CHAPTER 426: CHAPTER 426: POST-DISASTER RECONSTRUCTION

Yang Xiao and Xiao Zhe chatted casually for a while but couldn’t shake the sense that there was a strange smell in the room.

"What’s that smell?"

Xiao Zhe and the others frowned and said:

"Boss, now there are 2,000 people living in this building, and there’s no water supply. People only take care of peeing inside the building, while defecating is taken care of in public toilets downstairs. However, over time, there is inevitably a foul smell.

Some time ago, Huang Wen led the Flying People Team to carry ice from the ground or nearby rooftops into the restrooms to clean the toilets, but now ice is scarce, and transporting water over isn’t convenient."

Yang Xiao nodded in agreement, recalling how this problem was less pronounced during the cold seasons when odors dispersed slowly. Now with the warmer weather, coupled with relocating near the Genetic Store to avoid Mutant Monster attacks, everyone moved into the large buildings to live together, and that’s when problems started to emerge.

Yang Xiao thought for a moment and then said:

"We need to rebuild Nanmu City, starting from the basics—water and electricity."

Xiao Zhe and the others were startled, asking:

"Boss, how can we get these services?"

"Ah, nowadays you all just think about hunting monsters and advancing your genetic evolution, neglecting even the most basic living issues, and this won’t do. Nanmu City is our base; we must have the most fundamental living facilities. Otherwise, over time, the entire base will become completely useless. Moreover, with the weather warming up, mosquitoes and germs breed easily. Without proper urban infrastructure development and sanitation, we won’t be able to survive."

Gong Yu nodded and said:

"The boss is right, I agree."

Zhao Gang, Long Yongjun, Xiao Zhe also agreed.

"How do we rebuild it?" Xiao Zhe asked.

"Where is the water plant in Nanmu City?"

"The water plant is by the Star River, and it hasn’t suffered much damage. However, without an electrical system, we can’t operate the large equipment inside. Also, the water system in Nanmu City is too vast for our current population of just over 20,000. We don’t need a massive water plant for our needs."

Yang Xiao thought for a moment and then said:

"Xiao Zhe, later go find Xu Nanqiang, who manages logistics, and have him send out a message to recruit some people who know electricity, plumbing, and decoration. We need to rebuild the city’s water supply system.

Actually, we don’t need to start the entire water plant. My opinion is simple: use small gasoline generators and diesel generators to pump water from the Star River to the water plant. Then, utilize a portion of the filtration and purification tanks and use small pumps to directly transport water to the top floor of the buildings. Isn’t there a water reservoir on the top floor?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhe and the others lit up with excitement.

This system was straightforward, requiring only sufficiently long pipes and a few small generators and pumps to complete.

There was an abundance of plastic pipes at the hardware and building materials market; once connected, they could deliver water.

Generators were even simpler. Yang Xiao had previously taken ten generators from the nearby building materials market to the Kongming Academy to build kiln caves. It’s estimated that at least 100 generators could be found throughout Nanmu City.

Currently, the entire electrical and plumbing systems of the Century Commercial Building were intact and had not been damaged. As long as there was water in the rooftop reservoir, it could be distributed to each room.

"If you hadn’t reminded us, we’d actually have forgotten about this method, boss. It’s simple and easy to implement. Damn it, the reek of urine wakes us up every night,"

Xiao Zhe said.

"Ha ha,,,,"

Everyone laughed heartily.

"It would be best if we could find someone who used to work at the water plant. Also, if we could find the related pipeline system blueprints at the water plant, we could directly use the existing pipelines to deliver water."

"The current water supply system won’t work, the existing water pipes are huge. Without starting the large pressure water supply equipment, it’s impossible for the water to be delivered."

"Then let’s build a small-scale plastic pipe water supply system."

...

Everyone moved on to discuss the electricity system issues.

"There is a thermal power plant in the suburbs of Nanmu City, but restarting it will definitely be difficult since we lack the necessary technical personnel, and besides, the power grid was severely damaged in the apocalypse, and we currently don’t have the capability to repair it."

"I think the simplest solution is to use diesel generators, gasoline generators to supply power directly beneath our building. There are more than a dozen gas stations in the urban area of Nanmu City and even more in the suburbs. These stations have stored a large amount of diesel and gasoline, which is enough for our power generation needs."

"I heard from Xia Luo last time that Xuanming Country Petrochemical Company has several large refineries in Shanyun City. The petroleum and diesel they have stored are astronomical figures. With us using small generators like this, we wouldn’t run out for decades."

"Boss, I’ve got some good news for you. We recently found the salt warehouse established by Kongming in Nanmu City, full with several warehouses of salt, enough for us to not worry about salt for a hundred years."

Yang Xiao became excited upon hearing this and immediately said:

"Xiao Zhe, stop hunting for the time being. Lead a team to inspect every place in Nanmu City, check out important factories, warehouses, machinery, building materials market, and so forth, to see what resources we can use.

Nanmu City needs to be rebuilt, and it needs necessary equipment and materials, such as clearing the entire May Day Avenue, the roads connecting the three Genetic Stores in the urban area, and the undamaged vehicles, trucks, and other transport we can use, as well as excavators, bulldozers..."

"I remember a few young guys are graduates from East Mountain Nanxiang Technical School."

...

Everyone’s conversation grew more excited, filled with confidence for the rebuilding of Nanmu City.

After a while, Xia Luo and Zhou Qiang also received the news and rushed over from Shanyun City. After shaking hands and embracing Yang Xiao, they joined the post-disaster reconstruction discussion.

"Before the apocalypse, Shanyun City was an energy base with several large oil refineries. We’ve cleared them out; there are dozens of large oil storage facilities, all full of diesel and gasoline. I’ve sent people to guard them to prevent accidental fires. If Nanmu City needs energy, we can supply it anytime."

"There are over a dozen oil tank trucks in the refinery that can be put into operation. The only problem is that the highway from Nanmu City to Shanyun City is damaged, making transportation impossible."

"It’s simple, really. We can drive the tank trucks close to the Genetic Store, then fill small barrels with gasoline. Using a Transmission Array is quicker and more convenient; it gets them directly under our building."

"That’s a good idea. However, the fuel stored in the nearby gas stations is enough for us to use for several years."

"Xia Luo, you guys in Shanyun City also need to speed up urban reconstruction, mainly to restore water and electricity. Since we’re not short of energy, that problem is easier to solve. Lay small water pipes, use generators and water pumps to deliver water directly to the residential areas.

Additionally, you can also supply electricity with generators, gathering the population together to enjoy the lifestyle of modern civilization."

...

While they were chatting, Huang Wen, Qin Yu, Deng Xiao, Feifei, and others, including Lan Xin, entered the conference room.

Yang Xiao glanced over and saw that Lan Xin and Huang Wen were chatting away and seemed to have become quite harmonious, which put him at ease.

Xia Luo was stunned by Lan Xin’s fairy-like aura the moment he saw her.

Zhou Qiang blurted out:

"Boss, did you score another chick?"

Everyone turned to look at Zhou Qiang: "@#￥%"

Lan Xin’s face turned slightly red.

Yang Xiao wished he could rush up and strangle him, damn, why do I always end up with such pig-headed teammates?