336: Chapter 336 I Have a Plan

When Ling Shuanghan returned, her body was covered in a thin layer of frost.

So were her Female Warriors.

Everyone's backpack was filled with heavy blue ore, making a faint clinking sound as they walked.

Like wind chimes.

If wind chimes were made of ore that could save five thousand lives.

Lin Yuan was waiting in the command room.

After entering, Ling Shuanghan didn't exchange pleasantries and went straight to her report.

"Good news: The frost crystal stone vein is massive. Conservatively estimated, the reserves are over several dozen tons. It's enough for the Shelter to use for a long time."

Lin Yuan nodded.

"Bad news: There's something deep within the ice layer. It's huge. We triggered a reaction when we were 250 meters underground—the entire ice cave was vibrating. It was like a heartbeat."

"How big?"

"I'm not sure. But Qin Ziyan's perception only touched its edge."

Lin Yuan processed this information.

Then he asked a question that no one expected.

"What is the frequency of that vibration?"

Ling Shuanghan was stunned.

Frequency?

She recalled for a few seconds and stated a number.

Lin Yuan's expression changed slightly.

The change was very small.

So small that only Ye Qingxue noticed it among those present.

"It's the same frequency I felt when I absorbed the authority fragment," Lin Yuan said.

The command room was quiet for two seconds.

What did this mean?

It meant that the huge thing deep in the ice layer that could make the entire ice cave vibrate—

Was related to the authority fragment.

Ji Wushuang opened her mouth, wanting to say something.

But Lin Yuan had already spoken.

"Solve the problem at hand first."

He glanced out the window.

The wind and snow were heavier than yesterday.

"Staying warm is more important than curiosity."

This sentence was very Lin Yuan.

Between "saving five thousand people" and "exploring the unknown," he always chose the former.

It wasn't because he wasn't curious.

It was because he knew how to prioritize.

The frost crystal stone was sent to Xia Muqing's laboratory.

The so-called laboratory was actually just a small room in the corner of the Shelter partitioned off using Intelligent Building Modules.

It was filled with various samples, data tablets, and Xia Muqing's personal items.

The personal items included: three changes of lab coats, a pillow, and a box of compressed rations made by Chu Yanran.

The pillow indicated that she often slept in the laboratory.

The compressed rations indicated that she often forgot to eat.

Having only three lab coats indicated that she often forgot to change her clothes.

In short, this was a typical researcher's den.

When Xia Muqing got the frost crystal stone, her eyes shone like two searchlights.

She used her D-rank Data Analysis Superpower to scan the internal structure of the ore.

Then she went quiet.

She was quiet for a full thirty seconds.

This was extremely rare for Xia Muqing.

Because her usual state was: mouth faster than brain, brain faster than hands, and hands faster than everyone else.

The thirty seconds of silence meant she had seen something beyond her cognition.

"This is impossible," she said.

Lin Yuan waited.

"This kind of ore... it doesn't consume its own energy."

"What do you mean?"

"It absorbs cold energy from the environment and then converts it into heat to release. The lower the temperature, the more heat it releases. And—"

She looked up, the eyes behind her glasses flashing with a near-manic light.

"It has no loss. Theoretically, as long as the external temperature is below minus 200 degrees, it can release a constant 35 degrees of heat forever. Forever."

Forever.

This word barely existed in the Apocalypse.

All supplies had an expiration date.

All energy had consumption.

All "forevers" were lies.

But the frost crystal stone was different.

It was truly "forever."

At least in the White Frost Era, this was the case.

Xia Muqing was so excited she spun around the laboratory three times.

Then she stopped, pushed up her glasses, and entered serious mode.

"I have a plan."

Her plan was: grind the frost crystal stone into powder, mix it into the materials of the Intelligent Building Modules, and let the Shelter's walls have built-in heating functionality.

No extra energy needed.

No maintenance needed.

As long as the wall was still there, the heat would be there.

Lin Yuan only said two words after hearing the plan.

"Approved."

Then he looked at Lan Xin.

"Coordinate with her."

Lan Xin nodded.

No extra words.

Lan Xin was one of the people in the Shelter who spoke the least.

Even less than Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan at least would say "not bad" and "hmm."

Lan Xin even skipped the "hmm."

She just nodded.

Nodding meant "I know, I will get it done, don't worry."

The renovation project officially started two hours later.

This was the largest collaborative action in the history of the Shelter.

Lan Xin was responsible for reprogramming the building modules.

