I can upgrade the shelter-Chapter 657 - 555: Return to the Urban Area

"Currently, most areas of the city are still under our control, and the buildings are relatively intact. We have also arranged for soldiers to gather and transfer materials left in various shelters and warehouses." In a makeshift communication room, Chen Xin was on a call with the military commander of the city, the general he had met before, listening to the introduction of the current situation in the city.

"Can we organize a team to return to the city to collect materials? Is this plan feasible?" Chen Xin asked the general. Although he was very concerned about the leftover materials in the city, he was not willing to exchange lives for materials.

If the general told him that the situation in the city was too dangerous and not suitable for organizing personnel to retrieve materials, he would not insist on proceeding with the plan.

Recovering leftover materials in the city is indeed important and meaningful, but the premise is to ensure relative safety.

If it turned into a doomsday survival film scenario, where collecting materials cost several lives, Chen Xin would never agree to such an approach.

Fortunately, the current situation in the city is relatively stable.

According to the general's report, most parts of the city are currently under military control. After the initial encounters with alien creatures, they seemed to lose momentum and did not launch a large-scale invasion of the city. Only the areas along the lake had some parts that were difficult to defend, which the military voluntarily abandoned, turning them into fallen zones.

In addition, the ant drone's penetration of the city, which had previously troubled everyone, was not severe. This was mainly due to the reinforced concrete, as the ant drones, despite their digging abilities, did not seem to possess any acidic corrosion capabilities and, for the time being, could not penetrate reinforced concrete.

This considerably enhanced the city's safety, increasing the feasibility of Chen Xin's planned material collection operation.

"If we are to collect materials, I think it's feasible to operate in relatively low-risk areas, where safety can still be guaranteed," the general considered Chen Xin's idea and agreed to his plan.

Although the front lines were still engaged in battle, organizing personnel in the rear to conduct such a material recovery operation posed significant risks. However, after the general and Chen Xin conducted an assessment, they both felt the risk was worth taking.

On the one hand, the military currently controlled the situation, ensuring the safety of the personnel involved. On the other hand, these materials were extremely important for the tens of thousands of people currently housed in Dome City.

After all, these tens of thousands of people were evacuated from the city in a hurry, carrying only their most essential personal belongings. Besides, they brought nothing much else with them.

Even the municipal staff at the time prioritized personnel evacuation as the top priority, leaving behind a large amount of materials and equipment that were difficult to transport.

While the abandonment of these items was a practical necessity during the evacuation, the current material shortage faced by the tens of thousands of people now settled was an undeniable fact.

Although the state had begun organizing the transportation of materials, collecting the leftover materials directly from the city was the fastest method compared to transporting materials from other places to Dome City.

Moreover, abandoning so many things would result in substantial losses, something Chen Xin could not easily accept.

While this might make him appear petty, during such times, it's important to save where possible to avoid a difficult life.

As the old saying goes, "Only when you run a family do you understand the value of fuel and food." Previously, Chen Xin was responsible for the Research Center, but all the managerial issues were handled by Tang Tang, the administrative supervisor, relieving Chen Xin of such concerns.

But now, as the de facto highest authority in Dome City, all problems fell onto his shoulders.

While facing material shortages, Chen Xin certainly could report upwards to request material support, but that seemed overly irresponsible.

Out of a sense of internal responsibility, Chen Xin decided to find a way to go back to the city and collect those leftover materials.

After discussing the specifics of the operation plan with the general, Chen Xin ended the call, preparing to recruit personnel to organize a team to return to the city and collect materials.

The news quickly spread among the tens of thousands of people in Dome City. Although some manpower had already been conscripted for Dome City's construction, this did not compare to the risks involved in returning to the city to collect materials.

Suddenly, there were very few volunteers willing to sign up.

Because there was indeed a potential life-threatening risk, after discussions with the city leaders, Chen Xin decided to adhere as much as possible to the principle of volunteering, without forcing citizens to participate in this operation.

Besides promoting and persuading everyone to volunteer, the city's primary arrangement for this operation was to employ police officers and city officials.

Protecting the people is part of the police duty, and the city police's special forces already possessed significant firepower. Although they might struggle against the alien creatures, they were undoubtedly better than the unarmed civilians.

Ultimately, aside from the special forces, those accompanying Chen Xin on this operation included some civilian volunteers and some organized city staff.

For operational safety, Chen Xin personally led the team, piloting the White Dragon as an escort. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Qin Lan also took charge of Zhu Luan, joining her former special forces colleagues in action, while Mo Qingyan piloted Lu Shu, providing support to the duo.

Zhu Luan's handsome appearance and formidable battle strength made Qin Lan's special forces colleagues envious. Such powerful equipment was more attractive to them than any peerless beauty.

Ding Ning, taking advantage of her good relationship with Qin Lan, even climbed into Zhu Luan's cockpit to experience it, afterward pestering Chen Xin to get her one as well.

Chen Xin knew that Ding Ning was merely joking, but he had, in fact, been considering police-use Titans. However, the most pressing matter was collecting materials, so for now, this idea had to be postponed, not detracting from Chen Xin's focus.

"This operation to return to the city to collect materials involves a certain level of risk. Although the military currently controls the situation, we will be heading to relatively safe areas, but the risk still remains, so everyone—"

"This operation to return to the city to collect materials involves a certain level of risk. Although the military currently controls the situation, we will be heading to relatively safe areas, but the risk still remains, so everyone—"