Chapter 67 Yu Gong Moves Mountains <TOC> Chapter 69 Residents Nurturing Buildings
Translator: SumTLMan
Zhou Yi sat up from under the quilt and stretched lazily.
He slipped into his slippers and walked all the way to the living room, grabbed a bottle of coconut juice from the drink rack, and began his breakfast with a small bun.
Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the sun had already risen.
The entire beach area was covered in white snow.
Above the warm, white misty sea, a fierce battle was raging.
A large-sized C-Class creature, the “Red-Haired Monster,” was fiercely fighting a group of D-Class “Stinging Birds.”
Zhou Yi was no stranger to this sight.
Winter was the season of battles; every morning there was a free show to watch, and the variety never repeated.
The Red-Haired Monster was a long-haired giant ape with a crimson body over five meters tall. Its eyes were ashen, and from its large mouth with protruding canines came an excited roar—this was a pure melee type of Light Absorber species, with thick blood and brute strength; both its power and vitality were C-Class.
Its broad and elongated arms swung rapidly, trying to catch the flock of birds attacking it from all sides. Occasionally, it would grab one and stuff it into its mouth, biting so hard that its teeth were stained with blood.
Zhou Yi had seen this creature under the sea.
The true form of the Red-Haired Monster was a small monkey that looked dumb, with big eyes and a small mouth. It liked to cling to various human buildings, always observing its surroundings with a dull expression. Most of the time, it was in a daze by itself.
But once disturbed and entering combat mode, its body would suddenly expand, transforming into a large monster covered in red hair.
As for the Stinging Birds it hunted, this was the first time Zhou Yi had seen them.
They were a type of flying Light Absorber species that flew over the sea, and their upper and lower sharp beaks could detach.
When encountering a strong enemy, the Stinging Birds would deeply embed their serrated beaks into the enemy’s body, causing the wound to keep bleeding and tearing. However, at this time, they would temporarily lose their attack power and need some time to regrow their beaks.
At this moment, the Red-Haired Monster was covered in sharp beaks, bleeding nonstop, but its skin was thick and rough, and it didn’t seem to be greatly affected.
Both sides were going berserk.
But today, Zhou Yi didn’t have time to enjoy the morning fight scenes.
He drank the last sip of his beverage and said: “Drive them away; don’t disturb everyone’s sleep.”
The piles of ammunition units beside Jade Emerald City took off one by one, emitting red light in the air. Just like that, the Red-Haired Monster and the Stinging Birds, which had been fighting fiercely, regained clarity in their eyes and turned to flee into the depths of the Dead Sea.
Outside the window, tranquility was restored.
Only snowflakes were still drifting gently.
Zhou Yi shouldered his backpack and took the elevator all the way downstairs. As he exited the elevator, he saw people lying all over the corridor; they were residents of Woodworm Grain Town.
Initially, they slept outside, leaning against Jade Emerald City, but as the heavy snow continued, the temporary shelters made of branches were frequently crushed by the snow, and with the wind constantly howling, the environment was indeed harsh.
So Zhou Yi let them enter Jade Emerald City to temporarily stay in the corridors and stairways on the first and second floors.
Indoors was warmer and safer, sheltering them from wind and rain.
As a result, a new problem arose.
The issue with the town was resolved, but many residents didn’t want to go back.
In Jade Emerald City, the indoors remained warm and dry without the need for a fire. There were no disturbances from insects and Sand Rats, and they could drink water without going outside. Solid and reliable, it had everything they desired. The townspeople expressed their strong desire through Gong Zheng and A Jin to live here, no matter what it took.
This was within Zhou Yi’s expectations.
After living in modern housing with underfloor heating and running water, it was naturally hard to return to cave dwellings.
Having desires and needs was a good thing.
Zhou Yi had also been considering an important question: how to utilize the labor force of Woodworm Grain Town’s residents?
Initially, he thought about farming, but it turned out that farming in the Wasteland Era was a high-class skill, and none of them knew how to do it properly.
Letting them go to the agricultural machinery brothers would just cause trouble.
Now, Zhou Yi’s preliminary plan was to let these people help Nemo with his work. The Electronic Rat could also teach them the skills of digging and repairing pipelines.
Once the townspeople mastered the basics, they could in turn help Nemo. After all, although the Sand Rat community had gained some intelligence, due to physiological structure and lifespan limitations, it was hard for them to accumulate long-term learning.
However, Nemo also indicated that communication between humans and mice was not fluent, and coordinating work would require a process that needed to be approached gradually.
Although the idea was good, it couldn’t be achieved in a short time.
A shadow flashed before Zhou Yi’s eyes.
“Good morning, Chairman!”
Night Claw squatted on the ground, posture upright.
Zhou Yi asked it: “Where is Gong Zheng?”
“He is resting in the stairwell on the second floor.”
Night Claw said: “To ensure the townspeople follow the rules, he sleeps with them and can better understand their situation.”
“Alright, call him over.”
Soon, Gong Zheng hurried over, leaning on his cane.
“Chairman.”
He looked tired and exhausted. The company’s new human employees still generally maintained the tradition of working at night and sleeping during the day.
“There’s an important matter today that needs your opinion.”
Zhou Yi handed him a bottle of Red Bull: “Drink this to perk up; you can rest after we’re done.”
“Yes.”
Under the strong stimulation of the energy drink, he recovered a bit of spirit, and after washing his face with snow, he felt much more awake.
