HBWnovel Chapter 192: A Bumper Harvest of Supplies and the Elders' Advice!
Chapter 192: A Bumper Harvest of Supplies and the Elders' Advice!
Before selecting the supplies, thanks to Old Sun's tip-off, Cheng Ye already had a rough idea of what to expect in his mind.The only remaining question was exactly how much starting funding would be issued for this assessment.
After arranging for Wang Kang to join the refugees and listen to the lecture, he took his tablet straight back to the off-road vehicle. He reclined the seat, lay back halfway, and let out a long breath.
So comfortable!
Turning on the tablet, he was greeted by the clean, minimalist design of the Shopping Mall Interface.
It looked like the material trading post's system with a new skin. The top left corner was labeled "Satellite City Infrastructure Mall".
The top right corner displayed the name "Cheng Ye," followed by the points he had earned after his recruited population passed the audit:
[Current Available Infrastructure Points: 102]
"Hiss, just barely over a hundred! That is really quite low!"
Cheng Ye clicked his tongue repeatedly.
He had selected 75 Families with Children. Calculated at 2.5 points per person, that totaled 750 points.
As for the Able-bodied Youth, due to encountering situations similar to Bao Dashan during the selection process, he ultimately handed out 62 quotas, accounting for 62 points.
He had chosen 69 Families without Children. At 1.5 points per person, that totaled 207 points.
The grand total was 1019 points.
"Rounding it up, I guess I actually got a bit of a bargain, counting it as 1020 points?"
Cheng Ye calculated the math in his head.
Although he hadn't taken the risk of selecting families with both children and elderly members, which meant he didn't gain a massive point advantage, based on Gu Xinjing's statement that 1 point had the purchasing power of 100 Contribution Points, 102 points equated to 10,200 Contribution Points.
This amount was actually not small at all!
After all, this was only an assessment. It was impossible for them to issue thirty or fifty thousand points to every team to squander.
Furthermore, using Contribution Points to purchase materials like building supplies and facility equipment was actually very cost-effective.
These resources could not be taken away. Since they were for on-site construction, Happiness City would even provide subsidies.
Just like the twenty thousand points for the Pedestrian Street back then—if he hadn't insisted on building a landmark structure and holding the pipeline networks and building materials to a century-grade engineering standard, those twenty thousand points would have been more than enough.
Only when purchasing movable resources like Vehicles would the points feel inadequate, as those easily cost tens of thousands.
At the bottom of the mall, four major categories were open for the assessment:
[Infrastructure], [Facilities], [Supplies], and [Population]
"Population?"
Cheng Ye clicked into it with curiosity. Could he actually bring the community militia in?
After the page refreshed, the products displayed made him raise an eyebrow:
[Random Able-bodied Youth from Elite Refugee Phalanx: 5 points/10 people]
[Random Family from Elite Refugee Phalanx: 3 points/per household]
[Random Able-bodied Youth from Ordinary Refugee Phalanx: 3 points/10 people]
[...]
"As expected, you can only pick randomly from the refugees. You can't bring Residents from the Buffer Zone."
He swiped across the screen, reading carefully.
The population category was divided into three tiers: Elite, Ordinary, and Random.
The description stated that Elites came with a Production Skill for making a living, Ordinary possessed basic Wilderness Survival Ability, and Random was purely based on luck.
The data source was the refugee statistics collected by the Department of Residents over the past few days, and it even included a note: "Returns accepted with evidence if goods do not match the description."
'If I had chosen too many families of seven earlier, the surplus points could have been used here to fill the Labor Force gap,'
Cheng Ye shifted his line of thought and shook his head. "But random means I can't pick them myself. The variables are too great."
The people he had personally recruited could at least twist together into a single rope before encountering a crisis.
However, the randomly assigned families or Able-bodied Youths hadn't heard his speech about the planning for Dabo Town. If someone was restless or slacked off during tasks, there would be no way to handle them.
As for returns, just gathering the evidence would be a massive hassle. The assessment was only three days long; who had the time to waste?
Exiting the population page, he tapped into the [Supplies] category.
This was the most intuitive way to study the purchasing power of Infrastructure Points. By comparing it to the commodity prices in the Buffer Zone, he could calculate its true value.
