CHAPTER 387: CHAPTER 183: CANNONS IN POSITION!

The information brought by Wang Lizhi was basically consistent with Lei Jie’s judgment.

The Beast Tide is gathering and will launch a full-scale attack in at most two weeks.

This means that the Huaxia Army only has two weeks left to organize its defenses.

Is that enough?

Perhaps for most civilians who have just arrived at Base 011, this time is far from enough.

Let alone establishing sufficient defensive fortifications, even building enough temporary housing for so many people is not a simple task.

What? Are you saying that after traveling such a long distance to get here, we can only live in temporary tents?

If it were a "regime" or "theocratic" organization with enough control over the grassroots, relying on authoritarian suppression, one or two months would still be manageable.

But for a new power like the Huaxia Army, if the demands of the civilians are not met, they may not rebel, but they can certainly abandon us and leave.

So, once the impact of the first meal of canned food gradually subsided, the majority of civilians had a relatively pessimistic attitude towards their subsequent life.

----But then, the Huaxia Army demonstrated to them what true industrial Cthulhu is.

It also allowed residents who had already experienced the industrial strength of Base 011 to further understand that industry does not only mean tall factories, complex equipment, and powerful weapons.

Often, a small piece of wood is also a manifestation of industrial strength.

Do you know what modular construction is?

Do you understand what prefabricated panels are?

The already prepared lumber mill went into full operation, with wood that had been felled and air-dried being carried by people onto the mill’s machine conveyors, and with the harsh noise of circular saws cutting through the wood, logs were transformed into planks in just a few dozen seconds.

Next, piles of planks went through the next procedure, where a drilling machine drilled round holes at the top of the planks to serve as connection points.

Meanwhile, the residents of Qian Island Lake Town, who had mastered the operation of excavators, continued practicing by digging deep pits on the wide ground as anchoring points for fixing the planks.

When the planks arrived, with the assistance of swarm robots, the waiting residents rushed forward, quickly erected the planks, connected them with a few metal fittings to form wooden walls, and then similarly formed roofs on top, covered them with waterproof cloth dismantled from tents.

From a single log to a semi-permanent wooden house, it took less than half an hour.

In mass production, over 20 wooden houses would spring up every hour at Base 011.

At this pace, the accommodation problems for newly arrived residents could be completely resolved within two days.

Civilians from the Imperial City were astonished by this exceptional efficiency, whereas those who had arrived slightly earlier were already accustomed to it...

People gathered together, working while discussing the arrangement of their new homes, with a man named Yu Qian among them more concerned about future work and the currently unclear sources of livelihood.

His four-year-old son was taking care of his one-and-a-half-year-old daughter in the new home, the daughter toddling around curiously touching the unpolished yet remarkably smooth planks.

Yu Qian looked back with a gentle smile on his face.

But as he turned back, he couldn’t help feeling a bit worried.

Unlike some of the others in this group of civilians, he didn’t have a solid family background, and the tools, ammunition, and sundries he thought might be valuable held no worth at Base 011.

He had once attempted to exchange his most precious batteries for some supplies with the people here but was told, "It’s not needed."

Unexpectedly, the white metal jewelry he thought was worthless got him several cans of fruit, which his son loved to eat.

The food was running out...

Though temporarily, the adults of the Huaxia Army still distributed food, it was said that food rations would end in three days.

By then, he would have to work in exchange for food.

What should he do?

This thought flashed through his mind, and just then, a voice rang out from above.

"Residents who have completed constructing their accommodations can gather at the square, where labor tasks will now be assigned."

"The rewards are substantial, first come, first served."

"No need to bring tools, just show up..."

Yu Qian immediately perked up.

He put down the half-finished wooden table, quickly instructed his son, and then turned towards the direction of the square.

Likewise, many newly arrived residents surged towards the square.

At this moment, he was still thinking about how to squeeze to the front if there were too many people to let the adults see him, but soon he realized those worries were completely unnecessary.

Several huge, illuminated "screens" stood in the square, flashing a continuous stream of images on the white panels.

The colorful images resembled the simple drawings his son created but clearly and succinctly depicted the types of work available.

"Everyone is to choose their preferred job type shown on the screen and go to the long table in front of the screen to register for it."

"Please stand in line and register orderly."

"Anyone cutting in line will have their registration rights revoked for the day..."