Seven in the evening.
Night had deepened.
Beside the towering steel fortress, a heavy truck came to a steady halt.
Compared to the driver who hopped down from the cab, the truck's volume could only be described as colossal. Yet when set against the steel platform and caterpillar treads beside it, that colossal silhouette appeared insignificant.
From a distance, it looked like a tiny bug crawling beside a boot.
Having stepped out, the driver used a tablet to operate the automated loading platform, unloading metal cubes from the truck one by one.
These metal blocks were all compressed from reclaimed junk, uniformly shaped into cubes measuring one meter on each side, with densities varying between 6 and 7 g/cm³.
Inside were car doors, hoods, and all kinds of metal parts, all crushed tightly together into solid masses, making it hard to discern what they had looked like before.
It had to be said that the shelter residents were truly capable. Not only were they physically fit, but their enthusiasm for work was off the charts; they had scraped off almost everything that could possibly be recycled.
The only gripe was that they seemed to have stuffed non-recyclable items inside as well...
Still, no real harm done.
These metal cubes would soon be sent into a specialized processing workshop, transferring from one module to the next through a series of automated manufacturing processes, ultimately turning into whatever they needed.
Unusable waste would be automatically filtered out of the assembly line during production.
An engineer wearing thick protective gear and a hard hat unfurled the flexible screen of his tablet as he walked toward Li De, who was standing beside a temporary warehouse.
"Today's collection totaled 112 tons of scrap steel. I'll feed them into the production line shortly, and we can begin replacing the treads tomorrow."
Li De asked, "How much steel do we need in total? I mean, of that junk."
The engineer replied, "At least 3,000 tons... maybe even 5,000 tons."
Li De frowned.
"Why is the margin of error so large?"
The engineer said helplessly, "There's no helping it. The steel quality in those civilian vehicles is terrible. Presumably to save on cost and weight, they're packed with massive amounts of non-recyclable carbon-based copolymers. Factor in the oxidized portions, and being able to extract 400 kilograms from a ton of scrap steel is already optimistic.
"Besides, I should point out that we don't just need steel—we need rare metals too... I don't expect to find titanium or uranium in a godforsaken place like this, but tungsten is the bare minimum. Otherwise, we'll only advance at most another five hundred kilometers west before breaking down again."
Treads and wheel hubs were the hardest-hit areas for wear and tear.
Mechanical assemblies like bearings and drive wheels went without saying; even if they didn't suffer wear as severe as the treads, periodic replacement was mandatory.
Technically speaking, abandoned vehicles in underground garages that hadn't been flooded still had relatively high recovery value, with yields reaching roughly 40 or even 50 percent.
If it were cars abandoned out in the wilderness or on deserted highways, reaching a 30 percent recovery rate might be a stretch.
After all, rainwater was naturally weakly acidic. No matter how weak carbonic acid was, two consecutive centuries of "acid washing" would take a toll no matter how advanced the material technology was.
Moreover, acid leaching was far deadlier than oxidation. Oxidation was just rusting; the vehicle frame might collapse, but the metallic elements were still there and wouldn't go anywhere. With acid washing, however, ionized cations were washed into the soil by rainwater, after which they were truly gone.
Li De's brow furrowed even deeper as he carefully weighed what the engineer had told him.
Breaking down again in five hundred kilometers...
According to the route planned on their map, five hundred kilometers might not even get them out of River Valley Province.
If they broke down in the middle of nowhere, they would truly be screwed.
"I understand the situation. I'll have the Marine Division send out search teams to focus on locating rare metal materials in this area."
The engineer shook his head. "Counting on finding them around here will be tough. I suggest searching along the Fifth Ring Road of Qingquan City. It's basic common sense: the denser the civilized activity, the higher the macro-utilization rate of rare metals. Especially those maglev vehicles—whether it's the magnetic generators on the cars or the high-rises and underground maglev roadbeds along the route, they all contain what we need... None of that can be found in suburbs that lack a three-dimensional highway network.
"Also, the search for controlled fusion fuel rods needs to get underway quickly. The rod we're currently using only has 8 percent of its fusion fuel left. Even if our treads don't give out, we'll probably still have to stop somewhere to resolve that issue."
Li De: "How long will the remaining energy last?"
The engineer: "It's enough to last us a long time, but as you know, we can't stay here forever."
If it were only for factory production, that 8 percent of energy would last them well into next year.
Yet just as his engineer said, they couldn't stay here indefinitely.
The most energy-intensive component of this land fortress wasn't the workshops built into it, but its four main engines.
Pushing a fortress weighing tens of thousands of tons smoothly across land, if converted to diesel engines, would conservatively consume several tons of fuel per kilometer—equivalent to one or two armored divisions marching across off-road terrain.
Li De said, "The liaison post with Shelter 404 was just set up. Their people are helping us look for guides. We should be able to set out within two days at the earliest, so it shouldn't be a big problem."
