Chapter 19: We’ll Buy An Island
By 9:30 am, Hanchuan’s private office was no longer in perfect condition.
The breakfast tray had been moved to the edge of his desk. Empty water bottles stood beside it, along with the coffee Wen Qinghe still refused to return to Zhiyi.
The four men had abandoned their original seats. Liang Shichen had connected a tablet to the wall display, while Rong Jingwei had covered the low table with maps retrieved from a locked cabinet.
Zhiyi sat on the carpet between the table and Hanchuan’s chair.
Once the problem acquired maps, measurements and fixed categories, remaining on his lap became inefficient. Hanchuan had released her without objection, then moved the chair closer until one of his shoes rested beside her hip.
The contact didn’t interfere with her work so she didn’t mind it.
On the display, Shichen divided the ten-year period into three colored sections.
Four years of heat.
Two years of flood.
Four years of freezing temperatures.
A final red line marked the day the heat returned.
Zeyu stood with one shoulder against the wall, turning his empty energy-drink can between his hands.
"Why are we making this complicated?" he asked. "We’ll buy an island and go live there."
Shichen glanced at him. "Which island?"
"One far enough from other people that no one reaches it after the collapse. We build what we need, stock it for ten years and leave before the roads become unusable."
"The roads don’t reach islands," Zhiyi said.
"That is generally one of their defining features," Zeyu smirked at her.
"We would be dependent on aircraft and boats," Zhiyi continued.
"Then it’s a good thing that we own both."
"Aircraft stop being reliable during the first heat. Runways soften, fuel degrades and replacement components become unavailable. Boats survive longer, but every resupply route will eventually cross open water."
"We’d stock everything before the heat."
"For ten years?"
"For twelve. I enjoy having extra food."
"The flood exceeded ninety meters in parts of the capital," argued Zhiyi. She wasn’t comfortable arguing with others, but he needed to understand to stay alive, and he wasn’t understanding.
Zeyu stopped turning the can as Zhiyi moved one of the maps aside and took a blank sheet from Shichen’s folder.
"An island low enough to support a runway may become submerged. One high enough to remain above the flood may have steep approaches and limited construction space. Fresh water becomes another single point of failure unless the island has a protected aquifer large enough for six people, agriculture and mechanical systems," she explained slowly.
"We can install desalination."
"That creates dependence on pumps, membranes, filters and power. Salt damages equipment. If the intake becomes blocked or the system fails, we lose our water source."
"Two desalination systems."
"Both use the same ocean," replied Zhiyi. Wasn’t that obvious?
Zeyu looked at Hanchuan. "Does she do this to every idea?"
"Yes," the other man replied, an indulgent smile on his face.
"Do you ever win?"
"When she’s wrong."
"How frequently does that happen?"
"Not often enough to count," replied Hanchuan with a slight smirk on his face.
Zhiyi drew a line between the island and the mainland.
"The route also has only two directions. Toward the island or away from it. If the shelter becomes occupied before we arrive, we can’t divert without crossing the same water again. If it fails after the flood begins, we may not have another reachable location."
Zeyu looked down at the paper. "Okay... so the island is out. You could have just said that."
"I did," replied Zhiyi, shaking her head. It was almost like the two of them were speaking completely different languages. But he was Hanchuan’s friend which meant that she should put in an effort to get along with him.
"It could function as a supply site during the early flood," conceded, hoping that that would make him happy. "It simply can’t be the only location."
"You dismantled the entire idea and then kept part of it," barked out Zeyu, surprised.
"The useful part," she agreed with a nod of her head. But there really were too many things wrong with an island that she hoped it would be a non-issue in the future.
Liang Shichen changed the display before Zeyu could reply. Architectural plans replaced the timeline.
"I have three projects near the capital that can be converted within twenty-six days," he said. "One unfinished hotel has four underground levels and a service reservoir beneath the eastern wing. If we seal the lower structure and replace the planned ventilation system, it could support six people throughout the first heat."
"We need more than one," Zhiyi pointed out, looking up at the man.
"I haven’t finished," Shichen responded, his voice devoid of emotion. He hated it when people didn’t let him finish.
"Whether you have or not," replied Zhiyi, "is besides the point. The number remains incorrect."
Shichen’s fingers paused over the tablet.
Hanchuan’s foot moved against the carpet beside her hip, but he didn’t interrupt their conversation.
Shichen opened the second project. "A private medical complex has two underground service levels, independent generators and a well."
"It will attract survivors once hospitals begin failing," Zhiyi disagreed with a shake of her head.
"We can conceal the usable portion during construction," continued Shichen through gritted teeth. Why wasn’t she even considering the possibility before shooting it down?
"The employees who build it will know it exists."
"Then Rong Jingwei controls access."
"That doesn’t prevent them from returning after the government collapses," sighed Zhiyi, looking up at Hanchuan for a clue as to what she should say next.
This wasn’t going how she had planned it in her head, and she didn’t know how she felt about that.
Hanchuan just smiled at her and pressed his leg even closer to her side.
Jingwei, either not seeing the interaction between the two of them or ignoring it completely, folded his arms in front of his massive chest. "It may prevent them from entering."
"If six people occupy it, removing them may be possible. If sixty people occupy it, attacking them creates unnecessary risk. If they’ve damaged the ventilation or contaminated the well, taking the building from them doesn’t restore its value," replied Zhiyi, turning her attention away from Hanchuan and to Jingwei.
"You’d leave a prepared shelter behind," Jingwei said slowly as if he couldn’t understand her line of thinking.
"Yes," replied both Zhiyi and Hanchuan at the same time.