章節 107: Chapter 107、Inventory Check: Wang Shi Returns
Yi Bai had indeed hesitated whether to rely on his talent to support a 20,000-strong army. However, this idea was quickly dismissed. First of all, even though his talent had reached level 3, the rewards were still at a B-tier level. From his previous experiences with resource-based rewards, he deduced that a single B-tier reward, even if it were food-related, would be insufficient to sustain the needs of an army larger than a few thousand—at best, it could only feed several hundred. Even if he stacked multiple days of resource-based rewards, the army would still go hungry for a while.
How could an army maintain its combat effectiveness if its soldiers were starving?
Moreover, from Yi Bai's current perspective, having food-based rewards all the time would actually be the least beneficial for him. He no longer needed to rely on talent to secure a stable food source; what he truly needed was talent that could fill in other gaps.
If his talent rewarded him with food for the day, it would be a day without any meaningful progress for Yi Bai. The more food rewards he received, the more his development would stagnate.
Of course, Yi Bai could use his points to buy food, but the prices for food in the store were exorbitant and completely uneconomical. An average of 30 points per person was required to sustain basic daily food and water needs. For a 20,000-strong army, this meant at least 300,000 points in daily consumption.
Although Yi Bai had a large number of points, using them in this way would only be enough to sustain the army for a day. The suggestion from Jiang Xiaoci seemed the most reasonable—cutting down on the army size appropriately would ensure the long-term balance of military power.
In peacetime, military downsizing measures also considered similar calculations—cost-cutting, rational allocation of resources, and the improvement of combat power through reforms in information warfare.
Under the protection of several soldiers, Yi Bai arrived at a large open space outside the community. This area had been temporarily set up as a central resource transfer point by the settlement. Originally an outdoor sports field next to the community, it had been fully secured and cleaned up by the settlement.
"Sir, are you still reluctant?" Jiang Xiaoci asked, smiling as she looked at Yi Bai. Yi Bai silently nodded. "If I could, I would prefer to keep more of the army under my control."
"Then let's optimize the army's composition," Jiang Xiaoci suggested. "We can donate soldiers with lower ranks and weaker combat abilities, keeping only the stronger soldiers."
"Additionally, we can retain the weapons, firepower, and vehicles allocated to the army."
"By screening from the 20,000 soldiers, we can keep half of them along with all their firepower and equipment. In the end, we'll still retain about two-thirds of the military strength."
Jiang Xiaoci's suggestion was sound. Doing so would greatly ensure more military strength. After all, while soldiers could be trained, many modern weapons were still beyond the current capability to produce from scratch.
"Alright, you take charge of this," Yi Bai nodded, agreeing to Jiang Xiaoci's proposal. Following her advice, he summoned the first batch of 10,000 soldiers and two additional regiments of 1,000 each.
"The other 10,000 soldiers should be summoned tomorrow, sir. We can use tomorrow's talent rewards to decide whether we should donate part of the army."
"I'll start by screening the 10,000 soldiers we have in the settlement and prepare a selection criteria," Jiang Xiaoci said, carefully laying out her plans.
As Yi Bai nodded in agreement, the first batch of 10,000 soldiers began to materialize before him.
With a golden glow spreading through the air, humanoid silhouettes began to form on the open space. Soon, the golden light flowed like a tidal wave, extending well beyond the space, spilling into the streets outside.
As the golden light solidified into distinct human figures, a formidable, modern military force appeared before Yi Bai.
The army stood in perfect formation, dressed in unified special operations camouflage, equipped with advanced gear, and radiating an imposing presence. Each soldier stood tall and resolute, exuding the discipline of rigorous training and a strong combat spirit. Their eyes were sharp, their posture upright, clearly veterans who had been through the fires of war.
At the front of the army were several senior commanders, including the army leader, deputy commander, and chief of staff, all core military leaders in charge.
Around them were various heavy firepower units, including rifles, submachine guns equipped with advanced sight systems, night-vision gear, and silencers. Behind them were imposing tanks, armored vehicles, self-propelled artillery, rocket launchers, and a number of armed helicopters parked silently along the streets.