The engineer sighed. "Let's hope so. In fact, compared to scavenging materials, recovering nuclear fuel rods isn't quite as urgent, as long as we find them before departure. Speaking of which, I have to praise those bluecoats. Their efficiency blew past my expectations. What kind of perks did you promise them anyway? The way they worked, it looked like they were high on drugs."
As he said the second half of that sentence, the engineer wore an expression of disbelief, looking at his superior with intense curiosity.
Li De's face also held a complicated expression; he seemed at a loss for how to answer.
To be frank, when he saw today's resource collection results, he had been shocked out of his wits as well.
Based on their past experience, hiring local survivors to scavenge junk usually yielded around 300 kilograms per person per day at best. After all, cutting, hauling, and compacting all took time, and the natives were relatively slow-witted and dawdled at every task, driving one's blood pressure through the roof.
Yet these bluecoats, in just a single afternoon, had achieved an average collection volume of over 500 kilograms per person! That was 200 percent of their expectation!
If given a full day, wouldn't their per-capita scavenging output exceed a ton?
Such enthusiasm for work was simply unparalleled!
Even though it was none of his business, Li De couldn't help wondering what kind of wages their Administrator was paying them to inspire such drive.
"Where are they now?"
"They've already returned. Right now they're cooking in their camp."
Li De nodded.
It was good as long as they returned safely.
Just then, a worker from the Logistics Division came over.
"Section Chief, you have a call."
"Transfer the line to me."
Pulling an earphone the size of a toothpick box from his pocket, Li De hooked it onto his ear and tapped the white device with his index finger.
A dark green beam projected forward, quickly weaving a three-dimensional holographic image that displayed the facial contours and torso of the person on the other end.
"This holographic communication system of yours is pretty nice. How much is it?"
Seeing Chu Guang looking around curiously, Li De coughed softly.
"...We aren't considering selling this at the moment."
"All right."
In the holographic projection, Chu Guang nodded, seemingly understanding—though Li De hoped he genuinely meant it.
Squeezing out a smile, Li De continued, "Is there something you need?"
Chu Guang didn't answer directly. Instead, he smiled at him and said in a relaxed tone, "Nothing in particular. I just wanted to ask: how do you feel about the efficiency of our laborers?"
"Excellen—quite good." Li De had almost said "excellent," but suddenly remembered that the man before him was an old fox skilled at deception, so he hastily revised his words on the spot.
Unfortunately, the other man seemed to have caught the subtle shift in his expression, a faint, knowing smirk curling at the corner of his mouth.
Li De suddenly felt a twinge of regret.
Perhaps he shouldn't have sent this holographic communication unit over in the first place.
The original intention had been to make communication more convenient.
Now, however, it seemed it had only made things convenient for one person.
"I'm glad to hear such high praise from you!"
"Uh, it's not quite as high as you think, but it is decent. I have to admit, your workers have a strong sense of dedication. That's very commendable."
"Then let's talk about the matter of fees!"
Hearing those words, Li De's expression instantly changed. While far from a total falling-out, his face grew somewhat sour.
"My friend, didn't we already settle the matter of wages? Demanding a last-minute price hike is hardly a sign of good faith."
"Please don't be nervous, my friend," Chu Guang said with an easygoing smile, gesturing for him to relax before continuing. "I'm not talking about wages, but rather... well, value-added services."
"Value-added services?" Li De blinked, his tense expression relaxing slightly on reflex.
This was the first time he had heard such a strange term.
Chu Guang smiled and continued, "Yes. When you want to boost laborers' efficiency, you have to stuff money into their pockets, bribing them to work harder instead of giving them a flat wage... Or, to put it more tactfully, you have to give them a commission, letting them experience the joy of personal growth through the production process. Want to know how I did it?"
Li De wanted to say no, but felt that no matter what he said, this guy would find an excuse to keep talking anyway, so he simply remained silent.
Sure enough, the bluecoat Administrator before him did not "disappoint." He didn't even give Li De time to reply, continuing without missing a beat:
"On top of the standard hourly wage, I give them a sum of money for every kilogram of scrap steel they collect. That's why they bust their guts working. The numbers you see on that production sheet right now aren't because of how much courage, strength, or so-called dedication they possess, but because I threw money at them."
Li De didn't want to hear any more.
Dancing around the subject boiled down to just one thing.
Keeping a straight face, he asked, "How much do you want?"
Chu Guang smiled and said, "Not much. In light of our close relationship, per ton... well, how about 5 CR? For you folks, that's just the cost of a few extra cups of instant noodles."
Though he certainly wouldn't be spending this money on instant noodles.
Hearing Chu Guang's request, Li De didn't respond immediately. Instead, he quietly crunched the numbers in his head.
If daily output reached 200 tons, that meant an extra budget expenditure of 1,000 CR per day.
How should he put it?
This figure was poised right in a rather delicate gray zone.
