binnovel Chapter 198 Preparing to Head South
Chapter 198 Preparing to Head South
In the following days, Li Chenglong worked with the various leaders of Shuguang City and finally settled those who were willing to join Shuguang City. The thousands of soldiers from the Southern Military Region also joined various combat units. It just so happened that the 7th and 11th Divisions had suffered some casualties due to recent battles, and these soldiers from the Southern Military Region were all regular soldiers, so it was perfect for them to join.
On June 15th, Sun Tianlong and his adjutant arrived again, this time bringing a request from the Provisional Military Commission of China. Soon after, Yun Lan, Zheng Yong, Ma Tiancheng, Feng Tian, and others gathered in Li Chenglong's city lord's office. Sun Tianlong said somewhat hesitantly, "The documents you and the Southern Military Region submitted regarding the possibility that the zombies possessed intelligence have been studied by General Chen Guoqiang and his team, who believe this is possible. Therefore, we are preparing to establish a search team. According to General Chen Guoqiang's wishes, the search team would like you to be its captain, with members including several people from the Northwest and Central Military Regions. You will also lead a few more people."
Before Li Chenglong could respond, Feng Tian immediately said, "Isn't that a bad idea? Old Sun, you know the situation in Shuguang City. How can we leave Li Chenglong now?" Yun Lan and the others nodded in agreement. Yun Lan said, "Uncle Sun, it's not that we're unwilling, but things have only recently become more stable. The situation in the southeastern military region is still unclear. If there's a powerful enemy, it would be too dangerous."
The group chatted amongst themselves, all expressing their reluctance to let Li Chenglong venture into danger alone. Sun Tianlong smiled and said, "Then I'll talk to Chen Guoqiang. This is actually just his suggestion, not a mandatory order. I also feel that sending an investigation team right now is inappropriate."
Li Chenglong stood up at this moment: "I'm willing to go, but I have conditions." Li Chenglong's words stirred up a storm. Yun Lan immediately glared at Li Chenglong unhappily, and Feng Tian quickly said, "No need to be in such a hurry, let's discuss it carefully first." Sun Tianlong said, "If you're willing to go, Chen Guoqiang said he'll contact you personally. To be honest, I don't want you to go either. Back when you were at the East China Sea base, you were my best soldier. This kind of thing is too risky."
Li Chenglong explained his thoughts: "It's only been a little over half a month since the anomaly in the Southeast Military Zone. If the zombies have truly gained intelligence, then this is the only time we can go to investigate. They're definitely clearing out their territory right now, which is a relatively chaotic period. If we go later, once they've settled down and everything is in place, it will be even more dangerous. Everyone has witnessed my combat capabilities after reaching level 10. There won't be any real danger, please trust me!"
Sun Tianlong stood up and gave Li Chenglong a solemn salute: "No amount of words can express my feelings right now. If there is a savior in the apocalypse, it must be you, Li Chenglong." Li Chenglong said embarrassedly, "I'm not that great. I'm just doing this for the benefit of our Dawn City." Sun Tianlong smiled and said, "There are plenty of people who care about their own interests, but none of them can do what you do."
Sun Tianlong chatted with them for a long time before leaving without even eating. The two bases were only a few hours apart, which was very convenient. After Sun Tianlong left, Yun Lan snorted and stormed off. The others chatted with Li Chenglong for a while longer before heading home.
After Dawn City was upgraded to the highest level, Level 3, the Dawn Building increased from 10 stories to 20 stories, reaching a total height of 65 meters. Furthermore, because the Dawn Building is trapezoidal, the area increases towards the bottom; the first floor now boasts 2000 square meters, and even the 20th floor is 600 square meters. The 7th floor, where Li Chenglong lives and works, has an area of 1400 square meters, nearly three times larger than before.
