After handling everything, Ye Zi'an finally let out a sigh of relief. The fortress for the apocalypse had been planned out; this would serve as his safeguard for survival.
The responsible parties confidently assured Ye Zi'an that it would be completed in five days.
This was thanks to the incredible infrastructure capabilities of Da Xia, where civilian technology had rapidly developed by 2050.
However, Ye Zi'an was not satisfied with just the fortress; he needed weapons as well.
Fortunately, there was a steel processing factory near the suburbs of Xia City. Ye Zi'an arranged to customize two thousand crossbows, along with several hundred two-meter-wide steel ballistae, as well as hundreds of thousands of iron bolts and various melee weapons for early use.
In the future, these would need to be replaced with equipment that could be transformed into cards, and having too many of them could raise suspicions.
Ye Zi'an also considered creating armor, but upon further thought, he realized the crafting process was too complicated, and there wasn't enough time to make it.
Moreover, ordinary people might struggle to adapt to the heavy steel armor, so he decided to customize some protective clothing instead.
After all, when humans fought against zombies, agility was key.
He paid a deposit to the steel factory to begin production, with the finished products temporarily stored there. Ye Zi'an planned to "shop" there on the night of the apocalypse, avoiding being preempted by others.
Having arranged all of this, Ye Zi'an checked his phone and saw it was 12:30 PM.
During his lunch break, he secretly met with several major shareholders of the company to split all shares into three portions, selling them again at an 80% price while signing agreements stipulating that if they leaked the information about Ye Zi'an selling his shares, he would have the right to reclaim them.
His identity as a playboy made the three shareholders have no suspicions.
However, they did not trust him as much as Zhao Wanrong did, and he would only receive the money once the shares were transferred.
This essentially meant Ye Zi'an was selling his originally 50 billion worth of shares for 75 billion, which was a huge profit for him.
Everything was set in motion, proceeding step by step.
Ye Zi'an speculated it was time to visit the Liu family.
Just as he thought of the Liu family, his phone buzzed with a call from Liu Shiyuan, Liu Sisi's father.
Ye Zi'an leisurely answered the call, feigning nonchalance, and spoke first, "Uncle Liu, I finished discussing the wedding details with Sisi yesterday. Is there anything else we need to add?"
On the other end, Liu Shiyuan paused, clearly taken aback by Ye Zi'an's proactive inquiry. After a moment of silence, he slowly replied, his tone sorrowful, "Zi'an, Sisi had a car accident last night. I just went to the hospital and saw her body."
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Although Ye Zi'an had known this outcome, he still pretended to be shocked and sorrowful, saying, "How could this happen? Sisi was fine yesterday! I'm heading to the hospital right now."
The original Ye Zi'an was Liu Sisi's number one admirer.
"No need. Sisi's body has already been taken back to the Liu family. She will be buried in seven days. You should come directly to the Liu family."
[Congratulations, host! You have changed the plot and earned 1000 villain points.]
Liu Sisi's death, being an important aid to Su Chen in the early stages, altered Su Chen's situation to some extent.
However, Ye Zi'an was still not satisfied; he drove directly to the Liu family.
Liu Shiyuan looked at Ye Zi'an, who arrived at the Liu family looking sorrowful, unsure of what to say.
The originally flawless plan had hit a snag at the last moment.
Noticing Liu Shiyuan's hesitant expression, Ye Zi'an understood the intentions behind it.
In the original book, Liu Shiyuan had planned to use the marital alliance to gradually absorb Ye Zi'an's assets. He never expected that his daughter would die unexpectedly, turning his careful plotting into a waste.
Liu Shiyuan's face darkened as he asked, "What did you and Sisi discuss yesterday?"
Ye Zi'an couldn't help but smirk inwardly: "Is he trying to shift the blame already?"
Had it been the original Ye Zi'an, he might have been intimidated by Liu Shiyuan's demeanor.
But the current Ye Zi'an had undergone the enhancement, and his physical and mental resilience was worlds apart from yesterday.
Wiping nonexistent tears away, Ye Zi'an began to reminisce with a deep expression: "It was just some trivial wedding matters, and the details about getting the marriage certificate today. I know Sisi wasn't very fond of me, so she seemed somewhat reluctant. When we discussed specifics, she was just half-heartedly agreeing, but I truly liked Sisi."