If he refused to pay, the other party probably wouldn't keep subsidizing the laborers with "extra" money to incentivize production. When that happened, even if the bluecoats didn't actively slack off, they wouldn't work with anywhere near today's intensity.
Spend nearly an extra thousand CR per day on this so-called value-added service?
Or stick to the current fixed overhead and let productivity drop back to "normal" levels?
Chu Guang didn't press him, waiting patiently as the logistics chief pondered.
His brow relaxed and then furrowed again. Having apparently reached a decision, Li De kept a deadpan face and stared at the holographic projection.
"And what about today's value-added service? Do I have to pay you extra for that too?"
Hearing this, Chu Guang's face broke into a delighted smile.
Having worked in sales before, he understood this dynamic all too well.
When a client kept asking about prices or nitpicking, it meant they were wavering—they might buy, or they might not, a fifty-fifty chance.
But when a client stopped questioning the core deal and instead asked about inconsequential freebies, the deal was practically in the bag.
All that remained was to make the client feel like they were getting a bargain.
"No need for that. Today's six hours served as a trial period for the value-added service. Free of charge."
Li De gave a dry chuckle.
"You've taught me a lesson... Interested in working for the Enterprise? I can write you a letter of recommendation for management. Honestly, staying in a dump like this is a waste of your talents."
Chu Guang said modestly, "You flatter me. I'm merely pinching pennies so that my residents can survive in this miserable world."
Feeling a little better inside, Li De sighed softly, glanced up at the sky, and slowly nodded his tilted head.
"Deal."
...
An extra daily budget of roughly 1,000 CR wasn't entirely unacceptable.
After all, human labor out here was vastly cheaper than machine operating costs, and in complex environments, the latter wouldn't necessarily outperform the former.
A thousand CR was just five hundred kilograms of grain, or a ton of monosaccharides or polysaccharides synthesized by "burning a bit of air."
If they wanted gunpowder rifles, it was even simpler—crafting them from leftover scraps after machining parts might cost even less than crops that required time to grow.
At that moment, several Marine Division soldiers, drivers, and engineers were walking back from the shelter residents' camp arm in arm, chatting and laughing.
"That mashed ram horn potato was downright delicious!"
"How did they even think of it? Cooking food with steam! And making it taste that good!"
"According to the records, people three hundred years ago ate like that."
"Three hundred years ago?! That's ancient."
"Yeah, older than the Era of Prosperity... Though I seriously doubt steaming alone can kill off all the microorganisms in food."
"Look at you, showing your ignorance again. Steam gets way hotter than boiling water!"
"Theoretically, sure... Fine, the only flaw I can find is that it wastes fuel. Boiling water first, then using the steam to heat food—those bluecoats really know how to enjoy life."
"Another piece of weird knowledge acquired."
Today's work was over. Barring emergencies, the remaining time was entirely their own.
Life's greatest pleasure was clocking out on time after a hectic day, taking a nice hot shower, grabbing a cup of synthetic milk or hot cocoa at the mess hall, and heading to the recreation lounge to play a couple games of pool or poker with colleagues while shooting the breeze.
Oh, and sharing the joy of great food with the rest of the crew!
For the price of a single cup of instant noodles, you could buy a piping hot bowl of mashed potatoes—an absolute steal!
And tonight, there was also pine nut fish stew! Or something like that.
Nobody knew what kind of herbs those bluecoats had added to the soup, but they somehow made the rancid, foul-smelling mutant catfish smell not nearly as bad. Taking a bite even gave a rich, collagen-packed sensation; the texture and flavor were simply heavenly!
Their usual meals were rather bland, low in salt and oil. While entirely adequate nutrition-wise, the taste always left something to be desired.
The bluecoats' "canteen" was great in every way; the only downside was that you had to bring your own utensils, as there were no disposable bowls.
To them, however, that was no problem at all.
The group had first consulted an engineer buddy in logistics production and easily swayed him with a bowl of mashed potatoes. Using his tablet to run the fabrication workshop, he had lathed a few paper-thin steel bowls for them, along with soup spoons.
These bowls weren't pure steel, but polymer composite steel made primarily from scrap shavings left over from cutting steel, mixed with cheap synthetic resin. Extremely cheap to make. They treated them as disposable tableware, tossing them after use and saving themselves the trouble of washing dishes.
"...We bust our asses working out in the cold while those lucky bastards sit in the office basking in warm air. It's maddening!"
"Exactly! If we don't show off to them, we'd be doing a disservice to all the freezing wind we swallowed today!"
"Agreed! We definitely have to rub it in!"
"Hahaha, let's make those sons of bitches drool!"
Having reached a consensus, the group of young men rode the elevator together, chatting and laughing. It felt just like finding an oasis in the middle of a desert.
Standing not far away taking inventory, Li De and the engineer holding the tablet stared blankly, feeling as if they understood what was being said, yet simultaneously didn't.
"...?"
"?"
Chapter 142