While the members of the Ox and Horse Squad followed behind Tris toward Camp 101 deep underground, the construction of the new settlement was also underway in full swing.
As a wooden board inscribed with the words [Daybreak City] was hung upon a half-collapsed concrete bridge pier, the construction initiative for the New Alliance's second survivor settlement was officially declared underway!
Long before the Battle of Pine Valley had even begun, the New Alliance's logistics department had already drawn up a contingency plan for pioneering the new settlement under the Administrator's direction.
A vast stockpile of construction supplies had been transported in advance by rail to the warehouses in Qingshi County. Almost the very moment Chu Guang announced victory in the war, these materials were loaded onto trucks, rumbling from the rear to the front line before dawn had even fully broken.
These supplies included two thousand steel axes, sixteen hundred shovels, and a vast quantity of manual transport tools, such as wheelbarrows, tricycles, and two-wheeled handcarts.
Arriving alongside this shipment were over three hundred construction personnel.
Many of them were NPCs who had participated in building the Outpost in the early days, while others were life-class players with relevant professional backgrounds.
Possessing abundant construction experience and having proven themselves through practice, they had rendered sterling service in the building of Dawn City.
Although pioneering was grueling labor, when the Alliance needed them, they stepped forward without hesitation.
Whether out of loyalty...
Or guided by quests...
...
The trucks ground to a halt at the entrance to the camp.
Before his vehicle had even come to a complete stop, Spare the Blade leaped down from the bed, calling out at the top of his lungs.
"Off the trucks, off the trucks! Time to work, boys!"
"The expansion pack ends tonight! While there are still points to farm, hurry up and make every second count!"
"Let's gooo!" the crowd answered with tremendous vigor. Players with Strength builds were the first to jump down, heading straight for the transport trucks.
Under Brother Blade's direction, they unloaded the cargo and stacked it into sorted piles, preparing to distribute the tools shortly.
Although back in reality none of them would even want to sweep the floor, inside the game every last one of them transformed into an Aryan superman, itching to do the work of two oxen all by themselves.
Especially after hearing that the construction quest offered achievements to unlock—and that qualifying players could even have their names engraved on the city monument to be remembered as heroes of Daybreak City alongside those who had distinguished themselves on the battlefield—the Strength-type human batteries were over the moon.
Tired?
Didn't exist.
In this damn game, you would sweat, pant, feel your arms stiffen, and even go sluggish, but the one thing you wouldn't feel was sheer physical misery.
Pain beyond a certain threshold was blocked out, and fatigue was no big deal as long as it didn't reach the point of blacking out.
Under Brother Blade's orders, the players busied themselves to their hearts' content.
Watching this scene, the nearby NPCs felt deep admiration and couldn't help being inspired.
If even those pampered "blue jackets" were giving it their all, what excuse did the rest of them have to slack off? How could they have the nerve to loaf around?
With that in mind, everyone spontaneously kicked into high gear.
With everyone working together, all fifty trucks were completely unloaded in under half an hour.
The trucks then turned back toward Qingshi County, preparing to haul a second run.
At the same time, on the other side of the construction site.
Ma Ban, acting administrator of Daybreak City, met the captain of the construction aid team beside the wreckage of an elevated highway bridge and explained the situation on the ground.
"...There are 5,731 registered residents on the roster, and nearly ten thousand liberated slaves will arrive in waves later on."
"Our most urgent priority right now is preparing enough shelter for these people."
The captain of the construction aid team was named Rudy. He had once been a decurion under Vannus, granted early release due to exemplary performance during labor reform.
After regaining his freedom, the former Legion officer hadn't embarked on the journey home. Instead, he chose to stay and strive for a greater cause and ideal, starting a new chapter of his life as a resident of the New Alliance.
Rudy asked, "What about the prisoners of war?"
"Still in the city," Ma Ban replied.
There were over twenty thousand prisoners of war. Processing them would take time, and on top of that, they still needed to be organized to build a POW camp, so they couldn't be counted on in the short term.
After getting a handle on the situation, Rudy stared at the map for a moment, then spoke up.
"I have a general grasp of the situation. Construction materials will arrive before noon. What we need to do right now is clear out a worksite as quickly as possible. How many able-bodied people do we have available?"
Ma Ban gave a precise answer.
"Excluding the wounded, the sick, pregnant women, and children under twelve... we can mobilize about four thousand people."
Rudy nodded. "That's enough. I need them assembled here immediately. I'll assign their specific tasks."
"Leave it to me!"
With that, Ma Ban promptly tracked down Wu Chengyi and the others. With the assistance of the former leadership of the resistance, they completed the mobilization of the survivors.
A crowd gradually gathered in the open space beside the ruined overpass. Among them were soldiers of the Third Corps, youths shouldering packs and bundles, and even tender-faced children and stooped elders.
