Jiang Ye's face turned ashen. Once something like this got started, it could snowball.
In the worst-case scenario, few people would be left in the town.
Every person who left was a significant loss for Jiang Ye.
"Since leaving the town requires passing through our defense line, these ten haven't left yet and are waiting for your approval. How do you want to handle them? Let them go or not?" Shao Wan asked.
"If the heavens want to rain and people want to flee, don't stop them. Let them go," Jiang Ye waved his hand. "From now on, just send me a message about such matters; no need to report in person."
"Understood." Shao Wan nodded, took out his walkie-talkie, and said, "Let them go. Shi Zhi Zi, remove those ten people from the town group."
Putting down the walkie-talkie, Shao Wan stared intently at Jiang Ye. "The defense line is precarious."
"I know. You go back first. I'll think of something."
Shao Wan left without a word, turning and walking away. Communicating with him was always straightforward.
Jiang Ye returned to the base vehicle, sat down, and opened the chat channel, sending a message to Xu Yan.
Jiang Ye: "The defense line is about to be breached by water ghosts. If this continues, we're done for. I need a new fortification, or rather, a large trap."
Xu Yan: "A large trap?"
Jiang Ye: "Dealing with creatures like water ghosts is actually simple. Dig a large, deep trench around the town. Once the water ghosts fall in, they won't be able to climb out, and we can deal with them slowly."
Xu Yan: "So, you want to dig a pit for water ghosts to jump into? Your town is by the sea. After digging the pit, you'll need to line it with waterproof material, otherwise, the water will gradually fill the pit, and the water ghosts will be able to swim across. The workload is not small. What scale of pit are you planning for?"
Jiang Ye: "A circular pit that encircles the entire town, with no blind spots. Similar to a moat. The pit needs to be at least thirty meters wide and twenty meters deep to accommodate enough water ghosts. We also need a drawbridge so that when the drawbridge is lowered, people in the town can come and go, and not be trapped to death within the town. How much will the entire project cost?"
Xu Yan: "Three million for digging the pit, two million for the drawbridge. I'll give you a discount, thirty million."
Jiang Ye transferred the thirty million to her without a word.
After the transfer, Jiang Ye's mood turned solemn. He went to the town's group chat.
The town group chat was in a state of panic. The fierce attack by the water ghosts had already alarmed everyone. They were no longer trying to hide their fears and were directly spreading panic in the group:
"Brothers, latest news, those ten people who wanted to leave the town have been let go by the police!"
"I'm hesitating whether to leave or stay in town. The defense line definitely won't hold for a few more days. If I leave, I don't know what the situation outside is."
"Where are all these water ghosts coming from! If this continues, we'll all be surrounded and killed in the town!"
"I also want to leave. I'll drive to find a deep mountain and hide in a cave. Water ghosts probably won't go to such places. The seaside is too dangerous; as soon as water ghosts come ashore, they see the town. This isn't a solution!"
"Let's wait for news from those ten who have already left. I've added them as friends. If they find a place without water ghosts, we'll go."
"To the above few, don't worry, you'll die if you go out. If you really have the guts, come to the defense line with your guns and fight alongside us."
"Heh, is anyone really foolish enough to think they can survive by leaving? Look at the public channel, see how many colony officers are still alive? It's a blessing to be with the commander in town. To think there are people who want to leave and die, aren't they idiots?"
Jiang Ye also switched over to the public chat channel and glanced at the online population. The so-called online population was the number of colony officers still alive on this planet.
51,890 people!
Jiang Ye's face instantly turned pale. The last time he checked this number, it was eighty thousand. In these days since the water ghost outbreak, three thousand colony officers had already died!
This death rate was terrifying. Neither the famine nor the extreme cold had caused so many deaths in such a short period.
Recalling when he first arrived on this planet, there were a total of one hundred thousand people, and now only half remained. A wave of sadness washed over him.
Returning to the town group chat, he no longer looked at the chaotic messages in the group. Jiang Ye took a deep breath and typed out a notice.
[Notice]
[This town will soon commence the construction of a large defensive engineering project, a deep pit encircling the town, thirty meters wide and twenty meters deep. Once completed, it is optimistically estimated that water ghosts will find it very difficult to breach the defense line and enter the town.]
[However, as with all things, there are uncertainties. After the deep pit engineering is completed, only one drawbridge will remain to connect to the outside world. If water ghosts break through the defense line and flood into the town, escape will be extremely difficult. Therefore, this project also carries a certain risk.]
[The town respects everyone's wishes. Those who wish to stay and fight the water ghosts together are welcome. Those who wish to leave and seek their own survival are also welcome to leave. However, please try to complete the procedures at the police station before twelve o'clock tomorrow morning. Thank you for your cooperation.]
After posting the notice, the town group chat fell silent for a brief moment.
Then, the arguments intensified:
"What to do, what to do? I'm afraid to stay and die, but I'm also afraid to leave and die."
"Only fools would leave. Staying in town means defense with machine guns and cannons, and protection from the newly built deep pit. What will you rely on if you go out? A broken assault rifle to fight water ghosts? I guarantee you'll be reduced to nothing left!"
"Although many people have died outside, aren't there still many who have survived? Going to the mountains to become cave dwellers will definitely help us hide! We can't just stay by the sea and wait for death!"
"Hide? Hide where? The entire planet is filled with water ghosts! I don't want to spend my life hiding and sneaking around. This town is my home, and I'll die here."
"Swear to coexist and die with the town! Those who flee are traitors, get out and don't come back!"
"I'm leaving! You cowards who only huddle together for warmth, stay here and wait for death. Humanity spread across the universe because of its pioneering spirit! Is anyone leaving with me?"
Jiang Ye watched for a while. The people in the town had clearly divided into three factions.
The Stalwart faction had the most people. They believed that by staying and fighting fiercely with defensive fortifications, they could eventually eliminate all approaching water ghosts.
The Fugitive faction also had a considerable number of people. They believed that the world was vast, and there were always some remote plateaus or mountains where they could hide. After all, every planet had uninhabited areas where humans and animals had disappeared. Finding such a place would bring peace of mind.
The remaining were the Confused faction. They didn't know whether to fight or flee. They cried in the group, feeling that staying put was right one moment, and wanting to escape the next, swaying like reeds in the wind.
With mixed feelings, Jiang Ye closed the chat channel.
To be honest, he also belonged to the Confused faction. He didn't have a definitive answer as to whether staying put or fleeing was the correct choice.
He chose to stay put because Jiang Ye believed there was a high probability of holding out.
Once the deep pit fortification was excavated, even without firing a shot, tens of thousands of water ghosts could be filled into it.
At that time, no matter how many water ghosts there were, as long as they charged towards the town, they would fall into the pit and die from the fall. Even if they didn't die, they would be trapped in the deep pit and unable to climb out. The troops could calmly shoot into the pit, killing the water ghosts trapped in the pit one by one like shooting fish in a barrel.
At that time, the town's defense line could undoubtedly be described as impregnable.
The most crucial point was that this town was where he had invested too much of his heart and money. All the streets, houses, and factories were built by him step by step. He couldn't just abandon it all.
Even if, as a last resort, hundreds of thousands of water ghosts came and attacked with all their might, filling the deep pit with their corpses and flooding into the town like an unstoppable tide, Jiang Ye could still escape into the sky on Isabel's spaceship.
But the other townspeople might not be so lucky. If the town was breached, most of them would have no other fate but death.