The fat man didn't answer. Instead, as he had done many times before, he pulled out a tablet from the storage box under his desk. He handed it to Jiang Ling, then tapped it twice to wake up the screen. He said, "Here's everything we have. You can take your time to look at it. There's no rush!"
After handing over the tablet, the fat man ignored them, as if he was slacking off. He sat down on the office chair, holding a cup of tea and drinking it slowly, and then his body relaxed.
Jiang Ling noticed a few chairs leaning against the wall, one of which still had the ripped jeans dangling from its backrest. She seemed to recall something happy, chuckling softly before turning her gaze to the tablet resting on her lap. It was a tablet with a handle, reminiscent of something from a movie. It had only a few functions, and the portly man showed them one—the inventory list.
She swiped her finger across the screen, and the various vehicles displayed updated constantly as she swiped. There were quite a few types of vehicles, but many were out of stock, especially the larger ones, like the log trucks popular among the Chinese. The ones with the largest inventory were usually small and medium-sized vehicles, but most of them were beyond Jiang Ling's reach.
"Are there classification labels? How long will it take to find it like this?" Jiang Ling asked, which made the fat man shudder.
"Ouch~" He tossed and turned in his chair for a few times before finally adjusting his sitting position. "It's in the upper left corner, just click the ellipsis! Hey~ Don't be impatient, take your time and read it. It would be best if you could watch it for another two hours!"
"Aren't you very busy? I see smoke coming out of the soles of the feet of the people outside." After hearing this, Jiang Ling leaned back on the wooden sofa, then crossed his legs and continued to check the tablet and asked.
"Don't tell anyone. Let me tell you, that old Wan is not a human being!" The fat man unbuttoned the buttons of his collar and answered in an exaggerated tone.
Ruan Danxin and the other girl were drowsy, leaning against each other and already snoring. Jiang Ling didn't want to disturb the two white-haired girls, so she chatted with the fat man in a lower voice.
"Aren't you a brother unit? Is it necessary to make such a fuss?" Jiang Ling opened the classification label and ticked the "medium-sized vehicle" label.
"Well, don't mention it. That guy doesn't treat us as human beings at all, as if we owe him money. It's just two trips, but he insisted on taking away all the people and supplies in one trip." This person has good eyesight, and his voice has become much lower when chatting.
Jiang Ling flipped through two pages on her tablet and realized there weren't enough labels. These medium-sized vehicles were sorted by number, but she had no idea what those numbers were. So she added "All-Terrain" and "Triple-Proof" labels to the classification page, and that made things much better. She said, distractedly, "Is there a difference between two trips and one?"
"Yeah, there's no difference!" The fat man put down his teacup, furious. "Even the fuel usage is the same. I don't know what he's fussing about. Besides, the road to the southeast is easy to get to."
"You said he was going to the southeast? Was it that group of crabs?" Jiang Ling paused. She had already selected several car models and now had time to think about it.
"From your unit? You're really well-informed." The fat man said in surprise, "Yes, they are going to build a defense line on the lake to prevent the crabs that were lured away from returning."
"Are they going to take the surface route?" Jiang Ling felt that he should have understood the logic of the square-faced lieutenant colonel - instead of going around in circles in the subway system, it would be better to take advantage of the freezing weather and walk directly on the ice. This way, time would be on their side. As for why they had to complete the trip in one go, of course it was because there were too many accidents on the ground, and he didn't want to cause any trouble.
"You guessed that?" The fat man no longer dared to underestimate the woman across from him. He hesitated for a moment before answering, "They're going to cross the Great Lakes system. I'm afraid they'll fall into the ice and destroy our trucks." He placed his hands on the desk, nervously grasping a pen, then sighed, "To be honest, we're not short of people right now, but equipment..."
"Okay, I get it." Jiang Ling interrupted him, "It's not your fault. Everyone knows that there are no mines underground here."
The Magic City metropolitan area relies heavily on external supplies of raw materials. Post-war transportation severance has significantly reduced its production capacity, effectively choking it out. The desalination plant, which once produced some heavy metal salts as a byproduct, was tragically destroyed. The inhabitants now face a dilemma: either declare civil war and reduce the population to a level sufficient for resource availability, or brave the heavy casualties and explore beyond, recovering sufficient resources along the way.
The former follows human instinct and is easier for both the government and ordinary people, without the psychological pressure of those roundabout ways. Most importantly, it can retain some elite talent, thus creating the possibility of a comeback.
The latter is different. Most people can't guarantee success. If they still can't meet the needs after making huge sacrifices, it would be too hopeless. Moreover, the cadres sent in the early stage are all well-trained. If they are gone, the regression of civilization is inevitable.
These were all things the interim government had publicly announced. Their decision was truly unexpected for Jiang Ling. They had openly and directly explained this sharp conflict to the survivors. Fortunately, the effect was positive, significantly boosting people's cohesion and overshadowing many minor conflicts by this tangible threat. Jiang Ling, a veteran online user, naturally didn't miss the official media announcement. Unfortunately, her account had long been disabled, otherwise she would have made a few outrageous comments.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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