Nearly all bore the sallow complexion of malnutrition, though they looked far better than they had a month prior. While hardly brimming with vigor, at the very least, gone were the aimless hesitation and despair.
Looking out over the sea of heads, Rudy picked up a megaphone and projected in a booming voice.
"Time is short, so I'll keep it brief! We need to prepare one thousand emergency housing units before nightfall!"
"I need you to lend me your strength!"
Hearing this, the crowd exchanged bewildered looks.
Prepare one thousand homes before dark?
Was this guy serious?
Virtually all the survivors were filled with skepticism toward such a whimsical notion, murmuring among themselves in hushed voices.
Offering no further explanation, Rudy gave a brief rallying word and immediately began assigning tasks.
The four thousand people were divided into more than three hundred groups of varying sizes, each led by a foreman, and threw themselves into the construction of the settlement, each attending to their duties.
With everyone pulling together, the survivors of Daybreak City swiftly cleared the ground around the trenches. Using wheelbarrows, tricycles, handcarts, and other haulage tools, they transported the concrete rubble and large chunks of debris outside the camp.
As the open ground was cleared, sheets of aluminum plating and aluminum alloy framing struts were hauled in by tricycles and carts.
Staring at the materials and tools piled on the cleared earth, a gaunt man wore a look of utter bewilderment.
"What is this stuff?"
His name was Liu Dali. Before the Bone Chewer tribe came, he had been a simple farmer.
Later, his home was burned down, and his wife and child were lost, so he joined the guerrillas. Now, he was a soldier in the New Alliance's Third Corps.
He wasn't the only one baffled by what these items were for. The other survivors standing nearby were just as lost, trading confused glances.
Just then, a foreman from the construction aid team walked over to clear up their confusion.
"These are building materials for houses. Once assembled, they're ready to live in. Our group's quota is four units. I'll show you how to do it in a moment; you'll pick it up in no time."
"Building materials?" Liu Dali froze.
A fellow townsman standing beside him scratched his head, equally perplexed. "You can build a house with this stuff?"
Even if they were just putting together shacks, aluminum alloy panels alone wouldn't cut it, would they?
Facing their doubtful stares, the foreman grinned with a hint of pride. "These things aren't just for building houses—they're useful for a whole lot more. Enough chatter, come give a hand."
With that, he tossed work gloves to everyone and carefully instructed, "Make sure you wear these while working. Don't go hurting yourselves."
"Our group's quota is four units. Put your backs into it, boys, and let's try to finish before six this evening! Our captain said that if we can finish the whole task before six, everyone in the group gets a reward!"
The mention of a reward instantly piqued their curiosity.
"What reward?"
"A crab meat patty! One for each person!"
Meat!
The moment they heard the word, the group grew visibly thrilled. Without another word, they pulled on their gloves and went straight to work under the foreman's direction.
A reward like that wouldn't have turned many heads in Dawn City.
But this was famine-stricken Xizhou, where a single green wheat cake was treated as a delicacy.
Hearing that there was meat to be had, their eyes practically turned green with hunger, wishing only that their parents had given them an extra pair of hands.
Two aluminum plates were stood upright on the ground, with a support strut positioned between them, fastened at the joints with nuts and bolts.
Then came the third sheet, and the fourth...
As panel after panel was slotted into place, Liu Dali was astonished to find that a large, square box had materialized before their eyes before they even realized it.
The "box" was by no means small, covering a footprint of a full twenty square meters with a ceiling height of over three meters.
It was fitted with bunk beds, a door, and windows. With six bunks to a room, far from feeling cramped, the interior felt almost lavishly spacious.
Gazing upon the fruit of their labor, Liu Dali felt an unexpected stir in his chest.
Ever since his home was destroyed and his loved ones taken from him, he had been drifting through life in a daze, taking things one day at a time.
Yet now, looking at the room before him, an emotion he hadn't felt in a very long time welled up inside.
He didn't know how to describe it, nor where it came from, but he could feel its palpable existence.
It was as if...
A candle had been lit in the dark.
"Don't just stand there daydreaming," the foreman said, clapping him on the shoulder with a smile. "We've got three units left. Put your backs into it, boys, and let's get another one done before lunch!"
Snapping back to his senses, Liu Dali tucked away his excitement and nodded vigorously.
"Right on it!"
Liu Dali's group wasn't the only one to complete their first unit.
Across the entire worksite, nearly every construction team was working with all their might.
Once the initial batch of three hundred prefabricated kits was assembled, a second convoy of trucks arrived at the camp's staging area with more materials.
By twelve noon, nearly five hundred container-style houses stood upon the previously barren stretch of earth.
