Chapter 99 Construction of Mianshan

When she arrived that day, she hadn't taken much from the pet supply company. At the time, she just felt it was a waste, so she picked out some high-quality meat kibble and canned meat—about fifteen bags of kibble and two boxes of canned meat.

The staff at the Trading Area said that since it was pet food, it couldn't be bought at the price of normal food. At most, they would buy it at half the price of compressed biscuits and human canned meat, respectively.

Calculated this way, every hundred grams of meat kibble was worth 10 points. With fifteen bags in total, each weighing six kilograms, the total value was nine thousand points.

Two boxes of canned food, fifty cans per box, at 50 points each, totaled five thousand points.

Adding the two thousand points Captain Xu had promised as a reward for providing valuable information if supplies were found at the resource points she provided.

All together, she obtained sixteen thousand points. If living alone, it would last her less than three months.

However, residents with real estate only paid half the rent. This way, she could live for about half a year without doing anything.

Bai Xiao sighed softly. No matter which world it was, it was hard to move a single step without money.

After arranging a pickup time with the people at the Trading Area, Bai Xiao returned to the Villa Area.

The Disaster Relief Department stipulated that original property owners could still live at their original addresses, while others without property must be broken up and reorganized according to regulations.

The storefronts in the Food Street would be opened up and gradually converted into twelve-person communal dorms.

The B&B and Hotel areas would be converted into eight-person and four-person rooms.

The front half of the townhouses in the Villa Area would be converted into double rooms, while the detached villas in the back would remain untouched for now.

House renovation required a lot of labor, wood, and tools. From the second day after registration, almost everyone participated in the labor and construction for the sake of their livelihoods.

Bai Xiao's points were enough for the time being, the detached villa was not within the scope of renovation, and she had no interest in physical labor, so she did not participate in the housing renovation project.

However, on this mountain where construction was in full swing, it would be too conspicuous and unusual not to go out to earn points for food. At the same time, to maintain information communication with the outside world, she still took a patrol job.

She trained in her room every day and could also use this opportunity to come out for some fresh air.

The patrol work was not complicated. The duty room set the schedule. Those scheduled for the day shift needed to patrol for six hours, while the night shift only required three hours. The daily wage was 20 points.

This small amount of points was only enough for the cheapest meal, so no one was willing to take this position as their main job. Most people who chose this work did it as a part-time job to earn a little extra money.

The day shift took up too much time, so Bai Xiao actively asked for the night shift. However, many people who wanted to work part-time at night also applied. Therefore, her request to be assigned entirely to the night shift was unsuccessful; she could only be scheduled for the night shift about four days a week.

Before she knew it, the Advance Force had been on the mountain for three days, which was also the ninth day since Bai Xiao left the game.

The shape of Mian Mountain was very special. The mountain body was a bit like a chair, and the mountainside was like the seat. This was also why the mountain could be perfectly developed for commercial use. The flat land on the mountainside was so large that it was very suitable for building houses.

The part from the mountainside down was like slanted chair legs, with a relatively steep slope. Therefore, to reduce the gradient, the roads up the mountain were all long hairpin turns. If one wanted to go down to cut trees, it would be difficult to pull them back up the mountain.

From the mountainside up to the summit, it was very gentle, like a reclined chair back. Therefore, it was easier to transport trees down from above.

Early that morning, the logging team went up the mountain. By noon, a low roar and vibration suddenly came from the mountain.

Everyone came out at the sound. On the distant ridge, all the trees seemed to have grown legs, sliding down at a sluggish speed.

The kinetic energy of the slide was cumulative. The trees below were snapped by the trees sliding from above, and the lush forest churned and stirred with mud and water.

Everyone was stunned by the scene before them. Fortunately, the flat land on the mountainside was large enough, and all the buildings were relatively toward the front. The large area behind was rugged mountain terrain and lakes, which buffered the sliding trees and mud.

Someone in the crowd shouted, "Isn't our mountain here all rock? How could a landslide happen?"

A technician who had rushed over from the plaza explained that although the geological structure of the mountains in Yunzhou was basically rock, it had rained for so many days that the surface soil had become loose.

People were lucky enough; this was only a shallow landslide with relatively little power. Otherwise, the buildings where people were located would also have been affected.

But what he didn't dare to say was that over these days, water might have already penetrated into geological weaknesses such as mountain cracks, joints, and faults. If the rain continued, rock landslides or collapses would likely occur in the future.

Rock landslides are much more terrifying than debris flows. They involve large chunks of rock falling off the mountain as a whole. If that day ever came, everything on the mountain would be completely destroyed.

As soon as the disaster occurred, the Headquarters quickly gathered manpower to search the mountain. For no other reason than the people who went to fell trees had not yet returned.

Shallow landslides are slow and less powerful, with a survival rate significantly higher than the commonly known debris flows. Even so, the loss rate of the logging team exceeded one-third.

The housing renovation on Mian Mountain required a large amount of timber, and nearly half of the people had joined the logging and transport teams to go up the mountain.

The crowd burst into wails. No one knew whose family or friends had unfortunately met with disaster and failed to return.

Construction on the mountain was forced to a halt, and everyone worked together to settle and treat the people who had been rescued.

Blessings never come in pairs, and misfortunes never come alone.

By the afternoon, it was originally the time for the first batch of survivors from the Main Force to arrive. However, before the people arrived, a strong wind rose for no reason.

The gale blew through the mountains like a howling roar. People's clothes flapped loudly in the wind. The wind-driven heavy rain didn't just fall on their faces; it felt like being whipped, causing sharp pain.

The wind was very strong, especially on the mountain. This strange wind came whistling, making it impossible for people to stand steady.

The mountain immediately fell into chaos. At least half of the Advance Force's tents on the plaza were blown away, and the Headquarters's supplies were scattered everywhere.

The wounded who had been temporarily placed in medical tents were forced to be exposed to the wind and rain.

Someone roared toward the sky, "Is the Heavens not going to let us live?!"

The Heavens could not answer this question.

For a time, everyone participated in moving the wounded, salvaging supplies that had fallen into the water, and recovering intact tents.

Tents could no longer be set up on the plaza for temporary housing, and the Headquarters was forced to move to the Villa Area.

The detached villas in the Villa Area were relatively large, and one was temporarily designated as the Command Post.

Xu Jiye stood by the villa window, looking at the rain filling the sky and the swaying trees outside, lost in thought.

He wondered if there were also strong winds down the mountain and in the city. In these last few kilometers before reaching Mian Mountain, there were no obstacles or buildings around, only a wide expanse of water. He was worried that the Main Force coming by assault boat would be overturned by the strong wind and fall into the water. If that were the case, he didn't know how many people would lose their lives because of it.