Chapter 248: Lack of Supplies

Bai Quan explained to Chen Ming why he just said that colonies cannot be established casually.

"Because normally, a large industrial colony, as long as it is not an uninhabitable planet and is not an extremely dangerous type of heavy industry, will have at least hundreds of thousands of people working in the colony."

"Even if the two colonies have declined to this day, there are always hundreds of thousands of people. You just saw the content of the report. Many automated facilities have stopped, and all the work inside is done by people."

"The two colonies are expected to have a total of about 200,000 people. You can expand it, but you can't drive all these 200,000 people out to starve."

"If you take over the colony, you must provide jobs for the people in the colony."

"Those people may not want your job, but you must be prepared . "

"Even if half of them are Zuo Jing, the remaining half must not be abandoned casually."

Chen Ming frowned and listened to Bai Quan's explanation, and couldn't help saying: "Isn't this a bit too much?"

"It's indeed too much, but it's an industrial colony after all."

"If those people here could be kicked out directly, someone would have come to manage it long ago, and it wouldn't be your turn, right?"

"It's because the cost is too high and the troubles are deep-rooted that no one has come to manage this place. Even our Fourteenth Legion doesn't want to look at this place."

Chen Ming looked at the photo of the colony on the terminal and suddenly said with some annoyance: "This... is a bit disgusting. Does it mean that I might even lose money if I take over the colony?"

"Lou Wei and we have conflicts, so he can't give you a good colony. It would be strange if he could make you happy."

"But it's not a pure loss. These two colonies are certified colonies anyway, and they can become colonies under your name in the future."

"After solving the livelihood problems of these people, you can do whatever you want in the future."

"And the local government will also subsidize such colonies."

"People's livelihood issues are government issues. If a colony of 200,000 people collapses, the local government will definitely have a headache a hundred times more than you."

"If you take over the colony from Lou Wei, people from government departments will soon come to you to discuss these things with you."

"They may not want to help you make the colony better. , after all, Zuo Jing has been deeply rooted for so many years, but they will definitely work with you to maintain the colony. "

"Although no one expects to renovate the mess, as long as this trash can is placed in the original place and can still hold trash, everything will be fine."

"You have to find a way to deal with these problems."

"As long as it can be handled well, all the income brought by the two industrial colonies will belong to you after paying taxes. Isn't this faster than other ways to make money? I remember you always said that you are short of money. "

This is the truth, but Chen Ming still feels something is wrong: "Managing people is much more troublesome than managing Yu Hui."

"It depends on you."

Bai Quan patted Chen Ming's shoulder, looking like he believed in Chen Ming very much.

The conditions are indeed very troublesome, but Chen Ming can indeed overcome them.

And this kind of bad conditions seems to provide him with some convenience in doing things.

It is better to say that if he is really given a colony with a good operation status, he will have to consider how to improve the colony with millions of people.

Chen Ming reluctantly found a reasonable reason to comfort himself, and then said to Bai Quan: "I have a few questions."

"You say."

"Can Yuhui be used? I need Yuhui to build a patrol team and be responsible for security. In the future, some industrial facilities in the colony will also need Yuhui to control them."

"No problem." Bai Quan immediately said: "You can apply, I will report everything to you, it will definitely pass, just remember not to advertise that it is Yuhui who is managing it. Although Yuhui's core has been used in many places for so many years, we are still fighting with Yuhui, and some things are not convenient to say."

"Okay."

Chen Ming nodded in agreement and said again: "Another question, can Zuo Jing's people be killed?"

"As long as you have solid evidence in hand, it's okay to kill first and report later. If there are some without clear evidence... As long as it's not too much, I can help you solve it."

Bai Quan even gave Chen Ming a quota for manslaughter.

It seems that Zuo Jing is indeed difficult to deal with.

"The last question is, I will use psychic power on a large scale, which will definitely be exposed to everyone in the colony. Will there be any problems?"

"That's fine."

Bai Quan assured Chen Ming: "Just use it. The two colonies have been under communication signal control for a long time. The government has been monitoring the communication of the two colonies, and any signal will be reviewed."

"Although there are still people who can bypass the restrictions and contact them, these rumors are not believed by many people. At most, they will become some urban legends."

"The Empire has no plans to completely expose the existence of psychics to the public."

Chen Ming now finally understood where the rumors about psychics that he heard from his colleagues when he was still working at Sinda Company came from.

