Chapter 82: Chapter 82: Rapid Construction
Ye Fan, hearing this news, felt his spirits lift instantly, despite being sluggish from lack of sleep the previous night.
"So soon?"
The engineers had initially told him that it would take up to half a month, but now it seemed like it would be completed in just over a week.
"Yes, sir. We had a platoon of soldiers help with some of the groundwork, which improved efficiency. If we complete it by tomorrow, it will have taken just nine days."
Ye Fan immediately began to strategize. Since the base vehicle was going to be ready ahead of schedule, it was crucial to get it here without delay.
The base vehicle is the foundation of all construction; without it, we’re limited to building basic defensive structures like walls and sentry towers, and we’ll be without power at night.
Positioning the base vehicle and establishing a power plant will give our base its true form.
"Xu Haoran, listen closely. Once the base vehicle is out, immediately dispatch a platoon of soldiers, along with an engineer platoon, to protect the engineers and the base vehicle. Send them straight to Kao Mountain Farm to report in, and leave two platoons to guard Chengguan Town until I give further notice. Once things stabilize here, bring the survivors over right away. Understood?"
"Understood, sir! We expect to reach Kao Mountain Farm in three days."
After ending the radio transmission, Ye Fan opened the soldier management interface again.
He hadn’t realized the true size of his forces until he calculated: with Companies 1 and 2 combined totalling 260 men, and including his own guard platoon, the number was up to 300.
Company 3 had produced 72 men, and there were thirty engineers in the engineer platoon.
Including the Army Soldiers in the four sentry towers, the newly produced armored vehicles, and heavy machine gunners, the Red Alert Units totaled 422 men!
There was only a little over a hundred left to reach his full-capacity battalion of 550.
The construction of walls and sentry towers had already consumed more than fifty thousand Gold, leaving him with 350,000 in funds. Ye Fan decided to fully arm the battalion in one go.
First, he filled Company 3 to full capacity.
A full company consists of 130 soldiers; subtracting the Army Soldiers and Conscripts, the remaining units were rather costly, consuming another thirty thousand-plus Gold.
Once Company 3 was filled, the Red Alert Units reached 480, leaving 70 slots to full capacity.
Ye Fan wasn’t in a rush to fill these; instead, he began vehicle production.
Mess vehicles and ambulances for Company 3, Tigers for all the platoon leaders, and Dragons for all the company commanders were all produced.
And then there were the military transport trucks. While the heavy trucks we have now can be used, Ye Fan thought it felt inappropriate for troops to ride in such gravel-carrying trucks, so he opted to fully equip the unit at once.
Two Dragons, six Tigers, one mess vehicle, one ambulance, and twelve military trucks, all produced!
Afterward, Ye Fan spent another four thousand Gold to produce two obstacle-clearing vehicles, not just for clearing obstacles but also for aiding in base construction.
Finally, Ye Fan saw a mine-laying vehicle priced at six thousand Gold.
Mine-laying vehicles are limited to one per battalion.
Ye Fan considered producing one, as it cost six thousand, plus three crew members, requiring an additional investment of a thousand Gold, totaling seven thousand each.
After some deliberation, he decided not to produce it yet; it was time for infrastructure, and the mine-laying vehicle had no immediate use. He’d decide once the infrastructure was complete.
With the vehicles ready, Ye Fan began replenishing the remaining units.
All Snipers, Scouts, Flamethrower Warriors, Air Defense Infantry, Rocket Launcher Warriors, Mortar Soldiers, and any with vacancies were produced!
Nearly forty thousand Gold spent, and all these expensive units were filled.
The total battalion strength reached 520 soldiers.
There were still thirty slots vacant, which Ye Fan didn’t fill yet, needing to leave room for machine gun bunkers, sentry towers, etc.
Moreover, when physical buildings arise—possibly unlocking new units like tanks—space must be left. Can’t max out and then fail to supplement subsequently.
With troop deployment and vehicle production completed, the time had reached the afternoon, and those who had gone to Qinghe to transport building materials gradually returned.
