Although Zhou Yi was very displeased with the Legal Front for copying his work, considering that they were legitimately investing in the Mars project, he couldn't say it was wrong.

In the long run, it's a good thing for the development there that such a wealthy and powerful entity is pouring real money into Mars.

Zhou Yi quickly focused his attention on more urgent matters.

This summer, the high temperatures continued, reaching 40 degrees Celsius at one point. In the generally cooler wasteland era, this was already a terrifyingly hot summer for the new human race.

More troublesome was the water shortage.

Of the five regions of the Development Alliance, only the Tree Monster Territory was slightly better off; the other places struggled to get a single rainfall even once in half a month.

This directly led to a large-scale water shortage.

Rivers and lakes rapidly evaporated under the sun, and the water levels in waterways continuously dropped.

The water near the riverbeds became extremely turbid, filled with Dead Sea silt and a large number of plankton, making it difficult to drink directly. This caused a severe crisis in both domestic and production water supply.

Even though Sand Port had several Dead Sea Channels, it still faced a water shortage.

The residents needed clean water. The clean water in the reservoirs was limited, and treating the heavily polluted low-level water took much longer.

Zhou Yi decided immediately, announcing a reduction in water use for electricity and manufacturing, prioritizing domestic drinking water and agricultural water.

Sand Port City followed suit, temporarily halting manufacturing production to fully secure the city's drinking water.

Neighboring Steel Refining City was even more affected. Since the steel industry is water-intensive, requiring large volumes of water during production, they had to shut down nearly half of their factories.

Fortunately, the ice cream industry provided some support. Amidst the hot and water-scarce conditions, the sales of "Lov" brand iced drinks repeatedly hit new highs, somewhat offsetting the severe slump in the steel industry.

Steel Refining Lord still felt a lingering fear: "Luckily, we didn't rely on just one pillar industry. Otherwise, I really don't know how we would have survived this summer."

"To be honest, the daily sales of these iced drinks keep increasing, scaring the city team... We haven't taken the opportunity to raise prices, so our reputation with various customers is excellent."

"Thanks to Mr. Zhou's advice back then! Otherwise, Steel Refining City would have missed this major opportunity with iced drinks, and the economic crisis could have been severe, with many residents fleeing..."

It then shifted its tone: "Mr. Zhou, what do you think of this round of praise?"

Zhou Yi said: "It's okay, the level is appropriate, not as exaggerated as before."

"Oh oh oh! Finally a success! The social mode indeed requires a vast amount of data input to reach the correct model. I'll make micro-adjustments according to this standard in the future!"

The Sea Lord of Electromechanics City was overjoyed.

With Steel Refining City's industries rising against the trend, the adjacent Shell City fell into complete distress.

The local main industries were Mushroom House and liquid batteries. Mushroom House was already widespread, slowing growth, while the emerging liquid battery industry, being part of the chemical sector, was highly water-demanding.

Although Shell City was near the real ocean, fresh water resources were scarce, heavily reliant on a local U-shaped tributary. This natural limitation hindered their production and manufacturing capabilities.

They also hadn't built any Dead Sea Channels.

This summer, the local residents faced severe water shortages.

Luckily, two days ago, the Wuhu Elevated Bridge connected across the sea to Shell City. Large quantities of clean water were delivered to Shell City by enhanced car, alleviating the local urgent need.

Thus, Sand Port, Steel Refining City, and Shell City were formally connected.

The Shuanghe Region, far from here, was fighting alone.

The drought and rare rainfall there led to an insect plague, with locust swarms ravaging Harvest City once more.

Duke Destructive urgently contacted Zhou Yi: "We have an unprecedented insect swarm here, and the plague is extremely severe. We urgently need the company's sand rat assistance. Requesting support!"

Zhou Yi immediately dispatched the electromechanical mouse Nemo, leading an extermination army composed of sand rats and drill head rats to the Shuanghe Region by airship to combat the local insect swarm.

In this dry and scorching summer, the Development Alliance was somewhat affected, but many outside areas suffered immense impacts.

The water shortage led to insufficient irrigation for crops, significantly reducing or even ruining the yield of soybeans, peanuts, and other crops.

The agricultural decline caused food supply shortages, price hikes, and shortages of oil and sugar in the market, making it difficult to support the needs of the floating hearts, consequently reducing power generation, and hindering the work of electric cats.

The lack of water rapidly deteriorated sanitary conditions, causing cholera outbreaks in dozens of cities around the Development Alliance.

Even the legendary sea lord Lord Dominator faced a large-scale dysentery outbreak in the Hundred Schools Plateau due to water issues.

In this area,

Zhou Yi had to admit, the infrastructure in Mechanical City was still more advanced.

Every Mechanical City had a storage system, large reservoirs, water purification equipment, sewage treatment plants, and underground water circulation systems.

Some medium to large cities even had artificial rain equipment.

With such water shortages, their advanced water recycling systems allowed them to be minimally affected.

Precise control over water flow and usage also maintained high water resource utilization with minimal waste.

Even small cities like Recursive City had basic water recycling systems.

Zhou Yi asked Sigma of Recursive City: "Is it possible to replicate Recursive City's water recycling system in other cities?"

"Chairman, it's certainly possible. However, it requires a series of urban renovations and constructions, including redesigning the underground pipelines, separating water and sewage, and reconstructing the intake, purification, and storage facilities."

Such large-scale projects nearly require excavating a city to rebuild its skeleton.

"The data center suggests making additions based on the actual situation."

