Chapter 361: Refugee Placement and Defensive Measures

After hearing back from Hu Zifeng and Tang Huai, Xia Qing finally pressed the button. “Section Three reporting in.”

Once all territories from One to Ten confirmed they were listening, Tan Junjie read through the refugee resettlement policy from start to finish. The gist matched what Tang Huai had explained, but with extra provisions for protecting refugees’ safety and rights, plus new rewards for territories that took them in.

Lords who hired refugees to work in their territories could earn rewards based on how many they brought in—crop seeds, Green Lantern saplings, premium pesticides and fungicides, greenhouse plastic, and all sorts of valuable supplies.

Each reward was tempting enough to make any lord consider it, but nothing could sway the Lords’ Alliance. The risk of letting refugees in was just too high for regular lords to stomach.

“All territories, please report the number of refugees you’re willing to accept and your requirements.”

Once Tan Junjie finished, it wasn’t Territory One or Two who spoke up first, but rather Territory Eight—Xin Yu:

“Territory Eight will take 50 people. Any gender, aged 20 to 45, with all limbs intact, credit rating Level Two or higher, and food processing experience preferred. Pass the assessment, and you get in.”

After the disaster, Huaguo set up a personal credit rating system for residents. Level One was the lowest, and as long as you hadn’t killed anyone or committed a major offense against the bases, you were generally Level Two or above.

To work in Safe Zone management, you needed Level Four or higher. Compared to that, Xin Yu’s hiring standards were practically a bargain.

Such a low bar meant she might end up recruiting criminals. Why would Xin Yu make such an uncharacteristic choice?

The others kept their doubts to themselves, but Tang Huai couldn’t help asking, “Xin Yu, are you really looking for refugees just to build your factory?”

Xin Yu answered calmly, “Just responding to the call.”

Everyone fell silent…

Tang Huai—damn it!

“Territory One will take 85. Experience in farming or animal husbandry is a plus, no age limit, credit rating Level Three or above, and all must pass our own tests.”

When Tang Huai heard just how many Territory One was taking, he grumbled under his breath. Still, orders were orders, so he reported thirty more than Territory One, “Territory Two will take 115. Same priorities—farming or animal experience, ages 15 to 45, credit doesn’t matter, but you must pass the test.”

With the first and second territories done, everyone held their breath for half a minute, waiting for Li Si to speak.

When no one heard from him, it meant Territory Nine had abandoned the plan to recruit any refugees. Everyone finally let out a sigh of relief: their friendly neighbor Zhang San wouldn’t have to move for killing someone.

Once it was clear that no other territories would be hiring, Tan Junjie announced, “The Inspection Team will soon report the numbers and requirements from Territory One, Two, and Eight. Qualified refugees eager to work will arrive at those territories at 4 p.m. Please prepare in advance.”

“That soon?” Oddly enough, the first one to ask was Tang Huai, proxy for the territory with the biggest intake.

Tan Junjie explained, “The refugees have been waiting outside the Safe Zone for days. They need to be resettled immediately.”

Xia Qing was caught off guard too. She’d thought she’d at least have time to finish the southern wall of her territory before the refugees arrived.

But now? The supplies she’d ordered were still hundreds of miles away at Hui Two Base!

“Captain Tan, between ten and ten fifteen this morning two planes will arrive at Territory Eight and Section Three. Both have been approved by Hui Three Base and I’m notifying the Inspection Team now.”

Xin Yu’s levelheaded tone was music to Xia Qing’s ears. No wonder she’s a major shareholder in a big corporation—efficiency like that is hard to beat!

“Inspection Team has received the notice. Please have both territories ready to accept the planes.”

“Understood.” After replying to Tan Junjie, Xin Yu told Xia Qing, “Xia Qing, as soon as the plane arrives it’ll airdrop the supplies over your territory. Mark the drop zone in advance. Also, our construction crew doesn’t have any security, so you’ll need to provide protection.”

“Got it, thanks a lot.”

After thanking her, Xia Qing got straight to work making calls. “Captain Hu, I need two people to help water the fields, and four more—Guan Tong and the others—to clear the supply drop spot. Sorry for the trouble.”

With her help lined up, Xia Qing ignored Tang Huai ranting over the lords’ channel. Instead, she went to coax Old Goat back home, then hopped up to the roof to talk with the Alpha. “Your Majesty, the humans coming to build the wall are almost here. Would you and your pack rather relocate to the old cave? It’s quieter over there.”

Lame Wolf’s kid sister bared her teeth at Xia Qing from inside the sheep shed, while the Alpha just shifted his head on the roof and kept napping in the sun.

Xia Qing just shrugged.

Alright then.

“Xia Qing, need a hand over there?” Zhao Ze’s mother from Territory Four pinged her on the lords’ channel.

Qi Fu, Shizhong, and Kuang Qingwei chimed in too, all offering to help.

“Not right now. If I need you, I’ll reach out.” Xia Qing declined as she picked the supply drop point, since the credits she paid Xin Yu already covered installation.

Hearing she didn’t need help, Zhao Ze’s mother suggested to Qi Fu and Kuang Qingwei, “Let’s get the south wall of our territory set up first.”

She’d seen wave after wave of refugees, and both she and her son had once been refugees themselves. She knew just how desperate people could get—fighting to the death over a scrap of ration bar.

Even worse, on the road refugees often had to eat Devastation Element-infused Evolved Fish from the Evolved Forest, since regular food was scarce. That left their bodies overloaded with Devastation Element.

If they didn’t get soothing capsules to lower their Devastation Element levels in time, any shock could send them into a frenzy—turning them into killing machines.

How many fleeing refugees could afford to carry even a single soothing capsule?

Now, 250 refugees teetering on the edge were headed for these lands. Summer Qing, the Alliance’s strongest lord, was already scrambling to build her walls.

Once Section Three had its walls up, Four and Nine would be the nearest unfortified territories to Territory Two.

Territory Nine probably couldn’t wait for trouble to barge in, but for Zhao Ze’s mother, even one stray refugee was cause for alarm. If she didn’t get her southern wall up today, she wouldn’t sleep a wink tonight.

Qi Fu, Kuang Qingwei, and Shizhong all felt the same. It didn’t take long for the group to agree to move right away.

Qi Fu suggested, “Let’s use the Thornwood from our territory. Cut some down and drag them to the signpost—they’ll make a decent barrier.”

“We’ve also got those Evolved Kalopanax logs we cut down and dried out a few days ago. The ends buried in the ground are already fire-charred for durability. Today, we can embed them and weave a thorn wall.”

Zhao Ze wasn’t great at farm work but had an engineer’s mindset. He asked Xia Qing, “Will you be using your rotary tiller this afternoon? If not, could I borrow it? I’ll pay the going rate for fuel and rental.”

Both Section Five and Territory Ten had strength-evolved people, while Territory Six didn’t but had enough manpower to throw up a wall quickly regardless.

This was all about survival. Territory Four, lacking any evolved humans and living close to Territory Two, was more desperate than anyone.