Chapter 492 New Points! The Beginning of the Great Construction!
Even in the modern era, things such as resources would at many times allow a poor region to instantly obtain a chance at having a new beginning. Investments, factory buildings, and the mushrooming of apartments were all signs of an elevation in the rate of commercial consumer consumption in the region. Many would be so excited to the point that they could barely blink when ‘resources’ were involved, so much so that they could not bear to wait any longer to dive headfirst into it and join the crowd.
However, these were all merely great outlooks that could only be fully exploited by a strong industrial-based modern society. It was the same as the coal mines of the black stone base camp. Were it not for the dwarven tribe and their initial investment in building a tunnel to facilitate the mining activities, it would be nearly impossible to retrieve two tons of coal from a coal mine that was buried at least thirty meters underground.
After the initial excitement, Su Mo, who was seated on the peak of Iron Rock Mountain, began to calm down as he scanned through all the resource nodes that the game had listed out.
Of the twelve resource nodes the territory obtained, the ones that could be immediately utilized to improve the condition of the territory were limited.
Resource nodes like the fertile land, trees, vegetation, and the freshwater lake could be considered life-saving, as they helped transform the territory into a livable region, unlike before.
The animal resources, the yak and the sheep, would not be an immediate a.s.set to the territory, much like the lizard coolies. For the time being, they would be liabilities that would exhaust large amounts of resources since they would need to be fed daily with large amounts of fodder.
Only when these animals began to bear offspring and grow in population would they start providing a return on investment. On the other hand, the 2000 carps were not too shabby but, awkwardly, the territory was currently about to experience a long winter season, and the carps would definitely not lay eggs during such cold temperatures. It would be at least three to five months before there would be a harvest of carps.
As for the remaining three mineral resources, the copper mine, tungsten mine, and the heatstone mine, they were all buried at various depths underground, and mining the ores would not be an easy feat. This was especially true for the tungsten mine, which was 40 meters underground and was currently at the stage where nothing could be mined at all.
The copper mine was 20 meters underground, and digging for ore using King Kong could be considered a temporary solution. The heatstone mine was the easiest to mine since the ores were only 5 meters underground, though the ores were spa.r.s.ely distributed
There were 50 tons of heatstone ores distributed in an area ranging from 5 meters, to 100 meters apart from one another, with the total coverage area exceeding 30 square kilometers.
Before any scanning equipment could be invented, the returns would be pretty scarce even if all of the villagers were sent out to mine the ores for a few days. “After speculation, the resource that could be used immediately to improve the living quality of the villagers greatly is actually the fruit tree mountain in the distance.”
Su Mo got up, glanced at the greenery of the mountain in the distance, and shook the water droplets off his umbrella. Even though he said these things the way he did, the pressure he felt weighing down on his heart was slowly fading.
Having trees around meant that the construction of living quarters for the villagers was basically a.s.sured.
Having fertile land meant that the cold-resistant plants that he had gotten from the G.o.d of the Ocean ruins could be immediately planted. Having fruits on the fruit tree mountain meant that everyone’s vitamins would be sufficiently replenished. Having the yaks, sheep, and carps meant that the territory had some form of continuity in terms of resource expansion. Having the tungsten, iron, and copper mines meant that the territory would become self-sufficient for a long time in the coming days, even if the borders of the territory were to be shut!
In other words, the twelve resource nodes had successfully revived Su Mo’s territory in the New World. No longer was it barren and poor, but it was now a region that possessed a potential that rivaled the rest of the New World!
After taking a few deep breaths, Su Mo, who was standing at the peak of the mountain under the rain, summoned something. This time, he did not summon the game panel, but the mysterious system panel instead.
After delaying for half an hour, Su Mo was still excited to see the golden envelope notifications again, but he could now properly suppress his excitement from overflowing.
His will took shape and gently tapped on the envelope icon. A dazzling bright light burst forth from the system panel, and it suddenly morphed into a familiar, yet entirely different panel in front of his eyes! [Doomsday Calendar Month 4, Day 3… Friday] (Territory Lord: Su Mo (Host)]
(Territory Status: Barren; a wasteland that is not suitable for living beings to live in for a long period of time. To develop here is like having h.e.l.l mode activated.]
