Chapter 329: Planning

Chapter 329: Planning

“The nuclear suppression has taken effect.”

At the perimeter of Base 011, Chen Jian watched the frontline report with satisfaction and said to Lei Jie beside him:

“The facts prove my plan works.”

“With at most four warheads we can unleash a continuous electromagnetic pulse, from afar to close range, and deliver the final blow.”

“If we can sustain such suppressions thereafter, we could keep the Mountain City disabled for a long stretch, buying ourselves a window for development.”

“But the greatest problem now is that we know nothing of the city’s recovery time.”

“Four days—four days is the longest interval we have confirmed so far.”

“Within that span we should all be safe.”

“Yet might that period be stretched further?”

“Could a bombardment spaced as far as fifteen days still achieve the intended effect?”

“Unlikely.”

Lei Jie shook his head and said:

“Measure by your own standards— even Base 011, after a nuclear strike, can regain its retaliatory capability within days.”

“Mountain City is larger, more complete, and possesses a systematic production capacity; its recovery should be swifter.”

“In truth, I now even doubt whether our nuclear blast truly shattered their ability to strike back.”

“Perhaps all we have done is… interference?”

“Not to that extent.”

Chen Jian paused briefly, then spoke:

“Although Lin Yu’s dispatch indicates humans still dwell within Mountain City, it is clear this is not a city ruled by humanity.”

“It leans heavily on electronic and network systems.”

“Even a single link faltering could plunge the whole into paralysis.”

“Thus the nuclear blast should be effective.”

“But we cannot forever rely on such detonations to keep them under pressure.”

“So, the early reconnaissance should be put on the agenda, right?”

“If I say I intend to make a trip to Mountain City, do you have any thoughts?”

“That’s not for me to decide.”

Lei Jie spread his hands, pointing at the construction site where earth was being turned, and said:

“Look, we have far too many tasks at hand now.”

“The incinerator is being built, the explosives line is under way, the artillery and bullet factories are rising as well.”

“What does ‘reviving a hundred industries’ mean? This is it.”

“Moreover, what we are doing now is chiefly focused on the military‑industrial complex.”

“What of civilian industry? We need a farm‑machinery plant, a fertilizer factory, mines, and a larger smelting works.”

“A venture of this magnitude cannot be ignored.”

“I’m definitely not getting away from it, right?”

“As the personnel count swells, management becomes ever harder; Shen Yue is equally tied down.”

“And He Shuo—he has to be busy campaigning in Jinling City, after all.”

“So, whether you go to Mountain City or not is entirely your call.”

His tone carried a hint of helplessness, and Chen Jian could plainly hear the underlying note of discouragement.

Yes, the whole of Base 011 truly has a mountain of affairs to tend.

Industrialization, the integration of displaced peoples, agricultural self‑sufficiency, the forging of trade routes.

Each problem demands a massive outlay of effort, and most crucially, with a severe shortage of industrial workers, every major step becomes a hard‑won struggle.

This place truly cannot do without people.

But can we simply disregard Mountain City?

There it stands as both a tangible threat and a tangible opportunity.

After a few seconds of silence, Chen Jian drew a deep breath and continued:

“Regardless, I must go.”

“The situation there is far too tangled; if I stay put, it will be hard for any second power to gauge the true state on that side accurately.”

“An inaccurate assessment would only complicate our subsequent exploratory actions.”

“I will set out at once and return as swiftly as possible.”

“Just one close‑range reconnaissance, then withdraw once we have preliminary results.”

“Agreed.”

Lei Jie shrugged and asked further:

“But how do you intend to breach Mountain City’s outer defenses?”

“According to Lin Yu, there are at least four distinct Level‑One monsters surrounding the city.”

“And those Level‑One beasts are nothing like the whale‑eel we previously encountered.”

“The creatures near Mountain City are fiercely aggressive; their lethality far exceeds that of the support‑type whale‑eel.”

“They can enter the city partly because of the nuclear interference, but more importantly because of luck.”

“What’s that, you’re also planning to gamble on luck with them?”

“Of course not.”

“I’ll fly there.”

“Parachute.”

“—Too reckless, I won’t consent.”