There must be psychics who used psychic power on a large scale, and then most people were silenced, and finally only some specious news came out.

"Okay, I'm fine, the rest will come later."

Chen Ming and Bai Quan soon returned to the Stardust class.

It takes three days to get from the 14th Legion Branch to this place, and it also takes nearly three days to get from here to the colony that Lou Wei and others have determined for Chen Ming to test.

So Chen Ming chose to jump directly at this time. He wanted to reach the colony faster and conduct some investigations in advance to determine the expansion plan later.

The jump was over soon, and Chen Ming arrived at his destination smoothly.

In addition, with the advance notification of the local army, there was no problem with the sudden appearance of the Stardust class, and there was no obstruction.

After arriving at the galaxy, he saw two planets with colonies.

Chen Ming chose to go to the habitable planet with a light industrial colony between the two planets.

When the Stardust class entered the atmosphere, the appearance of the colony appeared in front of him.

And the feeling that Chen Ming felt at first glance was decadence and decline.

Because this colony is the most eye-catching, the most easily seen geocentric furnace power tower at first glance is very weak.

Especially now that it was daybreak, the dilapidated buildings and abandoned facilities everywhere made the entire industrial colony look lifeless.

It was completely different from the advanced scientific research colony he had just left, and the contrast was sharp.

It was hard to imagine that these two scenes would appear in two star fields that were not too far apart.

Of course, although the two were not far apart, Chen Ming was actually barely in a prosperous star field before.

And now, he was in a marginal star field very close to the empire and the mechanical star field where the empire was about to start a war.

This was the difference between two star fields at different stages of development.

However, Chen Ming had already learned about the situation of the colony through Baiquan's documents in advance, so he was not too surprised by the scene he saw now.

He started to lower the height of the spacecraft directly, intending to get closer to take a look.

As the altitude decreased, more details appeared in Chen Ming's eyes.

In the outer area of ​​this light industrial colony on the habitable planet, there are many residential areas for people who work here.

Although many people who worked here have left in recent years, making large residential areas look empty, Chen Ming can feel it just by looking at those areas where there are still traces of human life.

The living conditions here are at least 30 years behind the times before he traveled through time.

They can barely survive, but they can't live a decent life.

Even in this era, when people really fall to the bottom, there will be many phenomena of regression.

And just as Chen Ming passed by the sky above their heads, Chen Ming noticed that many people were paying attention to his spaceship.

And among these people, many of them looked at the spaceship with bad expressions, as if they had an inexplicable hatred for the spaceship.

It is not known whether it was because of the hardship of life or because they were Zuo Jing.

Before there was evidence, he was more inclined to regard them as the former.

Chen Ming didn't look at these people more.

In the past, he didn't look at these miserable people because he was powerless to change them, and looking at them more would only make him feel troubled.

But now he doesn't look at these people because he has the ability to change this situation, and he will spend all his time on these things next.

The Stardust class went directly to the sky above the industrial colony and began to record and analyze the situation of the entire colony.

It can only be said that 90% of the equipment in the entire colony's industrial facilities has been paralyzed.

And almost all of these paralyzed equipment is paralyzed due to failure or damage, and there are very few equipment that are paralyzed due to disrepair.

This situation is slightly different from the situation investigated, and the reality is worse than the intelligence with a certain lag.

And some important livelihood equipment such as water purification plants and power exchange stations have signs of being damaged.

It's just that these places have been repaired, and the government has sent some people to protect them nearby.

Otherwise, if there is a problem in these two places, Chen Ming feels that the entire colony will collapse.

This is definitely not the instruction of the upper level of Zuo Jing, but the spontaneous behavior of the lower level Zuo Jing who has really gone crazy to the extreme.

They firmly believe that technology brings disasters, so they will destroy these things without any bottom line and bring difficulties to themselves.

Chen Ming watched the entire colony gradually fall behind, and there was some complicated meaning in his heart.

He said to Bai Quan who was also observing the colony, "I don't quite understand why the Empire has the money to support these people, and why so many people are willing to stay in such a place."

"I just looked at it. Those prisoners brought by Lou Wei's faction basically work in a few fixed places. The others are people who were originally here."

"The Empire only has money now, but it will soon have a fiscal deficit, otherwise the Empire would not have to rush to open up a second battlefield."

