After a detailed count, Han Ya held a rough report on the personnel of the base. Along with the soldiers who came with Yan Wei Guo and Bai Yang, there were a total of 2,766 people. The five tribes visited by Le Ni and Lin Yan had a total of 570 people, plus the 273 people from the Archie tribe and their initial 42 people. The entire base now had a total of 3,651 people.
The previously constructed dormitories were not enough for everyone, so Bai Yang and Han Ya calculated and decided to build a separate dormitory in front of the already-built houses for the soldiers. The vacant A and B houses would be reserved for future joiners. The open space in front of the military dormitory, near the isolation zone, would be used as a military training ground. This plan differed slightly from the original one made by Han Ya and his team, but the problem was not significant, and Xiao Wen agreed to Bai Yang’s idea.
The weather in the Tibetan region in June was unusually severe. Although the maximum daytime temperature was the same as May at 42-43 degrees Celsius, it would drop to below minus 30 degrees Celsius at night. The low temperature could no longer be maintained by the tempered glass absorbing sunlight for insulation. The previously constructed boiler room was officially put into use. Some soldiers were selected to work specifically to burn the boilers, ensuring that the heating was supplied at night and that the indoor temperature remained above minus 10 degrees Celsius.
The military took over the operation of the small power plant, which not only met the daily power demand but also contributed eight large air-conditioning units. After these eight air conditioners were put into use, the living conditions in the base residential area became more comfortable, and ordinary people without abilities no longer had to endure the alternating hot and cold.
Due to the unusual temperature, the time available for construction work each day was very short. Only from 5 am to 10 am in the morning and 4:30 pm to 8:30 pm in the evening could outdoor work be carried out. As a result, meal times were brought forward or delayed accordingly.
At 5 am, the temperature would only rise to below minus 10 degrees Celsius, and after 10 am, it would rise to 34-35 degrees Celsius, and then remain at around 40 degrees Celsius until 4:30 pm. After 4:30 pm, the temperature would drop again to around 30 degrees Celsius, and then slowly decrease again. At 8:30 pm, it would drop to below minus 10 degrees Celsius, and the cycle would continue, making it difficult for Wen Le and the soldiers who came from the Central Plains to adjust. On the other hand, the Tibetans who had always lived in the area were accustomed to such time schedules even before the apocalypse. Even though the temperature difference was much greater than before the apocalypse, they still adhered to this time arrangement to live more comfortably.
After having sufficient manpower, Han Ya and Xiao Wen no longer focused their attention on construction but began to turn to the vast world outside the base.
Wen Le gathered all the water-based superpowers in the base and came to a newly built building on the east side of the greenhouse, near the base wall, which was similar to a factory.
Opening the door, because the light-shielding board had not been closed, the inside of the factory was clear through the glass on the roof.
In the huge factory, except for a few machines in the corners, there was only a hundred-meter-diameter circular pit, about fifty meters deep at the deepest point and nearly twenty meters at the shallowest. This was the base’s water source.
Wen Le led fifty-six water-based superpowers to the edge of the pit.
The deep pit was dug by the joint efforts of earth-based superpowers. After it was dug, a thick waterproof layer was built inside the pit with anti-seepage materials to prevent the water from seeping into the soil and causing the nearby soil to loosen.
“Now, everyone’s task is to use their superpowers to fill this pit,” Wen Le clapped his hands to focus everyone’s attention. “On the other hand, it is also to improve everyone’s superpower level. Here, the temperature will always be the same as the temperature of the house we live in, and there will be no extreme cold or heat, so everyone can practice here for a long time.”
The water-based superpowers present nodded and dispersed to the edge of the huge pit to start pouring water in.
“Brother Liu, I’ll leave this to you,” Wen Le looked at Liu Jianye beside him.
Liu Jianye nodded, “Wen Shao, you can go and do something else. I have already explained the project before. If there is anything, they will come to me. I will notify you when this reservoir is filled.”
Wen Le responded, and among the water-based superpowers present, Liu Jianye was the one he was more familiar with.
Taking advantage of the time before noon, Wen Le returned to his residence from the water reservoir side and found that Han Ya was also there.
“You’re back?” Xiao Wen saw Wen Le come back and poured him a glass of water.
“Well, there’s nothing much going on over there. Just have the hydrokinetic ability users fill up the reservoir,” Wen Le took the water and sat down beside Xiao Wen, looking at the national map in front of Xiao Wen and Han Ya.
Xiao Wen moved aside to give Wen Le some space. “What’s up?” Wen Le asked, looking at several marked locations on the map.
Han Ya put down his pen and took a sip of water before speaking. “The base is almost ready to be handed over. With the soldiers led by Brother Bai there, there shouldn’t be any internal problems. Boss and I are planning to start developing the base.”
“Developing?” Wen Le looked at Han Ya.
Han Ya nodded. “Yes, developing. The base now has formed a system, whether it’s construction or the successive addition of nomadic tribes. We’re no longer as rushed as we were at the beginning. Le Ni has already set off, and if he brings back more people, we’ll leave it to Lin Yan to arrange. The A and B residential areas can house more than 1,200 people. Even if we can’t accommodate them, we can just build more houses. The ranch and greenhouse have also officially started operating, and as long as we keep cycling, it will be fine. So, we plan to expand outward.”
Listening to Han Ya’s words, Wen Le looked back at the four marked locations on the map, with the nearest one being the capital of the Tibetan province, N City.
