Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

Chapter 603: Chapter 257: Building a Straight Road, the Beast Meat Issue

The dividing line of a day in the Ice Abyss is determined by dawn.

When the Jade Bone Medicine was completed, it was already dawn, which strictly speaking, was April 29 in the second year of Great Xia.

Xia Hong stored the Cold Ruins Tripod in the system and first sped southeast, bypassing the Beehive on the way, heading directly south towards Mirror Valley.

The ten-odd kilometers from the Beehive to Mirror Valley showed traces of human activity everywhere, some of which were clearly left just before dawn.

”The Beehive has about thirty thousand ordinary people. According to their migration plan, over four nights, it’s estimated that twenty thousand people have already passed through Mirror Valley back to Xia City. We can’t have any escapees; we must rush back to Xia City, screen that batch of people first, and then place the Cold Ruins Tripod in Mirror Valley.”

Xia Hong traveled alone, moving swiftly, arriving at Mirror Valley in no time.

It was daytime, and Mirror Valley was naturally silent. No one could be seen outside the entire station, but inside forty orderly wooden houses, without exception, lights were on, indicating that many people were residing there.

Xia Hong directly walked towards the central, newly refurbished main building in the station.

”Someone’s here?”

”If they’re outside during the day, they must be a Cold Resistance level expert, right?”

”Judging by their clothes, similar to Lord Yue Feng’s from last night, they should also be a Great Xia Cold Resistance level.”

......

The people living in the wooden houses were those who had migrated from the Beehive. Having just changed environments, many were still unaccustomed and had not slept. Seeing Xia Hong walking through the corridor from the windows, they all expressed their curiosity.

”Yue Feng pays respect to the leader!”

As Xia Hong walked in with such flamboyance, Yue Feng ran out from inside even before he got close to the main building and bowed in salute.

Yue Feng likely already learned from Meng Yi about Xia Hong’s return to the camp, so although he was excited, he wasn’t too surprised.

”Rise, how many people are in Mirror Valley now? And how many have you sent to Xia City already? You should have specific numbers, right?”

Yue Feng immediately nodded and answered, ”Over the past four nights, a total of 19,284 people came from the Beehive, of which 15,242 have taken the straight path to Xia City. The remaining 4,042 are still in Mirror Valley, including 1,014 prisoners from Wushuang and the Beehive.”

That’s about as expected!

Though it’s only a dozen kilometers from the Beehive to Mirror Valley, migrating over five thousand people in one night is nearly the limit. Once these people reach Mirror Valley, they can easily take the straightforward path to Xia City, which is quite efficient.

”Of the 1,014 prisoners, how many are of the Earth-digging Realm?”

Great Xia fought two battles in Longyou, though Xia Hong knew about them, he wasn’t clear on the exact number of prisoners, hence his curiosity inquired again.

Upon hearing this, Yue Feng showed a hint of excitement and said, ”466 Earth-digging Realm, 548 Logging Realm, from both Zhaoyang and Wushuang. The two iron mines in Mirror Valley had just been lacking workers, so all these people have been left here. As instructed by Minister, I’ve recorded these people under the names of the teams that captured them, so their mining production can directly fulfill the teams’ quotas.”

Xia Hong was momentarily stunned upon hearing this, then chuckled softly.

He almost forgot, Great Xia has a rule concerning prisoners.

According to the prisoner rules, all of these over a thousand people have fought directly against Great Xia on the battlefield, so they are bound to be sentenced to more than three years of labor. During their service, the coal stone and iron ore they mine can be used to meet the mining quotas of those hunting teams.

”Xia Chuan told me that this time all thirty-two Intermediate Hunting Teams have been dispatched. Your team likely captured a decent number of prisoners, right?”

Yue Feng chuckled at this and said, ”No choice, Minister ordered me to guard Mirror Valley, so the Mountain River Team was led by Yuankun. That kid did well, capturing a total of 82 prisoners, including 24 Earth-digging Realm, ranking sixth among the thirty-two intermediate teams.”

”You ranked sixth, which five teams are ahead of you?”

Intrigued, Xia Hong asked, he knew about the events with the Beehive and Wushuang from Xia Chuan, but wasn’t clear on the battle details, only that Beehive took advantage of Zhaoyang without any damage, while 28 died when fighting Wushuang.

”Cloud Jiao, Tiger Leopard, Hunting Eagle, Steel Mane, Xuanwu.”

Xia Hong immediately recalled the names of these five team leaders: Xia Chuan, Luo Yuan, Zhao Long, Zhao Hu, and Hong Guang, raising his eyebrows slightly.

Yuwen Dao and Yuan Cheng must have been delayed at Yangyuan Peak, missing the battle with Wushuang, which is why Long Wu and Tulong teams didn’t make the top five.

”Xuanwu Team made it into the top five as well, Hong Guang’s performance isn’t bad this time!”

Previously, Hong Guang made a mistake in Wuyuan, leading to the disbandment of Xuanwu Team. But with his breakthrough to the Cold Resistance level, Xuanwu Team was reformed. Making it into the top five this time proves Hong Guang’s growth, bringing a trace of relief to Xia Hong’s face.

”This round, many new people have been added to the camp, and more than 40,000 will come later, so you’ll have your hands full. With the situation in Longyou stabilizing, I’ve already ordered Xia Chuan to bring 1,800 people back first, which should include your Mountain River Team. You won’t lack manpower, but you must ensure safety during the population migration, dispatch more people to patrol along the route.”

Yue Feng nodded. Although he hadn’t been to Longyou, through the population handovers these past few nights, he had learned much about Longyou’s situation and knew a large population would still be arriving.

However, seeing Xia Hong about to leave, he quickly spoke up, ”Leader, those Logging Realm prisoners can’t mine, hence they’re useless left here. After discussing with Qiu Peng, we decided to send them to cut wood and construct the straight road at night, which is also a form of service. Qiu Peng said, each month they’ll receive a certain amount of beast meat as a reward for those who are diligent and reliable, which gives them some motivation for their service. If they breakthrough to the Earth-digging Realm, they can even transfer to the mines for mining...”