Surprisingly, the tablet didn't lag like the system at the material trading post. Rows of images and text loaded up quickly.
There was a truly massive amount of available supplies. Cheng Ye glanced at the page numbers at the bottom.
Assuming 20 items per page, there were 627 pages in total, meaning there were 12,540 types of purchasable supplies alone.
There was a search box in the top right corner, with a prompt below reading, "Items can be populated based on fuzzy descriptions."
"A low-end version of the Kindling Terminal, huh?"
Cheng Ye shook his head inwardly.
Back in the day, Happiness City was the first sanctuary city to produce Chips using Source Rail Technology. But after so many years, not only had they failed to maintain their Hardware advantage, their software had fallen even further behind.
This tablet mall interface was nowhere near as convenient to query as the compact Kindling Terminal.
Since food is heaven for the people, he first searched for "Nutrient paste" and direct exchange for "Happiness Coins."
[Ordinary Nutrient Paste: 1 point/500 bags]
[Happiness Coins: 1 point/500 coins]
"The direct exchange rate for Happiness Coins is unexpectedly low. Calculated using Contribution Points, it's only 1 to 71. It looks like those who spent money on recruitment are going to suffer."
Cheng Ye calculated. "Assuming one Contribution Point is 7 coins and nutrient paste is 2 coins per bag, when buying nutrient paste, 1 Infrastructure Point is equivalent to 142 Contribution Points, or about 1,000 Happiness Coins. This is way more cost-effective than direct exchange."
With this highly intuitive baseline data as a reference, he searched for the essential Daily Necessities required by the Residents, and rows of items popped up rapidly.
[Towel (30cm x 60cm): 1 point/250 pieces]
[Water Basin (30cm diameter): 1 point/120 pieces]
[Water Bucket (17 liters): 1 point/80 pieces]
[Toothbrush Set (5 toothbrushes + 2 tubes of toothpaste): 1 point/180 sets]
[Synthetic Mattress (190cm x 90cm): 1 point/35 pieces]
[Bedding Set (Pillow + four-piece sheet set + blanket): 1 point/35 sets]
[Long-sleeved Autumn Clothing (Shirt + pants + shoes; sizes of choice): 1 point/8 sets]
[Radio (Rechargeable): 1 point/8 pieces]
[Anti-Infection Filter Kettle (Six-layer filtration): 1 point/6 pieces]
[Demolition Tool Set (Crowbar + claw hammer + bolt cutters + steel drill + bricklayer's trowel + cut-resistant gloves): 1 point/20 sets]
[Repair Tool Set (Screwdriver + wrench + pliers + tape measure + sandpaper set): 1 point/20 sets]
[Construction Tool Set (Shovel + claw hammer + hand saw + hemp rope): 1 point/20 sets]
[Patrol Flashlight (12-hour Endurance): 1 point/15 pieces]
[Hand-crank Charger: 1 point/4 pieces]
[...]
The Daily Necessities were numerous and varied, and the point ratios were not fixed.
Cheng Ye quickly estimated that the ratio of Infrastructure Points to Contribution Points was not a fixed 1:100. For most daily livelihood supplies, it hovered around 1:120. Slightly more expensive items like clothes and radios could even reach 1:150, while demolition and construction tools were exaggeratedly high at 1:200.
But even so, Cheng Ye roughly calculated that outfitting five hundred people with all the necessary daily living supplies would be costly. Just 500 sets of mattresses and bedding alone would require 30 points. Adding in other essentials, the starting cost would be upwards of 75 points.
"If I buy all of this, the infrastructure budget will have to survive on thin air!"
Having gotten a clear picture, Cheng Ye swiped his finger and began placing orders according to his plan.
Mattresses, bedding, clothes, and the like.
Whether now or in the future, if the Residents wanted these kinds of supplies, they would have to spend their own money to buy them.
As the person with the Contract Management Qualification for Dabo Town, he would only provide as many well-paying jobs as possible, allowing everyone to earn more money and improve their lives at the fastest possible speed.
If he simply distributed them for free, it would be the same principle as Zhao Jia offering high prices to the Able-bodied Youths. Sooner or later, he would breed a group of lazy people waiting for handouts, making it difficult to establish a system of rewards and punishments, while chilling the hearts of those who actually worked hard.
