Wasteland Border Inspector - Chapter 665

Chapter 665: Chapter 226: Stone Province’s Predicament, The Cruel Reality! (2)

“I previously encountered a trade caravan from Sea Province at a checkpoint,” Cheng Ye recalled his past experience and added, “They brought quite a lot of dried fish and mutated crystals for trade.”

“That’s right, nowadays Sea Province can only offer these sea products.”

Luokuke shook his head helplessly, “In such hot weather, normal industrial production can’t be conducted at all. The only way for those large shelter cities to survive is by going out to sea to hunt. The sea near Sea Province has far more mutant beasts than our Stone Province. If they’re lucky, they can catch thousands or even tens of thousands of mutated fish in one trip, which allows them to extract mutated crystals and sun-dry the fish to preserve them. There are also some unique sea materials with considerable value.”

“But for us inspectors, for Happiness City, it’s unnecessary to open trade routes to Sea Province.”

“Sea Province’s special raw materials were heavily traded in past years. Even if we stop importing now, Happiness City’s reserves will last for twenty years. Moreover, many precious raw materials now have cheap industrial substitutes. Sea Province’s shelter cities are struggling bitterly; they can only distribute goods to private caravans and affiliate teams, letting them trade for supplies outside… In my view, by the fiftieth year of the New Era, at least half of those large shelter cities will have to be evacuated.”

“Will the large shelter cities also be evacuated?” Cheng Ye pondered silently for a moment.

To be considered “large,” a population must be over 300,000. Abandoning such significant settlements means the smaller ones relying on them will find survival even harder.

“Yes, not only Sea Province, but we’ve also withdrawn two large shelter cities in Stone Province over the past decade.”

Luokuke sighed deeply, his tone full of regret, “Indeed, Stone Province’s underground mineral reserves are rich; they’re valuable wherever placed and critically important to industrial production, but the overall development is greatly restricted!”

He lightly traced his fingers on the steps, organizing his thoughts, “Stone Province’s economy is almost entirely tied to minerals. It appears we’re holding a ‘golden mountain,’ but we’re actually trapped in a passive situation dominated by a single resource, boxing in our overall development. Take White Stone Shelter City, for instance. Its economic focus is entirely on mineral extraction and rough processing. Industries with high added value like deep mineral processing and equipment manufacturing haven’t even reached the levels of the old era; they can only sell refined ores at an increased price to neighboring provinces.”

“Locally they earn just hard-earned money, endlessly stuck in a paradox of rich resources but poor economy, unable to escape.”

“Moreover, the shelter cities’ industry space is severely compressed. Not to mention agriculture; if there’s an issue with the external raw material supply chain of nutrient paste, even Happiness City would be in a frenzy.”

Luokuke paused, turning to the more critical problem, “The most deadly issues are talent loss and technological gaps. Only our Happiness City has an industrial zone capable of training skilled workers and offering technical positions. Most other shelter cities in Stone Province still rely on ‘manual labor.’ Young people either work hard in mines or venture to other provinces for a future. Which would you choose? Surely the latter; who doesn’t want a job where they can learn skills and have upward potential?”

“Take the trade caravans, for example. They’ve been coming less frequently in recent years. Firstly, other provinces also have mineral resources, and as various shelter cities’ expansion areas increase, local resources become almost self-sufficient, making it unnecessary to travel so far to Stone Province for goods. Secondly, our Stone Province’s shelter cities are solely focused on mining, entirely neglecting infrastructure rebuilding. Roads left damaged have no one repairing them, several bridges connecting neighboring provinces have collapsed. When the roads are cut off, vehicles can’t pass through at all; detouring requires hundreds more kilometers, risking deviation from safe routes—who would willingly go through such a hassle?”

Luokuke spoke with a tone of helplessness.

Road networks as these essential infrastructures must be promptly maintained by surrounding shelter cities to ensure functionality.

But besides Happiness City, almost all Stone Province’s shelter cities are built around mining areas and resource points, distant from old-era road networks.

Who would invest substantial resources solely for outsiders’ convenience to repair these road networks?

In comparison, neighboring provinces with higher density of shelter cities and gathering points don’t have this concern.

Many shelter cities are built in former cities, counties, or towns, making road network maintenance a simple task.

You repair one segment, I repair another, and naturally, the entire road network is restored.

“Additionally, Stone Province’s shelter cities all use battery power supplies, and charging facilities can’t be extended to the wilderness. But neighboring provinces are different; they’re restoring gas stations and relying on small gathering points to operate externally, leaving 5% of the revenue locally and taking the rest back to their city. Some even operate independently, specifically to refuel passing trade caravans.”

“Those fuel trucks keep changing drivers, covering hundreds of kilometers a day. How efficient is that for cargo turnover? Plus, given their technological advantage, caravans naturally prefer heading that way.”

Luokuke spoke with a tone of helplessness.

Cheng Ye listened quietly, his heart heavy. As expected from a long-term field inspector, everything from his mouth reflected the harsh realities of Stone Province’s development, much more concrete and brutal than the information Cheng Ye gathered in the Buffer Zone.

“Inspector Cheng, I’ve read your answer sheet.”

Luokuke suddenly chuckled, his tone slightly probing, “Obtained it by borrowing from Station Chief Ding. You aren’t angry, are you?”

“It’s fine, just an answer sheet,” Cheng Ye shook his head.