Star Ocean: Starting from the Abandoned Mining Space Station.

Chapter 248 Material shortage
Bai Quan explained to Chen Ming the reason why he just said that he could not build colonies casually.

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

"Even if these two colonies have declined to this day, there will always be more than hundreds of thousands of people. You just saw the contents of the report. Many automated facilities have been stopped, and all the work is done by humans. "

"The combined number of the two colonies is estimated to be about 200,000 people. You can make it as big as you want, but you can't drive all 200,000 people out to drink from the northwest wind."

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

"Those people don't have to take your job, but you have to be prepared."

"Even if half of them are Zuojia, the remaining half must not give up casually."

Chen Ming frowned as he listened to Bai Quan's explanation and couldn't help but said, "Isn't this a bit excessive?"

"It is indeed excessive, but this is still an industrial colony."

"If we could just kick out the people here, someone would have taken care of it. It's your turn, right?"

"Although there are still people who have ways to get around the restrictions, few people believe these gossips. At most, they become information like urban legends."

"Row."

"It is because the cost is too high and the troubles are deep-rooted that no one has been managing this place. Even our Fourteenth Army does not want to look at this place."

It seems that the left diameter is indeed difficult to deal with.

Bai Quan reassured Chen Ming: "Just use it. These two colonies have been controlling communication signals for a long time. The government has been monitoring the communications of those two colonies, and any signals will be censored."

"Lou Wei has conflicts with us, and even if he has a good colony, he won't be able to give it to you. It would be weird if he could make you happy."

"As long as you can handle it well, all the profits from those two industrial colonies will belong to you after paying taxes. Isn't this faster than other ways of making money? I remember you always said you were short of money."

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

"You have to figure out how to deal with these problems."

It would be better to say that if he was really given a colony that was running in good condition, he would have to consider how to improve the colony that might have millions of people.

Chen Ming soon returned to the Stardust level with Bai Quan.

"This is okay."

After arriving in the galaxy, I saw two planets with colonies.

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

"The Empire has no plans yet to completely expose the existence of psykers to the public eye."

"They may not necessarily want to help you build the colony. After all, Zuojiao has been deeply entrenched for so many years, but they will definitely work with you to maintain the colony."

"Can Afterglow be used? I need Afterglow to build patrols and be responsible for security. Some of the industrial facilities in the colony will also need to be controlled by Afterglow."

Chen Ming looked at the photo recording the appearance 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?"

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

"Okay, I have no problem, the rest will wait until later."

In addition, the local army was notified in advance, so there was no problem when the Stardust class suddenly appeared, and it did not encounter any obstruction.

The truth is this, but Chen Ming still feels something is wrong: "Managing people is much more troublesome than managing Yuhui."

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 plan for subsequent expansion.

Bai Quan even gave Chen Ming a place for manslaughter.

It takes three days to get from the Fourteenth Legion branch to the current place, and it also takes nearly three days to get from here to the colony that Lou Wei and the others have determined to test Chen Ming.

"You said."

"As long as you have conclusive evidence on hand, it's okay to kill first and tell later. If there are some without clear evidence...as long as you don't go too far, I can help you solve it."

"Then the last question, I will use psychic energy on a large scale next. This will definitely be exposed to everyone in the colony. Will there be any problems?"

There must be psykers who used psychic powers on a large scale, and then most of them were silenced. In the end, only some specious news came out.

Chen Ming nodded in agreement and spoke again: "Another question, can people in Zuojing be killed?"

And this harsh condition seems to provide him with some conveniences in doing things.

"That's up to you."

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

The jump ended quickly, and Chen Ming arrived at his destination smoothly.

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

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

"Although no one expects to renovate the mess, as long as this trash can can be left in place and can still contain garbage, then everything is fine."

"No problem." Bai Quan said immediately: "You can apply, I will apply for everything for you, you will definitely pass. Just remember not to advertise that it is managed by Yuhui. Although the Yuhui core has been used in many places for so many years, we We are indeed still at war with Yu Hui, and there are some things that are not convenient to talk about.”

"And the local government will also provide subsidies for such colonies."

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

"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."

Between the two planets, Chen Ming chose to go to the livable planet with a light industrial colony first.

As the Stardust stage entered the atmosphere, the appearance of the colony was revealed before his eyes.

At first glance, Chen Ming felt that it was decadent and declining.

Because this colony is the most eye-catching, the core furnace energy supply tower that is easiest for people to see at first glance operates very weakly.

Especially now that it's dawn, the dilapidated buildings and abandoned facilities everywhere make 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's hard to imagine that these two scenes would actually appear in two star fields that are not too far apart.

Of course, although the two are not far apart, Chen Ming was actually in the same prosperous star field before.

But now, he is in a marginal star field that is very close to the mechanical star field where the empire is about to launch a war.

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

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

I immediately started to lower the height of the spacecraft, intending to get closer and take a look.

