Chapter 551: Construction Difficulty? Excavating Mountains and Tunnels (Extra, 4/10, 12000 Words, Subscription Request)_2
He found He Chao and asked him to pay attention to any strangers in the vicinity when he goes out to collect building materials tomorrow, and to notify the personnel stationed outside and extra staff as well.
Once spotted, they should immediately follow the stranger and report back to the Big Camphor Tree Base.
Additionally, He Chao also mentioned a problem—that it has become increasingly difficult to find and collect raw materials lately.
Today, they traveled far to a steel plant in the northeast, but it was an entirely closed facility.
After entering, they found it full of zombies.
These zombies were probably employees of the factory, who had been there since the outbreak without ever leaving, and nobody else had entered since.
Upon hearing this news, Li Yu recalled his memories that there were indeed no large steel plants around Xin City, but there were many rare earth mines and tungsten mines.
However, there was a small city in the northeast with an iron mine, not too far from Xin City, roughly just over a hundred kilometers away.
Right now, construction was ongoing at the base: residential buildings were being constructed, a recently excavated bunker still needed to be poured and sealed, and later on, backfilled.
Next, they would also need to carry out excavation work in the mountains.
Moreover, they could not afford to spread their manpower too thinly, as people might still arrive from Juzi Island.
He saw the vehicles belonging to Xiao Jun and his team in Weng City.
A flash of inspiration struck him.
He suddenly had an idea—why not let Xiao Jun and his team handle this? They had enough experience and strong combat capabilities to take on the task.
It would also serve as a good test for them.
The only thing was, he needed to use the right approach to discuss it with them.
Having thought everything through, Li Yu said to He Chao, "I understand. Tomorrow, by tomorrow at the latest, I'll give you an answer and arrange for someone to deal with those zombies."
He Chao felt reassured seeing Li Yu's response, as the recent issues with building materials had been giving him a headache.
Cement, sand, steel bars, lime, floor slabs, stones, bricks, glass, metal, tiles, wood planks, asphalt felt, waterproof coatings, doors and windows, wire, conduit, PVC conduit, nails, sealant, glass...
Some materials they lacked required them to produce on their own, such as cement, for which they processed limestone themselves.
Because of the large demand, they had set up several small factory buildings within the Second Outer City.
After his conversation with He Chao, Li Yu returned to the First Outer City.
Under the eaves of the residential buildings in the Second Outer City.
From afar, Li Yu saw Third Uncle chatting with Xiao Jun and his team, seemingly in good spirit.
Li Yu approached and asked Third Uncle, "Where's the little orange cat that always follows you around?"
Third Uncle turned to see Li Yu, smiling said, "Xiao Yuan took it for a check-up to see if it has any parasites."
Li Yu nodded and said to Third Uncle, "I need to talk to Captain Xiao for a moment."
"Sure, go ahead and chat," Third Uncle said.
He was about to leave when Li Yu added, "Third Uncle, please stay and listen."
Third Uncle sat back down, uttered an approving "Okay," and then kept to himself sipping water.
Xiao Jun looked keenly attentive, wondering why Li Yu wanted to speak with him.
Li Yu smiled at Xiao Jun and said, "Don't be so tense, I just have a favor to ask of you."
Xiao Jun politely replied, "Director Li, you flatter me too much. Big Camphor Tree Base has no shortage of capable people, why would you need my help?"
Li Yu spoke earnestly, "With more people, there's more to do. Right now the base needs people to farm, to defend, and we've been busy with new constructions. Work here has been quite hectic.
Our base operates on a points system, which I believe you're familiar with."
"Uncle Li and Captain Lv have mentioned it to me," Xiao Jun said.
"Uncle Li?" Li Yu looked questioningly at Third Uncle.
"You mean my Third Uncle is the one you're referring to?" Li Yu asked.
Third Uncle coughed, briefly outlined his relationship with Xu Chengcai and then explained that Xu Chengcai was Xiao Jun's uncle, simplifying their connection for Li Yu.
Li Yu then understood.
Laughing, he said, "So we're all family here. Hahaha, in that case, I won't be shy about it."