Though these dwellings were basic, they were fully functional, easily sufficient to keep out the wind and rain.
As for heating, it was only late May.
River Valley Province was about to enter the three hottest months of the year, so it was far too early to worry about staying warm.
Looking out over the spectacular sight, many people could hardly believe their eyes.
Yang Duo, who had once served as warehouse manager in Hope Town, felt far more than mere surprise.
He felt utter shock!
In his previous experience, even for makeshift emergency shacks, people would first have to scavenge corrugated sheet metal, rebar, and chunks of concrete from the ruins of the city. There was no way five thousand people could be placed under a roof without three to five days of work.
Yet the New Alliance's construction method completely shattered his understanding.
Prefabricated housing parts turned out by assembly lines were delivered to the front lines by truck, then assembled on-site by laborers.
Even ordinary folk with zero construction experience could assemble an entire house under the guidance of frontline construction workers.
The whole process took less than three hours.
If one were skilled, two hours was plenty.
It was as fast as copy-and-paste.
With such colossal infrastructure, industrial, and mobilization capacity, no wonder they could win this war!
"Houses like these... how much do they cost?" Wu Chengyi, standing nearby, couldn't help asking in a low voice.
Ma Ban pondered for a moment before giving a rough figure.
"I don't know the exact details, but I've heard the average production cost is around three hundred silver coins, and the external selling price is five hundred... about the equivalent of two and a half assault rifles."
Hearing that, the surrounding crowd let out gasps of amazement.
Word was that the average monthly income in the New Alliance was around four hundred silver coins. Didn't that mean a person could buy one with a single month's wages?
That was almost outrageously cheap.
Seeing their expressions, a proud smile crept onto Ma Ban's face.
Though he had only joined the New Alliance a few months ago, that didn't stop him from feeling proud of its achievements.
"Three hundred silver coins a house... one thousand units comes out to three hundred thousand... Isn't it a bit of a waste to put only six people in a room this large?" Yang Duo asked, his expression somewhat uneasy.
Even though they were all one family now, they had only just joined this great household.
Spending so much of other people's money right off the bat made him feel somewhat guilty.
Seeing what was on his mind, Ma Ban didn't offer a direct explanation, merely smiling and speaking softly.
"It's primarily out of sanitation concerns. Overcrowding easily leads to infectious diseases. The Administrator personally instructed me that even during exceptional times, we must guarantee a living area of over two square meters per person, with no more than six people to a dorm room."
"Not only that, he also charged me that emergency housing is strictly a transitional measure and must not be relied upon long-term. Within three months, we must ensure every single family in Daybreak City has a home of their own!"
Wu Chengyi and Yang Duo exchanged a glance, excitement gleaming in their eyes.
If Ma Ban had told them this back when they were still living in the subway tunnels, neither of them would have taken it seriously, writing it off as pie in the sky.
Yet now...
Almost nobody doubted whether they could pull it off.
Not far away, under makeshift sheds, large cauldrons were set over fires. Mouthwatering aromas drifted from the pots, making nearly everyone swallow hard.
While the construction teams bustled about, the elderly, the weak, women, and children who couldn't handle heavy physical labor hadn't been idle either. Under the guidance of logistics personnel, they prepared lunch. Children carrying lunchboxes and canteens shuttled across the construction site, delivering meals directly into the hands of the work crews.
Everything proceeded in an orderly fashion.
By six in the evening, the construction teams had not only miraculously completed one thousand emergency homes, but had even exceeded their quota, setting up communal facilities such as latrines and water storage cisterns that had originally been slated for the following day.
The camp was alive with activity.
People gathered together, sitting around campfires ringed with stones.
The firelight shone on faces overflowing with smiles. As they ate with bowls in hand, they shot the breeze, boasted, or chatted about their plans for the future.
Tonight's dinner was exceptionally sweet and savory.
Especially those juicy crab meat patties.
The survivors from Hope Town had never tasted anything so delicious in their lives!
Watching his men wolfing down their food, the lead foreman smiled and bragged,
"If you ever get the chance, go check out Dawn City. Once you've been there, you'll know what paradise on earth looks like."
A survivor who was busy scarfing down his food looked up, food still in his mouth, and mumbled,
"I heard you can eat crab meat patties until you burst over there!"
The foreman chuckled. "Crab meat patties? There's a ton of food way better than that!"
Liu Dali swallowed hard. "Like what?"
Seeing those pairs of longing, eager eyes, the foreman felt immense satisfaction in his vanity and took his time explaining.
"Like ramen for four silver coins a bowl, spicy chili fried rice for three silver coins, steamed buns for two silver coins, all kinds of skewers grilled on wooden sticks, stir-fries cooked in massive iron woks... and if you want to spend a bit more, charcoal-grilled mutant steaks..."