Besides, the Drifters were not entirely destitute. Happiness City had already issued some basic supplies, and combined with the belongings they brought during their migration, they would have absolutely no problem holding out for a while.
What he needed to buy right now were essential tools, rations, and a few things that could boost morale.
Nutrient paste was a rigid demand. Every person needed 5 bags a day just to maintain their stamina.
2,500 bags was exactly 5 points.
He ordered 100 sets of each of the three tool categories, totaling 300 sets, which cost 15 points. Pioneering, construction, and maintenance all required handy tools.
He bought 500 Towels for 2 points; 320 Water Buckets (2 to 3 per household, 1 for every Able-bodied Youth) for 4 points; and an equal number of Water Basins for 3 points.
These were the basic household items for everyday life, and he couldn't skimp on them.
Night patrols required light, so 30 flashlights paired with 4 hand-crank chargers cost 3 points.
Calculating up to this point, he had already spent 32 points. Cheng Ye stared at the remaining 70 points, his finger pausing over the Anti-Infection Filter Kettle. Although Dabo Town was close to a water source, making it easy to fetch water, the underwater situation was unclear. Coupled with the ongoing rainy season, there was no guarantee that Infection Sources wouldn't wash down the river.
Nutrient paste could not replace drinking water in the long run. These kettles could filter out Infection Sources, drastically reducing the risk of infection.
Gritting his teeth, he added 30 of them, spending another 5 points!
"Money really burns a hole right through your pocket. I have 65 points left; I need to save the rest for infrastructure."
Cheng Ye opened the shopping cart. Looking at the displayed numbers, he suddenly felt the profound truth of the saying: 'You don't know the cost of firewood and rice until you're the one running the household.'
These civilian supplies didn't seem expensive individually, and for a single person, the burden wasn't huge. But the moment they were multiplied by a base number of 500, the deficit instantly became staggering.
Only a place like Happiness City, with its perfect Department System and hundreds or thousands of people managing the material supply chain, could maintain uniform and stable prices.
Thinking deeper, behind it all was a massive industrial zone, the labor of hundreds of thousands of workers, which supported this current situation where he could leisurely pick and choose.
Furthermore, it required Inspectors to constantly head out to negotiate and establish contacts, and merchant caravans traveling between sanctuary cities to continuously purchase and transport goods, just to ensure an unbroken supply of raw materials.
These problems, which seemed easily solvable in the Old Era, required the efforts of at least tens of thousands of people in the Wilderness just to scrape together a simple framework.
"Trying to build a Gathering Place independent of a sanctuary city is actually incredibly difficult when you think about it. If you don't have an independent material procurement system, no matter how you maneuver, you'll ultimately still have to rely on a sanctuary city to survive!"
With these thoughts in mind, he swiped his finger and opened the main event of the upcoming assessment.
The page refreshed. The category related to infrastructure was equally astonishing in its volume, even exceeding the items list. It reached a staggering 1,670 pages, a full 33,400 entries.
Of course, many of the infrastructure materials were of the same type, merely subdivided by different specifications.
"This stage tests the individual ability of the Inspector, or whether they have the connections to help strategize and plan the layout!"
Cheng Ye's fingers flew across the screen, rapidly searching and placing orders in the mall.
For him, selecting these infrastructure materials perfectly matched his professional expertise. He already had mature plans in his head. Adding them to the shopping cart now was merely a matter of weighing price against cost-effectiveness.
If a certain material was out of stock due to early satellite cities hoarding it, or if the discount wasn't steep enough, he would unhesitatingly skip it. Finding a substitute or lowering the grade was nothing to regret.
A moved tree dies, a moved person survives. Poverty breeds a desire for change. He certainly possessed this degree of flexibility.
Item after item jumped into the shopping cart with light taps of his finger, the remaining points visibly decreasing.
That was until he flipped to the 'Residential Unit' category. Cheng Ye originally hadn't planned on purchasing these during the assessment phase, as it would waste funds and monopolize the Labor Force.
But when he clicked open the details page, the price and the discount marked in the top right corner instantly made him sit up straight.