These steel beasts stood ready, their tank treads sturdy and their gun barrels poised for a devastating strike.
While the number of heavy weapons was not large, Yi Bai still felt a faint tremor of awe, the sheer might of the military force palpable in the air.
"What a pity, there are fewer heavy weapons than expected," Jiang Xiaoci sighed. "This might not be a dedicated tank force, but more focused on infantry, with a smaller amount of heavy equipment to support the soldiers in tough battles."
"Indeed," came the voice of the special forces' chief of staff standing beside Jiang Xiaoci, "this army is likely built around infantry, with heavy weapons used to support specific operations."
Yi Bai scanned the scene. It wasn't that there were too few heavy weapons, but the army was so vast it stretched across multiple streets. Tens of thousands of soldiers filled the area, spilling over two or three entire blocks, with vehicles and heavy equipment occupying the rest of the space.
"Xiaoci, let's start organizing the troops quickly," Yi Bai said, turning to Jiang Xiaoci. "They've just arrived, so they're not starving yet, but we only have a day or two to handle the downsizing."
Yi Bai hadn't expected that his settlement would one day be in a position where military downsizing would even be necessary.
"Yes, sir. I'll make the arrangements," Jiang Xiaoci nodded. The chief of staff and other aides would assist her in swiftly managing the new army's logistics.
Yi Bai didn't linger long, returning to the shelter where he was less familiar with military management. Downsizing was a job for experts.
"Let's do another inventory of the settlement's supplies," Yi Bai sighed deeply as he opened the shelter's data panel.
Thanks to the effects of the Vassal Agreement, the settlement's residents didn't need to consume any additional food or water, and their survival pressures were negligible. The entire settlement, up until now, had only needed to support the personnel units (including the several hundred soldiers).
The settlement's food supply consisted of two planting rooms, 38 level D food production items (enough for one person per day), 15 level C items (for 10-20 people per day), and 2 level B items (enough for 300-500 people per day).
Apart from these items, food collected by the military was also stored in the main building. However, since Yi Bai had only started recruiting soldiers less than two weeks ago, the reserves were limited, enough to feed only a few hundred people.
In terms of water, the settlement had water purifiers, storage tanks, and a self-generating water system, all of which could meet the needs of 4,000 people, with the self-generating system making up the largest portion.
"I didn't realize how much pressure the settlement is under," Yi Bai muttered as he finished the inventory. It became clear that the rewards from his talent would progress gradually. If today's talent reward hadn't triggered a multiplier, the 10,000-strong regiment he had summoned would require more food supplies than the settlement could currently handle.
"Let's check the intelligence map," Yi Bai murmured as he closed the data panel and walked to the strategic wall. There, he examined the city map and intelligence updates provided by Jiang Xiaoci.
Yi Bai rarely paid attention to this map, knowing he wasn't an expert in military strategy, preferring to leave it to Jiang Xiaoci. However, the current crisis in the settlement made it necessary for him to start learning about things he had previously avoided.
"The surrounding six or seven blocks have been cleared. There are no large survivor groups or resource points left," Yi Bai murmured. "But there are a few places marked with suspected large resource caches that haven't been confirmed. We can send people to check them out, but they shouldn't be our primary military targets."
It was clear now that, as Jiang Xiaoci had suggested, the only real sources of supply were the Little White Bear and the city center.
Just as Yi Bai was deep in thought, there was a knock at the door, followed by the sound of steady footsteps approaching. A moment later, the door opened to reveal Wang Shi, who had been out all night.
"Sir, I've completed the mission," Wang Shi said, placing two large sacks on the floor with a thud.
"How did it go?" Yi Bai asked eagerly, gesturing for Wang Shi to speak. "Did you find the Puzzle Gates?"
"I found seven, and solved five of them," Wang Shi reported.
Yi Bai's eyes widened in surprise as the heavy sacks dropped to the floor with a loud noise. It was clear that Wang Shi had worked through the night and made quite a haul.
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