(Territory Area: 150 square kilometers (Not considered small, but not large either. You have enough living s.p.a.ce, but lack strategic options and depth)]
(Territory Resources: Iron mine, petroleum, geothermal steam… (The territory possesses basic resources required for industrial development, but is extremely lacking in terms of life-sustaining animal and plant resources)] (Territory Potential: 0.15 (Current New World average is 9.69; highest New World score is 1489.67)]
(Weather Forecast: The drizzling rain in the area will intensify to mild rainfall tomorrow, with the temperature ranging from 12 to 29 degrees. There will also be Force Two winds (Beaufort scale) from the northwest. (There will be large variations in temperature. It is suggested that inhabitants prepare extra clothes to avoid catching a cold)]
(Territory Residents: 1405 people (Expand +)] (Territory Residents’ Loyalty Level: 100% (Stable loyalty levels means that your policy implementations will not meet any resistance) [Territory Residents Att.i.tude: Pessimistic (More than 70% of your territory’s residents feel pessimistic regarding the future development of your territory. They think that it would be really difficult to develop and establish a great human civilization on this barren land)] (Territory Residents’ Health Level: Very Poor (72% of residents have health levels of 40-50, 14% of residents have health levels of 50-60, 11% of residents have health levels of 60-70, 3%>70)]
[Territory Residents’ Work Efficiency Rate): 26% (Most people find it hard to focus fully on working due to poor resting conditions and health concerns, causing the daily work efficiency rate to drop)] [Territory Residents’ Needs: Living quarters, meat consumption, hot shower.] [Tip: Fulfilling their wishes may greatly increase their work efficiency rate.]
[Economy: Zero (Your territory has no trading partners and you have no trading policies set up internally. All residents are still using the primitive barter system)] [Technology: Zero (You have no technology under development in your territory at the moment)]
[Medical Facilities: Zero (There are no medical supplies or professional doctors, so your residents can only submit to fate if they get sick)]
(Law Enforcement: Very Poor (The unwritten rules are not comprehensive enough to full ensure law and order)]
(Architecture: Zero (No infrastructure at all. This is a cultureless, lifeless, temporary gathering place)] [Civilization Level: Primitive Age (Upgrade requirements: Not fulfilled)]
(Voices of the Wind]
“The place that Shelter Leader stays in is his safe underground shelter, and what he eats are the delicious meals cooked by the private chefs, while we are staying in tents and have to eat buns with pickled vegetables. Even though I know it’s wrong of me to think this way, he was the one that said that we would eat and live in the same manner, yet he’s the one going against his own words!” “Su Mo, you cursed human! How dare you scheme against us to destroy our underground transportation tunnel?! Just wait till we discover your location! We’ll come up with countless methods of destroying your territory and make you pay ten-fold, no, a hundred-fold, because of what you’ve done!” “Today, the prices that the Moon Wolf clan quoted for the sale of nectar dropped again. One kg of nectar for only half a New World dollar! No, we have to supply a large quant.i.ty of nectar to the Earth Dog clan tomorrow! What a disgusting thing to do, deliberately disrupting the supply and demand of the market like this!”
(Points Acquisition Rating: Good (Expand +)]
Whoos.h.!.+
Tens of new selection notifications popped up once Su Mo tapped on it, and it looked completely different from the usual daily system announcement panel. The panel displayed the basic attributes of the territory and the different items that were resident-related, as well as the developmental progress of the territory. The amount of details that the system had provided had completely exceeded Su Mo’s expectations.
“The daily system announcement came at 8 o’clock in the morning. I had not yet used the resource cards then, so the condition of the territory was not updated accordingly!”
Even if he knew that the state of the territory before this was absolute trash, when he read through the different ratings and comments the system had provided, Su Mo could not help but chuckle sheepishly, even if there was no one around him. The more he examined the panel, the more Su Mo’s interest was piqued, especially when he saw the columns named ‘Territory Potential’ and ‘Weather Forecast’.
“I have a large oil field and an iron mine in my territory, yet somehow these only contributed to a 0.15 rating of the territory’s potential? Of course it could be related to the fact that the ground here is completely unsuitable for any farming, but for the highest rating to surpa.s.s 1400, that’s a little ridiculous!”