[Standard Residential Unit: 1 point/8 units]
[This item is on promotional discount. Current discount: 51% off. Promotion strategy: Buy 3, get 1 free]
Holy crap, were his eyes playing tricks on him?
Fifty-one percent off!
Buy three, get one free!
This promotional strength was comparable to those roadside "Factory Clearance, Last Day" fire sales in the modern era, so exaggerated it was hard to believe.
"Is it because no one is buying them, leading to a massive backlog of previously produced residential units, that they're offering such a huge discount?"
Cheng Ye was greatly surprised.
These past few days, the evening news and the Little Sun Channel would always mention the satellite city construction progress at the very end.
Out of the first batch of 12 satellite cities, absolutely none of them had adopted the residential units. This forced the broadcasts to constantly promote the benefits of these units, just to reduce the Drifters' prejudices against them.
But even so, it shouldn't have driven the price down to this extent, right?
Producing these was practically a purely loss-making business.
"Loss-making?"
Cheng Ye was suddenly stunned, then everything became clear. He instantly figured out exactly why the residential units could be sold so cheaply.
The concept of making a loss was based on the premise that production materials relied on external imports, meaning there were hard costs restricting them.
Or, acquiring the raw materials required paying for transportation and processing fees, layering the costs until there was a "base cost" to lose.
But the main prefabricated panels of the residential units used crushed bricks and waste rocks from demolished ruins as aggregate. They just mixed in some cement and pressed it together. The thickness was no more than 15 to 20 centimeters, and the interior only contained a layer of woven wire mesh to enhance structural integrity.
These types of panels didn't require complex equipment at all. The raw materials could be scavenged randomly from the Chuan City Ruins. They could even be framed and poured on-site. The cost of a single panel was only a quarter of a standard reinforced concrete panel.
Although the compressive strength dropped to C20 or even C15, it was more than enough to support daily residential loads.
As for non-load-bearing partition walls, they were simply pressed from scrap plasterboard or thick cardboard—a building material with full wasteland characteristics.
Where was the so-called cost in any of that?
The only slightly valuable components were the connecting parts. But for Happiness City, which was built on industry, the backlog of such parts in their warehouses could probably form mountains. Even if they took them out at a loss to support the satellite city construction, it was perfectly reasonable.
"Since it's at this price, I need to change my strategy!"
Cheng Ye glanced at the 17 points remaining in the top right corner. After a brief hesitation, he decisively returned to the shopping cart and deleted some of the materials originally intended to repair the Supermarket and Government Building.
He had originally planned to fix up those ruins first and use them as temporary resettlement points. But right now, with the residential units being this cheap, using his assessment Infrastructure Points to buy a batch was an absolute steal!
As for the hidden dangers others worried about, like winter insulation and lifespan...
Were those even problems?
If you threw a residential unit out into an empty field all by itself, it would indeed be a hazard.
But building a satellite city was never meant to rely solely on a single type of building. It could absolutely be complemented by other structures.
He didn't even have to think deeply; countless plans and ideas were already spinning in his mind.
For example, implementing a Gradient Architectural Layout. Taking advantage of the fact that Happiness City experienced frequent northwest winds in winter, he could plan the taller public buildings on the northwest side. This would form a natural windbreak wall, reducing heat loss in the residential areas.
Or he could use corridors to connect the residential units and public buildings, enclosing them into semi-closed courtyards. This would both prevent cold wind infiltration and utilize the Urban Heat Island Effect of the building cluster to raise temperatures.
If all else failed, he could just pull some common vines from the wild and plant them into a multi-layered Windbreak Greenbelt.
Complementary design was the core skill of a Civil Engineering Graduate Student anyway, and as a top student, Cheng Ye was highly proficient in it.
But expecting this from a bunch of "rough around the edges" Inspectors was simply asking too much of them.
Even if they had people like Engineer Liu giving them pointers, suggesting ways to compensate for the disadvantages of the residential units, which Inspector would actually dare to take the risk?
As long as there was no precedent in Happiness City and no complete set of solutions, no one would dare to be the first person to eat a crab.
And he, a mere Trainee Inspector, was exactly going to be that first person to eat a crab among all the satellite cities.
Naturally, that meant he could exclusively and comfortably enjoy this exaggeratedly massive discount.
After a round of deletions and adjustments, the remaining points for his shopping cart returned to 19.
