Chapter 331 333 Countermeasures

"We can take any road we want, but you, no one forces you to follow us!" The officer immediately counterattacked after hearing the man's complaint.

After being glared at fiercely by the officer, the man who had just spoken immediately retracted his head and dared not say another word.

"How much fuel do you have left in your team?"

"Do you think we can exchange some fuel with the large group ahead?"

There was a burst of whispers among the civilian team. Most of them looked worried and were troubled by the problems they were facing.

"I know everyone is having difficulties. This is the shortest route to the next safe zone. Returning along the original route is not only time-consuming, labor-intensive and resource-intensive, but also adds a lot of uncertainty. That's why we spent so much time surveying the specific conditions of the waters ahead." The officer cleared his throat and spoke loudly.

"What's the situation ahead? Is it passable?" someone in the crowd asked anxiously.

"Our reconnaissance company did survey this area in advance. At that time, there was no such water area. This area produces sand and gravel. The nearby residents dug sand here, causing this area to be low-lying. It rained heavily yesterday, and water accumulated here, forming this water area." The officer said calmly.

"So the water level shouldn't be deep and there's no danger in the water, right?" someone in the crowd asked excitedly.

"Even if the water level is not deep, vehicles cannot pass. With such a wide area of water, what if the car stalls or gets stuck in the water?" Before the officer could answer, someone poured cold water on him.

"This is not difficult to do. There are so many of us. If everyone contributes, we can just build a floating bridge," someone in the crowd answered quickly.

"It's easy to say, but is it so easy to build a bridge across such a wide body of water? Not to mention that there are few mature trees nearby and materials are hard to find. Building a bridge requires going into the water. This area of water is connected to a big river. Who knows if there are any dangerous things in the water?" Someone in the crowd objected. Now everyone has reacted. The officer came over to explain the situation to everyone. I'm afraid his main purpose is to get everyone to work together!

For a project like this that requires collective strength, there is nothing wrong in asking them to contribute, but if their personal safety is threatened, they will definitely have objections.

"Building a bridge is a good idea, but it is difficult to implement and takes a long time, which affects everyone's journey. The geological surveyors and construction engineers in our team have found a better way after some exploration and research, but this method requires your full support. Shao is here to tell you the situation on the orders of his superiors." The officer surnamed Shao said loudly.

"What method? What do we need to do?" someone in the crowd asked in agreement.

"Based on the terrain drawn by our reconnaissance company and the survey results just now, we decided to build two dams in the area with shallower water levels to drain the water in the area and form a passage in the middle so that vehicles can pass through." said the officer surnamed Shao.

“It sounds feasible!”

"Why else would we follow them? Even though they don't admit it, just looking at their vehicles and equipment, we know they are military personnel. They must have professionals on their side. Is this possible?"

"Even if we drain the water, we don't know how much water the soil has absorbed. If the vehicle gets stuck in it again, not only will our efforts be wasted, but we will also have to find another way!" Someone from the civilian team expressed a different opinion.

"Hey, haven't you heard others say that this place is sandy and sandy soil will not lead to the situation you described?" someone immediately retorted.

"That's right. The area we marked out was previously a passage for sand miners to drive through. It has long been compacted by vehicles coming and going. And just as that friend said, the soil here has strong water permeability and poor water storage capacity. There will not be muddy pits. Our experts have studied these situations, so don't worry."

"Okay, then we'll do as you say. What do you need us to do? Just tell me." The people from the large army had never had much contact with them, and now they came to talk to them about this, which obviously showed that the civilian team wanted to contribute.

Since they have to take this road, they should contribute their share. Besides, everyone is in a hurry to get to the safe zone as soon as possible so that they can rest earlier.

The requirement put forward by the main force was that the action would start after lunch. The injured, sick, disabled, children under the age of twelve and the elderly over the age of sixty would not have to participate in the labor. The others would be divided into small teams, with one person out of every three people going to the front to participate in the labor. They would be replaced after one hour until the project was completed.

"Everyone knows how many people are in your team and how many people each team should send out. We have a special monitoring team. If we find anyone evading labor, the entire team will be expelled. Then we will all cross the river and destroy the ditch. If you want to cross the river, you can only work on your own." The officer said threateningly.

"Also, if anyone finds that a team is shirking labor, they can report it anonymously. Once verified, the reporter can get rewards such as food, fuel, or even weapons. So, let's supervise each other!" The officer said and left. The rest of the people looked at each other and dispersed.

Soon, smoke rose up and the aroma of barbecue filled the entire camp.

There are a total of six adults in Rong Xianxian's team, and only two of them are needed. Ming Tianlei has just started practicing and has not yet introduced the spirit into his body. He is the weakest and may not be able to deal with unknown dangers. Rong Xianxian still has two children to take care of and has no time to spare. The rest are Cui Lie, Jiang Jie, Xia Kai, and Wang Lin. Among the four, Cui Lie is the strongest and Xia Kai is the weakest. Cui Lie and Xia Kai are in one group. If they encounter danger, Cui Lie can rescue Xia Kai. Jiang Jie and Wang Lin are the second group. One group works for one hour. It is estimated that according to the estimated workload of the large team, these people can work for about two hours.

After dinner, Rong Xianxian took out two pairs of waterproof bib pants and two pairs of water shoes of suitable sizes and gave them to Cui Lie and Xia Kai. The temperature had dropped significantly today, and it would be very uncomfortable to get your clothes wet when you go into the water and be blown by the cold wind.

The first group of people who went into the water to work included about 200 people from the civilian team and 400 to 500 people from the main force. Among them, more than 100 people did not participate in the work and were only responsible for protecting the safety of the workers. Under the command of the engineers, these people quickly started working.

Those who were cutting trees, quarrying stones, and digging the soil had clear division of labor and everything was in order.

(End of this chapter)