It said: "The company has Dead Sea Channels for water intake. They are cost-effective, stable in operation, and can absorb a large amount of water."

"Regarding purification, Jade City and Maria Hospital of the company have such capabilities. Actually, by directing the water through them for purification, setting up underground water pipelines, it can enter both residential and industrial areas."

Zhou Yi slapped his thigh.

He had been focusing so much on others that he forgot about the advantages of Building Life he had.

Besides, the sand rats led by Nemo are professional pipeline workers with centuries of experience in underground excavation and piping.

Once they return, the water project can be further improved.

Strangely, the Legal Front was digging everywhere, seemingly developing underground cities and subterranean spaces, even during the water shortage season. Drones patrolled everywhere, shrouded in mystery.

Zhou Yi kept an eye on this project of the Legal Front.

You copy me, I copy you!

Don't let me catch the chance!

...

During this water shortage period, airships delivered a variety of equipment to Jade City.

These were all specialized devices Zhou Yi bought online from Mirror City and Holy Mountain.

Minister of Agriculture Yuan Tong and Dean Da Vinci brought people over to inspect and immediately start using these agricultural and medical devices.

Meanwhile, Sand Port witnessed an unprecedented wave of immigration.

A large number of new humans arrived at Sand Port by airship. The wealthy bought or rented Mushroom Houses to settle, while those with less money camped outside.

According to Red Kestrel's statistics, just this summer, more than 5,000 immigrants arrived, an astonishing number.

Zhou Yi summoned Cao Dayuan for an explanation.

Cao Dayuan excelled in interpersonal relations and understood the survival needs and conditions of ordinary people. He was not only the community director of Jade City but also the outbound director of the second Five-Year Plan.

"Chairman, the reason is plain and simple: water shortage, nothing else."

Cao Dayuan wiped the sweat off his forehead with his sleeve: "The summer immigrants mainly came from three regions: Cotton and Hemp Land and Glass Castle to the east, and Fanyun City to the west. Together, they accounted for more than 3,000 people."

Zhou Yi frowned: "These three regions have always been our trade partners, purchasing a large number of refrigeration boxes and gliders from us. As far as I remember, their economies weren't bad. Is the water shortage affecting them that much?"

"It may not impact the cities much, but it's life-threatening for ordinary new humans."

Cao Dayuan sighed: "I've talked to many of them and confirmed the actual situation through various channels."

"Cotton and Hemp Land grows cotton and flax. They've encountered water issues before, but never such a prolonged drought as this year, with temperatures staying at 38 degrees Celsius for over two months."

"The lack of irrigation and shade drastically reduced the yield. The sea lord ordered farmers and refugees to use manual irrigation in a rescue effort, leading to many suffering from heatstroke and heat-related illnesses. Many collapsed, convulsed, or suffered brain damage."

"Defying the orders would get them caught by the sea lord. Unable to survive, some of them fled to our place."

"Glass Castle's primary industry is manufacturing various glassware, which requires a lot of water mainly for cooling, cleaning, and raw material processing."

His voice was hoarse.

Zhou Yi handed him a bottle of soda water.

"No rush, take your time."

"Thank you, Chairman."

Cao Dayuan unscrewed the cap and took a big gulp before continuing: "Glass Castle has many glass workers, as well as some temporary laborers and errand-runners. Workers are well-treated, so they stay. The ones fleeing are those temporary laborers and errand-runners."

"They ran because of water quality issues there. Many suffered stomach pains and pooped worms after drinking it. They could feel something wriggling in their stomachs at night, making them terrified and anxious."

"Local doctors could only prescribe some deworming medicine, but it didn't help. I asked Dean Da Vinci, who treated several patients from there. It said it was due to ingesting large amounts of plankton."

"Even in boiling water, some Dead Sea plankton can survive. The number of plankton in Glass Castle's water far exceeded the standard, causing people to suffer gastrointestinal and internal damage after ingesting them."

"Actually, there's no way around it. The good water was reserved for glass workers, while the lower-tiered laborers drank the polluted bottom water."

"So this group also ran here to work and seek treatment. They knew they probably wouldn't last through the summer in Glass Castle."

Zhou Yi felt a tinge of heaviness in his heart.

Any disaster's cost always ends up being borne by the broad masses of ordinary people.

Although Wasteland Company had accomplished much in recent years, bringing changes to many areas, it was still far from enough.

"Lastly, Fanyun City."

"That place has a unique environment with high terrain, often shrouded in clouds and mist, and people living on the mountains. It's also Gongsun Bao's hometown."

Cao Dayuan explained: "Fanyun residents also came because of the drought, with no water to use and the mountains cracking. Besides, Gongsun Bao is now somewhat famous, so they followed the trail."

Zhou Yi nodded: "Old Cao, handle the settlement work well, and try to help them solve employment issues. Having a job will give them peace of mind."

"I know, Chairman."

Cao Dayuan grinned: "All departments are short-handed. People from Cotton and Hemp Land can apply to the Agriculture Department since most of them are good at farming."

"People from Glass Castle can work at the Power Department's construction sites, where a lot of glass is needed to make Curved Houses. Fanyun residents are good at building houses with stones and doing construction; following Gongsun Bao is a good way."

"Chairman, there's someone in this group with a special skill."

"His name is Xiao Chu, a tailor. The clothes he makes can make the wearer a center of attention, even the Guangna Species love wearing his designs."

A monster tailor?

Zhou Yi became intrigued: "Bring him to me, I want to chat with him."

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