This was the technical core of the entire project—

The original material formula for the Intelligent Building Modules did not include frost crystal stone powder; parameters needed to be rewritten.

Lan Xin sat in front of the control console, her fingers dancing rapidly on the holographic keyboard.

Her expression didn't change from start to finish.

Just like a running server.

Stable, efficient, zero expression.

Su Yuyan was responsible for supply allocation.

During the renovation, the daily operation of the Shelter could not stop.

Over five thousand people needed to eat, drink water, use the bathroom, and sleep.

These things didn't count for much in normal times.

But in the situation where "the walls of the entire Shelter had to be dismantled and reinstalled," every single thing became a logistical nightmare.

Su Yuyan spent half an hour creating an allocation plan.

The plan was precise down to every time slot, every area, and the consumption volume of every supply.

Lin Wanrou took a look at the plan after receiving it.

Then she looked up at Su Yuyan.

"What did you do before?"

"Ran a company."

"How big of a company?"

"The kind that's publicly listed."

Lin Wanrou stopped talking.

She silently began to execute the plan.

Lin Wanrou was responsible for personnel scheduling.

The temporary relocation and accommodation of over 5,000 people needed to be precise down to every room.

Who moved first, who moved later, where to move, how long to stay, when to move back—

Every detail could not be wrong.

Because a mistake meant someone would have to stay in a minus ten-degree corridor for a few extra hours.

Minus ten degrees wouldn't kill anyone.

But it would make people angry.

Lin Wanrou didn't want to see the scene of five thousand people getting angry together.

So her plan was extremely detailed.

Detailed enough that even the locations of the elderly and children in every family were marked.

Ye Qingxue was responsible for overall coordination.

The progress of all departments was summarized to her.

She stood in front of the holographic map in the command room, with over a dozen real-time updating data windows in front of her.

Construction progress, material consumption, personnel location, temperature changes, energy reserves—

Every number was jumping.

Ye Qingxue's eyes switched rapidly between these numbers.

Her brain was processing over a dozen information streams simultaneously.

This wasn't a Superpower.

This was ability.

Pure, acquired management ability.

Chu Yanran led the kitchen team to operate at full capacity.

During the renovation, everyone ate hot food.

This was the rule set by Ye Qingxue.

The reason was simple: when people were cold and ate hot food, they would be in a better mood. A good mood meant they were less likely to cause trouble. Not causing trouble meant not affecting the renovation progress.

So hot food wasn't a benefit.

It was a means of maintaining stability.

Chu Yanran wasn't interested in this logic.

She only knew one thing: if people needed to eat, she would cook.

Food for five thousand people.

Three meals a day.

Every meal was hot.

Chu Yanran and her kitchen team almost never rested during the renovation.

But she never complained.

Because every time she walked through the corridor carrying hot food.

The way those survivors huddled in temporary Shelters looked at her—

Wasn't the look of seeing a cook.

It was the look of seeing a savior.

In a minus ten-degree corridor, a bowl of hot porridge was the whole world.

What was Lin Yuan doing?

He was using Origin Ember in the command room to create temporary heating devices.

Origin Ember was a resource unlocked by Qin Ziyan.

Essentially, it was an energy source close to the temperature of a star's core.

Using it for heating was like using an aircraft carrier engine to charge a mobile phone.

It was using big talent for small tasks to an artistic level.

But Lin Yuan didn't care.

As long as it worked.

He spent three hours making six heating devices.

Each device had a heating area of about 500 square meters and could maintain an indoor temperature of 10 degrees in a minus 200-degree environment.

Six units covered the core area of the Shelter.

Not warm enough.

But enough to survive.

During the renovation, Ling Shuanghan's Female Warriors once again displayed breathtaking efficiency.

They didn't need anyone to command them.

Wherever there was a shortage of manpower, they appeared.

When moving the frost crystal stone powder, they were there.

When dismantling the old walls, they were there.

When installing the new modules, they were still there.

Ye Qingxue noticed this.

She found Ling Shuanghan.

"Your people are very useful."

Ling Shuanghan glanced at her.

"Selected over one hundred years."

Ye Qingxue nodded.

She didn't ask what "selected" meant.

Because she had guessed it.

One hundred years of the Apocalypse.

Those who could survive were the most useful.

Those who couldn't survive—

No need to discuss.

The renovation proceeded to the afternoon of the second day.

The external temperature dropped to minus 168 degrees.

Ling Shuanghan's prediction was completely correct—the Frost Tide was a stepped decline.