Each residential unit consisted of a fixed ratio of panels, which could be connected according to the user's ideas.
The basic dimensions of a single unit were: 2.4 meters long (using 2-3 panels to form the sides, allowing one person to drag or two to carry during transport), 1.8 meters wide (reducing the area and weight of single panels while leaving overlapping space for splicing), and 2.2 meters high (satisfying the headroom requirements for a two-tier bunk bed).
The internal space, on the other hand, was: a net length of 2.2 meters, a net width of 1.6 meters, and an area of about 3.5 square meters.
Following the design of a Large Shared Sleeping Area, he only needed to splice 2 units horizontally. This gave a total external width of 3.6 meters and an internal net width of 3.1 meters, which was enough to fit two rows of bunk beds with a 0.9-meter main aisle in the middle.
By splicing 13 units end-to-end longitudinally, the total external length would be 31.2 meters, with an internal net length of 28.6 meters. Each row could hold 13 beds, making 52 berths, with 2 extra as a redundant buffer.
Based on the initial scale of 500 people, building entirely Large Shared Sleeping Areas would only require 263 units.
But that was merely a theoretical calculation; practical on-site construction had to leave an adequate margin for error.
Cheng Ye decisively spent 15 points. Following the promotional policy, 325 units instantly appeared in his shopping cart.
This quantity was enough to keep the transport convoy busy all night long.
He spent his remaining 4 points entirely on matching doors, windows, and installation accessories.
A total of 92 points, spent completely and utterly.
Cheng Ye checked everything over meticulously. After confirming there were no mistakes, he submitted the order. It was just past eight-thirty in the evening.
After refreshing the delivery page twice, the estimated delivery time immediately popped up.
Even though the supplies he ordered were a mixed bag, and the residential units took up an exceptional amount of space, everything would be delivered to Dabo Town by 7:40 AM tomorrow at the latest.
"It seems confirming early was the right move."
Joy swelled in Cheng Ye's heart.
Having suffered the consequences of procrastination when buying his chassis last time, he hadn't waited until the last minute to place his order this time, and the result definitely didn't disappoint.
Having the supplies arrive before the Residents was the best possible outcome.
He checked the weather forecast. There would be no rain all day tomorrow; a light drizzle wouldn't fall until the night after next.
One day's time and five hundred hands were plenty to erect a portion of the residential units.
When that time came, they would no longer have to worry about whether the repaired ruin buildings would leak. Just thinking about it felt refreshing.
Pulling his seat up, Cheng Ye pushed open the car door and stepped out.
The night wind blew past, carrying the chill of early autumn. The previously lively lecture had long since concluded.
Tents of various sizes had been pitched on the empty ground, and the Drifters were sound asleep, wrapped in simple blankets.
For the upcoming three-day assessment, everyone needed to sleep early to build up enough energy to deal with the series of potential dangers they might encounter during Pioneering.
The temporarily assembled residential units had been dismantled and loaded onto vehicles. The posters and drawing boards had also been packed up by Er Long and his men, and Master Tian had led the mechanical factory apprentices in driving them back to the Buffer Zone.
While he had been focused on selecting supplies, the outside world had been quietly operating according to his plan, everything proceeding in perfect order.
"Brother Cheng, are you done?" Wang Kang, who was leaning against the car playing Tetris on his Defense Terminal, immediately came over when he saw him step out.
"It's settled. The supplies will arrive first thing tomorrow morning."
Cheng Ye handed the tablet to Link, then motioned for the group to head back to the Buffer Zone through the yet-to-close D Gate of the North Inspection Station.
Aside from the material allocation, the arrangement of the Drifters heading to Dabo Town would be handled by the Legion. He only needed to arrive there before noon tomorrow.
From twelve o'clock, until that exact same time three days later, the 72-hour assessment would officially commence.
"Sir, if you aren't busy, the Elders still have some things they'd like to say to you and Inspector Wang..." After passing through the checkpoint, Da Long spoke up hesitantly.
"Oh?"
Cheng Ye felt slightly surprised, but he didn't refuse. "Have the Elders returned to the community?"
"Yes, they're waiting for you at the community."
