As dawn approached, the rudimentary camp was finally established.
Its area was roughly equivalent to a middle school, half on the plain and half in the dense forest, with simple fortifications made of trees and earth all around.
Jiang Ye took photos of the entire base, having the soldiers stand in formation before the fortifications, trying to make it look as impressive as possible.
He then uploaded them to the military, sent the coordinates, and applied for the establishment of the camp.
Jiang Ye had expected to wait for several hours, but to his surprise, the reply came just two minutes later, displayed on his helmet.
[Your camp area has been approved and meets the standards. Please fill in the relevant information.]
[The name of the temporary camp you wish to establish is:]
Jiang Ye spoke, "Jiang Ye's Newbie Village."
The camp name was purely an impulse decision. Jiang Ye represented Planet Jiang Ye, and "Newbie Village" signified that this place was primitive and low-level. Moreover, the current combat style made him feel like he was in some large-scale game, so "Newbie Village" was quite fitting.
[The type of your camp area is:]
[Fully Open Camp Area: Any human soldier can enter and exit freely.]
[Fee-Based Open Camp Area: Any human soldier can enter and exit, but a certain number of merit points must be paid.]
[Closed Camp Area: Only human soldiers you permit can enter.]
Isabelle nudged him, "Choose the fee-based open camp area."
Jiang Ye selected it, and more options immediately popped up.
[The merit points required to enter your camp area are:]
[The merit points required to leave your camp area are:]
"How should I set this 'toll'?" Jiang Ye asked for advice. "If the price is too high, no one will come. If it's too low, there's no profit."
"All camp settings can be changed later. In the early stages, you can set the price a bit lower to attract people, and then raise it once there are more. Isabelle's tone was quite seasoned."
Jiang Ye set the merit points for entering and leaving the camp area to one point each.
The last prompt lit up: [Camp-related facilities will arrive in 20 minutes.]
The soldiers were very tired, sitting by the fortifications to rest, taking turns to lie down and sleep. They had been here for nearly twenty hours, without a drop of water or a bite of food, their stamina at its limit.
But they still had to wait, at least until the camp was built.
Twenty minutes passed in a flash. Many spacecraft descended from the sky. Staff in orange mechs brought down equipment. Each of them had the air force insignia printed on their backs and began setting up the camp's basic facilities on the open ground.
Jiang Ye and Isabelle sat back-to-back on the open ground, turning their heads to watch, exhausted. The air force construction team worked at an astonishing pace. In less than half an hour, the basic infrastructure was completed.
A two-story metal camp building. The first floor had a food printer and a water generator, capable of meeting food needs. The second floor was the control center, which could receive real-time satellite information, send signals to mechs near the camp, and most importantly, place orders for more infrastructure!
Jiang Ye reviewed the facility list. There were many types: weapon class, manufacturing class, housing class, energy class, and so on.
There were two types of infrastructure that were urgently needed:
[Facility: Primary Mech Manufacturing Machine]
[Facility Description: Can manufacture mechs of level 5 and below, including Gunner mechs, Charger mechs, and Swordsman mechs, and provide simple repairs. This machine does not require energy. Old or unused mechs can also be returned to this machine for processing. Merit points will be returned based on their condition.]
[Price: 50,000 Merit Points (Limited-time discount)]
[Facility: Simple Spawn House]
[Facility Description: A ten-square-meter small room, including a birth tub, a small bed, and a bathroom. Cheap and effective. To spawn at a designated location, a Simple Spawn House bound to personal identity is required. If one drowns in the birth tub and logs off, the body can be recovered, and merit points will be returned based on the body's condition.]
[Price: 1,000 Merit Points]
These two facilities, one for manufacturing weapons and one for increasing population, were essential for developing the camp. After all, people couldn't stay here 24 hours a day. Their physical bodies were still in the remote control pods, and they needed to log off periodically to eat, sleep, and use the restroom.
Moreover, with these two pieces of infrastructure, they wouldn't have to spend a lot of money to buy mechs and bodies every time they logged in. They could recycle their mechs and bodies before logging off and then just add a little to refurbish them upon logging back in.
Jiang Ye calculated that at least one mech manufacturing machine and one hundred simple spawn houses were needed. The total cost would be 50,000 plus 100 times 1,000, which was 150,000 merit points.
With a command from Jiang Ye, all the troops' merit points were transferred to his account, totaling 2,611 points, all earned from fighting minor monsters last night.
"Oh my, that's just a drop in the bucket!" Jiang Ye sighed helplessly, spending all the merit points and then topping it up with a large sum from his private account. All orders were placed.
The staff sent by the air force had not yet left. Upon receiving the new orders, they immediately resumed their work.
Jiang Ye had initially thought the mech manufacturing machine would be the size of a refrigerator. Instead, he watched as the workers built it larger and larger, eventually assembling a giant machine three stories high, with complex internal wiring and numerous components. However, once the metal casing was attached, it looked surprisingly cute and clumsy, with doors at the front and back. New mechs exited from the front door, and recycled mechs were placed in through the back door.
The construction of the simple spawn houses took a long time, a full four hours until they were all completed.
Jiang Ye directed the soldiers to retreat in an orderly fashion.
First, they went to the spawn houses to bind their identities. After binding, they would respawn in these small rooms.
Then, they took off their mechs and sent them for recycling.
Most people's mechs were intact, and the recycling price was almost the same as the original price, effectively meaning they hadn't spent money on mechs for this trip.
After taking off their mechs, the soldiers breathed the planet's air and quickly felt dizzy. The jungle's poisonous gas and high oxygen content would cause everyone to pass out within half an hour.
It was just in time for everyone to return to their respective spawn houses, lie down in the ice-filled bathtubs, pass out, and log off.
Jiang Ye was the last to leave. No one was left at the entire camp, and he hoped no beasts would cause damage. However, ordinary beasts couldn't destroy the sturdy base facilities.
Detaching from the remote control pod, Jiang Ye felt dizzy with exhaustion.
He had been there for a full 25 hours!
His stamina was completely depleted. He quickly went to the kitchen to eat and drink heartily, then went to his bedroom and collapsed into sleep.
Perhaps it was due to extreme fatigue, but as soon as he fell asleep, he began to dream.
For several hours, the dreams were filled with scenes from his memories: his first arrival on the planet, looking out at the wasteland from the base's viewport. Mining one mine after another. The first heavy snow of winter, the first great flood of spring...
Finally, he dreamed of a woman.
Her face was indescribably beautiful, her skin as fair and tender as some kind of flower, or like an exquisitely crafted work of art. She stood by the windowsill, gazing into the distance, her hair rising and falling with the wind. From time to time, she would lower her head and gently touch her stomach with her hand. Her bulging belly indicated she was several months pregnant.
With a deafening roar, a bomb flew in from outside the window, and the entire house exploded into a sea of flames!
Jiang Ye jolted up from the bed, gasping for breath, his back drenched in cold sweat.
His phone was vibrating wildly, a call coming through.