Chapter 115: Rebuilding

None of them were fools. While construction was important, the priority was still to seize supplies. At this time, it was quite easy to stumble upon valuable goods and suddenly become wealthy.

By the third day, all the easily accessible supplies in White City had been completely scavenged, but the amount was still far too little. Most of the resources had been buried deep underground. No one truly knew how deep the cracks formed during the earthquake were. Considering the many towering buildings, anything that sank would vanish in an instant.

...

“Brother Fang, cement is still somewhat scarce. Although we’ve managed to get quite a bit recently, building enough houses is still unrealistic,” Liu Rui reported anxiously from the side.

“If there are no houses, use tents. Designate an area for a tent settlement. Each tent should hold two hundred double beds. Coordinate with Jing Yi to set a reasonable price,” Fang Xia instructed.

Not just their territory, but the entire White City still had over a million people. Even using tents, many would have nowhere to sleep. Meanwhile, all the major factions were aggressively downsizing. What once seemed insufficient at a population of one hundred thousand now felt excessive even at twenty thousand.

After learning about the city walls, the large factions cooperated in downsizing. Without the threat of zombie sieges, there was no need to maintain such large teams.

Chen Gang had cut tens of thousands at once, leaving only around forty to fifty thousand members, driven by his ambitions. The Bloodcloaks faction had regressed to its pre-liberation state, retaining only eight thousand members. The Lone Wolves, despite their intelligence, had poor team quality and ended up with just ten thousand.

Fang Xia’s group, on the other hand, became the only one recruiting.

He officially separated combatants from logistics personnel. The combat team was replenished to exactly one thousand, under Liu Rui and Li Xiaochun’s leadership. In reality, Liu Rui commanded alone, while Li Xiaochun merely led charges, incapable of managing others.

The logistics team recruited two hundred, jointly overseen by the petite Jing Yi and the young girl. Among them, fifty were medical staff directly managed by Jiang Wei. The remaining 150 covered various roles: cooks, merchants, professional masseurs, and even two makeup artists.

...

Originally, Jing Ru wanted to volunteer to manage everyone’s meals but was unanimously vetoed. If she were in charge, Fang Xia feared she’d eat everything herself. It was better for her to quietly play the role of a decorative figure, boosting her sister’s morale.

Guo Yu had arrived at Fang Xia’s domain to formally take over the Tiger Leopard faction. His first order of business was downsizing according to Fang Xia’s instructions. The group could have no more than five thousand members, ideally around three thousand, all at least second-tier fighters.

After the zombie siege, being a second-tier fighter wasn’t particularly difficult—just 110 first-tier upgrade crystals. The Tiger Leopard faction lacked enough members, so they recruited externally, as other groups were also cutting staff.

Fang Xia mentioned this to Fatty, who obediently followed the plan—cutting down to five thousand members and even taking on three wives. Fang Xia couldn’t help but admire his speed.

Though the widespread layoffs caused dissatisfaction, there was no alternative. The zombie threat had lessened considerably, and resources were limited. They simply couldn’t afford to keep so many idle mouths.

Fortunately, the reconstruction of Dawn City required massive manpower, giving everyone something to do and preventing starvation.

Another seven days passed.

News of the city walls spread among all survivors. Many went specifically to admire the magnificent walls. Some doubted they were newly built—was there really enough material and labor?

Chen Gang dispelled all doubts with a single statement: “For the safety of human survivors, I, Commander Fang Xia, Commander of the White-Clad faction, and Commander of the Lone Wolves worked together to complete this.”

This red general Chen Gang didn’t claim sole credit, sharing it with the other three major factions. Though there was no tangible benefit, it eased resentment over the recent layoffs.

Walking the newly built streets, many praised the four commanders’ righteousness. With the protection of the walls, people’s hearts were much more at ease.

The wall’s enclosed area wasn’t large—just slightly bigger than the original Dawn City. From then on, White City became a mere illusion, reduced to the size of what was once a single district of Dawn City.

...

During these days, Fang Xia designated a portion of the land, surrounding it with tall railings guarded around the clock. No one was allowed near.

Inside were two zones: one for planting and the other for beast farming.

Seeds stored in the space for a long time could finally be used. The few chickens and two pigs had been enclosed to prepare for sustainable development.

“While others don’t know about the beasts yet, we need to get more young ones here. That will provide enough food,” Fang Xia said, pleased with the obedient beasts confined within.

If raised well from youth and never starved, they would surely lose their ferocity by adulthood.

“Catching more isn’t impossible, but these beasts eat upgrade crystals...” Fang Xia mused. Such a resource was too precious to waste; raising them was already costly.

“Let’s just raise them for fun and see how long it takes for them to mature. If it’s too long, it’s pointless,” he added, curious. After all, he still had over ten tons of fresh meat in his space—collected that day—with a wide variety: chicken, pork, beef, lamb, and even rabbit.

The planting zone was already sown with various vegetable seeds.

A few days ago, Liu Rui had finally recruited a young woman awakened with the accelerated planting talent. She could use it once a day within a two-hundred-meter radius, enabling plants to grow in about five cycles.

Fang Xia didn’t hesitate to invest heavily, boosting her to the fourth tier and increasing the skill’s radius to three hundred meters.

With this, Fang Xia’s group could soon achieve complete food self-sufficiency.

Half a month passed.

During this period, not only Fang Xia’s domain but the entire Dawn City was revitalized. Numerous buildings reappeared, but none exceeded five stories. This limitation meant nearly half the population of Dawn City had no houses.