Ye Zi'an made his feelings clear, leaving Liu Shiyuan unsure of how to respond.
Liu Shiyuan knew all too well that Liu Sisi had no interest in Ye Zi'an; she had intended to marry him and then find a way to kill him, legally acquiring the assets of the Ye Corporation.
The surveillance footage from the accident scene had been reviewed, and Liu Shiyuan found no suspicious details—the incident appeared to be a regular car accident.
Beside him, Liu Jie, feeling restless, glanced eagerly at his father, Liu Shiyuan.
Ye Zi'an shot a glance at Liu Jie.
Like himself, Liu Jie was a playboy. Much of the Liu family's current predicament stemmed from Liu Jie's ignorance, as he had made a mess of things in the company and had no choice but to target Ye Zi'an.
In contrast, the original owner had been much more restrained; at least he had the self-awareness not to meddle in company affairs.
Liu Jie exclaimed, "Are we just going to let the marriage between the two families go like this?"
Ye Zi'an felt speechless. What kind of question was that?
Liu Sisi was dead—was he supposed to go through with a ghost marriage with her?
Liu Shiyuan lightly cleared his throat, signaling his son, Liu Jie, to calm down, then turned to Ye Zi'an and said, "I have a younger daughter. Would you be willing to try dating her?"
Liu Qinghuan.
Ye Zi'an recalled the plot from the original book. Liu Sisi had a younger sister named Liu Qinghuan, who had gone missing as a child and was only recently returned to the Liu family, making her less favored by them. Very few people in Xia City even knew about her.
However, with his knowledge of the plot and the original owner's memories, Ye Zi'an knew what kind of person Liu Qinghuan was.
Every time the original owner visited the Liu family to please Liu Sisi, he would bring a small gift for Liu Qinghuan, which made her develop feelings for Ye Zi'an.
Later, when the original owner was killed by Su Chen, Liu Qinghuan secretly plotted revenge, controlling some ability users in Xia City to sabotage Su Chen's plans. However, she ultimately couldn't defeat Su Chen's protagonist aura and was eventually killed by him as well.
In a way, Ye Zi'an and Liu Qinghuan were tragic star-crossed lovers.
Though Liu Qinghuan could not match Su Chen, she still caused him considerable trouble.
The base Su Chen worked hard to establish in Xia City was severely damaged in her efforts, forcing him to relocate elsewhere to develop anew.
At that moment, under the guidance of Liu Matriarch, a petite and lovely figure timidly approached Ye Zi'an.
Unlike Liu Sisi's proud and confident demeanor, Liu Qinghuan was unadorned, looking somewhat shy but pure and beautiful like a lotus flower.
She wore a somewhat ill-fitting dress, which Ye Zi'an vaguely remembered Liu Sisi wearing before.
It seemed Liu Matriarch had hastily given Liu Qinghuan one of Liu Sisi's outfits to make do.
Ye Zi'an couldn't tell if this was intentional or accidental.
After all, she was also Liu Shiyuan's daughter, and in terms of appearance, she bore a strong resemblance to Liu Sisi.
Liu Shiyuan didn't give Ye Zi'an a chance to refuse, saying, "You're not in a hurry to hold a wedding; Qinghuan can go to the Ye family to cultivate the relationship first. We can discuss the wedding later."
Ye Zi'an didn't refuse either; this outcome was precisely what he desired.
Liu Qinghuan's future ability to manage the base was exactly the kind of talent Ye Zi'an would need during the apocalypse, not to mention she harbored deep feelings for him.
After bidding farewell to Liu Shiyuan, Ye Zi'an turned to leave the Liu family, while Liu Qinghuan remained frozen in place, clutching her skirt, unsure of what to do next.
Should she follow him or stay with the Liu family?
Liu Matriarch, looking exasperated, saw Ye Zi'an about to walk away and scolded Liu Qinghuan, "What are you waiting for? Hurry up and go after him!"
The discussion at the Liu family today concluded with the decision for Liu Qinghuan and Ye Zi'an to consummate their relationship, then use public opinion to pressure Ye Zi'an into agreeing to marry Liu Qinghuan.
Although this deviated somewhat from the original plan, it was the best way to mitigate losses.