1400 and 0.15… One was greater than the other by at least 9000 times!
Even if one could not simply measure the strongest region in the New World as one that had an oil field that was 9000 times larger, from this figure, Su Mo could roughly gauge the difference between his territory and the other party’s. The best-case scenario would be that his territory would still be hundreds of times lower in terms of potential, if not more! “It looks like the foreign races have really given it their all this time, otherwise the difference in the average value and highest value cannot be explained at all. However, this doesn’t matter for now since, even if they have all these resources right now, it’s unlikely that they would be able to immediately utilize all of them for territory development!” “This weather though… It will actually intensify to mild rainfall tomorrow. That’s not good news!”
After thinking deeply about it, and as he thought about the amount of infrastructure construction the territory required, Su Mo had somewhat of a headache, but he still could not think of a good solution to this issue, so he could only read on further. “It’s not unusual for the loyalty level to be at 100%, and the att.i.tude is to be expected as well given the current situation. However, the health level and work efficiency rate numbers are rather concerning!” Before 8 o’clock, had it not been for the system, the twelve resource cards, and his confidence toward the future, even Su Mo himself would feel a deep sense of helplessness when he looked at this land. The att.i.tude of the residents was pessimistic rather than hopeless, which might be the result of their spoils from the raid on the coal mine yesterday. Moreover, the big problem at hand was the low health level. Most of the territory’s inhabitants had not been very healthy even before they arrived at the wasteland to begin with. Coupled with the three months of constant turmoil and chaos, and the lack of nutrition, this problem was something that had been brewing for some time.
“Living quarters, meat consumption, and hot showers. All these could be considered as basic living necessities.” “To fulfill it isn’t such a…”
“Difficult thing to do!”
Different from his helplessness regarding the territory’s development, resolving the residents’ living needs was an achievable goal.
After making a mental note of the tip given, Su Mo looked at the four huge sections below.
Economy, Technology, Medical Facilities, and Architecture. These were all rated at zero.
As for Law Enforcement, the establishment of the wartime statute on Hope One previously had managed to earn the territory a ‘Very Poor’ rating. Su Mo also temporarily could not upgrade the Civilization Level since the territory had not fulfilled the necessary requirements. “Voices of the Wind?”
“What’s that?”
Su Mo tried tapping onto each message as soon as he realized the messages could be activated.
Immediately, a voice slowly rang out in Su Mo’s ear.
“This is… Hu Ren’s voice?”
In an instant, Su Mo’s excellent memory managed to recognize the owner of the voice, which was Hu Ren.
Hu Ren was an A-ranked talent in the territory who was good with numbers. He was one of the elites of the auditing field. He was usually a quiet person with very few things to say, and he looked very docile.
When Su Mo tapped on the voice message once more, he could not help but feel a little down.
Hu Ren looked like he did not have many things to say, but Su Mo did not expect him to have so many complaints in his heart. “The excitement of being home and the reunion of my sister made me forget that I had to comfort and rea.s.sure the people who have just arrived this time.”
“If dad was here, he certainly would not have done things like this. Looks like I’m still too young after all!” Su Mo’s experience in people management came mostly from studying and observation.
After realizing and acknowledging the mistake he had made, Su Mo nodded slightly and quickly tapped on the second voice message. The owner of the voice had a thick baritone voice, with a percussive tone. The way he talked was like Paulie the dwarf, which was properly enunciated English, and he was clearly a foreign race that possessed a talent with languages. “Underground transportation tunnel? Was that what exploded last night?”
After connecting the dots together, Su Mo could already roughly guess what had happened.
Ignoring the meaningless threat from the other party at the end, Su Mo listened to it again before he tapped on the last voice message. The last voice message was by a female, and the owner of the voice was no stranger to Su
Mo.
It was someone whom he had not communicated with in a long time after trading with the person long ago. Feng Mengyue! The first time he traded with Feng Mengyue, he had obtained the gla.s.s for the Underground Shelter’s ventilation duct.
The second time he interacted with her was on the livestream during the blizzard disaster, where Feng Mengyue stood up for him.
There were no more interactions after that.