“If we want to take action, we’ll need the military to join us, but most of the military personnel are just ordinary people and can’t adapt to the current environment after leaving the base. However, if we withdraw some of the ability users, the remaining defense force would be weak,” Wen Le agreed with Han Ya and Xiao Wen’s ideas, but implementation might be a problem.
Han Ya looked at Wen Le and tapped his fingers on the table before speaking. “Actually, there’s also a military district in the Tibetan province.”
Wen Le was stunned and looked back and forth between Xiao Wen and Han Ya, his mouth twitching.
“You’re not thinking of attacking them, are you?!”
Facing the two people’s non-committal expressions, Wen Le sighed. It seemed that they really were thinking of that place!
“I think it’s necessary to communicate with Yan Wei Guo and Brother Bai, as they belong to the same Eight Military District as us, and they will surely have a better understanding of the situation there,” Wen Le finally said.
“We were just planning to talk to Brother Bai about this,” Han Ya said, looking at Xiao Wen.
After Xiao Wen nodded, Han Ya left the room to find Bai Yang in the opposite room.
Soon, Bai Yang and Yan Wei Guo came over with Han Ya.
Wen Le added a chair, and the five of them sat around the map on the table.
Han Ya explained their idea, and both Yan Wei Guo and Bai Yang stared at them in shock.
“Are you serious?” Bai Yang asked in disbelief.
Wen Le shrugged.
After the shock wore off, Yan Weiguo became serious.
“I disagree!”
Seeing Yan Wei Guo’s firm rejection, Han Ya paused and asked directly, “Why?”
“Let me see if I understand correctly, you want to establish contact with the military district here, right?” asked Yan Weiguo.
Seeing Xiao Wen nod, he explained the situation of the various military districts. “As you may know, this area is an autonomous region. The government here is mainly managed according to the unique situation here. At the same time, there are also many extremists. When they were pushing for independence, many of us knew about it. The news that was allowed to spread was only what the higher-ups permitted, and the really serious matters were never made public. As military districts belonging to the same region, I know more about the situation at that time than you do. When things were at their worst, our military districts had already prepared for war, which means that the situation was already somewhat out of control. But in the end, everything was resolved peacefully. The tense situation suddenly dissolved, and it appeared as if the military districts’ preparations and pressure on the separatists had worked. But in reality, the true reason was the arrival of a leader who was air-dropped in by headquarters!” Yan Wei Guo stopped speaking at this point.
Everyone present was intelligent, and even without being too explicit, Xiao Wen and Han Ya had already roughly understood Yan Wei Guo’s meaning.
“General Yan, is the reason you’re opposing us because of that leader?” Han Ya asked.
After a long while, Yan Wei Guo nodded slowly.
“That person was able to stabilize the volatile environment at that time with his own strength. He relied not on his connections, nor the military district’s armed forces, but on one word – ruthless!” Yan Wei Guo couldn’t help but close his eyes and take a deep breath before continuing.
“When he arrived, he immediately ordered the military to clean up the area. Anyone who was suspected was not allowed to escape. Ordinary people would never dare to do this, because the already tense situation could easily trigger an all-out war if too much force was used. But when that leader gave the order, he said one thing: what I want is the enemy’s declaration of war! As long as they dare to shoot a single bullet, I will lead my troops to slaughter the entire autonomous region!”
“Wow, that’s ruthless,” Han Ya said, squinting his eyes.
Yan Wei Guo nodded and said, “That person was able to be appointed directly because of his ruthlessness towards people and things. After the independent incident stabilized, the higher-ups have been looking for opportunities to transfer him back. Because he’s too ruthless and arrogant, and being so far away from headquarters, keeping him here is like having a time bomb. But he never gave them the chance to replace him. He sat firmly in the position of the military district leader until before the end of the world. His ambition has always been great, and after the end of the world, the various military districts lost contact with headquarters. So I think that if you cooperate with him, it’s like seeking a tiger’s skin.”
After listening to Yan Wei Guo’s words, Xiao Wen and Han Ya remained silent, while Wen Le felt calm in his heart.
Because of his rebirth, he changed the path that Xiao Wen and the others had taken, and spared them from experiencing too much darkness in the end times. This was what Wen Le hoped for because he wanted to do his best to protect everyone. However, at the same time, the lack of those experiences made Xiao Wen lack the ruthlessness needed to become strong in the end times.
If they only wanted to cooperate with the military district here, as Xiao Wen and Han Ya had previously thought, it would be relatively easy. There were too many means to force the other side to cooperate. But if they wanted to classify the other side as part of the base and become a subsidiary of the base, the difficulty would be much greater, and the process would be more bloody. Wen Le was certain that Xiao Wen would never want to achieve their goals through overly vicious means. So Wen Le sat quietly on the side, waiting for Xiao Wen’s decision.
After Han Ya fell silent, he looked at Xiao Wen.
If Yan Wei Guo’s words were true, then whether they wanted to establish cooperation with the military district here or their plan to conduct a large-scale cleansing of N City in the future, they would have to abandon those ideas.
“It looks like we have to reconsider our plan,” Xiao Wen sighed, understanding Han Ya’s thoughts.
Han Ya could only nod.
They were still too weak now, and once they angered the military district leader here, their newly formed base would be completely unable to resist.
The population in the Tibetan area was sparse, and the number of zombies was even fewer. Without the consumption of the zombie outbreak, the military strength of the Tibetan military district could not compare even to the X City military district, which had experienced the siege of zombies.
This was like poking a hornet’s nest. Even if they didn’t get wiped out completely, it would be enough to make them heartbroken.
Thanks for the update!! 😩😩
Thanks for the chapter!