Truckloads of supplies were delivered to the conveyor belt at the material recycling station, rapidly increasing Ye Fan’s supply count.
He continued to supplement five thousand meters of wall, finishing off some surplus steel to construct two water gates.
Water gates are costly because of the river’s width, more than thirty meters, with an arched gate and a massive middle sluice gate.
The sluice gate is a mesh metal door, reaching three meters below the river when lowered.
Ships couldn’t pass, but Ye Fan worried divers might come through here.
However, he thought it over and realized if anyone managed to get in here, this could potentially be a trap to catch big fish later.
With the water gates completed, Ye Fan perfected the material recycling station with the remaining resources.
The station is recessed into the inner base, surrounded by a wall with two iron gates front and back.
When the gates close, the front looks like a continuous wall, and when open, the rear gate blocks others’ view, concealing the base’s interior.
With walls completed, the inner defense circle was essentially in shape.
There were still the seven gates, three in front, two at the back, and one on each side, along with the three-meter dividing wall, to finish the inner base.
The inner core is also called the latter half of the base; the first half is the survivor area.
After two days of spending, Ye Fan’s funds shrank to two hundred thousand.
Ye Fan didn’t continue spending the money; he pondered whether to build an outer wall.
The outer wall primarily serves as protection for survivors, allowing his base to resemble a small city.
Without the outer wall, survivors’ safety wouldn’t be guaranteed. In case of a zombie or enemy attack, the survivors might all perish unless let into the inner base.
Ye Fan didn’t want to see that scene, but with many expenses, he wasn’t ready to sink a large sum into the outer wall construction.
After all, the outer area is much larger than the inner; if built, the two hundred thousand might not be enough.
"Survivors haven’t arrived yet, no hurry; I’ll wait for the base vehicle and find the most reasonable solution."
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On the third day, the army was fully mobilized.
Aside from leaving the guard platoon, even John’s platoon was sent out, with all transport trucks and heavy trucks dispatched.
Ye Fan advanced today, completing the entire base’s walls, sentry towers, and various gates.
According to the soldiers from Company 3, the marketplace’s building materials were still about half, so he aimed to complete all defenses within the day and focus on the internal construction plan afterward.
After the forces left, Ye Fan received another call from Xu Haoran.
The base vehicle at Chengguan Town was completed, and the engineer platoon alongside a platoon from Company 1 had begun escorting the base vehicle.
The base vehicle’s speed wasn’t fast, maxing out at 80 kilometers per hour. Given the distance, it should arrive the morning after tomorrow.
Ye Fan acknowledged this, ending the call.
The production of the base vehicle improved Ye Fan’s mood significantly.
Without the base vehicle, everything was in vain. With it, his unit had truly found its footing amid the apocalypse.
Once today’s construction was finished, he would aim to refine the base and his headquarters incrementally and expect to see the base vehicle the day after tomorrow.
Ye Fan contentedly strolled through the inner base, arriving in front of his Iron Armor.
Technician Luo Jiaxin was adjusting the radio inside the vehicle.
Electric crackling noises were constantly emitted. Seeing Ye Fan approaching, Luo Jiaxin reported, "Sir, we can’t pick up the radio from Coal City anymore."
"Why listen to Coal City’s? We’re within Huacheng City’s range now. Try to get this region’s broadcast."
"Okay, I’ll try."
After some tuning, a voice finally came through.
A gentle female voice.
"Dear compatriots in the Huacheng Region, another new day has begun. This is the Burning Corps’ radio station. I’m your host, Xiaohui, hoping you can still hear my voice."
Ye Fan perked up his ears immediately; this was a broadcast from survivors in Huacheng City.
He signaled Luo Jiaxin to stop adjusting, wanting to hear what this so-called Burning Corps was about.
"At the request of Commander-in-Chief Zhang Zhiguo of the Huacheng City Survivor Alliance, the Burning Corps will venture out soon in search of survivors. We’ll proceed along the direction of Huatan Town, Baoshan Town, Kao Mountain Farm, and Qinghe Suburb in the Star River Basin. The search vehicles will signal with smoke, so survivors in these areas, please get in touch with us timely..."