With the increased area, the living conditions naturally improved. To facilitate commuting for the staff in the central computer office, Li Chenglong further subdivided the 7th floor. Besides the area used for the corridors and six large elevators, there was approximately 1220 square meters of living space, of which 80 square meters were designated as the offices of the city lord and his assistant. Li Chenglong and Yun Lan's home became 160 square meters, Qi Guoan and Qin Fangyu's home became 120 square meters, and Li Xue and Han Xiaoling's home was each expanded to 100 square meters.
Zhao Liying and Chen Xiaoke shared a 120-square-meter apartment, which totaled 680 square meters. Later, at Li Chenglong's invitation, Ma Tiancheng's family also moved to the 7th floor. Because their family was larger, Li Chenglong allocated them 180 square meters. The remaining 360 square meters were converted into a conference room and public restrooms for the Shuguang City government, where meetings of the Shuguang City government would be held. He originally wanted Yun Qian and Shen Menghua to move there as well, but they wanted to live closer to their offices due to work, so Li Chenglong didn't insist.
After Li Chenglong upgraded the central computer last time, its artificial intelligence became much more advanced. It even now displays virtual 3D stereoscopic images like Alice. Furthermore, there are now many more mainframes and monitors—seventy or eighty mainframes alone—managing all the work, large and small, throughout Dawn City. Besides the central computer room, the VIP conference room on this floor has also been expanded accordingly. Meetings requiring the participation of high-ranking officials from both Dawn City and the Dawn Army will be held here. As for military meetings, those will certainly be held at the military headquarters.
As for the 11th to 20th floors, Li Chenglong felt that since that many were not needed at the moment, some floors could be left unused for the time being. Currently, the first floor of Dawn City is the reception hall, where many departments' main offices are located. Besides that, there is only a reception room for meeting people from other bases. The second floor contains the main conference hall and the viewing platform in front, but it is not used much at present. As the population of Dawn City increases, the area of the main conference hall on the second floor is far from sufficient for holding general meetings. In addition, a larger and more functional Dawn City Assembly Hall has been built 1 kilometer away.
The third floor, formerly the government canteen, has been converted into an office floor, as has the fourth floor, which also houses Ma Tiancheng's office. The fifth and sixth floors are now both government canteens, with the fifth floor serving Northern Chinese cuisine and the sixth floor serving Southern Chinese cuisine to cater to different tastes. The seventh and eighth floors are self-explanatory. The ninth floor is now an entertainment room, primarily a small cinema. The tenth and eleventh floors are a gym, with the eleventh floor being a particular focus, specially modified by Li Chenglong into an indoor swimming pool. The twelfth and thirteenth floors house a data storage room and a library. This is the current layout of the 13 floors in Shuguang City with its facilities.
As soon as Li Chenglong got home, he saw Yunlan sitting unhappily on the sofa. Haohao, oblivious, was still happily nursing. Li Chenglong smiled and went to hug Yunlan, but she pushed him away. Yunlan carefully placed her son in the stroller before saying, "You've only been back a short while, and you're already leaving again? Do you know how dangerous it is there? What will we do if something happens to you?"
Li Chenglong hugged Yunlan tightly: "Someone has to do it. Actually, I've been thinking about it these past two days. Even if General Chen Guoqiang hadn't said anything, I wanted to go and check things out. Besides, I'm so strong now, and I can travel through space, so don't worry, everything will be fine." Haohao is already 100 days old, and Qin Fangyu hasn't been around every day lately because their Joint Logistics Support Department has been very busy. Relying solely on Liu Cheng is a bit tricky, but she'll definitely come at night. Qi Guoan and Zheng Aiguo have already led the 11th Division to continue the cleanup mission and are currently not in Shuguang City.
Yunlan had originally planned to hire a nanny, but Qin Fangyu refused, saying that no nanny could take as good a caregiver as she could, and that she would be fine with the caregiver. The two talked for a long time, and Yunlan agreed to let Li Chenglong go, but she still repeatedly reminded him to be careful.