Wasteland Development Diary.

Chapter 657 Shuttle Buses and Collective Household Registration
In order to capture the flying rod, Zhou Yi rode on Hei Fu's ship for the first time to Mars.

The space tunnel was located in a spacious hall, making it seem like we had arrived in another city.

Zhou Yi's gaze pierced through the specially designed glass windows of the hall, revealing a continuous range of volcanoes outside. Rich in iron oxide, the ground was red, and the sky a pale pink.

The thin atmosphere was filled with dust, resulting in low visibility.

Further on the horizon, there are columnar tornadoes, like wind towers connecting the sky and the earth, moving slowly in the distance.

Zhou Yi pulled his gaze back and looked at what was nearby.

The hall was guarded by the Iron Guards of the Star Hub.

Minister of the Mars Affairs Department, Mieding Gong, was already waiting nearby.

It still looked like a boyish doll, only now it was dressed in a black suit, making it look very formal.

"Welcome, Chairman."

The Duke of Mieding bowed slightly: "Please follow me."

Guided by it, Zhou Yi boarded an underground elevator, which began to slowly descend. After arriving at a platform, he walked for a while, and then began to rise again.

Along the way, Zhou Yi also inquired about the situation here.

"I saw the first quarter report this year, and the net profit from mining light-seeding ore has already exceeded 37 million. It looks like there's a chance it will break 100 million this year?"

"Yes, Chairman."

"The Affairs Department has completed the integration of the Electric Cats, including the Plain Electric Cats who came from Spark Plains to take refuge, as well as the local Martian Electric Cats that have joined the company," said the CEO.

“Currently, for the core mining operations of the field staff, we have divided them into 14 mining teams, each with more than 700 electric cats. The mining teams are further divided into several mining groups, each with at least 10 electric cats, so that they can work in shifts, support each other, and ensure that the electric cats have holidays and rest.”

"In addition, we have also formed a survey team to survey every dust storm and mineral area. We confirm mineral reserves and risk levels through sampling and exploration, mark them, and then verify and update the information with the Star Hub."

"Based on the information they provide, the mining team then enters the area to collect materials. This not only makes it safer but also makes our field staff more efficient."

"Through the collaboration between the surveying and mining teams, our mining efficiency has improved significantly, and we have also effectively avoided the high risk of dust storms. However, this is also inseparable from the strong support of the office staff."

Zhou Yi said, "I remember the internal affairs position was for base infrastructure?"

"Yes, Chairman."

"It's inconvenient to talk like this, why don't you stand on my shoulders?"

"That's not good. There should be a clear hierarchy in the company."

"As long as I say yes."

"As ordered."

While talking.

The elevator slowly came to a stop, and the doors opened to both sides.

The outside world suddenly opened up.

Zhou Yi stepped outside and found himself in a sizable city, comprised of interconnected stone buildings. These buildings were generally low, with a maximum of four stories, yet they occupied a large area.

The buildings are interconnected, forming a huge fortress. People can enter different places through connecting passages, and public transportation vehicles also run inside.

Zhou Yi noticed that the base's public transportation consisted of a rectangular, long bus, much like a section of a subway car.

Its exterior is covered by a white, light-colored ceramic exoskeleton, and it moves forward while suspended on two black tracks on the ground, with the vehicle body about 20 centimeters off the ground.

On the most recent vehicle, the left side of the body is written in Eastern Continent script, and the right side is written in Western Continent script.

The most prominent feature is the company's Samurai Crab logo, along with the number "[Emerald Bus - Mars Line 1]" and the route display for "[Nexus Area → Emerald Area]".

Zhou Yi asked with interest, "Is this a vehicle developed by the company?"

Miedinggong said, "Yes. It's a variant of the campervan, the shuttle bus for Emerald Bus."

Zhou Yi rode in the campervan.

At that time, he experienced frontline work on the moon.

The campervan is actually a modified wasteland mech.

The giant pointed at the bus on his shoulder and said, "The camp vehicle travels on the surface of the Martian natural environment. It is a field work vehicle, mainly for overcoming harsh environments and having long range. The Emerald Bus operates within the base and does not need such high configuration."

"It is powered by a rock-eroded reactor, with a light-reflecting track underneath, incorporating the tree-encircling technology of the Mud Tree Civilization Department. This allows the locomotive to float above the track, making it easy to run and operate."

"The driver only needs to consider three simple operations: controlling forward movement, selecting a track, and stopping. It's easy to learn and safe."

"We invited electromechanical experts to redesign the vehicle body based on the core technology of the wasteland armor." The Emerald Shuttle is 20 meters long, has 30 seats, can accommodate 150 to 240 people standing, has a maximum passenger capacity of 300 people, and can carry up to 20 tons.

Zhou Yi immediately thought: "Theoretically, this technology could be completely replicated on Earth and the Moon."

"It is indeed feasible."

Miedinggong said with a hint of arrogance, "We plan to expand to other regions within the company after the system has been running more successfully here. It has been operating for three months now."

"The Mars base has a total of 70 vehicles on 6 routes, with 41 shuttle buses operating simultaneously each day. Our original plan was to request a large-scale rollout from the company after one year. This way, the technical experience would be more mature, and we would also be able to identify any shortcomings that need to be optimized."

Zhou Yi sighed inwardly.

As expected of the Overlord. It appears strong and arrogant, but its actions are remarkably steady; it won't act without absolute certainty. This applies to both the battlefield and its business strategies.

