the subsidies for home appliance and automobile trade-in programs.

The "New Infrastructure+" initiative was pushed forward: facilities like 5G base stations and data centers were planned in conjunction with water infrastructure. Fiber optics and sensors were integrated into the underground utility tunnels, and the construction of Underground Cities across the country was accelerated, with work beginning in earnest.

Tax Exemptions and Rebates: Businesses affected by the disaster were granted a three-year exemption from property tax and urban land use tax. The VAT credit refund was increased to 150%.

Subsidies for manufacturing equipment upgrades were offered, covering up to 40% of the purchase price. In agriculture, a "Three Subsidies, One Guarantee" policy was implemented: subsidies for seedlings, fertilizer, and farm machinery, along with a guaranteed purchase price (for example, the minimum purchase price for rice was raised by 15%).

The nationwide promotion of Grandpa Yuan’s high-yield rice began, intended to build up grain reserves for the Apocalypse. In parallel, underground farms were also being developed.

Tourism "Off-Season Revitalization Plan": Rebuilt tourist attractions incorporated AR-guided tours and virtual tours in the Metaverse. Tolls on highways were waived on weekends, and attraction tickets were buy-one-get-one-free.

"Work-for-Relief 2.0": Ten million temporary workers were recruited nationwide to participate in the construction of the Underground Cities, with a daily wage 20% higher than the market rate.

Skilled Worker Transition Plan: One hundred thousand construction workers were trained to master skills in BIM modeling and robotics operation.

Flexible Employment Support: "Gig insurance" was introduced for the platform economy, with the government subsidizing accident insurance for couriers, ride-share drivers, and other similar professions. "Skill Upgrade Vouchers" were also issued, providing each person with a 5,000-yuan credit for training in fields such as AI and green energy.

...

Unfortunately, just as the nation was celebrating, a piece of bad news arrived. Due to the combined effects of global torrential rains, the accelerated melting of the polar ice caps, and tectonic activity, the global sea level was rising at a rate of 1.03 meters per day.

In just a few short days, the sea level had already risen by more than three meters.

Tuvalu, a nation comprised of nine small coral atolls, eight of which are inhabited, has Funafuti as its main island. Its total land area is just 26 square kilometers. Its highest point is only 3.4 meters above sea level, and most of its land is nearly at sea level.

Now, with the sea level having risen by more than three meters, it was, without a doubt, the first country to be completely submerged. Fortunately, its population was small—just over ten thousand people—and the refugees had already fled to Australia and New Zealand.

The Netherlands faced a similar predicament. Not only is it the world leader in land reclamation, but it is also the country with the lowest "average elevation"—a paltry 1.2 meters.

Aside from some hilly areas in the south, nearly the entire country is low-lying. A quarter of its land is less than a meter above sea level, and another quarter was already below it.

These areas were now a boundless ocean.

The Netherlands, however, had an advantage: being part of the European Continent, it was relatively easy for its people to relocate to other European countries. This was unlike Tuvalu, isolated and alone in the middle of the ocean.