The entire space was vaster than anticipated, its end almost out of sight. Jiang Ye casually parked his Spider at an empty spot and leaped out of the armored vehicle.
The air was chilly, and the ceiling was lined with nothing but white lights and air conditioning vents. The floor was a milky white, creaking with every step, likely made of some kind of fire-resistant material. The immense underground space lacked supporting pillars, and the emptiness echoed with every movement.
Jiang Ye made a circuit, finding no discernible flaws, and headed straight for the elevator lobby.
Just as a Spider armored vehicle descended, Jiang Ye sidestepped. After the vehicle emerged, he ducked and stepped onto the elevator, ascending rapidly to the first floor. Da Feng Novel Network.
All the armored vehicles were parked, and the squad leaders returned to the surface one by one. The group followed Xu Yan to inspect the building.
Half of the main building was dedicated to the soldiers' living quarters, including two-person dormitories, a game room, a gym, a dining hall, workshops, a kitchen, a small supermarket, a laundry room, even a barber shop and a library.
Everything was pristine, with minimalist decor. Except for the restrooms, all doors required facial recognition for entry and exit.
While the squad leaders excitedly chose their dormitories, Jiang Ye pulled Xu Yan into a corner.
"These doors aren't thin, are they? Bulletproof?" he asked.
"More than bulletproof," Xu Yan replied with a smile. "Except for the restroom doors, all room doors can withstand direct rocket launcher fire."
"Why is the internal design so secure?" Jiang Ye asked, his expression puzzled.
"To prevent infighting," Xu Yan lowered his voice. "In the military, if someone goes berserk and starts shooting their comrades, it usually gets very bloody. When I first worked at White Ant Real Estate, the doors of military bases were still ordinary plywood. Later, after some serious incidents, they were all replaced with blast-resistant armored doors, and facial recognition systems were added. It's a low-probability event, but even a small probability needs to be prevented."
Jiang Ye nodded silently, realizing it was indeed to guard against their own people.
He had initially guessed it was to prevent bandit raids, but upon further thought, bandits preyed on the weak and picked on the easy targets. Who would be foolish enough to raid a military base? Wouldn't that be like an old man hanging himself, tired of living?
After touring the entire living quarters, there were a total of 800 dormitories, enough to accommodate sixteen hundred people. The current rapid response force had fewer than a thousand personnel, so it was more than sufficient to house them all.
Beyond the living quarters were essential rooms for a military base, such as information centers, conference rooms, strategy centers, and intelligence archives, all fully equipped.
Upon completion of the inspection, Xu Yan left on his own.
Jiang Ye, however, took the squad leaders to a small conference room for a brief face-to-face meeting.
The meeting's agenda was simple: assigning dormitories and guard duties to each team. Starting tomorrow, all military personnel would relocate to the military base and could no longer be dispersed throughout the town.
The military's leave system was also discussed:
There were a total of 14 teams. As long as there was no war, two teams would be on leave each week, allowing them to return to town to visit family and friends. However, they were forbidden from disclosing military secrets or bringing heavy weapons back to town, with only defensive handguns permitted.
Under this system, each soldier would have nearly fifty days of leave per year.
From Monday to Friday, they would train or go on missions. Saturdays and Sundays were rest days. During rest days, they could move around the base and its vicinity, but returning to town required submitting an application. This added over a hundred rest days annually.
Overall, it was a relatively relaxed system.
After the meeting, the squad leaders immediately drove their Spiders back to town to inform the soldiers about the move.
Jiang Ye also returned to town. It was already past midnight, and he was exhausted. He climbed into the base vehicle and sat before the control panel to check the information.
As expected, after the military base was completed, the development index and ranking had changed:
[Jiang Ye Autonomous Region / Development Index 2800 / Rank 9929]
The development index had jumped by 60 points, and the ranking had advanced by 21 places. The effect was immediate!
After reviewing this, he went upstairs to sleep.
The troop relocation to the military base would likely take a day, so he planned to sleep in, snore until he woke naturally, and recharge his energy. Once everything was settled, he would officially lead the troops to expand into the frontier.
However, he was awakened at three in the morning by the persistent ringing and vibrating of his communication tablet.
He picked it up and saw that it was Shao Wan calling. Jiang Ye's spirits immediately lifted.
A sense of foreboding pricked his heart. He clicked to answer.
Shao Wan's face was ashen, with a pool of blood on his head that was still trickling down his forehead.
"Something's happened. A shootout. Seven people are dead, and one is on the run," Shao Wan said, panting. "Shi Zhizhi is tracking the surveillance. The escapee has a gun. I'm afraid he might injure someone before the surveillance can catch him. All auxiliary police and town police officers have been deployed. Can you send the troops?"
"Okay, where should the troops go?" Jiang Ye asked, shocked.
"Surround all the towns. Just don't let anyone escape. This fugitive must be apprehended."
"Alright, I'll notify the troops immediately. I'll be at the police station in five minutes," Jiang Ye said.
The call ended. Jiang Ye quickly dialed each of the squad leaders, ordering them to have their troops surround the towns and arrive as quickly as possible.
The entire settlement was in an uproar. Hundreds of Spider armored vehicles were dispatched, illuminating the streets with searchlights and broadcasting continuously:
"All residents, please lock your doors and do not go outside. We are currently pursuing a fugitive and are temporarily implementing a street sweep!"
"All residents, please lock your doors and do not go outside. We are currently pursuing a fugitive and are temporarily implementing a street sweep!"
Pedestrians still wandering the streets scrambled back home in panic. Within two minutes, all streets were deserted. Night shift factories also halted their assembly lines and tightly secured their doors. Residents huddled fearfully in their homes, listening to the incessant broadcasts and the metallic clanging of passing Spider armored vehicles.
When Jiang Ye arrived at the police station, only Shi Zhizhi and two female auxiliary police officers monitoring surveillance were on duty. All police officers had been dispatched.
"What's going on?" Jiang Ye pulled Shi Zhizhi out of the surveillance room to ask.
"At the Tokugawa Ieyasu Sushi restaurant in town, twenty minutes ago, two groups of people got into a shootout. They were all using large-caliber handguns. Seven people died at the scene, with each body sustaining more than five bullet wounds. From the surveillance, one person jumped over a wall and ran," Shi Zhizhi said. "The identities of the deceased have just been confirmed. The owner of the sushi restaurant, Ono Jiro, is dead. The other six deceased were all employees. The sushi restaurant had a total of seven employees, and the one who escaped was likely also an employee."
"What's the name of the escapee?" Jiang Ye asked urgently.
Just as Shi Zhizhi was about to state the name, the walkie-talkie on the desk suddenly crackled to life, filled with chaotic noise. Amidst the garbled sounds, curses could be faintly heard, followed by Shao Wan's shout:
"The fugitive has been caught! It's Ella Deven from the sushi restaurant! All teams, bring them back! The street sweep is lifted! Police officers from Town Two and auxiliary police are going to search Ella Deven's home!"
Ten minutes later, a crowd of police officers and auxiliary police officers swarmed into the police station, carrying a bloody man. The man was small, a young blond Caucasian, handcuffed and bound like a dumpling with rope.
Jiang Ye breathed a sigh of relief. At least the person had been caught.