Bai Quan corrected Chen Ming's concept and said, "As for those people, it is precisely because they were originally here that many people do not want to leave here, but can only rely on receiving the minimum living allowance from the star district government to survive. At least they will not starve to death."

Bai Quan's words made Chen Ming a little difficult to understand: "It's really hard to imagine that in this era, there are still people who can't even afford to eat."

"So Zuo Jing has a problem with his brain. All this is caused by them. If you want to take over this colony, you have to rebuild it."

"But the premise of all this is to complete the next test."

"I know."

Chen Ming agreed and looked at the colony from a distance on the spaceship.

He didn't get too close, because if he got too close, it might affect the subsequent verification.

Although Lou Wei and his team were already doomed in the future, it was hard to say whether they would come to disgust him again in the end.

Chen Ming just calculated silently in his heart, calculating the layout of the colony.

This time, there was no Hong Guanghong to help him plan, and he had to handle everything himself.

Relying on his experience and the techniques he learned secretly in the simulation, Chen Ming believed that he could do it.

But he needed to think about it carefully.

Two days later.

Chen Ming came to the light industrial colony of the habitable planet again.

This time, Chen Ming not only looked at the ground from a distance in the sky, but he directly controlled the spacecraft to land outside the colony.

A special cargo area at the bottom of the space elevator, which had also been out of service for a long time.

There is a place for large ships to dock here.

He Gu, who had said he would come before, also showed up here on time.

He took the initiative to greet Chen Ming with a little enthusiasm, and then followed Chen Ming and Lou Wei and others to board a medium-sized shuttle and fly into the air of the colony.

This can be regarded as an inspection process. Chen Ming can still raise any opinions now.

However, Chen Ming had arrived before and observed the entire colony, so he had no opinions now.

Just looking at the desolate environment outside, the badness of Zuo Jing still emerged in his mind.

And Lou Wei and others were disgusted by him in such things.

Chen Ming turned his head and glanced at the people opposite.

However, each of them was as lifeless as a dead person, and it was unknown whether they could not find a buyer or what.

Only Major General Song showed a slightly apologetic expression to Chen Ming because of Bai Quan's attitude, as if he wanted to say that the location of this colony was decided before, and he could not change it.

But this expression disappeared in an instant, so fast that Chen Ming didn't know if he was dazzled.

Chen Ming shook his head and continued to look out the window.

It took a while for the shuttle to fly around the colony from the air.

This colony is also a medium-sized colony like in the simulation, and it will only be larger after expansion.

However, arriving three days early gave Chen Ming full confidence to control and expand the entire colony.

The shuttle quickly circled back to the starting point.

Before landing again, Major General Song suddenly said to Chen Ming: "Instructor Chen, where are you going to start?"

Chen Ming pointed to the bottom edge of the Earth Core Furnace Power Tower in the center of the colony in the distance.

That is the warehouse area of ​​the entire colony.

"Go to the warehouse. I can do the following things with the materials in the warehouse."

"Okay."

Major General Song immediately said a few words to the driver in the shuttle cab who could be completely optimized.

The driver quickly drove the shuttle and landed smoothly on the open space near the warehouse.

Several warehouses have some traces of renovation, and there are some fresh wheel tracks around.

It seems that they were specially reinforced when transporting materials to the warehouse, so that the warehouse would not collapse when Chen Ming arrived.

There were no figures nearby, as they were all sent away in advance.

"Let's start from now."

Chen Ming said to the others on the shuttle, jumped off the shuttle alone, walked a few steps to the warehouse, and put his hand on the warehouse.

The warehouse itself has a mechanized structure. Although this mechanized structure is now rusty and unusable, it does not prevent Chen Ming from controlling it.

However, when Chen Ming controlled all the warehouses arranged by Lou Wei and others.

Chen Ming's face suddenly changed, but he immediately controlled it, returned to the shuttle, and asked Major General Song: "Are there only these warehouses in total?"

"Yes, that's all."

"Okay."

Chen Ming nodded and hinted to Bai Quan next to him.

Then he left the shuttle again, and a nano suit condensed on his body instantly, helping him to move quickly between the buildings in the colony and control the entire colony.

Originally, Chen Ming wanted to drive a small car, which would be easier, but he had seen that some narrow places in the colony were not convenient to enter.

So in the end, he decided to do it himself, and by the way, he could take the opportunity to observe more about the situation in the colony.

When He Gu next to him saw this scene, his eyes instantly showed strong interest.

