Therefore, she needed to select some people specifically responsible for this task.
It would be best to have experienced masons and carpenters who had experience in building and renovating houses.
When she voiced her idea, although people didn't quite understand why heating needed to be added to the houses.
After all, those houses already had air conditioning.
Besides, how cold could southern winters get? An air conditioner would suffice.
But since Yun Xiaoxiao was young yet precocious, full of ideas, and was the base leader,
Even if people didn't quite understand, they had to follow her instructions.
Many masons and carpenters who previously felt underutilized now eagerly raised their hands to volunteer.
This was a rare opportunity for them to utilize their expertise!
Yun Xiaoxiao counted quickly; there were quite a few people, exactly forty-one.
So, after the meeting, she took these people to the lumber area.
She selected ten of them to be specifically responsible for making charcoal.
Of course, this couldn't compare to a professional charcoal factory, as they were using the most basic tools and procedures.
However, the results of their first attempt were quite good.
After these people became familiar with the process,
Yun Xiaoxiao selected three of the most experienced and intelligent people from the remaining group.
She began explaining how to add pipes to the corridors and supply heat to each room.
She also showed these three people the instructional videos she had downloaded from the internet.
Being experienced professionals, after Yun Xiaoxiao's explanation and video instruction, they quickly understood the effect she wanted to achieve.
"Don't worry, young base leader, we'll do a good job."
"Good, I'll leave it to you. If you need more materials, just let me know."
She was, after all, only an amateur in this field, with just a basic concept.
The actual implementation would rely on these professionals.
They made a list of materials for her.
Some she had in her space, others needed to be found.
"Alright, I'll get them to you in a few days."
So for the next two days, Yun Xiaoxiao went out with Nie Yizhou.
They found all the materials the construction workers needed and brought them back.
While this project was progressing steadily,
Yun Xiaoxiao began to think about coal mining.
The coal yard owner had previously mentioned that his mine had professional mining equipment, but it was in another province, quite far away.
He had been trapped here in Rong City because he was on a business trip.
He also said that before the apocalypse, the mine was still operating normally.
There were many employees there, and his family was there too.
He didn't know if they had survived when the zombie virus broke out.
When talking about this, the coal mine owner, a man in his fifties, broke down in tears, showing his vulnerability.
Yun Xiaoxiao thought that if they really wanted to mine coal from the nearby mountain, professional equipment would be essential.
So this trip to another province had to be arranged.
Her gaze turned to the area outside the base's main gate.
That area needed some modifications.
She called for Liu Yi and Nie Yizhou.
First, she had Nie Yizhou lay out a mud road in front of the base's main gate where there were no more crops.
It was about four lanes wide.
This road extended outward for a hundred meters before Yun Xiaoxiao told him to stop.
Then she had Nie Yizhou level out the remaining uneven ground with mud, making it flat.
This area was quite large.
Yun Xiaoxiao's intention was obvious - she wanted to build an airport.
After Nie Yizhou finished, it was Liu Yi's turn.
His ability to release and solidify mud slurry was very effective.
In about a day and a half, a proper airport was built.
Since they were heading to a mountainous area, Yun Xiaoxiao chose a helicopter instead of a large airplane.
After filling it with fuel, she set off with the coal mine owner Xie Youcai and Ling Jing.
Originally, Ling Jing didn't know how to fly a helicopter, but fortunately, Yun Xiaoxiao had downloaded instructional videos while the internet was still working after raiding the airport.
Ling Jing was clever and learned quickly.
Although the helicopter was a bit shaky at first,
They managed to get airborne, and the flight became increasingly stable.
After about eight hours of flying, as evening approached, they finally saw a green mountain.
"It's over there!"
Xie Youcai pointed excitedly to several white buildings halfway up the mountain. His eyes were getting teary.
He had thought he'd never return, but now...
The helicopter quickly flew towards that direction and slowly landed on the roof of a three-story building.
They got off the helicopter and looked down at the ground.
There were many loading vehicles parked below, some loaded with coal, others empty.
Black coal was piled up in several places.
And in the chaotic grounds, about two hundred zombies were wandering around.
Looking at his once-familiar workers now turned into walking corpses, Xie Youcai's eyes reddened.
Although he had anticipated this situation,
Seeing it in person was different from imagining it.
Yun Xiaoxiao and Ling Jing didn't know these people.
To them, these were just zombies.
Standing on the roof, they quickly cleared out all the zombies below in no time.
"Let's go down,"
Yun Xiaoxiao and Ling Jing exchanged a glance before heading towards the stairs.
"What was this building used for?" Yun Xiaoxiao asked.
Following behind, Xie Youcai hurriedly explained, "The second and third floors were dormitories for management staff, and the first floor was offices."
"The building on the left was dormitories for other regular workers, and of the two buildings directly ahead, one was a warehouse for equipment storage, and the other was the staff cafeteria,"
Xie Youcai introduced one by one.
"Our mining area is about fifty meters forward from the right side of this building, just past the bend."
Yun Xiaoxiao nodded, but just then, a figure emerged from around the stairwell corner.
With quick reflexes, she pierced the zombie's head with her spear and gave it a twist.
Soon, a crystal core fell to the ground.
She picked it up using a cloth and put it in the fabric bag attached to her small backpack.
This was specifically used for storing crystal cores, both useful and convenient.
Reaching the third floor, they checked room by room.
The entire third floor had nothing except for the zombie they'd just encountered.
The second floor had more zombies, but no survivors.
The first floor had even less chance of survivors.
Xie Youcai's expression grew increasingly grim and disappointed.
He had held onto some hope that his wife and son might be alive.
But now, it seemed unlikely.
After Yun Xiaoxiao's group cleared the zombies behind several buildings, they went to the employee dormitories.
There were about ninety zombies there.
"How many employees did your mine have in total?" Yun Xiaoxiao frowned.
Xie Youcai thought for a moment and answered, "Should be about 403."
Four hundred and three?
They had killed about four hundred zombies so far.
So... where were the rest?
