Along the coastline, a long curve was marked, dotted with dense small circles.
Ai’s suggestion was to build the first defensive line along this curve, equipped with heavy weaponry, forming a firepower net that could defend the entire front and flanks. Xu Yan explained that a total of twenty-five soldiers would be needed to operate the weapons at these circular positions.
“Possible, but not enough,” Jiang Ye pointed to the area around the small town. If the water ghosts landed from afar and attacked from the rear of the town, the townsfolk, lacking weapons, would be easily overrun. Therefore, a second defensive line was needed behind the town.
Xu Yan poked at the screen.
A dashed line automatically appeared behind the town, shorter, with ten small circles, indicating the need for ten gunmen.
“You mean like this?” Xu Yan inquired.
“No, push the defensive line further out, leaving space for five hundred houses,” Jiang Ye explained. “The town lacks manpower. I plan to recruit five hundred new people in the next few days. With more people, we can operate more weapons.”
“Five hundred people?” Xu Yan’s eyes widened. “Can you handle recruiting so many people at once?”
“There’s no other way. The factory needs people, and the defensive line needs people,” Jiang Ye said with a grim expression. “If it truly comes to war, I don’t believe I can’t manage with just guns and people.”
Xu Yan had no choice but to click on the screen, readjusting the parameters and requirements.
Soon, a new defensive line appeared.
The coastal defense line remained the same, but the defensive line behind the town was expanded threefold, leaving more space for house construction.
“Okay,” Jiang Ye approved the plan.
“The total cost is eighteen million. You provide the weapons and personnel. A complete defensive line requires at least forty soldiers,” Xu Yan stated.
Jiang Ye’s face showed a hint of embarrassment. “I’m a bit short on funds. I’m still a few million short. Can I owe you for a day? I can gather the money tomorrow.”
Xu Yan frowned slightly. “For such a large town, you can’t even come up with eighteen million? Fine, I’ll lend it to you personally. Just pay me back tomorrow, for sure.”
“Absolutely, absolutely!” Jiang Ye nodded obsequiously.
The construction team started working overnight, excavating fortifications with a rumbling sound. The white lights of the construction machinery illuminated the entire beach, and the sound of earth being turned was incessant.
Jiang Ye was not idle either; he returned to the base vehicle.
The chat channel had accumulated thousands of messages, all from people who had seen the recruitment notice and wanted to move into the town.
He sat in front of the console, typing incessantly, explaining the situation to those who sent messages:
The town had already suffered one attack by water ghosts. There might not be a second wave, or there could be a large-scale attack.
Therefore, new townsfolk needed to be prepared for war.
After filtering for several hours, sending countless messages, Jiang Ye’s fingers were almost sore.
Many who had intended to come to the town were scared off upon hearing about the water ghost attack and gave up the opportunity.
Some, upon hearing the news, became even more eager to come. They believed that water ghosts might attack anywhere on the planet, not just the town. Rather than facing them alone, it was better to join the town, where more people and stronger firepower offered greater safety.
A few brave souls even volunteered to join the army to secure a spot.
As dawn approached, Xu Yan knocked on the door.
When the door opened, her eyes widened in surprise.
Jiang Ye, in front of her, had bloodshot eyes, dull skin, and disheveled hair, clearly having stayed up all night, pushing himself to the limit, looking worn out.
“It’s finished,” Xu Yan said. “Let me take you for inspection.”
“Okay, thank you for your hard work, Ms. Xu,” Jiang Ye nodded and stepped out of the base vehicle.
The defensive line was ten times better than Jiang Ye had imagined.
He had initially expected something like the World War II defenses seen in movies – barbed wire, sandbags, and trenches, dirty and damp.
Upon reaching the beach, he saw barbed wire and sandbags, but the trenches were not made of mud but of poured concrete, as smooth as a mirror. The trenches were five meters wide at the bottom and equipped with small rails and carts for rapid transport of heavy weapons and ammunition.
Xu Yan pointed out the waterproof walls and drainage holes. If the sea tide rose, the trenches would not be easily flooded. Even in heavy rain, the accumulated water in the trenches would drain quickly.
The firing positions were elevated by metal ammunition boxes, and Shao Wan was already directing the auxiliary police in setting up the six-barreled Gatling guns.
Jiang Ye stood at a firing position, with a wide field of vision, overlooking the entire beach. In front of him were three layers of barbed wire, which could slow down the water ghosts’ charge.
He was quite satisfied. Clearly, the money was well spent. With this fortification, the town’s safety index had increased by more than half!
“Besides the designated firing positions, this defensive line can accommodate two hundred soldiers firing simultaneously. Don’t you have an assault rifle factory? If there are many water ghosts landing, you can temporarily issue guns to the townsfolk and have them all come up to defend,” Xu Yan said. “Creatures like water ghosts, even thousands of them, won’t be able to breach this.”
Jiang Ye nodded vigorously. He had thought of this when entering the trench. The space was wide, the terrain was high, and if the entire town was brought up to fire in shifts, they could kill as many as came.
After inspecting the entire town’s defensive line, Xu Yan led the construction team’s spacecraft away.
Jiang Ye’s temples ached from exhaustion, and his heart pounded.
However, he couldn’t sleep yet. The defensive line was not yet consolidated. If the water ghosts landed during the day, it would still be dangerous.
The first priority was to recruit soldiers.
Jiang Ye returned to the base vehicle and sent a message in the town’s group chat:
[Urgent Notice]
[I hereby announce the official establishment of the 1st Rapid Response Unit, led by Jiang Ye, with a team size of 50 members.]
[The duties of the Rapid Response Unit are to obey orders, protect the town, and safeguard the life and property of the colonial governor.]
[Team members will receive a monthly salary of 200,000, with additional medical expenses for injuries.]
[Applicants, please gather at the police station within half an hour.]
After sending the message, Jiang Ye went out and headed straight to Tian Rao’s house.
Tian Rao was already up, wearing sandals and a white nightgown, her hair messy, standing in the yard brushing her teeth.
“Help me out, make fifty sets of anti-stab suits, full body, with extra protection in the crotch. And helmets that can cover the face. Have your employees deliver them to the police station after they’re done, and I’ll pay you later,” Jiang Ye said directly.
Tian Rao saw his urgency, threw away her toothbrush, and ran inside without even spitting out the foam in her mouth.
“Hey, what color should the anti-stab suits be?” she poked her head out again.
“What color? For the troops, plain black,” Jiang Ye said, half-amused, half-exasperated.
He wanted anti-stab suits, not bulletproof vests, for a simple reason. The current enemies of the rapid response unit were the potential water ghosts, and they needed protection against the water ghosts’ sharp teeth, not direct gunfire.
Just as he was about to rush to the police station, gunshots rang out from the direction of the coast!
At first, there was only the sound of one assault rifle. A few seconds later, the booming sound of the six-barreled Gatling guns erupted, followed by the rapid firing of many guns!
Jiang Ye’s drowsiness vanished. He got into the base vehicle and sped towards the seaside, quickly reaching the defensive fortifications.
From a distance, he could see Shao Wan, dressed in a black police uniform, standing with legs apart at a firing position, wielding the six-barreled Gatling gun and firing ferociously. The meter-long muzzle flared, and shell casings rained down into the sky.