He immediately moved his seat, sat next to Bai Quan, and started chatting with Bai Quan.

When Chen Ming came back after going around the entire colony.

About an hour had passed.

Chen Ming stood by the open door of the shuttle, not in a hurry to jump on.

"Before the official start, I have something to say."

"The number of materials in the warehouse is wrong. It is about a quarter less than what was agreed before. Is there someone who can't count?"

"What?!"

Major General Song stood up quickly and jumped off the shuttle in a hurry.

"No need to count. When will I count the supplies for you?"

"I have evidence here."

Chen Ming spread his hands, and a data chip gradually condensed in his palm.

"Thanks to you guys, you repaired the surveillance here when you were stuffing supplies inside. This chip contains surveillance videos from the past few days."

"I have taken out all the video files, let's take a look."

Major General Song looked at Chen Ming's face without any hint of lying. He picked up the chip with his withered arms, inserted it into the terminal, and quickly played the videos since the surveillance was installed.

Just when the monitored content was played on the second day after the transportation of materials was completed.

The door to the warehouse, which was not supposed to be opened until Chen Ming, opened.

Dozens of people poured into the warehouse. They openly drove a dozen heavy trucks and some auxiliary transportation equipment. They spent more than ten hours in the warehouse and transported a large amount of goods outside the industrial zone. of supplies that should have been used in the colonies.

Even every warehouse has been visited by these people.

When there were guards in the warehouse before, the guards here also tried to negotiate when this group of people came in, but the leader of the group showed something to the guards, so the guards continued to let them do their work.

And although there is surveillance near the warehouse, nothing can be recorded in the entire industrial area as long as it is a little far away from the warehouse.

There is no way to determine the final destination of these trucks.

Chen Ming also suddenly said at this time: "I really feel that Bai Quan's previous approach should be implemented in our headquarters."

Frightened, Bai Quan quickly patted Chen Ming's shoulder to signal him not to talk nonsense.

At this time, he did not continue to add insult to injury to Lou Wei and others. Instead, he frowned and couldn't understand what was going on.

But visible to the naked eye, the foreheads of Lou Wei, the others, and even Major General Song were all covered with sweat.

"The surveillance might be fake..."

"Shut up."

Major General Song gave Lou Wei a hard elbow to stop him from talking nonsense.

"Instructor Chen, let us investigate a little bit."

"it's up to you."

Major General Song hurriedly started calling people.

Bai Quan also quickly pulled Chen Ming away from the crowd and asked, "Are we really short of supplies?"

"It's so little."

After Bai Quan and Chen Ming thoroughly confirmed the news, they were stunned for several seconds. Finally, he shook his head and said, "They are finished."

"What?"

Amid Chen Ming's confusion, Bai Quan explained: "When the supervisory department came down a few days ago, the matter was already concluded. Don't forget what the final punishment will be."

"Whether a general is basically demoted by half a rank and sentenced to probation, he suddenly commits a crime while on probation, or commits a crime within a few days of probation, you have to think about the consequences."

"This matter was never found out before."

"If it's just industrial equipment that's damaged, that's no problem. It was meant to be repaired for you."

"But now, there is a problem with an important material warehouse involved in the gambling agreement, which interferes with the progress of the gambling agreement. They have not done their part to shoulder the responsibilities."

"If something like this happens at this time, if they don't finish it, who will finish it?"

"Did you just want to see them become worse yesterday? You will see what you want to see soon."

"Your mouth is really..."

A few hours later.

The area near the material warehouse was already crowded with people.

Relying on a lot of equipment borrowed from the relatively strict prison next door specifically for labor reform prisoners, Major General Song and the others also confirmed that there was indeed a gap in supplies, and that the video in Chen Ming's chip was indeed real.

The moment he got the news, Major General Song, who looked half dead before, suddenly fell to the ground with a gray face.

People around him rushed to rescue him.

And Lou Wei, who was completely unnoticed by a group of people, had a blank mind at this moment. He did not expect that so many supplies would be taken away in advance.

But there was a bitter and cheerful smile on the corner of his mouth.

The reason is also very simple.

He was the one who took the initiative to provoke trouble with Chen Ming and was rejected by Chen Ming.

Baiquan naturally wouldn't want him, and he was now a colonel, not the previous major general.

A colonel in his fifties obviously has no future.

They are all people with a dark future, and when they see that others may be about to meet a more miserable ending.

Instead, he felt a little relieved.