As he went on, he cursed under his breath, looking thoroughly nostalgic. "Damn it, forget it. Just talking about it is making me hungry again after I just ate!"
Seeing their boss stop, the crowd grew anxious.
"Don't stop!"
"Keep going!"
"What on earth is that ramen thing?"
"And what's a steamed bun?"
"It's too much of a pain to explain. Even if I told you ten thousand words, it wouldn't beat seeing it with your own eyes."
Setting his bowl aside, the foreman brushed off his trouser legs, rose from the ground, and offered a word of encouragement to the men gathered around the fire.
"Just work hard."
"Dawn City wasn't built in a day, and neither is Daybreak City. Whatever they have there, we'll have here sooner or later!"
By another campfire not far away.
Sitting cross-legged on the ground, Spare the Blade looked at the pop-up notification on his VM screen. A delighted smile finally broke across his face, and he let out a long sigh of relief.
"Mission accomplished!"
[Quest: Complete 1,000 emergency housing units (Completed)]
["Infrastructure Maniac" Achievement Challenge: Complete the quest before 6:00 PM (Achieved)]
Although the task had been completed half an hour ago, the inspection and handover had taken a bit of time.
This game was always weirdly realistic in the strangest places.
"...I heard the prize pool this time is insanely stacked. Hope I can draw something good," Makka Pakka said with an expectant look, sitting beside Spare the Blade.
Without any flight missions over the past two days and nothing going on at the farm, he had come to the front line specifically to grind points.
"What was the top prize again?"
"Hasn't been announced yet. Don't we always find out after the expansion pack tallies up?" Stowing his VM, Makka Pakka suddenly remembered something and turned to Spare the Blade. "By the way, Brother Blade, do you work in civil engineering in real life too?"
He recalled that this guy had been a construction team leader way back, and now seemed to have even unlocked the professional title of "Chief Architect of the New Alliance."
Spare the Blade replied offhandedly, "Kind of."
Makka Pakka cupped his fists in sheer admiration.
"Big shot!"
Someone who could actually design and build houses was definitely a big shot!
Spare the Blade laughed wryly. "Big shot, my foot. I'm just a slacker at my unit, otherwise how would I have time to soak in the game every day?"
Makka Pakka continued curiously, "Still, don't you get tired of doing the same line of work in a game?"
Spare the Blade thought for a moment, then smiled.
"Tired... not really. Be realistic—even if that's my field in real life, nobody's ever going to let me design an entire city, right? Besides, some wild ideas that have no place in reality actually find a great market here. Personally, I'm having a blast."
Makka Pakka was utterly impressed. "Awesome! As expected of a big shot! Your vision really is on another level!"
Spare the Blade cleared his throat lightly. "I told you, I'm no big shot."
"A big shot is always modest!"
Makka Pakka glanced up at the sky, pushed himself up from the ground, brushed the dirt from his pants, and sighed. "This corporate slave has to go to work soon, so I'll take off first."
Spare the Blade chuckled. "Go ahead. I'm logging off in a bit too. See you on the forums later."
"See you on the forums!"
With that, Makka Pakka cast an envious look at Brother Blade. "Man, I wish I was as free as you."
Spare the Blade: "..."
...
Inside the military camp beside Daybreak City.
Sitting in his barracks, Chu Guang was browsing through reports submitted by the logistics department via his VM.
The construction of Daybreak City was proceeding smoothly; the construction teams had completed one thousand emergency housing units in a single day.
The New Alliance was highly electrified, with many tools dependent on the power grid.
Although they had captured a batch of wood-burning trucks from the marauders, the vast majority of the New Alliance's trucks were still self-produced "Electric Mules."
While these electric trucks were convenient, they couldn't operate away from the power grid for extended periods.
Furthermore, the players' save points were massive power consumers. With no generators on the front line, power had to rely on the trucks' battery banks.
"...It would be great if the reactor could be repaired as soon as possible."
After reading the logistics department's report from start to finish, Chu Guang pondered for a moment, reached for his headset, put it on, and spoke.
"Xiao Qi."
A vibrant voice sounded in his ear.
"Here, Master!"
Chu Guang instructed, "Notify Luka for me to prepare five wood-fired generators and have them sent over here as soon as possible, with a rated power output of at least 100 kW each."
Xiao Qi replied enthusiastically, "Understood! Leave it to me!"
The communication ended.
Chu Guang was just about to get up and grab something to eat outside.
Right then, a call request suddenly popped up at the top of his VM screen.
Seeing that the call was from Lü Bei, Chu Guang didn't hesitate. He immediately pressed accept and skipped the pleasantries, getting straight to the point.
"How are things on your end? Have you met the residents of Vault 101?"
Chapter 334