Lei Jie shook his head decisively and said:

“Up to now we know nothing about Mountain City’s overall defensive system.”

“We cannot ascertain whether there are anti‑air weapons capable of withstanding an electromagnetic pulse.”

“Leaping in blindly would be a death sentence; don’t do something so foolish.”

“Are you implying I’m a fool?”

Chen Jian rolled his eyes.

“The plan is as follows.”

“We’ll wait a few more hours, to see if Lin Yu can re‑establish contact with us.”

“If he can, we’ll conduct the parachute operation under their guidance.”

“If not, we’ll launch another aerial reconnaissance, drop bait, and simultaneously deploy unmanned scouting devices and communications gear.”

“Once the preliminary reconnaissance is complete and the risks are cleared, we can proceed with the airdrop.”

“If this whole approach ultimately proves unworkable…”

“That, then, I’ll pretend I never said.”

The words fell, and Lei Jie chuckled, turning his gaze toward Chen Jian, and said:

“I thought you simply had to go.”

“It’s not quite that urgent.”

Chen Jian laughed heartily.

“What we’re undertaking is, by nature, a protracted process.”

“Though it seems we’ve already done much, even now we are merely in an exploratory phase.”

“When we finally achieve stability, the ascent beyond that will be the true challenge.”

“Take it slow.”

“Civilization needs time, and we need time as well.”

Of course, Chen Jian’s lips spoke of patience, but in truth the base’s affairs could not afford any lingering.

He now stood as the de‑facto leader of the entire 011 base and of the whole Huaxia military, with a flood of issues demanding his attention.

At nine in the morning, after concluding his discussion with Lei Jie, Chen Jian returned to his office to tackle the day’s paperwork.

The first task: approve the resource requests for each project.

Until now, such a task had scarcely existed.

The 011 base’s stores were plentiful—raw materials, food, and equipment could all meet the launch needs of any project.

But after the cataclysmic battle with the Beast Tide, the base’s reserves had been severely depleted, slipping below the safety threshold.

Chen Jian was forced to scrutinize every project’s request, allocating resources first to the most critical.

With Fuxi’s assistance, the exercise had become a sort of “data game.” “The artillery line consumes daily 3.6 tons of metal, 1.2 tons of copper, 1.4 tons of crude steel, and 0.2 tons of zinc alloy.”

“Bullet line.”

“Explosives.”

“Nitric acid.”

“Let’s first cut the artillery line’s capacity.”

Chen Jian dragged the slider on the approval form, reducing the fixed output to fifty percent.

Immediately after, he boosted the nitric‑acid output.

After all, for the forthcoming wave of industrialization, the importance of acids and bases far outweighs that of finished shells.

Moreover, in the coming months Huaxia’s forces are unlikely to engage in large‑scale clashes with other powers, so the priority of weapons and ammunition has waned.

Even if needed, they could be procured through trade routes.

Having made those adjustments, Chen Jian turned his attention to the manpower‑allocation module.

The 011 base now listed eight hundred registered workers, including a volunteer company of one‑hundred‑fifty reservists.

Those eight hundred souls were a thin thread for the base’s construction; no matter how Chen Jian reshuffled or optimized, he could not tend to every project.

After a moment’s contemplation, he reassigned a portion of the workers who had been keeping the gun‑making shop running to the second steel‑furnace project, ensuring its schedule stayed on track.

Next, he pulled fifty hands from the fisheries and bolted them into the agricultural sector.

Continuous combat had severely delayed the spring planting.

Now he had to pour more labor into catching up on the lost ground.

Staring at the tables awash in red, flashing “insufficient manpower” warnings, Chen Jian furrowed his brow and asked Fuxi:

“Is there any more labor we can mobilize?”

“None left.”

Fuxi replied:

“At this stage every pair of hands is already in production. The refugee camp holds another one‑hundred‑fifty displaced persons awaiting intake, but they must undergo at least two days of quarantine, decontamination, and assimilation training before they can be gradually deployed.”

“Two days… that’s acceptable.”

Chen Jian gave a slight nod.

“What’s the current trend in population flow?”

“Right now the net daily influx hovers around thirty souls, mostly from the surrounding districts.”

“We expect, within two to three days, a surge of refugees from Jinling City.”

