Three days later, Jason had been keeping track of what was happening in Georgia and congratulated Sam for his extraordinary work. He also found out that there was a relationship with great potential between Sam and a girl from the base.
Therefore, considering everything that could happen in the future, he entrusted Sam with the task of taking good care of everything in case something unforeseen occurred. Jason didn't consider himself an immortal man; in fact, he knew this world well enough to understand that death could reach anyone in less than a second.
And to avoid problems, Jason had left certain hereditary belongings for the next supreme leader of the organization he had created.
The only one who knew about this was Tyler, who safeguarded the Black Candy — the suitcase containing a nuclear-class bomb that Jason had obtained in the early days.
After all that, Jason held an important meeting with architects and workers to carry out an internal renovation of the central base.
In front of a large table, there was a drawing of a massive ring-shaped building — a very beautiful yet imposing structure. The drawing showed a circular building that seemed vulnerable at first glance, but only those who would build it knew that the upper and lower floors were the most important. The lower floors, with windows on all sides, gave it a beautiful appearance as well.
It was a combination of a modern building slightly modified by the brightest minds in the base. Therefore, considering recent needs, this building had all the advantages required to survive almost any kind of situation.
The central base currently had three large walls, each one bigger than the last, and the space between them had been used for housing, but now it would undergo a complete renovation.
For this renovation, the spaces of the main inner walls would be used. The goal was to create four of these ring-shaped buildings in the four different directions, using only the middle wall's space, and with the space of the innermost wall, construct the main structure that would connect to the four circular outer-wall buildings through underground passages.
Jason no longer wanted a powerful base; he wanted to build a city from scratch — strong enough to meet all the needs required in this world. After seeing those new variants of the infected, Jason had thought about this before, and now that desire had solidified after what happened in Birmingham.
This structure was designed in a ring or circular shape to defend against all possible anomalies. It had high and sturdy foundations, and the windows would be made of reinforced glass capable of withstanding all kinds of common walkers without any problem.
The internal functions of this type of building were designed to protect the people living there — something ordinary buildings couldn't provide.
These four buildings could provide shelter for at least 40,000 people without any problems, and the special building to be constructed on the inner wall would store the most dangerous, productive, and destructive elements of the entire base to maintain security and order.
As for the outermost wall, a plan had begun to use that land to build fields, sheds, barns, and greenhouses so that production wouldn't be affected by the central base's renovation.
Arturo examined the drawings and professional blueprints; all the details were written in various plans, and materials had already begun moving from Georgia to the central base. That was enough for Jason to listen to Arturo's opinion — who had recently obtained the title of captain in the construction area, gaining over a thousand workers currently operating on-site.
"This design is truly ingenious," Arturo said. "It not only provides housing for thousands of people but also serves a defensive role. But what's truly impressive is the underground web that will connect the entire base into one, regardless of the walls."
Jason, who had given very strict requirements to his subordinates, explained: "Not only that, there are solar panels to harness sunlight, and the reinforced glass is meant to reduce energy usage for interior lighting.
These structures don't occupy much space — they make use of it. The central area can be used to plant crops and dig a well. That way, it basically turns that place into a highly productive zone. If something bad happens, the crops from the four buildings and the stored food will be enough to sustain life even if something goes wrong outside."
Arturo nodded repeatedly, studying the blueprints carefully. He couldn't even hear the others speaking because he was so deeply focused on the construction. He had worked on this kind of structure before, though most of those were built over lakes — now, what would increase the difficulty was digging underground and connecting the subterranean parts to the central structure. "What's the rush with this, Arturo? Arturo?"
Seeing how seriously the man was absorbed in the plans, Jason smiled, unsure how to react.
"Ah? Oh, sorry," Arturo said, startled. "It's easy for me to handle this kind of construction, but we might face some difficulties with the underground section. If we dig that deep, it'll really take a lot of time."
"Hehe, that's fine."
Jason indicated that he didn't mind such issues and then pointed to a huge plan on the wall. "There are a few details I need to tell you about. Due to the number of containers, our third wall can only be built this way for now, but in the future, it'll be much larger once everything inside is complete. But those containers won't go to waste — once we plan the expansion, they'll be moved to the new perimeter."
"Don't worry about damaging anything. In fact, I want the central base to be a perfect city capable of facing any kind of disaster. Therefore, once we move the greenhouses, barns, and fields to the outer section, we can begin."
If Arturo was worried about anything, it was the crops — which were extremely troublesome.
Seeing him lost in thought, Jason patted his shoulder and said with a confident look, "I'll leave this to you, Captain. I believe you can do a great job with the construction of this future city."
"Eh?"
Before Arturo, who was deeply focused, could react, Jason hurriedly left the scene and walked quickly toward the third wall of the central base.
When Arturo looked up again, Jason was nowhere to be seen. He scratched his head, then found a place to sit and continued thinking alongside the other architects.
And Jason, having successfully delegated the matter, didn't rest at all. As soon as he reached the vast area of the third wall, he saw Hershel and Otis walking among the barns.
"Hershel!"
The gray-haired old man seemed to have found his purpose in life again. Looking at the animals inside the shed, he turned his head and smiled.
"Jason!"
Otis also greeted him with a smile.
"How's the stage of crop development on the outer side? Are the fields and livestock doing well?"
Looking at the cows and pigs surrounded by their offspring, Jason felt truly happy about everything they had accomplished.
Hershel nodded with satisfaction and said, "It seems you've solved that problem that was worrying you, but you should know everyone's happy, even if they live inside a barn. The world outside is nothing compared to what's in here — never forget that."
"The walls of this base can give people the wrong idea," Jason replied. "It already happened in a story I once read. The people of the inner wall were the nobles, and they controlled everything outside. Those from the outermost wall were the first to die when monsters attacked, and as a result, they moved inward, causing resentment among those living inside."
"You have a lot on your mind," Hershel said. "You've worked hard enough to give thousands of people a life they would never have had if it weren't for you. You're too hard on yourself. Remember, our safety isn't your sole responsibility."
Jason had a long talk with Hershel and felt a bit more at peace. No matter who you are, hearing Hershel's words could ease your burden and guide you back onto the right path.
"I apologize for the long work I've assigned you, Hershel. I hope you're not having trouble. If you need anything, you can delegate to the younger ones, and always take care of your health."
"I know very well…" Hershel nodded with understanding.
"Well, the third wall of the base will be completed soon, and the next step is to transfer the barn area, fields, and greenhouses there. I'll assign a large number of people to assist you."
"That would be great…"
After saying goodbye to both of them, Jason didn't stay any longer and hurried toward the inner courtyard.
The third wall, made of containers, was nearly complete, and he was about to get back to work. After finishing the outer wall, that area would need to be developed to build the world he envisioned.
There was another issue that needed investigation — the energy problem.
Although it would take a long time before fuel ran out, the lack of electricity remained a problem that had to be definitively solved at the central base.
Currently, there were two major ideas developed by the brightest minds in the base. The first was to build a large photovoltaic power generation system. The second was to locate a pre-apocalyptic energy company to see if there was another way to obtain continuous, stable electricity. After all, relying on generators in the long term wasn't an option.
Coincidentally, there was a branch of a major power company just a few dozen kilometers northeast of the prison, and several factories of this same company northwest of downtown Atlanta, which had already been taken over by the Georgia outpost.
But this problem apparently had no immediate solution at the central base. Therefore, it was something he would have to work on from now on. With a creak, he opened the door to the general office — only to see someone sitting at his desk, who seemed to have been waiting for a while.
"Rick!? What are you doing here?"