CHAPTER 349: CHAPTER 9: PEACEKEEPING?

Because of his outstanding performance in installing refining equipment, Nedved, as an important technical personnel, was specially granted two days off each week to spend with his wife and daughter.

Since it was a rest period, he couldn’t stay at the Avoni Town camp. A ’Warthog’ delivered supplies to the camp and brought back a few privileged technicians on the return trip,

The living conditions at the shelter were far better than at the camp, with ample space and facilities like a cinema, skating rink, and dining options available, making it the first choice for vacations... and the only choice.

As the vacationing personnel landed, they saw another larger and stranger plane parked on the nearby runway. Nedved exclaimed, "Oh my God, how did you guys get hold of this thing?"

The ’Katrina’ seaplane, an old piece of equipment from World War II, produced over three thousand units by the United States, was still in use by some before the virus outbreak.

When Zhou Qingfeng was considering what aircraft to use in the post-apocalyptic world, the electric ’Warthog’ became the first choice for short-distance transport, but what about long distances?

There were many aircraft capable of flying over a thousand kilometers, but few could withstand heavy use, be easy to maintain, and highly adaptable. After much selection, the ’Katrina’ was chosen.

As a wealthy individual, Zhou Qingfeng did not opt for the antique goods produced during World War II and maintained for decades — the aviation modification market in the United States provided him with better choices.

The shelter’s ’Katrina’ was newly manufactured, retaining its classic appearance while undergoing comprehensive modernization upgrades.

The aircraft’s frame was made of high-strength aluminum alloy, while its exterior skin was replaced with lighter, stronger carbon fiber composite materials, reducing the empty weight from over nine tons to below seven tons.

The cockpit was equipped with a full set of modern control and navigation equipment, replacing the outdated instruments from the World War II era, greatly enhancing the safety and convenience of flight.

To accommodate long-distance flights, the cabin was thoughtfully outfitted with beds, a simple kitchen, and a bathroom.

In terms of power, the new ’Katrina’ still used piston engines to adapt to the low-quality fuel available in the post-apocalyptic world.

However, the engine employed modern technology with doubled power output, increasing its cruising speed from the original 220 kilometers per hour to 340 kilometers per hour.

Most importantly, the new ’Katrina’ perfectly retained its ability for water takeoffs and landings, making it highly adaptable to the complex post-apocalyptic environment.

The total capacity of its wing tanks exceeded 7,000 liters, with a maximum load over three tons, and a maximum range reaching 6,000 kilometers, easily spanning the whole North American continent.

This modern imitation version of the ’Katrina’ had a unit price exceeding fifteen million US Dollars, a costly investment.

The affluent Zhou Qingfeng ordered five of them in one go, along with ten times the amount of maintenance tools and spare parts, bringing the urgent order total to over one hundred million dollars.

The aircraft manufacturing company that received this huge order was naturally overjoyed, thinking they had encountered a super wealthy individual unaware of the market, pushing production day and night.

However, just as the factory completed and delivered four ’Katrina’ aircraft, the global virus crisis erupted.

These four brand-new ’Katrina’ seaplanes became the only valuable tools in Zhou Qingfeng’s possession capable of executing long-distance transport missions.

Today, the ’Katrina’ parked on the runway was filled with five tons of "homemade" kerosene, and its spacious cabin was packed with two tons of flour, fruits, vegetables, and cooking oil,

It was about to take off, heading for the Bahamas, 1,200 kilometers away — Zhou Qingfeng’s prepared refuge included a cruise ship of over a hundred thousand tons in the Bahamas, the most resource-intensive one.

During the virus outbreak, over two thousand people boarded the cruise ship for refuge. This group also suffered a year of post-apocalyptic hardships, desperately needing personnel and supply exchanges with the outside world.

The cruise ship, weighing tens of thousands of tons, was like a small city, with just its internal oil reserves totaling several thousand tons — a super piece of equipment and massive asset not to be discarded.

Xiao Jinlang intended to use the cruise ship as an ever-expanding sea base.

Raising pigs and chickens on land was not easy due to lack of feed and agricultural technicians, but the ocean served as a natural pasture with fish being an excellent protein source.

The four ’Katrina’ aircraft were currently assigned to different shelters, with eight two-person crews flying over ten sorties a day, their flight paths covering various parts of North America, with a total transported load already exceeding two hundred tons.

The ’playground’ provided its agricultural products to the outside and accommodated over two hundred surplus personnel from other shelters.

When Nedved came for his vacation, he found more people in the ’playground’ than he had imagined. A ’Katrina’ had just landed, bringing six or seven robust men with buzzcuts.

Xiao Jinlang greeted them with a beaming smile, swiftly greeting a few of the leaders with a handshake, pulling them straight into his office, "Great, your arrival is just in time!"

Early on, Zhou Qingfeng, to expand the low-altitude flight business, not only acquired ’Electric Flight’ but also recruited a batch of ’Little Pingtou’ as business personnel from home at high salaries.

He had money, and he became increasingly wealthy, offering to pay annual salaries of two to three hundred thousand, recruiting seven to eight thousand ’Little Pingtou’ in total, and dispatching them globally to promote the ’Warthog’.

However, the ’Electric Flight’ business in the United States never took off smoothly, leaving few business personnel locally. Many moved to the Bahamas and other Latin American countries.