“At that point we should gain roughly four hundred new bodies.”

“Good.”

Chen Jian nodded in satisfaction.

“What about the grain balance?”

“Our stores can sustain two thousand people for six months. Factoring in yields from fields, waterways, forests, and trade routes, we can support a self‑sustaining loop for four thousand.”

“That’s decent, but at four thousand, given the present influx, we’ll hit the ceiling in at most two months.”

“It’s time to sow high‑yield crops.”

“What’s the potato maturation cycle?”

“The fertilizer plant takes about seventy days to reach stable output; after the initial ramp‑up the cycle can be compressed to fifty days.”

Fuxi answered.

“It’s doable.”

“Plant first, and don’t rely entirely on fertilizer.”

“We still have that two‑hundred‑person Sanctified Blood squad at our disposal, right?”

“Yes, they have no other combat assignments at the moment.”

Fuxi displayed the squad’s intel before Chen Jian. After a brief pause, Chen Jian spoke:

“Push the incinerator construction full‑steam; I want to see smoke billowing from it within two days.”

“Simultaneously, issue a new mission to that squad.”

“Let Ji Xing lead, equipped with heavy machinery, to dissect and clear the monster carcasses around the base.”

“Once cleared, haul them back, run them through the incinerator for harmless disposal, and feed the ash as waste into the soil‑reclamation effort.”

“Understood, the tasks are listed, prepare to issue.”

“We’ve squeezed every resource dry, haven’t we?”

Chen Jian leaned back slightly, exhaled a long breath, and asked.

After a brief pause, Fuxi’s voice resonated through the office.

“If we seek ultimate resource efficiency, we could reorganize the standing troops and temporarily assign them to production.”

“No need.”

Chen Jian shook his head and said:

“We must still maintain a unit with basic combat capability.”

“Moreover, I have other purposes for the Interleaved Company and the Assault Company.”

“Next task.”

“Military deployment!”

“Understood.”

Fuxi responded, switched the interface, and the screens of two standing armies, an expeditionary force, and a volunteer company materialized before Chen Jian.

He first inspected the equipment status of the four units, using the remaining gear and ammunition in Base 011 to replenish each of them.

Then he toggled to the map view and began assigning missions to the four forces.

“Given the current surrounding enemy situation, the greatest threat we face has been neutralized.”

“Even if future threats arise from the Mechanical Cult, we can harness the power of the Holy Blood Hall, combined with the unmanned combat units at Base 011, to defend with ease.”

“Therefore, all four units must be deployed.”

“Hold the volunteer company for now.”

“The Interleaved Company, departing from Base 011, will advance along the line of Yanling, Liangxi, Suzhou, and Shen City for a two‑week exploration.”

“Its ultimate aim is the Shen City ruins, to activate the 020 disaster‑relief base there and ferry back any useful supplies stored within.”

“During the march, should high‑value resources be discovered, they may be dispatched ahead via the trade routes.”

“The Assault Company will set out from Base 011 toward Tongling and Chizhou.”

“Its objective is to seize the metal ores of both locales, organize labor to construct mining facilities, and ship raw minerals back to Base 011—completed within two weeks.”

“The Expeditionary Force, drawing some personnel, will explore southward from Hanwater City, aiming for the Hidden Water Cave nuclear plant.”

“It is said to be the lair of the Qin Yuan monsters, and evidence suggests the Hidden Water Cave plant remains intact.”

“Mission: cleanse the Hidden Water Cave plant, restore its power grid, and supply electricity to Hanwater City.”

“The task is not simple, but we must finish exploration and clearance within a week, and strive to reactivate the first transmission line within a month.”

“All right.”

“The task list is clear; prepare to issue them.”

“Understood!”

Fuxi replied instantly.

One by one, orders were swiftly dispatched, carried through the communications network to every executor’s hands.

Everyone in Base 011 sprang into action, and at that moment Chen Jian received a message from He Shuo.

“Remember to speak with those three Imperial Guards.”

“Keep them here!”

Chen Jian rubbed the bridge of his brow.

After a moment of contemplation, he issued his command:

“Summon Jin Zhong.”

“I must devise a way to give those three Imperial Guards something to do.”

(End of Chapter)