That night, ten more townsfolk went to the police station to cancel their identification cards.
Driving their base vehicles, they passed through the town's asphalt roads, crossed the defense line, and sped away, disappearing into the vast wilderness shrouded by the night.
The soldiers on guard duty within the defense line watched them go, some with disdain, others with pity.
The town's population had decreased from 800 to 780, with twenty people leaving in total over these past few days.
Everyone has their own aspirations, and Jiang Ye did not try to stop them. With twenty people leaving out of eight hundred, a ratio of one in forty, it was an acceptable figure.
The entire night passed peacefully, with no more blue light whales appearing. It seemed the water ghosts feared this landing point and dared not attack for the time being.
At dawn, before the sky had brightened.
Xu Yan's construction team arrived in over twenty spacecraft and immediately began construction.
They did not use excavation machinery but opted for demolition. Pen-shaped thin black explosive charges were laid layer by layer on the designated ground. After detonation, mechanical excavators removed the loose soil, and long pipes were used to discharge the soil into the sea.
The once azure sea had turned murky like the Ganges, with vague flesh and oil floating on the surface, along with dark brown mud. Numerous unprocessed whale and water ghost corpses lay intermingled, bobbing their heads in the waves.
Amidst the continuous sounds of explosions, deep pits gradually appeared around the town's perimeter. A complete circle, with no blind spots.
The annular pit was strategically positioned a few meters in front of the defensive fortifications, ensuring all firearm fire could cover the pit's bottom.
A suspension bridge was also rapidly constructed. From a distance, it resembled a magnificent steel giant tower. Inside the tower were massive mechanical devices capable of deploying an iron bridge, leading to the opposite side of the annular pit. The bridge was not wide, allowing about three base vehicles to pass abreast.
Upon completion of the construction, Jiang Ye conducted an inspection.
He first inspected the suspension bridge, repeatedly lowering and raising the metal bridge and even driving a few base vehicles onto it for testing. The bridge was sturdy and remained motionless.
Next, he inspected the annular pit.
The annular pit strictly adhered to Jiang Ye's requirements: thirty meters wide and twenty meters deep.
Twenty meters on flat ground didn't seem like much.
However, a twenty-meter deep pit looked quite abysmal, equivalent to the height of five or six stories, almost a small cliff. The morning sun was at a low angle, casting most of the pit's bottom into darkness, making it appear even more profound. If someone fell in, they would be crippled if not killed.
The pit walls were unexpectedly smooth, almost like finished walls, indicating that Xu Yan's construction team possessed advanced soil-smoothing machinery, and their work was meticulous.
After the inspection, Jiang Ye was very satisfied.
Hearing the construction sounds, all the town residents came out and were also very pleased upon seeing the deep pit. Such a deep pit, even tens of thousands of water ghosts falling in wouldn't fill it!
Xu Yan led the construction team away to their next project.
No water ghosts had appeared for the time being. Jiang Ye conducted a patrol near the defense line, ensuring all weapons and ammunition were in place, and then returned to his base vehicle with satisfaction.
Opening the door, he froze.
Isabelle was sitting by the window with her legs crossed, wearing a semi-transparent white long dress and a sun hat. Sunlight shone on her hair, casting a beautiful golden hue.
On the table before her were two plates of xiaolongbao and a large bowl of white fungus and lotus seed soup.
"Your takeout has arrived, sir." She winked at Jiang Ye.
"I didn't order takeout." Jiang Ye closed the door, smiling wryly. "Why are you here? With so many people in town, if they see you coming to my place, won't they gossip?"
"Gossip?" Isabelle's eyes widened instantly, her face beaming with delight. "That would be wonderful! Let them spread rumors about us, the more scandalous the better, I'm all for it! As the saying goes, lotuses float in the pond, and toads embrace the waist of female toads!"
Jiang Ye almost spat out blood. With Isabelle's attitude, he was truly at a loss.
Sighing, he sat down to eat the xiaolongbao.
"Well, don't just show up at my place casually anymore. I'll make sure to lock the door when I go out next time," Jiang Ye said.
"You casually go to my place, so why can't I come visit?" Isabelle crossed her arms, self-righteously.
"Yours is a logistics center. When I go there, in others' eyes, it's for work reasons. But this is purely my personal residence, the nature is different," Jiang Ye tried to persuade her.
"Oh." Isabelle appeared indifferent. "You're unhappy about me bringing you breakfast? It's like throwing a meat bun at a dog! I'll come and go as I please!"
Jiang Ye bit into a bun forcefully, sulking without a word.
Isabelle didn't eat either. She leaned on the table, staring at him intently. As she watched, she pursed her lips, looking like a seasoned rogue.
Jiang Ye couldn't stand it anymore and said with a mournful face, "Don't stare at me like that! Sister, please, I'm begging you, let me go! You have a husband!"
"Actually, I came to see you for something important." Isabelle changed the subject.
Jiang Ye looked at her suspiciously.
"I saw the construction team digging fortifications this morning, and it reminded me," Isabelle finally became serious. "When I was on the colony, I experienced a similar predicament to yours. You are currently overwhelmed by the increasing number of water ghosts. My planet back then faced a beast tide, with more and more wild beasts that couldn't be killed. They would attack and eat people. In the end, we were forced to dig deep pits for defense."
"What happened then? Did the deep pits work?" Jiang Ye asked.
"The deep pits certainly worked, but that's not what I want to tell you," Isabelle said. "You have an opportunity now, an opportunity for rapid expansion."
Jiang Ye's spirits immediately lifted. "What?"
"You're already doing it, but not enough."
"Stop beating around the bush, be direct!"
"You idiot, expand the town! You have seven hundred and eighty people now, right? Issue a general invitation, expand it to tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands, and turn the town into a city." Isabelle's emotions ran high. "Back then, during the beast tide on our planet, we took the opportunity to rally scattered colony officials to join us. In times of crisis, everyone wants to survive. During the beast tide, wild beasts were more terrifying than humans, so it was easier to attract people to gather."
"Isn't it the same now? Water ghosts are rampant, and they are more terrifying than humans. Most people would rather gather with others than face water ghosts alone. This is the best time to recruit people, when else will you recruit?"
Jiang Ye pondered for a moment and analyzed the situation for her:
"Having too many people can easily lead to trouble, especially with large-scale expansion in a short period. The probability of recruiting bad elements is very high. Moreover, the more people there are, the more water ghosts will be attracted, and the defense pressure will increase."
"The town has just stabilized. I need to consider it carefully."
"Don't consider it!" Isabelle waved her hand vigorously. "You have to take risks! Don't be afraid of recruiting bad elements. Which city doesn't have some heinous criminals? Take a gamble, and you might hit the jackpot!"
Jiang Ye stared at her suspiciously. "Why are you so interested in the town's expansion? Do you have some personal gain in mind?"
Isabelle straightened her back, glared at him angrily, and shouted, "Hey! Why are your thoughts so filthy? Does it have to be for personal gain? I'm offering you advice out of pure friendship, and you suspect my motives, which deeply hurts me!"
"Unless you promise to reserve a plot of land for me in a prime location to open a shop after the expansion, I won't forgive you!"