[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-zombie-apocalypse-creation":3,"chapter-zombie-apocalypse-creation-zombie-apocalypse-creation-chapter-564":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Zombie Apocalypse: Creation",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1887520,2510,"Chapter 564 564: Finding the Root Cause","zombie-apocalypse-creation-chapter-564",564,"\u003Cp>\"This plan is being continuously updated...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Xiaoyun read through the entire plan, he could sum it up into three major phases that Yuqi had set up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Phase One was a Mass employment opportunity through Hard labor, from pouring more money into construction to easing restrictions for land development.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The end goal was to lower the unemployment rate by half, from the average 25% unemployment rate to around 10%.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The construction part he had already witnessed firsthand, as throughout his trip to Foshan and back to Luoping, there were dramatic upticks in road repairs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For land development, there were two parts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first part was for basic farming without machinery, and pond farms in certain areas, generally more towards agriculture.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The second part was specifically targeted towards manufacturing, specifically the two main arms manufacturing in Luoping.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both Anna and the three Russians had already submitted a joint expansion plan towards Foshan and Guangzhou, and even including Dongguan and Shenzhen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A short hyperlink quickly led to their plan of using pre-existing factories and converting them into war production.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Seems pretty good... But what's the issue here?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Scrolling down, Xiaoyun soon encountered why the plan was too good to be true.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It directly requested a half-billion-dollar loan with zero interest. A number so high that it just looked even more insane than his military budget increase.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What the fuck are they thinking? A billion dollars? No wonder this part of the plan isn't accepted.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Closing their plan and returning to Yuqi's plan, Xiaoyun's attention was instantly caught by the Phase Two focus.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was in more scientific, technical areas that were heavily overlooked, from meteorologists to subsea engineers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All these jobs may sound unimportant currently, but they play a critical role in future expansion. Knowing the weather pattern was critical to farming, as was the case with subsea engineers for an oil rig later down the line.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The end goal of Phase Two was to solve the unemployment question even further, reaching down to 5%.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Can't really afford it right now...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the estimated budget to be in the billions to revamp everything, Xiaoyun already knew this part of the plan was nowhere near in sight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not to mention, at the very bottom of phase two, it even had a little note stating the lack of available inventory. Even if he had the money, there was no way for them actually to execute something on such a large-scale implementation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, it wasn't all doom and gloom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The plan itself already splits phase two into three separate parts of its own, with the first part of the weather study well underway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Weather balloons and Computer models... They really still work?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiaoyun didn't dig too deep into it as he scrolled down to the next part, only to be met with an incomplete page.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I guess that's how far they had planned... Now, why is Phase One not really lowering unemployment as initially expected?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he pulled out the simplified unemployment data with all cities included, it showed an average of 20% unemployment, or 1 in 5 people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tying back to earlier data showing high unemployment mostly in Guangzhou, with 1 in 4, and the population shifting recently, it became apparent what the issue was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Too many people in Guangzhou and too few opportunities...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Searching for construction jobs and manufacturing jobs data, they both showed to be almost fully saturated despite the investment going into these companies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All of them are already at record-high hiring with their weekly reports, yet the unemployment rate continues to be trending up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the agriculture sector was hiring rather than receding, as the substitution of machinery only added to the pre-existing production.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In other words, what he had imagined of mechanized farming displacing basic tools didn't come true at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>People were stuck farming on land, despite the fact that their skills could be used somewhere else more usefully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The lack of job opportunities just killed any kind of possibilities of more advanced, scientific farming, as every angle showed labor was just too abundant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inefficient allocation was through the roof, but it was still better than having them do nothing and survive on handouts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How can we have record-hiring numbers and even more people working on the farm? This doesn't make any sense——\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Because the number of people keeps on increasing. I'm surprised you didn't realize that.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Turning around, Yuqi was standing right behind him, holding some sort of files in her hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Number of people? What do you mean by that?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The raw population. Think about it. If we have one million refugees flooding in, what do you think happens to the unemployment rate?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It... It goes up.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Exactly. So our unemployment rate will keep trending up as more people come here... Here, let me show you something.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yuqi quickly took over the mouse, going back to the main interface before pulling up recent population data.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Right before Xiaoyun's eyes, he could see the chart indicating 2 million people back in April, then jumping straight to 4 million by the end of May.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"4 million? What the fuck? When did we double our population out of nowhere?\" Xiaoyun questioned, refusing to believe the statistics before him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"All within 30 days.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As she scrolled further down, a map of the entire country popped up, showing clusters of red dots indicating where the refugees had come from.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Going as far up as Qiaodao city in Shandong province, to as far south as Hainan's Sanya city, everywhere had some refugees coming to Guangzhou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All of the paths were highlighted, with almost every single highway road having been taken, every single direction from all four sides leading up to them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You see why I'm so worried about this whole unemployment thing? Having so many new people only makes things more chaotic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiaoyun slowly nodded, his mind realizing this problem was way bigger than he had ever imagined.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I'll try my best to help you with it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yeah, right. Have you come up with a plan so far, then?\" Yuqi questioned, her eyes glancing over the notes he had written.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Not exactly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then you can help me with one right now... Your friends over in Changsha had been one of the biggest contributors to this issue.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the massive red dot right at Changsha, Xiaoyun began to realize the real root cause of the issue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I'll send someone to tell them to stop... No, I'll go talk to them myself.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And what do you think they can do for you? Tell those refugees to stay when they have zero resources to handle them?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yuqi's comment made him fall into silence. He knew her point was valid, but requesting them to stop just appeared to be the most straightforward solution.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We're on our own for this problem. We just have to suffer the consequences of being too nice to people.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What do you want me to do exactly, then?\" Xiaoyun questioned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I need you to go out and talk to them.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What? Didn't you just say talking to them won't do anything?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I've never said that. All I said is they won't stop sending people... I want you to negotiate with them to provide proper protections for these refugees.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Proper protection?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yuqi didn't answer right away. She slowly put down the paper she had been holding the whole time onto the desk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a newspaper from Luoping Daily, with a distinct, bold letter title right at the top that no one could miss.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Story of the Refugee... When did you care about people's lives over solving problems?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiaoyun asked, looking at her face with a curious look. His mind was a little surprised by the change of heart from her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hey, I'm not that heartless. Just because they had been giving me a headache doesn't mean I hate them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It's just that they put such a big burden on all the citizens living in our cities that hasn't done anything wrong——\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mhm, okay, Miss tsundere.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I'm not a tsundere, you idiot... People's views can change, okay? I just happened to change after reading this.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Really? A newspaper changed you?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing his face looking all surprised, Yuqi's face blushed for a second before forcefully turning his head back to the paper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes, really. You would have the same feeling if you read it yourself... Anyway, I have work to do.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And remember to talk to your friends in Changsha. Don't you dare to forget about it, or else I'm going to nag you all day later.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Okay, okay... Geez. What did Shen Wen let his editors do to convince a heartless woman to change her view?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With footsteps disappearing further into the distance, he was now all alone in his cubicle as he looked down at the folded newspaper in front of him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he unfolded the newspaper, it revealed the headline story taking all four pages front and back rather than the usual one block on a single page.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A Survival Story from a Refugees...\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1504,"2026-06-10T06:59:52.732Z",1,"novelbin.me","ecd7b3c5ded30cd851e3d90addce8c45d409bf3394c2379e21a845bba7ed0018","zombie-apocalypse-creation-chapter-565","zombie-apocalypse-creation-chapter-563",829,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fzombie-apocalypse-creation-cover.jpg"]