"Alright, let's head over." Cheng Ye drove the off-road vehicle, taking Wang Kang and Da Long ahead to the Community Parking Lot.
Walking into the reception area of the Shopping Mall, the three elderly men were visibly tired from the day's activities, their energy not quite as high as in the morning, but their complexions were rosier than usual.
Clearly, they had found a long-lost sense of value amidst their mundane lives.
"Inspector Cheng, Inspector Wang, have a seat!" Elder Zhou stood up to greet them while Er Long brought over a kettle.
The Void Mist had dispersed, but the outside temperature couldn't return to the 30 degrees Celsius of summer. Daytime temperatures hovered around 20 degrees, while at night, it dropped to roughly 15 degrees.
The rising tendrils of hot steam quickly dispelled the incoming chill of early autumn.
"Song, we really troubled you guys today!" Cheng Ye said as he took the water cup.
"It was no trouble at all. Us three old bones got to enjoy a moment of glory before we die." Song laughed heartily, and He Lao and Elder Zhou nodded in agreement.
But after the smiles faded, Song's expression instantly turned solemn. "Inspector Cheng, the batch of people you selected are indeed honest folks who can put their backs into the work. That perfectly meets the standard for Pioneering. Even when the Legion was recruiting back in the day, these kinds of people could easily pass the assessment. However, when it comes to wilderness survival and the risks of Pioneering, their foundation is still far too lacking."
"Mhm." Cheng Ye wasn't surprised and nodded slightly.
In the eyes of Pioneer Veterans like Song, these Drifters from mining families and Small Gathering Places had indeed never seen true storms.
This was normal. Even during the Great Reclamation Era, not everyone dared to face the Wilderness directly.
It was incredibly common for people to hide away, avoiding life-and-death crises.
"To be completely honest, Wang Kang and I don't have much wilderness experience either,"
Cheng Ye said frankly. "I've only left Happiness City once in my life, and that was just a few days ago to survey the terrain at Dabo Town. Wang Kang hasn't even left the city once. When it comes to practical combat experience, we might not even measure up to those Drifters."
"Yes, that is exactly the scenario we're most worried about."
Seeing that Cheng Ye was speaking openly, Song didn't mince words. "Because Inspector Wang hasn't left the city, he might still harbor some vigilance towards the outside world. But since you've been out once, you didn't encounter any danger, right?"
"Danger?"
Did the Mutated Malaria Mosquito count? If an ordinary person encountered it without a weapon, they would definitely be sucked dry into a human husk.
Did the Spirit-Guarding Spider count? Such a massive wild Infection Source; just touching its webbing would cause infection.
But in the face of his rapidly growing abilities, those could hardly be considered threats anymore. At most, they were minor accidents.
Cheng Ye shook his head. "No."
"Exactly. Because you didn't encounter danger, you might feel that the outside isn't very dangerous, thinking you just need a bit more vigilance at night."
Song seemed to have misunderstood, assuming he had encountered nothing at all. Cheng Ye didn't correct him, simply listening quietly.
"A single person traversing the Wilderness doesn't actually face too many dangers. At most, a special Infected Body might launch a sneak attack at night. But in desolate places like Dabo Town, you might not run into a special Infected Body even once in half a year."
"But the moment the number of people increases, the risk immediately skyrockets, especially with five hundred people..."
Song's expression grew increasingly solemn.
"There's an old rhyme within the Reclamation Corps: Mountains don't stay, water doesn't keep, and where the crowd gathers, don't linger long!"
"The 'mountains' don't literally mean endless mountain ranges, but rather areas with complex terrain and no signs of human habitation. To this day, we've only discovered one or two tenths of the Infection Sources left behind from the Old Era. The rest are hiding in these very places, waiting for humans to explore them with their lives. You must remember never to settle for long in places where crises can easily hide, otherwise, sooner or later, an unknown Infection Source will target and ambush you."
"The 'water' refers to terrain exactly like Dabo Town. The water flows rapidly, hiding undercurrents, and danger frequently travels with the water. Once the tributaries of the Linjiang River converge, they inevitably bring along some Infection Sources. Some sink to the bottom, some float on the surface, and some will even follow the scent of living humans onto the shore to parasitize and infect them."
