Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 278 Operation Begins: Repairing the White Dam!
Consistent with the findings two months ago, the damage to the Baishui Dam has not worsened and remains stable.

Cheng Ye walked around and observed the area, and quickly finalized the overall construction plan in his mind.

First, the water must be diverted to ensure the dam body remains dry during construction. This is not a problem at all in wasteland. In the vast wilderness, you can choose any direction to divert the water, even if it flows to a nearby abandoned village.

After the diversion is completed, the carbonized surface of the dam body is cleaned, and C30 concrete is mixed in proportion and poured in layers. It can be put into use after one week of curing.

As for dam reinforcement, it is only necessary to drill holes in the base surface to insert steel anchor bolts, and then weld the steel bars to the anchor bolts to form a reinforcement mesh, which can support the dam for several years without any problem. It is not too late to dismantle and rebuild the dam when funds and time are available in the future.

Overall, repairing the dam body is the most time-consuming part. The remaining tasks, such as updating the spillway gates and replacing the power equipment, are technical tasks that can be completed in half a day.

Cheng Ye casually lifted the waterproof tarpaulin to check the material labels. After going through Davidson's channels, the industrial park not only provided the materials as required, but also gave an extra 15% margin, which put his mind at ease.

The only problem was manpower. The original plan was to hire 2 structural engineers and 15 skilled workers, with a construction period of 15 days.

But now all the satellite cities are scrambling for construction resources. Dabo Town started too late, and the engineers from the Public Works Department have already been snapped up. By the time they have time, it will be at least one or two months, and winter will be almost here.

Therefore, after much thought, Cheng Ye decided to take matters into his own hands.

At this point, open the panel and click on the action function that hasn't been used for a long time. You only have 60 action points left.

There was no other way; in the early stages, energy points were scarce, and exchanging energy points for action points was too wasteful. Of these 60 points, 41 were points that he had specifically spent three days farming. By taking advantage of the special mechanism of abandoning searches, he got double action points back, which was equivalent to exchanging them directly with energy points.

"Once the hydroelectric power station is built, the rate of strength improvement will slow down, and it will be much easier to farm action points."

Cheng Ye secretly made his own plans.

This feature was originally intended to help collectors quickly build their power and save time, but after he obtained the collector, he either had no chance to leave the city or had to deal with the magical artifacts, and only now has he been able to truly free up his hands to do things.

"Action: Repair the hydroelectric power station, restore the water."

He silently repeated the command three times in his mind, and a blue panel suddenly unfolded next to the white dam, clearly listing the action points required for the repair, the breakdown of steps, and the estimated completion time.

【White Dam (Lv0; Damaged)】

[Description]: This gravity dam, inherited from an older era, is currently severely damaged internally. The dam surface is carbonized and peeling, with numerous weathering cracks. Although the core load-bearing structure has not collapsed, its stability is insufficient, rendering it unable to properly intercept water flow or perform production operations. Systematic restoration is urgently needed.

[Direction of Action]:
1. Water diversion (excavating a new river channel, using sandbag barriers and diversion channels to guide the current waterway, clearing the dam work area, and creating a dry and stable restoration environment)

Estimated action points required: 33 (Sufficient materials and tools have been obtained, so the point requirement is decreasing).
2. Base repair (after cleaning the surface slag and carbonized layer debris of the dam body, fill shallow weathering cracks and spalling areas, reinforce the steel bars, and repair the sealing of the dam foundation)
Estimated action points required: 81 (Sufficient materials and tools have been obtained, and the pre-processing skill has been approved, so the point consumption has decreased).
3. Functional equipment upgrade (replacing the core components of the aging and obsolete power units inside the dam)
Estimated action points required: Locked (Current conditions do not meet the action criteria; please try acquiring construction machinery).
4. Perfect upgrade (structural modification to improve the hydropower station's production efficiency, increasing its installed capacity to 750kW and its theoretical maximum power to 1200kW)

Estimated action points required: Locked (Current skills do not meet action requirements. Please try to acquire advanced construction skills or construction machinery.)
[Collectors, please choose your action direction!]

"Hiss, the points cost for water diversion and basic repair are so high? It's almost a hundred points in total?!"

As Cheng Ye glanced at the numbers on the panel, he couldn't help but gasp.

These kinds of projects, which are purely physical labor-intensive, should theoretically have low technical barriers, so the demand for action points shouldn't be so exaggerated.

But on second thought, this was a workload that would normally take 15 workers half a month to complete, but now he alone could finish it in a very short time, so it was reasonable for him to have such a demand for points.

As for the fourth point, "perfect upgrade," Cheng Ye only glanced at it before temporarily skipping over it.