Zhou Yi led him all the way to the back of the building complex formed by piled-up ammunition modules. This area was near the west side but was surrounded and covered by various modules stacked into dangerous buildings.
The dangerous buildings slowly moved to both sides, revealing a brand-new eleven-story building inside.
Gong Zheng seemed to realize something and said with great joy: “Chairman, is this—has Jade Emerald City produced a juvenile Abomination?”
Zhou Yi’s smile froze.
He explained to him: “This is not a juvenile Abomination, but a part of Jade Emerald City. Jade Emerald City hasn’t entered its true complete form; this is just a part of its body, which is now complete.”
Gong Zheng listened with some surprise: “Jade Emerald City is still in its growth phase and already has such power. I really look forward to the day when it reaches its complete form.”
“Take it slow.”
Zhou Yi said: “I brought you here today to take a look at Jade Emerald City Building No. 2.”
The two walked into the unit building.
Compared to the patched-up initial building of Jade Emerald City, Building No. 2 had a brighter and cleaner hue—although it was the natural yellow-brown color of mud and sand, the brand-new building inherently had an attractive quality.
The indoor water, heating, doors, windows, and other basic facilities were all fully covered.
The only difference was that the elevator here was an escalator rather than a lift.
“This is… a moving staircase?”
Gong Zheng was somewhat apprehensive, not knowing how to go up.
Zhou Yi demonstrated for him.
He directly stood on the first step at the entrance of the unit building, and then the stair-like flowing sand slowly moved upward.
This was an improvement of Jade Emerald City. Due to the lack of the main structure and materials for a lift, the nameless community was an old neighborhood without elevators. So they made such a modification: two staircases, one going up and one going down. When someone stepped on it, it would trigger the stairs to move up or down.
Gong Zheng imitated Zhou Yi’s manner and stepped onto the stairs. Although he gripped the handrail tightly with both hands and was slightly nervous and uneasy, these feelings soon turned into surprise and excitement.
“This is really great, really great.”
“Compared to that enclosed elevator, this is wider and more reassuring.”
Zhou Yi looked at him: “Let’s get down to business. What do you think is the best way to utilize this place?”
This made Gong Zheng furrow his brow.
“Chairman, in my opinion, this place can be used as a super warehouse to store a large amount of precious materials, such as monster materials, prism stones, and precious metals. With Jade Emerald City’s access control, it would be very secure and greatly expand the company’s storage capacity.”
Zhou Yi shook his head: “That would be a waste. A good house only shows its value when people live in it.”
Gong Zheng looked puzzled.
Zhou Yi asked again: “Do you think, if we offer it at a very low price, would anyone be willing to spend the winter here?”
Gong Zheng’s eyes suddenly widened: “You mean to open Building No. 2 to the public?”
“If we don’t let some people have the opportunity to move in first, people outside won’t know how good the housing in Jade Emerald City is and what makes it good.”
Zhou Yi said earnestly: “So, my idea is to let the people of the town move in first to spend the winter. With over a hundred people, there’s more than enough space here.”
Building No. 2 had two units per floor, totaling 22 apartments. Each apartment was a large four-bedroom unit of 160 square meters. According to dormitory-style allocation with two people per room, each apartment could house eight people, accommodating a total of 176 people, enough to cover the entire town.
They were only occupants, not owners.
Most importantly, there was a new situation on Jade Emerald City side. Maintaining a high occupancy rate was of great significance to it. Now, even if it was free, people needed to move in as soon as possible.
Thinking this in his heart, Zhou Yi said aloud: “We need to go to Chicken Head Town and even outside Sand Port to promote this.”
Gong Zheng asked: “What do you want to promote?”
“Of course, we’re promoting our company’s Building No. 3. Although it’s just being built now, it will be completed in at most a week. I’ve even thought of the slogan: Buy with confidence, rent with peace of mind. You can move in this winter; first come, first served.”
After pondering for a while, Gong Zheng finally relaxed his brows: “I understand. By doing this, we can make the company’s name known in the Sand Port area. With housing like Jade Emerald City that guarantees absolute safety, once confirmed, many people will be willing to come!”
Seeing that he understood, Zhou Yi felt relieved: “I haven’t figured out how to set the price yet. What do you think?”
“Indeed, pricing too low might be considered a scam, while too high would keep people away.”
Gong Zheng thought for a moment and said: “How about this? We’ll say we’re in the trial living stage and need a large number of various plant or crop seeds to improve the living environment. They can use seeds to pay for the rent.”
Zhou Yi thought this was a good idea.
“Then I’ll leave this to you.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
Gong Zheng suddenly looked troubled: “But the company has so few people. Even if all of us go out to promote, it’s not enough. Everyone has their own tasks. A Jin is out treasure hunting, A Feng is raising armored insects, Yuan Tong is researching making tools from monster materials——”
“I’m not asking you guys to go.”
Zhou Yi smiled and said: “Let the townspeople go. They can go around promoting. You’re responsible for training them, teaching them how to distribute flyers, what to shout, how to explain. I’ll tell you the key points, focusing on being simple and easy to understand, catchy, and best if we can make some jingles.”
He arranged the townspeople’s first job, which only required having hands.
That was to distribute flyers.
Which real estate grand opening doesn’t distribute flyers?
Chapter 67 Yu Gong Moves Mountains <TOC> Chapter 69 Residents Nurturing Buildings