Chapter 8 The Fortress Blueprint

"Welcome, Mr. Sterling."

A middle-aged man in his early fifties extended his hand.

"My name is David Hart, chief contractor at Titan Construction. It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person."

Revan shook his hand without saying much.

They stood in the middle of a vast stretch of land, with a dense forest bordering the far end of the property.

David smiled politely. "Mr. Aston told me you wanted to build a private residence."

He glanced across the land. "With a property this large, I'm confident we can build the finest mansion in the city. Do you already have a vision of your dream home?"

Revan slowly shook his head. "Not a house."

David blinked in confusion. "Not... a house?"

Revan retrieved a rolled blueprint from his car and spread it across the hood.

A gust of wind lifted the edge of the paper before he pressed it down with his palm.

David's expression gradually changed. The longer he studied the drawings, the deeper the furrow between his brows became. "Mr. Sterling..." His voice was hesitant. "This..."

Revan shifted his gaze from the blueprint to the vast expanse of land before them. "I want to build a fortress."

He pointed to the center of the blueprint. "A massive fortress, strong enough to withstand every kind of attack."

David picked up the blueprint with both hands and examined it more carefully.

At first, he had assumed it was just another rough sketch like the ones clients usually brought to meetings.

He couldn't have been more wrong. His eyes moved rapidly from one page to the next.

Floor plans. Foundation structures. Plumbing routes. Electrical systems. Logistics warehouses. Watchtowers.

Even the thickness of every wall, the placement of every surveillance camera, and every emergency evacuation route had been mapped out in astonishing detail.

Without realizing it, David drew in a long breath.

"This..." He flipped through several more pages before looking back at Revan with undisguised disbelief. "Mr. Sterling, these plans are exceptionally well thought out. The structural calculations, room layouts, and engineering details leave almost nothing to chance."

He lowered his eyes to the blueprints again. "To be honest, I rarely see designs this comprehensive. Even some of the government projects we've handled weren't planned this thoroughly."

His attention lingered on the reinforced steel walls, the watchtowers, the layered security fencing, and the underground bunker.

A few moments later, David spoke again. "If I may be honest..." He swallowed. "A structure like this could attract the attention of the authorities. From the outside, it looks far more like a military defense facility than a private residence."

He looked at Revan seriously. "What if the government refuses to allow it?"

Revan's expression remained calm. "As long as every permit is obtained legally and it's built on land that belongs to me, they have no reason to stop it."

"And if they still object?"

"Leave that to me."

The brief reply left David speechless. He couldn't explain why, but the quiet confidence of the young man before him slowly erased every doubt in his mind.

His gaze returned to the fortress design. "Forgive me for asking..." He hesitated before speaking. "Did you really design all of this yourself?"

Revan gave a short nod. "Yes."

David fell silent for a few moments before smiling with genuine admiration. "In that case, you have my utmost respect."

Revan paid no attention to the compliment. He simply looked David straight in the eye. "Can you build it?"

The question immediately brought David back to business. He studied the size of the property, then looked once more at the blueprint in his hands. "We can. But a project of this scale would require at least a year to complete."

Revan immediately shook his head. "I only have two weeks."

David thought he had misheard. "Two... weeks?"

"That's right."

"That's impossible, Mr. Sterling." David shook his head repeatedly. "Even with every crew we currently have, we couldn't possibly finish it."

Revan didn't even blink. "What if I pay you five times your normal rate?"

David didn't answer immediately.

"Bring in more workers. Run three shifts. Keep this project operating twenty-four hours a day without stopping." Revan's gaze remained icy. "I don't need excuses. I need this fortress finished in two weeks."

David rubbed his chin as he thought. His eyes drifted back to the blueprint spread across the hood of the car.

Two weeks.

To anyone else, the request would sound absurd. Even for a construction company as large as Titan Construction, a project like this was nearly impossible to complete in such a short time.

But five times the normal payment forced David to reconsider every possibility.

If they pulled workers from multiple projects, brought in additional heavy equipment, kept materials arriving around the clock, and divided the workload into three continuous shifts, there was still a chance.

On paper, the deadline was almost impossible. But almost impossible didn't mean impossible for the company he led.

Revan finally broke the silence. "Well? If you can't do it, I'll find another contractor."

David raised his head. His eyes were now filled with determination. "That won't be necessary." He extended his hand toward Revan. "We'll take the project."

A faint smile appeared on his face. "To be honest, it's not just the profit that interests me. I also want to prove that a project like this can be completed."

Revan shook David's hand firmly. "Good. If you run into even the smallest problem, contact me directly."

"I understand, Mr. Sterling."

Revan pointed to the blueprint again. "One more thing."

"Yes, Mr. Sterling?"

"I want only the highest-quality materials. The steel, the concrete, the electrical systems, even every bolt used in this project must meet the highest standards. Money isn't an issue."

His eyes sharpened. "What matters most is that this project isn't delayed, not even by a single day."

David nodded without hesitation. "I'll personally supervise the project."

Revan took out his phone and tapped the screen several times.

A moment later, David's phone vibrated. He casually glanced at the notification with a relaxed smile.

The smile instantly froze.

His eyes widened as he stared at the number displayed on the screen. "Mr. Sterling. This is... seventy million dollars?"

Revan slipped his phone back into his pocket. "That's the advance payment. Is it enough?"

David swallowed hard.

Enough?

With that amount of money, he could immediately secure every material they needed, rent additional heavy machinery, hire hundreds of new workers, and begin construction that very day.

He nodded firmly. "More than enough, Mr. Sterling. We'll begin the project as soon as possible."

Revan stared across the vast stretch of land without blinking. "Start building."

Without wasting another second, David immediately called all of his supervisors.

No one at the site realized that the fortress whose construction began that day would one day become humanity's last hope when the apocalypse finally arrived.