He then soberly told Xiao Jun, "You're aware of the fickle weather conditions; just look at the temperature now, it must be around 47 degrees."
Xiao Jun wiped away sweat and replied with a wry smile, "Yes, this weather is indeed becoming hard to bear. But what does this weather have to do with what you need me to do?"
Li Yu explained, "The extreme heats, the cold icy weather followed by locust plagues... they've all made farming quite complicated.
The temperatures this year are also very abnormal.
So, I want to build some underground farming areas, or you could say bunkers, to set up indoor planting. This will make our food production more stable.
But we've encountered some issues with building materials.
I'm currently unable to spare anyone from my side, so I was wondering if you'd be willing to help with the building materials."
Rather than being dissatisfied, Xiao Jun replied cheerfully,
"Of course I'm willing. Having work to do is great, and after all, you do offer points and food in exchange here, right? We're still in debt for 100 kilograms of rice. Haha."
Li Yu waved his hand in dismissal and said:
"I haven't finished speaking. It's like this: my people have found a steel factory in the northeast. There are a lot of zombies inside, so we need some people to help lure the zombies away. Then my people can go inside to move out the steel materials, as well as some equipment and instruments.
There's a certain risk involved. Take a look and see if you're willing to do it?"
Hearing that there were many zombies inside, Xiao Jun fell silent for a moment before saying to Li Yu, "Okay, but I'm not very familiar with that area. I need someone to guide us there."
Li Yu immediately responded:
"Of course, I'll send someone to go with you. It's the same old Lv from our base who I introduced to you last time. He'll accompany you, along with He Chao and a few others who are familiar with the place. You'll go together."
Xiao Jun nodded and said, "Okay, then there's no problem."
Li Yu stretched out his hand and said, "Pleasure doing business."
"Pleasure doing business."
......
Xiao Jun and his group stayed in the First Outer City of the base for three hours.
Later, they had Third Uncle send over some basic daily necessities, as well as some pots, pans, ladles, and 100 kilograms of rice for them.
They were taken to a house 200 meters outside the base, next to a rural road.
They moved into the same house that old Qin and his group first stayed in when they arrived.
The yard still looked the same as it originally did after being tidied up by old Qin and his group. Though a lot of dust had settled in over the days,
the place was essentially free of any trash.
There was a well, as well as a surrounding wall for the yard, which could accommodate the thirty or so people in Xiao Jun's group.
....
After everything was arranged, evening came.
Li Yu, dragging his tired body, returned to the basement of the villa.
The second floor of the basement.
B2
In the innermost room, the door was locked.
Using the key to unlock it,
he entered the room, which contained a meditation cushion, a desk, and a potted plant.
There was also a painting hanging on the wall, the Thousand-Mile River and Mountain Map.
Li Yu walked up to the painting on the wall and took a look.
Then, he turned around to close the door.
Afterward, he walked over to the potted plant, lifted it up, and pressed on a spot on the floor beneath it.
Click, click, click—
The wall began to slowly slide to the left and right,
revealing a staircase descending downward.
Li Yu took his flashlight and walked down the stairs.
After descending about four or five meters, he entered a spacious and empty bunker.
Li Yu skillfully touched the wall, and in an instant, the lights in the center of the bunker lit up.
Suddenly, the bunker's wall was covered with densely packed names, along with some time markers, and symbols that no one but he could understand.
Some of them read:
August. Triangle.
September. Exclamation Mark.
...
At the end, Li Yu wrote down one more name among the many names: Xiao Jun.
Immediately afterward, he recorded a few more names.
Gan Shang: Cross
Gan Xiong: Cross
Behind Xiao Jun's name, Li Yu hesitated for a few seconds before marking a question mark.
.....
In the far right corner of the bunker, there was a small steel door.
It was closed tight, covered with thick dust.
Li Yu looked at it thoughtfully for a moment.
.....
——
A big thank you to [Reader 160520133510680], [Enjoying the Sea of Books], [Master kkkk], [Millionaire Lu], [Zen Youth S], [modur], and other esteemed readers for your rewards~~
This newcomer is grateful for the support of all the masters~~