139: Chapter 139: Node Prices Rise by 7,000 Points! The Food Crisis is Hopeful!

1:00 PM.

Third-floor cockpit.

Lu Chen sat in the pilot's seat, the display screen in front of him switched to the registration page of the city management system.

Total registered residents: 4,831.

Two hundred and forty-eight more than this morning.

The communicator rang.

"City Lord."

Song Ya's voice came through.

"The second batch of seedlings and personnel for the agricultural zone on the sixth floor of The City-State is ready."

"How many people, how many seedlings?"

"Twelve people, forty-two boxes of seedlings."

"What are in the forty-two boxes?"

"Sixteen boxes of Winter Wheat seedlings, eight boxes of Sweet Potato cuttings, six boxes of Carrot seeds, four boxes of Cabbage seeds, and eight boxes of seed potatoes."

"What about the nutrient solution?"

"Twenty transfer barrels, fifty liters each, enough for one week."

"Method of transport?"

"From the elevator on the sixth floor of The City-State to the first-floor exit platform, manual transport across the snow-free zone, then the Polaris Mechanical Arm will receive and load them outside the airtight door."

"A hundred-meter distance through the snow-free zone—how long will the seedlings be exposed outdoors?"

"About six minutes."

"External temperature is minus forty-four degrees. Will six minutes cause frostbite to the seedlings?"

Song Ya's end went quiet for a second.

"The probability of frostbite isn't high; the seedling boxes have an insulation layer."

"A low probability isn't good enough; it must be zero."

"Then we need constant-temperature transport boxes."

"Does The City-State have them?"

"Yes, there are twenty standard constant-temperature transport boxes in the lab on the sixth floor, but that's not enough for forty-two boxes of seedlings."

"Transport them in two trips."

"In two trips, that's twenty-one boxes per trip; the constant-temperature boxes will barely be enough."

"Then do it in two trips."

Lu Chen tapped his fingers twice on the armrest.

"Immediately retrieve the constant-temperature boxes after the first trip is done, then use them for the second trip."

"Understood."

"Also."

"Yes, City Lord?"

"Is the registration for the six people who arrived today complete?"

"Completed. All six have been registered as Polaris residents."

"Register the second batch of twelve people immediately after they arrive."

"Understood."

"When does transport begin?"

"The first trip departs at 2:30 PM today, the second at 3:30 PM."

"Report back once both trips are finished."

"Received."

The communicator disconnected.

Lu Chen leaned back in the pilot's seat.

The time on the panel showed 1:15 PM.

Forty-five minutes remained before the call with Lin Xiao.

He closed his eyes, prioritizing tasks in his mind.

Go to the Ice Thorn Lv.4 Main City wreckage tomorrow.

Conservatively, the degradation yield will be ten thousand.

Plus the current thirteen thousand, the total is twenty-three thousand.

If the price for the second batch of Lv.3 tech tree nodes is still five thousand each, I can light up four more, pushing progress to eight out of sixteen.

But the price for the third batch of nodes will likely increase.

Following the Lv.2 pattern: node one was five hundred, node two was one thousand, node three was two thousand, and the core was twenty-five hundred.

Lv.3 node one was five thousand; node two is expected to be seven thousand, or even higher.

He opened his eyes.

"System, query information for the second batch of Lv.3 tech tree nodes."

The system prompt sounded.

Unlock conditions for the second batch of Lv.3 tech tree nodes met; all four nodes of the first batch are lit.

Overview of the second batch of nodes.

Power Engine Lv.3 Node 2: Omni-directional Crawler Transmission Module. Unlocking consumes 7,000 Truth Points.

Infrastructure Armor Lv.3 Node 2: Radiation-proof Lead-lined Inner Shell. Unlocking consumes 7,000 Truth Points.

Ecological Logistics Lv.3 Node 2: Genetically Modified Fast-growing Crops. Unlocking consumes 7,000 Truth Points.

Armament and Weaponry Lv.3 Node 2: Phalanx Close-In Weapon System. Unlocking consumes 7,000 Truth Points.

Seven thousand.

A two-thousand-point increase compared to the first batch.

Lu Chen's lips twitched slightly.

Seven thousand times four equals twenty-eight thousand.

He only had thirteen thousand in hand.

Plus the ten thousand from the Ice Thorn wreckage, that's twenty-three thousand.

Not enough to unlock everything.

But enough to unlock three, with two thousand remaining.

Or unlock the two most urgent ones first, leaving nine thousand to wait for the third batch.

If the price for the third batch rises to ten thousand...

He calculated rapidly in his head.

The communicator rang.

"City Lord Lu Chen."

Zhou Yuan's voice came through.

"City Lord Lin Xiao is early; he's asking if you're available now."

"I am. Patch him through."

The communicator switched frequencies.

"Brother Lu Chen."

Lin Xiao's loud voice rang out.

"City Lord Lin Xiao."

"I heard from Zhao Tiezhu about the two Lv.3 fortresses."

"Collected eleven thousand."

"Eleven thousand three hundred and ninety points."

Lu Chen corrected him.

"Close enough, close enough."

Lin Xiao let out a hearty laugh.

"What's the next step?"

"The Ice Thorn Lv.4 wreckage."

The other end of the communicator went silent for a second.

"That pile of debris left after Ice Thorn self-destructed?"

"Yes."

"You can even consume debris scattered over a square kilometer?"

"Fragmentation doesn't affect degradation."

"How much can you get?"

"I haven't scanned it, but the total mass of a Lv.4 Main City is more than three times that of a Lv.3. Even if it's blown to bits, a conservative estimate is around ten thousand points."

"Ten thousand."

Lin Xiao's voice rose by half an octave.

"Adding the thirteen thousand from before, you'll have twenty-three thousand."

"Correct."

"Is twenty-three thousand points enough to light up any new nodes?"

"The second batch of Lv.3 nodes costs seven thousand each."

"Seven thousand?"

"The price went up."

"Holy shit."

Lin Xiao cursed.

"Wasn't the first batch five thousand?"

"The second batch is seven thousand, and the third batch is very likely to be ten thousand or higher."

"Then how many can twenty-three thousand unlock?"

"Three, with two thousand left over."

"Are three enough?"

"Depends on which three are unlocked."

The cockpit fell silent for two seconds.

"Brother Lu Chen, which ones do you plan to choose?"

Lu Chen looked at the four grey icons on the panel.

Omni-directional Crawler Transmission Module.

Radiation-proof Lead-lined Inner Shell.

Genetically Modified Fast-growing Crops.

Phalanx Close-In Weapon System.

"What is the issue you are most concerned about?"

"Food."

Lin Xiao's answer was crisp and direct.

"The food gap for thirty thousand people is currently the biggest problem."

"Then the answer is clear."