白水坝当前的理论装机量为300kw，行业常规损耗率在5%-10%之间，折算下来每小时可输出约270-285度电，单日发电量能达到6500度。

This amount of electricity is enough for him to fully charge the collector eight times. Even if a portion is allocated to the town of Big Wave, the town doesn't have any factories in the early stages, so the electricity demand is not large and can fully meet his needs for freely using the collector.

Once the town develops and the demand for electricity increases, upgrading the hydropower station will be easier to implement.

"Yes, in addition to the existing equipment, we also need to add energy storage equipment and transformer equipment."

Cheng Ye pondered to himself. The town's electricity demand was intermittent, and without a robust power grid, it had to rely on energy storage devices to "store electricity" in order to ensure a stable 24-hour power supply.

By peak shaving and valley filling, the surplus power generated by hydropower stations can be stored and released during peak electricity demand or when power generation is insufficient, thus avoiding power outages.

However, these devices are all controlled materials in Happiness City, and a reasonable explanation is required to apply for them.
Only after the hydropower station is repaired and passes on-site inspection by personnel from the industrial zone will the relevant supporting materials be delivered according to the established procedures.

Based on current power generation capacity estimates, at least 1,000 kWh of batteries are needed to fully store surplus daily electricity and prevent waste.

Currently, the official battery purchase price in Happiness City is 15,000 contribution points per Baidu. Based on this calculation, purchasing batteries alone would require spending 150,000 contribution points.
Even with the support from various parties that Dabo Town has received, this is still an astronomical figure that is staggeringly large.

“We have to negotiate support policies. The reason batteries are so expensive is simply to prevent the outflow of core resources. I’m using this money for the construction of Dabo Town, which is to expand the influence of Xingfu City. Charging such a high price is really unreasonable!”

Once he made up his mind, Cheng Ye stopped worrying about the battery and turned his attention back to the hydroelectric power station.

He decided to complete the most troublesome water diversion task of all the projects directly using action points.

The subsequent mortar application and steel reinforcement can be handled by sending residents from Dabo Town. As for equipment installation, he plans to ask Lin Bao for a few engineers and construction machinery.

Inspector Cheng isn't a donkey pulling a millstone; he can't exactly become a giant hyacinth, huffing and puffing as he carries the equipment upstairs.

Moreover, the subsequent debugging work also needs to be done by professionals. He studied civil engineering, not electrical facilities.

"Action! Cut off the water supply and divert the flow!"

Cheng Ye silently recited the command, and the moment the thought landed, the action function that had not been used for a long time was activated.

The next second, a miraculous scene suddenly unfolded!
The rushing water suddenly stopped in the middle of the river, the splashing water droplets solidified into sparkling particles suspended in mid-air, and the wind in the distant wilderness seemed to have been paused.

The time-stopped space unfolds once more.

The moment Cheng Ye lost control of his body, his perspective suddenly rose, as if lifted up by Tan Ming's power, transforming into a third-person perspective overlooking the earth, with the entire view of the Baishui Dam and the entire river channel in full view.

In his field of vision, a figure of similar stature appeared as if it had been put on fast forward, its speed increasing by more than a hundred times. It grabbed a heavy hydraulic pick that had been prepared in advance and rushed to the pre-set position upstream of the river, a hundred meters away from the dam.

The roar of the hydraulic pick was filtered by the time-stop space, leaving only the afterimage of its swift movements. First, it quickly chiseled along the marked arc, peeling away the hard surface of the concrete riverbed layer by layer under the pick, while the flying gravel and mud remained suspended in mid-air.

Immediately afterwards, he switched to using an entrenching tool to widen and deepen the trench he had dug. He then dragged out a roll of thickened canvas and dozens of folded sandbags from the pile of supplies, filling and stacking them with astonishing efficiency. He built temporary barriers on both sides of the trench, forming a sloping guide slope.

"Holy crap, I'm actually this efficient at this job?"

Even though he had seen the efficiency of the action function before, Cheng Ye was still shocked.

Within the time-stopped space, he was able to maintain peak physical fitness, never letting up, and every swing of his tools seemed precisely calculated, using not a ounce of extra force, each strike just right.

In the blink of an eye, a half-meter-wide gap had been carved out of the concrete river channel that originally led straight to the Baishui Dam. The figure then carried a prefabricated alloy diversion channel, precisely embedded it into the inside of the gap, fixed it to the bottom of the river channel with expansion bolts, and then laid the canvas into the channel, compacting the edges with gravel.

This is to reduce water erosion and prevent the diversion channel from collapsing.

As the last sandbag was placed securely, the time-stop effect was lifted, and the previously still water seemed to break free from its restraints, pouring out along the guide channel and rushing towards the low-lying area pre-designed in the wilderness.