Su Mo did not expect to hear his old friend’s voice on the new function of the system panel two months after their last interaction. “Moon Wolf clan? Earth Dog clan? Nectar? New World dollar?”
“Looks like the relations.h.i.+p between humans and foreign races is not as tense as I thought it to be. Seems like a lot of foreign races have started engaging in large-scale trading transactions!”
st ta
Su Mo could not help but smile and nod approvingly, as he had received substantial amounts of information and intelligence, especially regarding the “New World dollar”, which was evidently a currency of some kind here in the New World.
If this new “Voices of the Wind” function were to bring him three pieces of information daily, even if the basin area were to be temporarily cut off from the outside world, when that time came, Su Mo would still be able to generally grasp what was going on in the outside world and would certainly not be blindsided.
That was incredible news!
“Looks like this last section will be my shortcut to earning more survival points! Now that it’s all clumped together, things are definitely more convenient now!” The system panel updated increased the number of its practical functions. As for the ‘Good’ rating on the points acquisition section, Su Mo was at ease as he tapped on it gently to expand the section. The section unfolded once again, and so did the smile on Su Mo’s face.
(You have successfully survived more than three months in the Doomsday wasteland and have increased the length of your lifespan (Survival points +1000)]
n
[You have gotten yourself a territory in the Doomsday wasteland, making you feel more secure (Survival points +5000)] [The greatness of your name has traveled far and wide to every place where the wind blows. All living beings know of your great name, and all foreign races are afraid of your capabilities. You are no longer a hero, but rather a living ‘legend’! (Survival points +25000, Territory points +5)] [You are a wise leader. People under your leaders.h.i.+p have reached a history-making loyalty level of 100%, which is every leader’s ultimate goal (Survival points +3500)] (You have obtained more than 5% of the wasteland’s authority. From a p.a.w.n that anyone could’ve moved, you have become a chess player with some influence and power. Your position and status have experienced a drastic change. This may just be a small step, but it is also a large step toward the future (Survival points +5000, Territory points +2)] [Milestone: Billionaire (The system’s billion-level function has been unlocked. However, it was not unlocked in the usual manner, so the rewards for this achievement will be temporarily locked)]
(Milestone: Leader of Thousands (You have more than 1000 under your command. Survival points +1000)]
[Milestone: Foreign Race Killer (You have c.u.mulatively killed more than 10 million beings from the foreign races (including actions that indirectly caused their deaths) Blue survival points+20)] [Milestone: Guest from Outer s.p.a.ce (Flew a million meters into s.p.a.ce. Blue survival points+15)]
[Milestone: Alien (You have c.u.mulatively traveled more than 500 thousand kilometers. Blue survival points+25)] [Scanning Host’s territory condition, a.n.a.lyzing territory points, obtained 0.3 territory points today.]
[Final points calculation: White survival points +41500, Blue survival points +60, Territory points +7.3]
(Survival points balance: White survival points – 44456, …] Just like the new functions that appeared after the system had been updated, Su Mo had seen the different types of rewards recorded on the system panel. It usually listed the regular survival points earned by developing and upgrading his shelter. This had now changed from his shelter to his territory, with a new category of points being awarded, namely territory points. The system also further separated the survival points into white and blue survival points.
It looked complicated at first, but after tapping on the tooltip at the side, Su Mo fully understood it all within 5 seconds. The three milestones were very difficult to achieve.
The first milestone was the result of his annihilation of the G.o.ds of the Five Royal Clans, and indirectly causing the death of the entire batch of foreign races that had entered the wasteland previously. The second and third milestones were the result of his successful launch and journey into s.p.a.ce using the psychic energy shuttle rocket.
White survival points could only be used to upgrade items, and could not be used on living beings. Blue survival points, on the other hand, could be used to invoke certain degrees of change to a living being’s attributes, and were considered to be quite powerful.
As for territory points… Closing all the panels and returning to the upgrade panel, the previously locked territory upgrade option had also been unlocked. The black lock icon was gone, indicating that tapping on it was possible.
Su Mo tapped on it immediately and, when he saw the first section of the upgrade function, he could not help but ball his fists and howl in excitement!
“F*ck, territory points can actually be used to change the weather?! That’s awesome!”