Speaking up to this point, Song let out a long sigh. "Danger and opportunity have always been relative. Back when we were Pioneering to build a port—just to build a port that connected to Hai Province—out of forty thousand people, a full thirteen thousand died. And that was during the Great Reclamation Era, when there weren't as many Infection Sources. If it were today, I'm afraid all forty thousand would have been buried at that port."
With every heartfelt word smashing down on him, Cheng Ye's heart sank slightly.
He hadn't been oblivious to these dangers, but human nature inevitably led one to subconsciously ignore risks in favor of focusing on opportunities.
Now that Song had brought it up, he instantly realized that under the protection of the sanctuary city, he had relaxed his vigilance entirely too much.
The plan to build the satellite city was crucial, but before that, he absolutely had to be able to defend against those elusive Infection Sources.
"And what about 'where the crowd gathers, don't linger long'?" Wang Kang asked from the side.
Since 'mountains don't stay' and 'water doesn't keep' both had hidden meanings, this phrase definitely wasn't just literal either.
"Mhm, that line speaks to the changes in the threat level brought by the scale of the population."
He Lao took over the conversation. "Under thirty people is considered a solo operation; it won't attract hidden Infection Sources. But from thirty people upwards, the Essence emitted by humans will naturally draw Infection Sources and Infected Bodies."
"From thirty to one hundred people, the Legion classifies it as 'Alert Level.' You must set up perfect security perimeters, as you might face sneak attacks from Infected Bodies."
"From one hundred to three hundred people is 'Danger Level.' Camping in the wilderness will absolutely provoke Infection Sources to approach."
He paused, heavily emphasizing his next words. "There are no exceptions. It is a certainty. As long as there is an Infection Source within three kilometers, it will absolutely be drawn in!"
"From three hundred to a thousand people is classified as 'High-Risk Level.' At this stage, not only will scattered Infected Bodies be drawn in, but they will also form large-scale gatherings. If you camp for longer than a certain period, Infection Sources will be intensely attracted. You must deploy teams to constantly clear the surroundings just to maintain safety."
He Lao didn't mention the higher danger levels, presumably afraid of scaring the two of them.
Elder Zhou chimed in from the side: "If there were no river, the first batch of satellite cities would share the heat, and the Legion's personnel would be conducting round-the-clock patrol sweeps, so it wouldn't be as dangerous as we've described. But the White Water River flows right past Dabo Town, and Happiness City has no way to set up blockades upstream. You must be extra careful."
"I understand."
Cheng Ye nodded heavily, his fingertips subconsciously rubbing the rim of his water cup.
This was exactly what he had been concerned about earlier. Since no one had chosen Long Water Town, Dabo Town became the very first Infection Source trigger point along the Linjiang River's tributary.
If any Infection Sources really washed downstream, Dabo Town would bear the brunt of the assault.
But this was the price that had to be paid for securing a geographical advantage. On the wasteland, there was no such thing as a place that was completely safe yet brimming with opportunities.
Even if there were, it would have long been seized by Super Sanctuary Cities or various Gathering Places. It would never have been left undeveloped until now.
"As for how to respond to an Infection Source invasion or how to deploy your defenses, we won't show off our slight skills before an expert."
Song brought the conversation to a close. "You are an Inspector. You definitely understand these things better than we do."
The topic regarding danger ended there.
The three elders shifted the conversation to the quality of the Drifters selected today—which families were grounded and hardworking enough to serve as strong support, and which Able-bodied Youths had erratic temperaments requiring extra discipline to prevent them from ruining important tasks.
Having lived to such a ripe old age, the three elders' eyes were sharp as torches. During the lecture, they had meticulously sifted through the crowd on Cheng Ye's behalf.
Overall, these people were dependable.
Even the Able-bodied Youths possessed foundations no worse than the community militia; their edges simply hadn't been smoothed out yet.
It wasn't until past ten o'clock that Cheng Ye and Wang Kang stood up to take their leave.
Stepping out the door, Cheng Ye's heart still felt slightly heavy, but Wang Kang quickly adjusted.
"Brother Cheng, don't worry! Now that we're Inspectors, this is a hurdle we can't hide from. Being afraid is useless. We might as well maintain twelve points of vigilance and counter soldiers with generals, counter water with earth."