Zhou Yi suddenly had a change of heart: "But does the Mars base really need so many vehicles? 41 vehicles operating at the same time every day... that would require at least a thousand people using the vehicles, right?"

"Chairman, we have already calculated this."

The puppeteer explained, “Our plan is for one line to operate for 12 hours a day, with a departure interval of 30 minutes, 24 trips a day, and each trip to carry a minimum of 5 passengers, which means an average of at least 120 passengers per day. In reality, each bus carries an average of 300 passengers per day, which is even on par with the average number of passengers per person on public transportation in many cities in the old human era.”

"Are there really that many people here?" Zhou Yi asked, puzzled.

"Yes, Chairman."

Miedinggong said, "The Mars base might seem small just from the name. In reality, its area is similar to the Forbidden Continent, and there is plenty of usable space."

“More and more buildings are being added above ground, and there are also multiple underground shelters. For safety reasons, many people still prefer to live underground.”

"According to data from Star Hub this quarter, the number of permanent residents at the Mars base has exceeded 24,000, which is comparable to that of a small city. More than 95% of the base's residents are laborers, which can be classified as young and middle-aged adults, so the vehicle utilization rate is very high."

Zhou Yi was shocked: "The Mars base has more than 20,000 people?"

"Yes."

The Grand Duke said in a deep voice, "In the early days, there were very few people on the Mars base. Apart from the people from Star Hub and our company, there were only those high-net-worth individuals who bought Mars residency permits."

"The entry of the Heavenly Kingdom completely changed this situation. The Heavenly Kingdom Extraterrestrial Development Group was able to bring a large number of Heavenly Kingdom workers to the Mars base through a land purchase agreement with Star Hub."

“The vast majority of employees of these extraterrestrial development groups do not have Martian residency status. Therefore, when they come here, they can only work on the land purchased by the group and cannot enjoy the rights of Martian residency status.”

"The Hub agrees with this. Because bringing in a large number of workers will be beneficial to the construction and upgrading of the entire base, and even to the development of Mars."

It detailed the specifics: "Currently, the base is mainly divided into three special administrative regions, each with its own autonomy."

"The first is the [Star Hub District], which occupies 1/4 of the entire base and is operated by the Star Hub Matrix itself."

"Our corporate affairs department covers a quarter of the Emerald Zone."

"The last one is the Dawn District on the side of the Heavenly Kingdom Group, which accounts for 1/10 of the base area. The vast majority of the residents there live underground because underground space is cheaper and has greater depth. For the same price, you can buy more space than on the surface."

"This place has undergone large-scale renovations, referencing the pupil system of the Lunar Affairs Department, and has already achieved a self-sustaining system for air, water, and food. Therefore, accommodating tens of thousands of people is not a difficult task."

Zhou Yi looked around and found that several people on the shuttle bus were company employees. They were wearing work uniforms and name tags, which made them very conspicuous.

This shuttle bus number 1 indicates it's traveling from the Star Pivot District to the Emerald District. According to the "Master of Extinction," one needs a household registration to move between districts.

"Are our company employees allowed to work in other regions?"

"OK."

Miedinggong responded, "Because the company and Xingshu are partners, they do have certain privileges in this regard."

"However, in order to avoid the devaluation of household registration, Xing Shu and the company discussed and finally decided that the company's employees would adopt a collective household registration system, similar to a work visa system, which would be approved once a year. That is, if you work here, you will have household registration, and if you stop working here, your household registration will be cancelled."

"The biggest advantage of an independent Mars account is that you have your own independent space where you can build whatever you want and then connect to the Mars base. It will be protected by the base, and no one is allowed to enter without the owner's permission. Your personal information will be kept confidential, and you will also have an independent private financial account."

"Furthermore, it allows relatives within two generations of direct blood ties to register their household registration, with three registration slots available for each independent household registration. This is not allowed for collective household registrations."

Zhou Yi nodded in agreement.

This is also normal.

After all, a Mars account costs 20 light seeds. Without the privileges of these paying users, no one would buy it.

You could have taken the Blackman directly to the Emerald District.

However, Zhou Yi decided to experience riding the shuttle bus.

As soon as someone boards the train, an announcement is made over the loudspeaker.

[Welcome Mr. Zhou Yi, our partner, to the Mars Base. Star Hub Matrix extends our sincere greetings and highest respect to you.]

The surrounding passengers immediately stood at a distance, their faces showing tension.

Whether they were company employees or other passengers, everyone was secretly glancing at Zhou Yi, clearly recognizing his identity. The entire shuttle bus was completely silent.

Zhou Yi was a little angry and asked the Extinction Lord what was going on.

"This isn't a company action; it's a reaction from Star Hub... You are equivalent to the Old King, one of the two people with the highest authority in this base. They're probably afraid that the people here might offend you and damage the image of the Mars base. Star Hub is also afraid of being reprimanded by the Old King."

Even the most powerful man could not escape this fate.

I never imagined that the Star Nexus Matrix would engage in such formalism.

Zhou Yi simply got off the bus halfway and walked with Mieding Gong.

There are many shops and stalls around, the vast majority of which are run by electromechanical beings, and the number of flesh and blood beings is still relatively small.

At that moment, he suddenly noticed that someone not far away looked somewhat familiar.

Huh?
That silver-haired woman arguing with someone while setting up a stall... isn't she the Witcher?
Zhou Yi was taken aback.

She even earned extra money by selling her own products?

(End of this chapter)