The gap, under the initial impact of the water flow, quickly widened to more than one meter, ensuring that the water flow in the main channel could be smoothly diverted and that no residual water would affect the dam operation.

[Operation complete!]

The perspective was instantly pulled back.

The whole process was so fast that it was dazzling; it seemed like only a second or two had passed, and the original riverbed had been completely transformed.

Cheng Ye was stunned for a moment. Compared to searching for skills, items, or information, this ability to actually modify the environment shocked him even more, and he was unable to calm down for a long time.

powerful!
That's incredibly powerful!

What would normally require a large number of workers and machinery, he accomplished easily by himself, shortening the hydroelectric power station's repair time by about five days with just this one step.

He walked to the opening, bent down, and confirmed that the water was flowing smoothly out of the opening. He knew that it would take at most half a day to create dry conditions for construction, and he became extremely excited.

With such efficiency and speed in terms of mobility, as long as there is enough energy, he could build a massive base all by himself.

This ability is far more abnormal than the two beliefs that Tan Ming bestowed upon me, and it comes at no cost!

"The renovation of underground caves can be completed by myself, as long as the technology and materials are in place and there is the energy support of a hydroelectric power station!"

Cheng Ye stood quietly for a moment, and after confirming that there were no problems with the diversion, he turned around and drove back to the town.

Taking care of three thousand people was a troublesome task, but fortunately he had many capable people at his disposal. At this moment, Dabo Town was like a place ravaged by locusts; the originally decaying ruins were being gradually "eaten away" and turned into neatly stacked piles of construction waste.

As the old, haphazardly arranged buildings in the town disappeared, the town's advantageous terrain became fully apparent.

Not only is the transportation convenient, but the surrounding area has also become extremely flat due to the flooding and erosion by the river over the years.

With an endless plain on one side and the winding Baishui River and Huangshui River on the other, Dabo Town is situated between the two, enjoying the advantages of both timing and location, making it difficult for it not to develop.

At 4 p.m., Cheng Ye returned to the river to check the diversion situation and found that there was only a shallow layer of water left on the riverbed. The upper part of the hydropower station had been completely exposed. He immediately rushed back to the town to organize manpower.

Not too many are needed; fifty people will suffice.

The engineering team that Huang Sheng brought was perfectly capable of handling tasks such as mixing mortar and pretreatment materials.

The only problem is that the road from the town to the hydroelectric power station has not yet been cleared, and the surrounding area is overgrown with weeds and tall trees, which must be cleared as soon as possible.

Wu Rui was assigned to lead a small team to guard the area around the hydroelectric power station, while Cheng Ye donned the Fire Lotus Armor and once again threw himself into the work of clearing the surrounding wilderness.

There are no Jiazi in the mountains, and it is so cold that I don’t know the year.

Even when staying in the buffer zone, there is still a distinction between day and night, and a daily rhythm defined by get off work hours.

But once you arrive in the vast wilderness, time gradually blurs its boundaries in the repetitive labor, becoming blurred and ephemeral.

As dawn breaks and the first hint of light appears in the east, Cheng Ye is often the first to get up, donning his gear and leading his team to continuously explore new frontiers.

As darkness fell and the last rays of the sunset faded, Cheng Ye was once again the last to return to rest. Even during his brief mealtime, his brow was furrowed as he drank his nutritional supplement while listening to the team members' reports, constantly reminding them of precautions and considering every detail thoroughly.

On this long road to rebuilding civilization, time has long lost its meaning of being counted in days.

The days are stretched out, measured in weeks, months, and even years, to measure the transformation of every inch of the land.

The initial excitement and fervor in everyone's hearts, like a wildfire, gradually diminished in the face of the heavy labor and monotonous repetition day after day.

But this feeling never truly disappeared. Instead, it settled and transformed into a calmer and more resilient force through the construction of Dabo Town and the mutual support among the people.

hope!

It resides in the depths of everyone's heart, hides in every new seedling that sprouts from the soil, and shines in the unextinguished light in everyone's eyes.

In the blink of an eye, three days have passed!
September 11th.

Before the sky was fully bright, the defense communication device vibrated slightly, and Cheng Ye immediately opened his eyes.

Sure enough, I felt an uncontrollable soreness all over my body. Even though my physical condition had already become superhuman, the amount of labor I had to do over the past three days was also increasing.

What used to take three to five days to complete, he can now finish in a day, making his physical strength seem increasingly "insufficient".

"Oh, today is the day we're going to pick up Yu Yong."

The calendar reminder on the defense communication screen caught Cheng Ye's eye, and he paused, slowly getting up.

He reached out and unzipped the single tent. Autumn dew dripped down the edge of the tent, bringing a slight chill to his collar.

When I crawled out of the tent, it was just getting light.