"Mhm, you're right," Cheng Ye pondered, nodding in agreement.
As an Inspector, going out on field duties and traversing the Wilderness would be a daily routine in the future. Sooner or later, he would have to face these threats head-on.
He wasn't afraid of those reckless Infected Bodies showing up at his door, or of Infection Sources flowing down the river.
After all, the buffs brought by the elevation of his life tier were glaringly obvious. It was enough to block the parasitism of most ordinary Infection Sources.
Not to mention the life-saving abilities granted by Little Flame and the Horned Starfish. If things truly got desperate, he could activate the Horned Starfish's guardian form, hop onto his Flying Wings, and just escape. What kind of Infection Source could possibly stop him?
But if he left, what would happen to Wang Kang?
Wang Kang was an authentic Trainee Inspector, and he had yet to forge a Martial Body.
Following him to manage the satellite city on contract was strictly to fill the role of a partner.
Cheng Ye asked himself honestly—setting aside the old friendship between his predecessor and Wang Kang, and solely based on the time they had spent together recently, there was absolutely no way he could abandon this obedient and ambitious younger brother.
A person who fit his style so perfectly was simply too rare. If he missed out on Wang Kang, even if he took the position of Station Master in the future, it was unknown whether he'd ever find another one like him.
Furthermore, even if he managed to escape and drag Wang Kang along, what about the five hundred Drifters who were willing to follow him to build Dabo Town?
Abandoning them meant abandoning his Contract Management Qualification.
This was his real concern. He had to devise a set of measures to prevent and control Infection Sources to ensure the construction proceeded without hindrance.
And this happened to be his weak point—a glaring shortcoming compared to Luo Kuke.
Fortunately, Cloud Water Town from the first batch of construction had yet to suffer any large-scale infection incidents.
Even if they did crash into an Infection Source and experience widespread Parasitism...
As long as it wasn't virulent and malignant, they could always find a corresponding Eradication Method. There was always a possibility of survival.
"You go back and sleep first. I'm going to charge the car some more!"
Cheng Ye drove the off-road vehicle, dropping Wang Kang off at the community entrance, before turning the car around and heading toward the Industrial Department.
Over the three days he had the car, he restricted himself to charging eight hundred kilowatt-hours per day—exactly enough to fill the Recharge Value twice.
It wasn't arrogant, nor was it low-profile. It was kept perfectly at a level that wouldn't immediately arouse suspicion given his current identity.
As for whether someone would investigate him later—with his current growth speed, who would dare pop out and question Inspector Cheng? Mayor Cheng?
He was cautious, to be sure, but when it was time to push forward, he would never blindly cower and hide.
A total of 600% Recharge Value had already been used to extract all the necessary skills for this contract management, as well as the Trait Skills from the Illustrated Guide!
Now, only the final step remained.
Letting Little Flame fuse with the growth factor, and integrating the Trait Skills extracted from the Illustrated Guide with the Normal Skills he had searched for, combining them through Skill Fusion.
Glancing down to see that his Recharge Value was still at 52%, Cheng Ye tabbed over to the skill menu and counted.
He roughly estimated that he needed at least 6 fusions. Adding the cost to fully recharge, he still needed to replenish another 350% Recharge Value, which meant 1,400 kilowatt-hours.
"Tomorrow is the day I set off for contract management. It's time to act a little arrogant!"
With a skillful spin of the steering wheel, Cheng Ye parked and unapologetically jammed the off-road vehicle right into the 240kw Extreme Charge zone.
Given the architecture of the off-road vehicle, it couldn't fully utilize this wattage. It would only maintain a speed of 100kw, just like the 120kw station next to it.
However, the Pendant wasn't affected. The moment the charging gun was plugged in, it maxed out the power input entirely.
At 240 kilowatt-hours per hour, even 1,400 kilowatt-hours would only take a little over 5 hours to finish!
"The current speed is just an appetizer."
Cheng Ye leaned back in his seat, watching the green charging icon display on the panel. All the worries in his heart completely melted down, transforming into an indescribable, wild drive.
"In the future, once I finish building Dabo Town, I absolutely have to set up hundred-megawatt charging stations."
"When that time comes, if any Infection Source dares to come harass me, I'll just crush it to death with a single stomp!"