Niu Dazhuang frowned deeply: "They didn't confess. They insisted that no one was instigating it and that they just came in out of curiosity. Since they weren't caught at the scene of the sabotage, they stubbornly denied that they were the ones who damaged the machine. I also had people investigate the network of these four people. They are all ordinary people with families, belonging to a small, scattered group, and haven't found any base or force to rely on yet."

Their families didn't appear to have received any bribes or gifts, and the men remained extremely tight-lipped. The interrogators used severe torture, but ultimately only managed to get them to admit to the crimes; they didn't get any further information from them.

Li Ke was not disappointed with the result: "It's normal that they didn't find out. If the person behind it is so easily exposed, then it may not be true. Otherwise, that person would be too stupid."

Niu Dazhuang understood what Li Ke meant, and he continued, "These bastards haven't suffered enough. They're still jealous and causing trouble at times like this. If I find out who's doing this to us in the future, I'll twist their heads off."

Niu Dazhuang was genuinely angry. He continued, "I've also strengthened the defenses and patrols around our base. If anyone dares to cause trouble again, we'll just shoot them back."

Li Ke naturally agreed with Niu Dazhuang's approach. In situations like this, one should be tougher. Being weak from the start would only attract more flies.

"By the way, there are still many people who are in the safe zone but do not belong to any base. The young and strong ones have been picked up and divided up by other bases, leaving a bunch of people who are not very strong. The sentry post has temporarily taken them in."

It's not like we're just taking them in for nothing. The main thing is to get them involved in some tasks, both inside and outside the safe zone, to help them out of their current predicament. The higher-ups are still sending out notices, hoping each base will take in a few more people. When you left last time, you said we had enough people and shouldn't bring in any more for the time being, so I didn't take any.

"Recently, the propaganda officer from the sentry post has been coming here to spread rumors, implying that we are powerful but unwilling to contribute anything, and wanting us to recruit those weak and disabled people. They're shameless."

Hearing this, Li Ke's eyes showed some displeasure. It was her own will to recruit people, and she would not do such a stupid thing as being forced to recruit people!

Whether the people they bring in will be grateful to the base is uncertain, but they will certainly appreciate the outpost's help.

Li Ke said firmly, "No, not a single one. The sentry post is so kind, let them take them all. If they come back to do something like this again, just kick them out. If you feel disgusted, send someone to that sentry post to make a scene and disgust them back."

It was obvious that the people at this outpost inside the Eighth Ring Road were expressing their dissatisfaction with their base in another way, but Li Ke wouldn't tolerate it.

Niu Dazhuang excitedly agreed, and then recounted the recent situation.

Their project was originally ahead of others because it had all kinds of machinery, but recently, each base has transferred a batch or even several batches of their own people here, plus the new people recruited here, so they have caught up quickly.

Moreover, a large number of auxiliary machines have recently been transferred out of the core area, specifically for engineering rental. With the help of these machines, the progress of those bases has been advancing by leaps and bounds, which has made Li Ke's base less prominent on the surface.

Niu Dazhuang frowned, looking worried, and said, "It's not that I want to compete with those people, but the weather is getting colder and colder, and we really need to get the basic necessities for the first base done as soon as possible. Otherwise, in another half month, it will really be unbearable to stay out here."

Li Ke said, "You just need to focus on getting the underground work done first, and solidify the foundation on the ground. We have three thousand more people this time, so the speed will definitely be faster. Moreover, Song Xian and his men are on their way. I've told our convoy to rest for another day today, and we'll set off again tomorrow to pick up the people."

I'll send in another batch of machinery and supplies later. You send a group of people out to clear and excavate the base area within the Seventh Ring Road, and complete the construction there. They can then take over when Song Xian arrives.

After discussing the current matter with Niu Dazhuang, Li Ke went to the radio station to contact Mo Bao'er and express his gratitude.

Mo Bao'er is currently in the fifth district. She specifically switched places with Mo Cheng so that she could be closer to Li Ke and the others.

However, Li Ke had other matters to attend to the next day. Traveling from the Eighth District to the Fifth District was quite a distance, so she asked Mo Bao'er to convey her gratitude to the representatives of the other three bases on her behalf. She promised to personally visit them to express her thanks once she was done with her business here.

As soon as Li Ke came out of the communications room, she heard a commotion in the distance. By the time she arrived at the scene, the people had already been driven away, and the matter had been quelled by Niu Dazhuang and his men.

It turned out that a representative from a nearby Jin family base wanted to borrow the equipment. The group didn't want to spend money to rent the military's equipment, and some of the equipment would have to wait. The rented equipment had a powerful backer, so they had to be used with extra care.

These people set their sights on Niu Dazhuang, their neighbor. Despite his muscular build and seemingly simple-minded nature, Niu Dazhuang was actually quite shrewd and understood their scheme perfectly well.

He naturally wouldn't agree to these shameless people borrowing money. The other party first lowered their stance and said a lot of soft words, but when that still didn't work, they also got angry and started arguing.

Fortunately, the conflict didn't escalate; it was just a lot of noise but little action, a brief verbal sparring session, and then they were driven away.

Niu Dazhuang was speechless: "These people are really shameless. Right now, it's a time to rush the construction schedule. Who would be stupid enough to lend out their own things and then come looking for a scolding? They're just asking for trouble!"

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