Wasteland Border Inspector-Chapter 369 - 147: Water Series Changes More Easily, Natural Disasters Are Hard to Resist! (Part 2)
Cheng Ye glanced over and couldn’t help but laugh.
"Hey, Cheng, why did you choose this side too?"
Lin Bao saw the approaching pickup, immediately stubbed out his cigarette, and with large strides, stepped into the middle of the road to stop the vehicle.
He spotted Cheng Ye in the passenger seat, grinned widely, revealing two rows of white teeth, "Which town did you choose nearby?"
"Uncle Lin, I chose Dapo Town." Cheng Ye pushed open the car door and stepped out, a slight smile on his face.
Lin Bao immediately approached, extending a palm as large as a fan, giving his shoulder a couple of pats.
The palm landed on the battle armor, emitting a dull thud.
"Not bad, is this your first time out?"
"Yes."
"Everyone starts out like this." Lin Bao waved his hand nonchalantly, "Don’t feel embarrassed wearing battle armor. Your Uncle Lin only dared to take it off in the Wilderness to get some air after becoming a Second-Phase Inspector."
He took the last drag of his cigarette, flicked the butt to the ground and crushed it underfoot, suddenly speaking with an edge of irritation, "I don’t know which bastard planted hidden nails in the road, puncturing my tire. In this godforsaken place, fixing it means at least an hour’s delay."
"Hidden nails?"
Cheng Ye followed the direction of Lin Bao’s pointing finger and indeed saw two patches of nails beneath the standing water.
Looking closer, he saw that they were even fixed to the ground, clearly man-made.
If Lin Bao hadn’t scouted ahead, and Jiang Chuan had driven through, there would have likely been trouble.
"Oh, Uncle Lin, did you choose Wenlu County?" Cheng Ye feigned surprise.
"Of course." Lin Bao didn’t hide the ambition in his eyes, "Around here, only Wenlu County is suitable for building a second major satellite city. It looks desolate now, but once construction starts, in less than half a year it’ll look even more impressive than the Buffer Zone!"
"Yeah, I also think there’s quite a bit of potential around here, that’s why I chose Dapo Town." Cheng Ye chimed in.
"Dapo Town..."
Lin Bao rubbed his chin, pondering, "That place might not be suitable for a newcomer like you. Do you want to switch locations? I can apply for you with Old Ding."
"I’m just there to check things out; I haven’t made a final decision yet."
"Fair enough."
Lin Bao nodded, gesturing for him to get back in the car while he swung open the rear door and casually took a seat, "I’ll ride with you; just drop me off at Wenlu County Town up ahead."
He then waved to the people outside, "Once the car is fixed, head over quickly. I’ll go ahead and scout the road!"
"Yes!"
A Fifth-stage Inspector, known for his fierce combat skills, naturally no one worried about his safety.
"Xiao Jiang, let’s drive." Lin Bao patted the back of the driver’s seat.
Jiang Chuan nodded and restarted the vehicle.
The pickup slowly drove off, leaving behind the blown-out tire and three figures busy with repairs.
With the earlier mishap, Jiang Chuan drove especially slowly, deliberately avoiding all pools of standing water on the ground that might conceal hidden nails.
Meanwhile, Cheng Ye naturally wouldn’t miss the opportunity to gather intelligence in this lull.
Lin Bao, being a Fifth-stage Inspector, certainly knew much more than he did, especially the information not found in the files.
With a smile, he turned his head and followed up on the conversation, "Uncle Lin, how are things in Wenlu County? I heard the underground pipes and infrastructure are all ruined?"
"It’s more than just ruined." Lin Bao leaned back in the back seat, speaking casually, "Such a small county town from the Old Era, with no maintenance for twenty or thirty years, is basically a ruin now. The last time there was a settlement here was in New Era year four, around four or five thousand people, but our Stone Province can’t grow food, with no stable food source, people couldn’t stay long, and it quickly dispersed."
He paused, then continued, "Since then, Wenlu County has been completely abandoned, with only the occasional scavenger passing through to scavenge goods or find objects from the Old Era."
Sensing Cheng Ye’s curiosity, Lin Bao continued generously, "Pipes are easy to deal with. Who counts on Old Era pipes when establishing an outpost in the Wilderness? Wenlu County’s advantage isn’t about that."
"Oh, Uncle Lin, what do you mean?" Cheng Ye’s interest was piqued.
"Wenlu County, Wenlu... do you know why it’s named that?" Lin Bao teased.
"Hmm..." Cheng Ye pondered for a moment, a bold guess flashing in his mind based on the surrounding location map, "Is it because all the roads in the area converge here, forming a transportation hub?"
"Exactly."
Lin Bao nodded approvingly, "During the Old Era planning, Wenlu County’s theme was to be Chuan City’s logistics hub. Now you understand, anything from outside first gets sorted in Wenlu County, and those belonging to Chuan City are transported in, while others are dispatched to subordinate areas from here."
Wenlu County was actually Chuan City’s logistics hub?
Cheng Ye was taken aback, as this was never mentioned in the documents.
But he soon realized that he had somehow forgotten the modern locational planning logic after just a few months in the Wasteland.
Wenlu County is just tens of kilometers from Chuan City and it’s adjacent to Lin River, boasting natural geographical advantages.
Even on a national scale, such comprehensive inland port logistics hub cities are rare.
And the Dapo Town he chose happens to have potential for building a port.
However, Dapo Town is so dilapidated now, it seems the hub plan from those years never materialized.
"It’s just a pity that shortly after Wenlu County’s plan was released, the S1 virus outbreak occurred, and construction was repeatedly shelved. It took a decade or so to barely establish a ground logistics center. As for the port and airport, they all died in the womb, leaving only a rudimentary foundation."
"But even this foundation..." Lin Bao paused, smiling, "Back when your grandfather’s generation decided to root by the ruins of Chuan City, Wenlu County was a key factor in their considerations, harboring their generation’s ambitions."