And every step was steeper than the last.

The internal temperature of the Shelter barely maintained 10 degrees relying on the six Origin Ember heating devices.

But the energy consumption was huge.

Lin Yuan did the math.

If the temperature continued to drop at this rate, the reserves of Origin Ember would only last for 7 days.

7 days.

The renovation project was originally scheduled for 10 days.

A difference of 3 days.

Lin Yuan told Ye Qingxue this number.

Ye Qingxue didn't panic after hearing it.

She picked up the progress schedule and looked at it for thirty seconds.

Then she began to reschedule the timeline.

Cutting out all "elastic time."

Compressing the intervals of every step.

Merging two processes that could be done in parallel.

Final timeline: 6 days.

1 day less than 7 days.

Lin Yuan glanced at her.

"Can it be done?"

"Yes."

One word.

No explanation.

No guarantee.

Just "yes."

Lin Yuan didn't ask again.

Because when Ye Qingxue said "yes," she never failed.

This wasn't trust.

This was data.

Late at night.

The renovation project paused for rest.

The lights in the Shelter were dim. Most people had already fallen asleep.

Occasionally, the footsteps of patrol teams passed by in the corridor.

The door of the command room was pushed open.

Ye Qingxue walked in.

Holding a cup in her hand.

"What is it?" Lin Yuan asked.

"c-grade energy mineral water. Heated."

Lin Yuan took it and took a sip.

The warm liquid slid down his throat, carrying a rich taste similar to hot cocoa.

c-grade energy mineral water was a resource unlocked by Ye Qingyue.

It tasted like ordinary mineral water when cold.

The taste changed completely after being heated—

Becoming rich, smooth, and with a hint of sweetness.

Xia Muqing had studied this phenomenon, and the conclusion was "energy molecules rearrange at high temperatures. Changing the way taste receptors recognize them."

Translated into human language: hot tastes better than cold.

The scientist said a lot.

The conclusion was the same as an ordinary person.

Ye Qingxue sat down next to Lin Yuan.

Didn't speak.

Lin Yuan was looking at data.

Temperature curve. Material consumption. Renovation progress.

Three lines, three colors, intertwined on the holographic screen.

Temperature was dropping.

Supplies were decreasing.

Progress was pushing forward.

The intersection point of the three lines was on the sixth day.

If the renovation could be completed on the sixth day, everything would be just right.

If not—

There would be no "if not."

Ye Qingxue said "yes."

The silence lasted for about five minutes.

Ye Qingxue spoke up.

"Aren't you worried?"

Lin Yuan's gaze didn't leave the screen.

"Worried about what?"

"The temperature is still dropping."

Lin Yuan thought for a moment.

"Worrying won't make the temperature go up."

He paused.

"Better to think about what to eat for breakfast tomorrow."

Ye Qingxue smiled.

A very small smile.

The kind where the corners of her mouth slightly lifted.

"You are always like this."

"Like what?"

"Taking on everyone's pressure, and then saying 'better to think about what to eat'."

Lin Yuan didn't answer.

He picked up the cup and took another sip of the hot mineral water.

"Not bad. It tastes better heated than cold."

Ye Qingxue looked at him.

She knew this was Lin Yuan's way.

Not saying "thank you."

Not saying "you worked hard."

Only saying "not bad."

But "not bad" coming from Lin Yuan's mouth was heavier than any love words.

Because his evaluation of most things was "hmm."

"Not bad" was already a full score.

Ye Qingxue stood up.

"I'll go check the night shift duty situation."

"Hmm."

She walked to the door.

Turned back.

"Let Chu Yanran make hot pot porridge for breakfast. You didn't finish it this morning."

"Okay."

Ye Qingxue left.

After the door closed, Lin Yuan was the only one left in the command room again.

He looked at the cup in his hand.

The cup was still warm.

There was half a cup of mineral water left.

He drank the rest in one gulp.

Then he put the cup on the table.

Beside the cup were the three intertwined data lines.

Temperature was dropping.

Supplies were decreasing.

Progress was pushing forward.

But the cup was warm.

In a minus 168-degree world, someone remembered to heat a cup of water for him.

This was probably the most luxurious thing in the Apocalypse.

Lin Yuan turned off the holographic screen.

There were still many things to do tomorrow.

The renovation had to continue.

The temperature would still drop.

Supplies would still decrease.

But the hot pot porridge would appear in front of him on time tomorrow morning.

About this, he never worried.