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

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

Although everyone who works here has moved away a lot over the years, making the large residential area look empty, you can feel it just by looking at the areas where traces of human life still exist.

The living conditions here are at least thirty years further back than the era before he traveled through time.

Barely able to survive, but not living a tolerable life.

Even in this era, when you really fall to the bottom, there will be many regressions of the times.

And just as Chen Ming passed high above their heads, Chen Ming noticed that many people were paying attention to his spacecraft.

Among these people, many of them looked at the spaceship with unpleasant expressions, and seemed to have inexplicable hatred for the spacecraft.

I don’t know if it’s because of the hardship in life or because they are just Zuojia.

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

Chen Ming didn't look at these people much.

In the past, he didn't look at these miserable people because he was unable to change them. Looking at them 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 industrial facilities in the entire colony have been paralyzed.

And almost all of these paralyzed devices are paralyzed due to malfunction or damage, and there are very few devices that are paralyzed due to disrepair.

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

And some important livelihood equipment such as water purification plants and power exchange stations showed signs of damage.

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

Otherwise, once something went wrong in these two places, Chen Ming felt that the entire colony would collapse.

This is definitely not the instruction from the upper management of Zuojia, but the spontaneous behavior of Zuojia at the bottom who has truly gone crazy to the extreme.

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

Chen Ming watched the entire colony gradually fall behind him, feeling somewhat complicated in his heart.

He said to Bai Quan, who was also observing the colony next to him: "I don't quite understand that the empire still has money to support these people, and that there are so many people who are willing to stay in this kind of place."

"I just took a look. Those reform-through-labor prisoners recruited by the Lou Wei faction basically work in a few places. The others are people who were originally here."

"The empire only has money now, but soon there will be a fiscal deficit. Otherwise, there is no need for the empire to rush to open a second battlefield."

Bai Quan corrected Chen Ming's concept, and then said: "As for those people, just because they were originally here, many people do not want to, but cannot leave here, and can only live by receiving the subsistence allowance from the district government. At least I won’t starve to death.”

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

"So there is something wrong with Zuo Jing's 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 get the next test done."

"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 subsequent verification.

Although Lou Wei and the others are finished in terms of their future, there is no telling whether they will come back to disgust him in the end.

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

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

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

But it needs to be thought about carefully. Two days later.

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

This time Chen Ming didn't just look at the ground from a distance in the sky, he directly controlled the spacecraft to land outside the colony.

A dedicated cargo area at the bottom of the space elevator that has also been out of service for a long time.

There is a place for large ships to dock here.

He Gu, who said he was coming before, also showed up on time.

He took the initiative to say hello to Chen Ming with some enthusiasm, and then followed Chen Ming and Lou Wei to board a medium-sized shuttle boat and flew into the sky of the colony.

This can be regarded as an inspection process. If Chen Ming has any opinions now, he can still raise them.

However, Chen Ming had arrived before and had observed the entire colony, so he didn't have any opinions now.

Just looking at the decadent environment outside, the badness of Zuojiao still appeared in his mind.

And Lou Wei and the others would be disgusted by his displeasure over such a thing.

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

But each one of them looked as lifeless as a dead person, and they didn't know if they couldn't find a home or something.

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

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

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

It took some time for the shuttle to circle the colony from the air.

This colony is also a medium-to-large-scale colony just like in the simulation. After expansion, the scale will only be larger.

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

The shuttle boat quickly circled back to the starting point.

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

Chen Ming pointed to the distance, right in the center of the colony, at the bottom edge of the Earth's Core Furnace Energy Supply Tower.

That was the warehouse area for the entire colony.

"Go to the warehouse. Only with the materials in the warehouse can I do the next thing."

"it is good."

Major General Song immediately said a few words to the pilot in the shuttle boat's cab who could be completely optimized.

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

Several warehouses have slight signs of renovation, and there are also some fresh ruts around them.

It seems that it was specially reinforced when transporting materials to the warehouse, so that the warehouse would not collapse when Chen Ming came.

There were no people nearby, and they were all sent away in advance.

"Let's start now."

Chen Ming said something to the other people on the shuttle boat, jumped off the shuttle boat alone, walked to the warehouse in a few steps, 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 took control of all the warehouses arranged by Lou Wei and others.

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

"Yes, that's all."

"Row."

Chen Ming nodded and glanced at Bai Quan next to him.

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

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

So in the end I decided to do it myself, and by the way, I could take the opportunity to observe more about the situation in the colonies.

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

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

Wait until Chen Ming returns after completing a circuit around the entire colony.

About an hour has passed.

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

"Before we start, I have something to say."

"The quantity of materials in the warehouse is wrong. It's about a quarter less than what was promised before. Is there someone who doesn't know how to count?"

"what?!"

Major General Song quickly stood up and hurriedly jumped out of the shuttle boat.

"There's no need to count. When will I have to count the supplies again 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 and 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 on the shoulder to signal him not to talk nonsense.

At this time, he did not continue to think of adding 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 may 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.

(End of this chapter)