Chapter 206

Wei Dalei ran out of the room, and right before his eyes was that modified container truck.

Of course, it now looks more like a tracked armored vehicle; if a cannon were added, it would somewhat resemble a tank.

Boys' love for cars is deep in their bones; seeing this truck become even more imposing, Wei Dalei let out a strange cry and rushed up.

"Do you know how to drive?" Chen Mu grabbed him.

"Tch, it's just driving." Wei Dalei, who had over a year of driving experience, showed disdain.

"The operation of this vehicle is different from ordinary ones." Tang Jing walked over, climbed into the cab first, and said, "Let me teach you."

At this time, the others got up one after another.

Tang Jing said to Wei Dalei in the passenger seat: "There's no transmission, so no need to shift gears; I've set a few speed changes with the cruise control—look here…"

Chen Mu had never driven a car before, and although this vehicle was modified by his own hands, he wasn't entirely clear what the final result would be.

By the way, Yu Yuan's little fatty put in a lot of work on the truck's modification; this guy wasn't bragging—he really has strong talent in mechanics and hands‑on work, which explains why he used to hang out often with the "modification nut" Professor Wan.

Chen Mu also wanted to learn to drive, so at this time he hung outside the cab listening to Tang Jing's explanation.

"I've set three speeds: the fastest gear is 1.2 yards, suitable for fast travel on relatively flat ground; the second gear is 0.7 yards, a medium speed; the last is 0.3 yards, for driving on rough or muddy roads."

Anyone who has played with toy cars knows that for a vehicle this size, if the speed is too high, even a slight bump on the road will cause it to flip; Tang Jing also considered all aspects before designing it this way.

Afterward she explained the other functions one by one.

"Okay, okay, I'll give it a try."

Wei Dalei had been impatient for a while; as soon as Tang Jing got out of the vehicle, he hurriedly squeezed into the cab.

The crowd gathered outside saw the truck remain still, were about to go check what was happening, when the big truck suddenly lurched forward, then turned and drove off into the distance.

Unlike before, driving such a large vehicle produces almost no engine noise, giving it an electric‑vehicle feel.

"Success."

Tang Jing walked to Chen Mu's side, and the two watched Wei Dalei drive the truck around gleefully together.

The indoor concrete floor was already fairly flat, and after everyone had been dragging things back and forth, it became even smoother.

"Yeah, it's really not easy."

Vehicles are one of the important markers of human civilization; being able to build a truck that can run with one's own hands brings a sense of achievement that is hard to put into words.

"The biggest problem now is the sustainability of the power source."

"The squad leader's metal heat source isn't very efficient." Chen Mu nodded.

"Yes." Tang Jing said: "I calculated earlier that to power the vehicle for six hours requires half of the squad leader's daily mental energy consumption; this conversion is clearly insufficient."

"Actually, it might be enough if there isn't large‑scale combat."

"It sounds okay, but you should know that the heat‑producing metal the squad leader makes cannot be stored; that means every time the vehicle needs to start, Dong Junwei must immediately expend that much mental energy to 'fuel' the truck, and once the vehicle is on the move, whether or not it's actually running, the energy is continuously being consumed."

"Yeah, you can't store high‑temperature metal like a grenade; it's indeed a hassle—any solutions?"

"There isn't a good solution unless Dong Junwei is herself on the vehicle; otherwise, each outing allows the truck to run at most about six hours, so its practicality is indeed not high."

"I hope the squad leader's ability grows quickly."

The two found Dong Junwei, explained their idea, and the chief decision‑making officer also felt troubled, saying: "I also know why; at first my growth was fairly smooth, but since Qiming was established, my mental energy increase has become much slower."

Tang Jing said: "In my observation, mental energy growth requires focus; squad leader, you handle too many trivial matters, taking up too much of your own training time."

"At this stage there are really too many things; once the shelves are organized, my free time should increase." Dong Junwei said.

"That may not be the case; as our numbers grow, future matters will only increase."

"If that's really how it is, there's nothing to be done—someone must always take charge of planning and worrying about these things."

"Actually, some things can be delegated to others." Chen Mu said.

Dong Junwei sighed: "I know that, but everyone is already busy and still has to train their special abilities—like Du Jia Jia, I've already handed all kitchen duties to her, yet she still has to meet Little Yellow and Little White every day, really can't spare time; Zhao Xiao Yan now oversees duty shifts, He Ying is light‑footed and now patrols the large equipment; Lu Shanshan handles hygiene in the living area; Xue Xu is in charge of toilet hygiene… sigh, we're still short‑handed."

"Our development speed is a bit beyond what our population can sustain; we will indeed end up unable to keep up—now everyone is overworked, and over time that's really not good." Tang Jing pondered a moment, then said: "I think perhaps we should change our approach."

"What?"

"We always think we must rely on the current people to finish everything, but that's completely unnecessary; since Qiming will eventually need to develop, maybe we should learn from Qingbei."

"Learn what from them?"

"Actively recruit survivors." Tang Jing said.

"But are there still scattered survivors in the school?" Dong Junwei asked.

Tang Jing said: "There will still be some, and have you heard what An Ruosuo said? Qingbei gave our place the designation No. 9 gathering point, which proves that at least there are eight other survivor groups similar to ours; they may not be as strong as us, but together their numbers are certainly not small."

"That could be considered, but we don't know where those eight points are, and since we don't have as many people as Qingbei, we can't send out large numbers to search." Dong Junwei said, somewhat troubled.

"Things depend on human effort."

Tang Jing laughed: "Besides, if it really doesn't work, we could even go… uh, dig at Qingbei's wall; I reckon their support‑type ability users would surely welcome a chance to switch sides."