News that Rock Fortress had retaken the entire industrial park, except for Block D, spread quickly around Knoxville through the reconnaissance squads, the scavengers, the Throat-Slasher Gang, and the Riverbank Guerrillas active along the Tennessee River.
A survivor stronghold with solid walls, restored water and electricity, and even working production lines was, in the second year of the apocalypse, nothing less than a beacon with a deadly pull.
For many small groups and lone survivors struggling on the edge, never knowing if they would see the next day, this was no longer just a rumor. It was a possible way out, close enough to reach.
The first to arrive was a group of survivors who had been occupying an abandoned motel on a highway outside the city.
There were a little over twenty of them, mostly family units, living off what they could scavenge from wrecked vehicles along the road and the motel's limited supplies.
Their leader was a truck driver with a sallow face from long-term malnutrition.
They drove in with a few battered vehicles, bringing several boxes of snacks, some tools, and even a few tattered porn magazines. When they appeared nervously at the checkpoint outside the industrial park, their eyes were filled with the desperate hope of people making one final gamble.
Next came a family that had taken over an independent gas station in the suburbs and the small supermarket beside it.
They were fewer in number, only eight or nine people, but they were more organized. Their leader was the gas station's former owner, along with his two adult sons.
They arrived cautiously in a modified tanker truck, bringing precious fuel and some canned food that was still well sealed.
After that came several farmers from the nearby countryside.
They came from more distant valleys, where news traveled slowly, but their resolve seemed even stronger.
The farmers came together, dusty and worn from the road, bringing livestock that had survived the disaster, along with some grain seeds and hay that had not been preserved all that well.
Their request was simple: they wanted protection so they could continue farming and raising livestock.
In addition to organized survivor groups, scattered individuals and pairs or trios of survivors began appearing one after another. Workers, white-collar employees, students, bewildered old people...
Like iron filings drawn to a magnet, they struggled out from every corner around Knoxville and gathered outside the industrial park.
As expected of a medium-sized industrial city, there were far more scattered survivors here than in the mountains.
Last year, for months, no survivors had come to Rock Fortress or Blackberry Ranch asking to join. Everyone they found had been discovered through one accident or another.
Here, it was the complete opposite. People came on their own, full of hope, seeking refuge.
The population swelled at a speed that was almost visible to the naked eye.
In just two weeks, the number of people who came to make contact and express their wish to join easily broke into the hundreds, pushing the total population under Rock Fortress's control past 1,200 in one leap.
Outside the industrial park, tents for the temporary reception area stretched one after another. Human voices, livestock noises, and the sounds of vehicles mixed together, filling the place with life while also bringing unprecedented management pressure and security risks.
Calista had already prepared for this. Or rather, Rock Fortress's system of rules had been built for exactly this kind of expansion.
The admission screening period was strictly enforced.
Every newcomer, no matter the size of their group, first had to spend at least seventy-two hours in the quarantine zone for observation, basic medical screening, and preliminary questioning.
The questioning was led by Gwendolyn and Oak, and its purpose was to determine each newcomer's true background, skills, health condition, and potential risks.
However, the screening was not harsh for the sake of being harsh.
For most people who came with family, had clear skills, were friendly, and were willing to cooperate, the process went relatively smoothly.
Those who passed the screening were informed of Rock Fortress's basic system and given a temporary identity marker along with several days' worth of basic rations, usually a nutritious porridge and clean water.
For those with suspicious backgrounds, evasive answers, or large quantities of undeclared weapons and other dangerous items, the screening became much stricter. Some were even temporarily detained for further investigation.
As for the few who tried to bluff their way through or cause trouble, after experiencing the Defense Force's fists and gun barrels, they quickly became obedient and paid the price for their actions.
Passing the screening was only the first step.
A population over one thousand was not just a number.
What came next was the more important task of sorting and resettlement.
The core management group made up of Calista, Rickson, Leah, and the others sorted the new members according to their screening records and personal wishes.
Qualified young and middle-aged adults among the newcomers, after voluntary registration, basic training, and loyalty observation, would also be absorbed into the Defense Force reserves.
Another portion of the people was sent to the Blackberry Ranch secondary base.
These were mainly farmers and their families who had farming experience or clearly expressed a willingness to work in agriculture and animal husbandry, along with some physically fit people who wanted a more stable living environment.
There was more space there, and the environment was better suited for expanding agricultural production.
Professor Howard, Morgan, Joey, and the UTK agricultural team gained new helpers and resources.
After the newly brought livestock went through quarantine, they were merged into the existing herds and managed by experienced people like Tommy, Sarah, and the farmers who joined later.
More gentle valley slopes were planned out as terraced fields or new pastures. Seeds were sorted and stored in preparation for planting the following year.
The increase in Blackberry Ranch's population also meant that residential areas, barns, and processing workshops needed to be expanded, so the construction team gained new manpower as well.
A new project was also quietly launched: aquaculture.
Thanks to the trade agreement with the Riverbank Guerrillas, a batch of lively fish fry suited to the local cold-water environment was carefully transported to the ranch.
Professor Elena and her hydraulic engineering team had already surveyed several streams from the Great Smoky Mountains that flowed near the ranch. They selected sections with gentle currents that were easy to control and began designing simple netted aquaculture areas and water quality monitoring points.
This was not only an attempt to diversify their food sources, but also a practical use of water resources and ecological recycling.
Among the newcomers were two people who had once been amateur fishing enthusiasts and aquaculture farm workers. They were immediately assigned to the project.
The rest were assigned to different positions in the industrial park according to their skills and preferences.
Those with strength and a willingness to learn but no particular specialty joined the construction team or transport team, helping reinforce factory buildings, clear roads, and improve defensive works.
Those with skills in mechanical repair, electrical work, and similar trades were assigned to the appropriate repair groups or production groups after a simple assessment by Ancheta and the others.
A small number of people with organizational ability or special skills, such as a warehouse manager and an accountant, were assigned to logistics records or administrative support positions.
The industrial park became busier than ever.
More and more workshops restarted their production lines. In addition to the first few household goods factories, the weapons production line Calista had been waiting for so long finally began operating as well.
Wagner and Jason were kept at the industrial park specifically to oversee that familiar production line.
One was an arms dealer who had secretly learned part of Lorenzo's techniques, while the other had been the head of the weapons production line itself.
However, the workers now were no longer the former prisoners. They were residents just like them, working to earn credits.
Rock Fortress was already beginning to take the shape of a major power.