Chapter 356 - 352: Order

Zhang Wenda had to walk back. He’d wanted to see if he could use the water from Region 2 to travel directly back from Region 4, but it didn’t work.

The water could only be used in Region 2; outside of it, it was just ordinary fresh water. This foiled Zhang Wenda’s plan to use the pools to connect all the regions.

"Come on, this is our turf now," Zhang Wenda said, leading Hu Maomao into the bustling Federation stronghold.

Compared to the Small Circle’s old territory, this place was clearly much larger. The side walls had been knocked down, merging the spaces of three separate pools into one.

The metal shells of subway cars were lined up, forming a bustling, crowded gathering point. Juggling clowns led patrols around the perimeter.

The bustling market was still there, though the selection of goods was still sparse. It mostly consisted of fish from the deep pools and tools crafted from metal and bone. Items from other regions were extremely rare.

Supplies from Region 1, in particular, were completely absent. It seemed that even after he had shared all the locations and intel for Region 1, not a single person had been brave enough to try their luck.

Even so, the place felt much more vibrant than before. The isolating atmosphere of mutual suspicion was gone.

Zhang Wenda was a celebrity of sorts now, and everyone gave him a wide berth. Even those who had never seen him had heard his story, and they all looked at him with awe.

A red-nosed clown in a yellow, star-spangled hat saw Zhang Wenda approaching. His eyes lit up, and he hurried over.

Before Zhang Wenda could say a word, the clown walked right past him and began to sing and dance joyfully around Hu Maomao.

"Get lost." Zhang Wenda shoved him aside, then opened his Inner World and dumped out all the spoils from his latest trip.

The sight of the fully-equipped weapons on the vehicle, along with the individual combat rations, immediately drew everyone’s attention.

Gasps of astonishment rippled through the crowd, especially when they saw the metalized atmospheric creature. It landed on the white ceramic tiles with a crash that sent fragments flying. The Federation wouldn’t be short on metal for a while.

"So, what do you think? Not bad for my turf, huh?" Zhang Wenda said proudly to Hu Maomao.

Hu Maomao shook her head. "It’s not great. I just read the minds of your subordinates. You’re dreaming if you expect them to rebuild the Third Line. They’re just latching onto a strong leader to survive in a dangerous environment."

"There’s no organizational charter, no ideology, no rules, no system of rewards and punishments. This is just a mob of vagrants. If anything were to happen to you, they’d scatter immediately."

"Hey, Rome wasn’t built in a day. I’m just getting started, aren’t I?"

Despite muttering all sorts of complaints, Hu Maomao immediately got down to business. First, she used her Mind Reading ability to quickly screen all of Zhang Wenda’s subordinates.

Anyone with ulterior motives or strong resentment toward Zhang Wenda was quickly identified and kicked out of the Federation.

This sudden purge, which saw dozens of people expelled, naturally caused some unrest and anxiety. But as long as Zhang Wenda stood there silently, everyone understood the frail-looking young woman’s absolute authority.

’In terms of management, Hu Maomao is a huge help,’ Zhang Wenda realized. ’Her ability is practically a cheat code. As long as she’s here, no other faction will ever be able to infiltrate the Federation.’

’If I had to go through the memories of over a thousand people one by one, I’d work myself to death before I was done.’

Hu Maomao even began using the black water from the deep-water zone to design a symbol for the Federation: a hollow circle bisected by a cross.

She didn’t explain its meaning, but Zhang Wenda knew. The hollow circle represented 1999, while the cross symbolized their ultimate goal: to defeat 1999 and restore the world.

Using the black water from Region 2, this symbol was painted on the shoulder of every member of the Federation. The actual design didn’t matter much; the mere existence of a symbol instantly distinguished members from outsiders, boosting organizational cohesion.

"Not bad. You’re very thorough," Zhang Wenda said with a chuckle, patting her on the head.

"Do you think everyone is as thoughtless as you?" Hu Maomao retorted, swatting his hand away.

"So, what are you doing next?"

"There’s a ton to do. Rules and regulations, departmental divisions, an organizational charter..." As someone who grew up in the Third Line, Hu Maomao was all too familiar with such matters.

The more she spoke, the more furious Hu Maomao became. She glared at Zhang Wenda, her brow furrowed. "I can’t believe this. Your ’organization’ is a complete-and-utter void. You dragged me all the way back just to dump everything on me, didn’t you?"

"Heh." Zhang Wenda just chuckled. He knew he didn’t have to give Hu Maomao a single order. He just had to present her with this dysfunctional mess of an organization, and her personality would compel her to fix it. She wouldn’t be able to help herself.

"The more capable you are, the more work you do. You’ll have to shoulder the burden. After all, when I was in the Third Line, I never cared about this stuff."

With that, Zhang Wenda confidently left Hu Maomao to her devices, while he led several hundred adults back toward the plain.

Arriving once more at the gray, silent concrete plain, Zhang Wenda didn’t assign them any other task. He used his wooden staff to form the concrete into individual blocks, then had the group move them all into his Inner World.

Metal wasn’t the only resource; concrete was, too. With this concrete, Zhang Wenda could use the wooden staff to create any kind of structure.

Aside from finding Hu Maomao, the greatest gain from his trip to Region 4 was discovering an inexhaustible supply of concrete that could be molded at will.

「A few hours later.」

When Zhang Wenda returned to the stronghold with enough concrete to build half an island, he found Hu Maomao holding a few sheets of paper, deep in discussion with the airborne Hippocampus and Blue.

Zhang Wenda paid them no mind. As he raised his wooden staff, the concrete blocks began to float into the area and fuse together, gradually covering the pools completely. The usable space instantly expanded several times over, making the entire stronghold feel much more spacious.

But this alone wasn’t enough to build a proper organization.

Zhang Wenda might have been a programmer with no clue about architectural design or urban planning, but what he didn’t know, others did. Region 2 had no shortage of talent, especially when he announced that the payment would be "Solid Happiness."

With the help of two professionals in the field, the entire open area was gradually transformed with concrete. The space was partitioned, concrete rooms were built, and all sorts of concrete stools and tables were conjured into existence.

「Over the next few days.」

The entire stronghold launched into a massive infrastructure project.

All kinds of residential and office buildings began to spring up. The area formed by the three connected pools gradually transformed into a building complex.

Although all the buildings were a monotonous gray, giving them the aesthetic of a war-torn wasteland, for people who had spent over four months sleeping on cold ceramic tiles, it was nothing short of a miracle.

They would no longer have to brave the elements, sleeping on cold concrete and ceramic tiles. Instead, they could consider themselves lucky to sleep on cold concrete beds inside their very own rooms.