Thank you for playing and the detailed feedback!
I am surprised that there is a feedback regarding upgrade this time. It has been a neglected feature and on the verge of being abandoned as I haven't really used it that much too. But I will keep it for a while.
The distance units is still a placeholder for the distance traveled down the road. If I get the chance to flesh out the upgrade mechanic, I will make the distance units more understandable.
It has not been fleshed out yet, but there is a simple defense number for the BigRealtyHQ. As more buildings are built, the HQ will have higher defense, making it harder to win if you go directly to the HQ unless there is a huge number of crowd with high offense. And respectively, as you reclaim the buildings, the defense for the HQ will be lowered and thus easier to win the game. But the balance is still out-of-place and it's so easy to win the game even with 4+ buildings standing. I will communicate this more in the game next time.
I am glad that you point out the soft-lock when crossing 20:00 during tutorial. It was supposed to prevent another soft-lock but surprise surprise, another soft-lock :D
Again, thank you for the awesome feedback. I will be busy with your comment for at least a week or two. Please consider it as a compliment to your feedback-giving skills.