After the Holy Shield restarted, the sky above Wanghai was covered with a faint orange glow. The sunlight shined through the graviton barrier down to the land and stretched infinitely in the slowly moving radioactive dust. From a distance, it looked like an immortal ray of holy and sacred light.
From the north to the south, the entire Wanghai was shrouded in the Holy Shield, isolated from the wasteland. Occasionally, mutants or predators would wander into the area and fight against NAC patrols, but since the Holy Shield activated, all the unruly people sighed in front of this unbreakable shield.
In the four directions of south, east, north, and west, the NAC only left about 120 small and large entrances and exits. Each entrance was built with a guard post, and they were all guarded by the First Division led by Cheng Weiguo.
Wanghai, guarded by the Holy Shield, seemed to become the safest place on Pan-Asia land. With the continuous influx of immigrants, the population of NAC continued to grow. In order to meet the demand for living space, the Sixth Street had pushed down the east wall with the consideration of expanding to the city center.
Immigration not only brought labor but also poverty and crime.
In order to digest these surplus labors and solve the problems caused by immigration, NAC used a rather simple and crude method——
Army expansion!
The move was much in line with the style of the military government. All foreign survivors who wished to obtain NAC household registration had to either pay a settlement fee of 1,000 credits or serve in the NAC army for at least three years.
As soon as this policy came out, more than 50,000 survivors were enlisted into the army in just one month. Some of the recruits started in military training while other recruits were incorporated into the logistics system and sent to NAC’s factories in other areas for production.
Exhaust all resources to build up one’s military power would lead to an economic recession, but this did not apply to the apocalypse.
The scarce amount of resources meant that it was difficult to scale industries. The highly automated science meant that the demand for manpower was extremely low. Therefore, the Sixth Street could provide survivors with a very limited number of jobs.
What’s more, the wasteland economy itself was based on the word “violence.” Whether it was scavengers or hunters or mercenaries protecting a trade route, everyone was equipped with weapons. The only real commodity that did not lack customers was not canned meat or instant noodles, but the shining bullets.
Jiang Chen was more willing to refer to this military expansion as a “wasteland version” of government stimulus.
To put it bluntly, instead of letting these bored survivors wander around and do nothing, it was better to put them together for centralized management and pay them a salary. Even if they just practiced marching in the barracks, it was better than letting them return to their old professions, killing people and causing havoc.
Of course, Jiang Chen didn’t let these people really sit around.
Among the recruits, many of them were lone travelers with good marksmanship. Without actual skills, it was impossible to survive the perilous wasteland to arrive at the far Wanghai. Jiang Chen simply organized them into ten hunter corps and sent them to the inland areas west of Hongcheng to hunt for mutant furs and crystals.
…
On the fifth day after the celebration, the escorting warship returned from North America and docked at the port on the outskirts of Wanghai.
In order to rush back to participate in the celebration, the warship was sailing at full speed for almost a whole week. When the anchor dropped, the sailors on the ship eagerly jumped down. But when they learned the celebration was over, everyone looked disappointed.
Fortunately, everyone received beer, pork, and credits distributed by the military government, and they were compensated for the hard work of risking their lives on the high sea.
After they received their salary and benefits, most of the sailors on the ship went to the Sixth Street to relax on this not-so-long vacation. As for the captain of this warship, he was summoned to the General Mansion at the Fishbone Base.
Jiang Chen had a lot to ask about the situation in the North American colony.
“…We sent the cargo ship to the West Coast of North America and then began our return. Based on our past experience, as long as the cargo ship passed through the waters near Alaska, there was basically no danger. Even if there was, most of them were just small predator boats, the heavy machine guns on the cargo ship were more than enough to deal with several predators.”
“After entering the waters near North America, we encountered ‘electromagnetic turbulence’. Communication over 30 nautical miles was practically lost, but electromagnetic turbulence also has its advantages. Those deep-sea mutant species that are extremely sensitive to electromagnetic waves will experience electromagnetic turbulence. Most of them will be lurking in waters below 500 meters. Even if we turn our sonar off, our ship can be unimpeded.”
On the other side of the desk, Captain Wang Haitao briefed Jiang Chen on the details of the mission.
“Okay, I see.” Jiang Chen looked at Han Junhua next to him for a second, then focused his attention back on Wang Haitao who was standing upright. He smiled and asked, “The last question has nothing to do with this voyage. After you have spent so long on the sea, have you encountered any interesting mutant species?”
“Interesting? It depends on how you define interesting.” After he processed the information, the captain replied with a smile, “Once we sailed on the golden waterway west of Cape Wales, we accidentally entered waters that were gleaming. We tried to cast a net into the sea, but we got a bunch of fluorescent clownfish with severe radiation levels. There are still a few that I’ve kept in my captain’s room. Another time we were near Vancouver, and we saw a giant shark as large as half a warship and with teeth as long as two people. It directly bit off a giant whale twice the size of the Bohai Aircraft Carrier from the middle. The blood that gushed out colored the entire area red. I felt extremely lucky because I had turned on the sonar…”
“Okay, awesome. From now on, you can enjoy your vacation.” Jiang Chen stood up, walked around the desk, and extended his right hand, “But If I were you, I would rest well. There will be tasks waiting for you soon.”
Wang Haitao was flattered as he shook the General’s hand, then he stood upright in excitement and said with certainty and decisiveness.
“Guaranteed to complete the mission!”
Jiang Chen patted him on the shoulder, affirmed his past work, and then signal that he could leave.
After Jiang Chen watched the captain leave, he sat down again, looked at the voice recorder on the corner of the table, and fell into deep thought.
“The North American colony may be in trouble.” Han Junhua was the first to break the silence, “A total of 500 soldiers are stationed in the colony, including 450 K1 kinetic skeletons, and 50 T-3 power armors. If it’s something that these weapons can’t deal with, then it’s not a small problem.”
“You were a Pan-Asia Cooperation officer,” Jiang Chen looked to Han Junhua, “Apart from the electromagnetic turbulence phenomenon, what else…I mean are there any weapons or other things that can artificially block long-distance communication?”
“There are many methods. All-channel jamming radar base stations, wide-range electromagnetic wave shielding devices… These two methods are the main communication shielding methods for Pan-Asia Cooperation. They can easily turn a city or even a province into a ‘blackout zone’ in the radio network,” Han Junhua explained.
Jiang Chen’s finger tapped repeatedly on the table, then he said while still in deep thoughts.
“In other words, there is still the possibility of human interference.”
“I think so too.” Han Junhua nodded.
“Send ground troops,” Jiang Chen ordered after he contemplated a bit more, “When our armored troops land on North America, all problems will be solved!”
“Before sending ground troops, we need to understand what is going on in North America.” Han Junhua cautiously proposed with her arms crossed in front of her chest, “I suggest delegating this work to Beluga Station. Since their submarine can arrive in North American in the shortest time, they can send us first-hand information…”
Jiang Chen interrupted Han Junhua, shook his head, and said.
“We don’t need to bother the Beluga Station, we can send a reconnaissance force there.”
“It’s too slow. By taking a detour from the Bering Strait, we will have to wait more than a week for our reconnaissance force to reach California.” Han Junhua objected.
“It won’t take that long.” Jiang Chen waved his hand, and a confident smile appeared. He raised one finger on his right hand. “Our scouts can reach North America from Wanghai in an hour tops.”
Han Junhua looked at Jiang Chen. There was a rare surprise that rippled throughthe pupils that were as calm as the lake.
After she was certain that Jiang Chen was not joking, she immediately asked.
“What are you going to do?”
Jiang Chen smiled.
“You’ll find out in two days.”
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