The pale gray sky was slowly being bathed in the light of dawn, and the air was filled with the fresh scent of grass and trees and the dampness of the soil. The lingering smell of decay from the ruins was gone.

Compared to three days ago, Dabo Town now appears unusually empty, somewhat resembling the southern suburbs of the buffer zone.

But this is not a desolate emptiness; rather, it is a vast expanse that has been carefully cultivated.

The ruins have long since disappeared, leaving only the flattened land stretching into the distance.

Behind his tent, nearly a thousand tents of various sizes and colors were neatly arranged, resembling a temporary campsite in the southern suburbs.

In the initial stages of land reclamation, life was indeed kept simple.

Fortunately, the cleanup of the ruins is nearing completion. The broken walls and rubble that once stood in the town have all been transported to the outskirts and piled up.

Standing in the center of the town, Cheng Ye looked towards the river with an unobstructed view, able to see the rushing Baishui River at a glance.

According to the plan, after another two to three days of thorough cleaning of the roadbed, the pipeline renovation can be started, and various pipelines will be buried deep underground.

Taking a deep breath of fresh air, Cheng Ye turned around and climbed onto the rooftop of the only remaining government building in the town center, looking around.

Three days of continuous land reclamation have cleared a full kilometer of wasteland, creating a wide open space amidst the surrounding wilderness and providing ample buffer zone for Dabo Town.

According to the plan, the area will be expanded outward by another two kilometers before reclamation stops and the first line of defense is built.

However, time is limited at the moment, so Cheng Ye is focusing his attention on the road leading to the hydroelectric power station.

Looking around now, the dirt road leading from the west side of the town to the hydroelectric power station has been cleared of weeds and trees, leaving only a straight and flat dirt road that stretches into the distance.

The unpolluted atmosphere provides excellent visibility; standing on the rooftop, one can even see the outline of a hydroelectric power station two kilometers away.

"What a vibrant and lush life!"

Cheng Ye stretched comfortably, sat on the edge of the rooftop, and let the warm morning light shine on him.

He could clearly sense that the once dilapidated town of Dabo was gradually rising from the ruins and steadily moving towards becoming a decent home.

This is something that other satellite cities do not possess.

The construction of those satellite cities was ultimately just building fortresses to accommodate residents, but his Dabo Town was truly progressing steadily according to the standards of a sheltered city.

Only when the sun had completely risen above the horizon, and golden sunlight bathed the earth, and the residents gradually emerged from their tents, did Cheng Ye get up and walk back to the flat ground.

As is customary, he first went to check on the repair progress of the dam.

Three days later, the basic repair work was nearing completion. Cheng Ye silently activated the action function, and the action points required for the basic repair displayed on the panel had decreased from the initial 81 points to 12 points.

It would only take another day to complete, but he had to go back to the buffer zone to pick up Yu Yong today. He didn't have time to wait for the residents to slowly apply mortar and build reinforcement nets, so he simply used up 12 action points to end this phase of the project.

As the figures in the time-stop space precisely filled and laid the prepared materials on the ground, all that's left is to wait for the materials to dry naturally before entering the equipment installation stage. The hydropower station is getting closer and closer to being put into use.

"Xiaokang, I need to go back to the buffer zone." Cheng Ye opened his defense communication device, first called the community to confirm the situation, and then found Wang Kang and said, "Uncle Lin and Rokuk are out too. I'll bring them over on my way to help you share some of the burden."

Wang Kang was clearly exhausted and somewhat dazed. Upon hearing this, he simply nodded blankly and then quickly returned to his absent-minded state.

Cheng Ye shook his head helplessly. Although he could understand his exhaustion, there was nothing he could do.

During these three days, the residents could take turns to rest while working more than sixteen hours a day. However, he and Wang Kang, the two "backbones," could not rest.

When leading a team to explore new lands, one must always be on guard against sources of infection emerging from the remote corners of the wilderness.

One of them stayed in the town to oversee the construction, running around from beginning to end, coordinating progress and solving problems, and was already working beyond his capacity.

Fortunately, Rokuk's arrival should help with the rotation, giving Wang Kang a break.

After moving more than twenty containment boxes into the back of the armed pickup truck and securing them, Wu Rui's team stayed behind to guard the town and ensure that no accidents would occur, as instructed by him.

Mu Shuang followed, got into the driver's seat of the pickup truck, and sped off towards the buffer zone.

In just three days, the rural road leading to Wenlu County has been paved with a brand-new four-lane asphalt surface.

Driving on it felt like riding a magic carpet; you could barely feel any undulations.

Cheng Ye yawned, tilted his head, and closed his eyes sleepily again.

As the vehicle gradually came to a stop, he opened his eyes and realized that the three busy days had been like a dream, and he was back at the South Checkpoint.

(End of this chapter)