Chapter 1266, Section 3: Integrated Military-Industrial Production Consortium

Three months later

In the northern and northwestern parts of Kaiyang County, a massive industrial city of unprecedented scale and imposing grandeur has risen from the rugged mountains and abandoned mining areas of the former karst landscape.

Like a steel monster crawling on the earth, it tirelessly spews out thick smoke, flames, and roars day and night—this is the Third Comprehensive Military Industrial Production Complex of the Central Plains Theater.

From a high altitude, the outline of the Third Integrated Military Industrial Production Complex is already clear. Unlike before the apocalypse, it does not pursue the flat and square shape common in industrial areas.

Instead, it cleverly utilizes the terrain to its fullest extent, nestled between mountains and valleys, forming three interconnected yet relatively independent functional zones. The total area far exceeds the initial planned forty square kilometers and is steadily expanding towards fifty square kilometers.

The main military manufacturing area occupies the most open contiguous basin in the center.

The factory buildings stand in rows, arranged like a chessboard. The longest of them, a combined production plant, stretches for over a kilometer, its gray-blue steel roof reflecting a cold, hard luster in the sunlight.

Several giant warehouses are arranged like building blocks, and a dedicated railway line extends into them like blood vessels.

At the edge of the main area, the reserved assembly area for armored vehicles and artillery is undergoing foundation compaction, with huge pile drivers emitting a dull "thump-thump" sound.

The key supporting factory area stretches along the foot of the mountain and several major valleys; this is the "internal organs" of the industrial behemoth.

Most striking are the dozens of towering chimneys that seem to reach into the clouds like a forest—cooling towers and boiler chimneys belonging to thermal power plants spew out white water vapor and wisps of smoke day and night; while the chimneys belonging to giant steelmaking blast furnaces are even more robust, occasionally emitting dazzling reddish-brown clouds of smoke when tapping iron.

The chimneys in the explosives and chemical complex area are relatively low but more numerous, with crisscrossing pipes, and the air is filled with a faint, distinctive smell of chemical raw materials.

The massive spherical gas and oil storage tanks, along with the sprawling raw material storage areas, outline the solid foundation of basic industry.

The auxiliary and support areas are located on a gentle slope that is relatively sheltered from the wind and close to the water source.

Rows of neat six-story dormitory buildings have been topped out and are currently undergoing exterior painting and interior decoration. The light-colored buildings stand out against the gray-brown industrial background.

The supporting facilities, including a canteen, a small hospital, and a school playground, are beginning to take shape. Further out, along the newly built walls and watchtowers, the security forces' barracks and training grounds have been completed, with flags flying high.

The entire base remains in a state of frenzied activity, with construction and production proceeding simultaneously.

Most of the factory buildings in the core area have been completed, and equipment installation is nearing completion or has even begun trial operation. However, the outer areas, especially the reserved land for the second and third phases of expansion, are still bustling construction sites.

Hundreds of thousands of construction workers have been organized into fifteen construction divisions, each with about 10,000 workers, and are distributed across various work sites like a diligent ant colony.

More than 100,000 of the workers come from Chongyi, and with their desire to work in the new district and their trust in the Zhongzhou war zone, they have become the most solid human resource foundation for this new industrial city.

The remaining 50,000 people were recruited from various gathering places throughout the province. Although it was called a recruitment, they actually insisted on coming.

When the project was first launched, the human resource structure was designed so that the Chongyi cluster would take on all the low- and middle-skilled labor. This was because the Chongyi cluster had a large population and no industry to support employment.

Only senior engineers and project management talents can be recruited through the channels of the entire province and the entire war zone.

However, after the specific recruitment information was disclosed, several gathering places directly under the Central Military Command, after some deliberation, directly stated: 'We can accept high-level talent, but obedience to the military command's strategy is a basic requirement. However, we must also send some ordinary people with us.'

Therefore, in order to ensure the smooth progress of the project, and also to curry favor, the original plan of 10 people for the Third Comprehensive Military Industrial Production Association was forcibly expanded to 15 people.

At this moment on the construction site, the roar of construction machinery is the constant background noise.

Hundreds of heavy trucks, dump trucks, and concrete mixer trucks came and went, raising clouds of dust on the temporarily paved hardened road.

The long arms of large crawler cranes and tower cranes move slowly in the air, lifting steel beams or prefabricated components weighing tens of tons.

Bulldozers, excavators, and road rollers are leveling the land and digging ditches, while welders are working on high-altitude platforms, where sparks fly as they firmly connect the steel frame.

This vibrant scene of life and renewal symbolizes that Zhou Bang, and indeed humanity, once again concentrated their will and resources on the wasteland of the end times to launch an unprecedented reclamation towards civilization and industrialization!

Meanwhile, at the newly built highway entrance on the northwestern edge of the Third Integrated Military Industrial Production Complex, the atmosphere was completely different from the hustle and bustle of the production and construction area, carrying a tense solemnity and anticipation.

Led by Lei Jun, the director of the Industrial Department, more than ten key members of the 003 Project Command were waiting there early on.

They all changed into their best clothes—mostly navy blue or gray executive jackets that were washed a little faded but ironed, trying to present a good image.

However, the marks left by time and heavy pressure cannot be concealed by decent clothes.

Less than a year after the project started, Lei Jun looked much older than five years.

What was once just a touch of frost at the temples has now turned completely gray, the wrinkles around the eyes are deep and etched, the eye bags are prominent, and the complexion is a sallow and haggard look, a result of long-term lack of sleep and immense stress.

But his bloodshot eyes remained bright and sharp, even more so than a year ago at the edge of the mine in Jinzhong Town, carrying a weighty determination and vicissitude that belonged to the "creator".

His deputies and project commanders were in similar situations.

Each of them had a thin face, and their skin was rough and dark from being exposed to the wind and sun on the construction site. Many of them had a lingering weariness in their eyes.

Although they had all carefully shaved and tidied their hair for today's reception, the "dusty" feeling that emanated from their very bones, the result of years of overwork, was hard to shake off.

They were like a group of veterans who had just temporarily withdrawn from a long and arduous battle and had not yet had a proper rest.

Yes, for them, the past year was a "battle" without gunfire, yet equally brutal.

Coordinating massive resources, managing a construction workforce of 150,000, dealing with countless technical challenges and emergencies, and bearing the fervent expectations of the war zone headquarters and the people of Chongqing and Yemen for the construction progress... now, it seems we must also add the three major war zones of East, West, and South...

To say that every step was like walking on thin ice and every day was filled with painstaking effort is by no means an exaggeration.

Physical and mental exhaustion is the norm, and many people only manage to persevere by clinging to the belief that the project "must be completed" and by occasionally finding some solace in the roar of a successful trial run of the production line.

Now, three months have passed since the first phase of the night market battle ended and the large-scale fighting subsided.

These three months are a crucial period for the entire Central Plains Theater to recuperate, digest the gains, and adjust its strategic layout.

For the builders of the Third Integrated Military Industrial Production Consortium, however, it is the final sprint to complete the project and turn the blueprint into reality.

They practically pushed themselves to the limit, managing to give this industrial behemoth the initial ability to "breathe" and "generate blood" before the "Night Market Recapture Celebration."

All this was so that I could present a congratulatory gift to the war zone, to Zhou Bang, and to the commander!