140: Chapter 140 Farming and Pig Raising at the Same Time! Finding Help 700 Kilometers Away

"Ecological Logistics Node 2," Lu Chen said.

"What is it exactly?"

"Genetically modified fast-growing crops."

Lin Xiao's heavy breathing came through the communicator.

"Fast-growing?"

"The system description says rice and wheat can achieve a one-week harvest cycle."

"A one-week harvest?" Lin Xiao's voice rose by an entire octave. "What did you say? One week?"

"One week."

"How long is a normal wheat growth cycle?"

"Three to four months for ordinary varieties under greenhouse conditions."

"And you're telling me one node can compress four months into one week?"

"Genetic modification reshapes the growth cycle structure of the crops from the ground up."

The communicator was silent for three seconds.

"This one node is worth seven thousand points."

"It's worth it."

"It's worth one-third of twenty-three thousand points."

"It's worth it." Lu Chen looked at the data on the screen. "A one-week harvest cycle means the annual yield of a fourteen-thousand-square-meter greenhouse will increase by about twenty times."

"Twenty times?"

"Currently, the greenhouse supports three thousand people at full capacity. Twenty times that is sixty thousand people."

Zhou Yuan's voice came through the communicator.

"City Lord Lu Chen, is sixty thousand people a theoretical value?"

"Theoretical. The actual output depends on the seedling compatibility of the genetically modified fast-growing crops and the rate of nutrient solution consumption," Lu Chen glanced at the panel. "Conservatively, let's say sixty percent—thirty-six thousand."

"Thirty-six thousand people," Zhou Yuan's speaking rate slowed down. "That exceeds our total population."

"So this node is the first priority."

"Then what about the second one?" Lin Xiao pressed.

"What do you think?"

"Phalanx Close-In Weapon System autocannons," Lin Xiao said. "Air defense and anti-missile are our weak points. If the Iron Hoof Legion saturates the area with rockets, armor alone won't hold up."

"No rush."

"The Iron Hoof Legion is at least forty days away," Lu Chen tapped his finger on the armrest. "The Phalanx can wait for the third batch or later."

"Then what are you choosing?"

"Ecological Logistics Node 3."

"Ecological again?"

"Large-scale fully automated livestock farm."

The communicator went completely silent.

"Livestock farm?" Lin Xiao's voice came through after five seconds. "Pigs, cattle, sheep?"

"Assembly-line farming for pigs, cattle, and sheep."

"You mean actually raising pigs, cattle, and sheep? Inside the vehicle?"

"Inside the Polaris, the system will generate an independent farming area."

"How big?"

"I don't know, I haven't unlocked it yet. Specific parameters will be on the panel after unlocking."

"How many points for this node?"

"Ten thousand."

"Ten thousand?" Lin Xiao's voice tightened. "Three thousand more expensive than Node 2?"

"The price for the third batch of nodes is ten thousand."

Lu Chen pulled up a brief calculation sheet on the panel.

"Current balance is thirteen thousand and thirty-five points."

"Estimated ten thousand from decomposing Ice Thorn wreckage."

"Total of twenty-three thousand."

"Unlock genetically modified fast-growing crops for seven thousand points, sixteen thousand remaining."

"Unlock large-scale fully automated livestock farm for ten thousand points, six thousand remaining."

"Keep the six thousand points."

"Twenty-three thousand minus seventeen thousand leaves only six thousand?" Lin Xiao calculated on his end. "So you're not taking the Phalanx CIWS, the Omni-directional Crawler Transmission Module, or the Radiation-shielded inner hull?"

"No."

"One armament, one power, and one infrastructure—you don't want any of them?"

"I'll take them later, there's no rush now," Lu Chen's tapping finger stopped. "Thirty thousand people will die faster from starvation than from shells."

"Solve the food problem first, then the military force."

Lin Xiao was silent for a long time.

"Zhou Yuan."

"Here."

"What do you think?"

"I agree with City Lord Lu Chen's judgment," Zhou Yuan's voice was clear. "The food gap is a chronic crisis, but if left unchecked, it will become an acute crisis in sixty days."

"The Iron Hoof Legion is a long-term threat, at least forty days away."

"In these forty days, if the food problem can be completely solved, the morale and physical condition of thirty thousand people will improve qualitatively. We'll have more confidence when the time comes to fight."

"Fine," Lin Xiao's loud voice returned to its bluntness. "You call the shots."

"Eat your fill before fighting—I understand that logic."

"There's one more thing," Lu Chen said.

"What?"

"Decomposing the Ice Thorn wreckage will take four to five hours. I plan to set out tomorrow morning to do it."

"Do you need the iron wall to cooperate?"

"No need. Decomposition is a system operation; no physical transport is required."

"Alright."

"But that area is two to three kilometers south of the front of The City-State, with fragments scattered over a one-kilometer radius."

"I know that location. When the Ice Thorn self-destructed, fragments flew quite far. Some large armor plates are embedded in the ice."

"Large pieces are better; the decomposition efficiency is higher."

"While you're dealing with the wreckage, will the migration proceed as usual?"

"As usual."

"Han Zhengqing needs to recover steel from The City-State to make beds. Have Zhou Yuan coordinate to arrange for people to cut and transport scrap steel plates from the collapsed area to the snow-free zone next to the Polaris."

"Is it a large amount?"

"Han Zhengqing said at least fifteen tons of steel are needed for three thousand beds."

"Fifteen tons," Lin Xiao thought for a moment. "There are at least several thousand tons of scrap steel in the collapsed area of The City-State. Cutting out fifteen tons isn't an issue."

"I'll have the remaining cutting teams from the industrial zone handle it."

"They'll be in place tomorrow morning."

"Good."

"City Lord Lin Xiao."

"Yeah?"

"About the Iron Hoof Legion."

Only a faint static sound remained on the other end of the communicator.

"What do you want to say?"

"When they roll over in forty days, what do you plan to do?"

Lin Xiao didn't answer immediately.

Seven or eight seconds passed.

"Are you asking whether to fight or flee?"

"Yes."

"Brother Lu Chen, take a look at the map."

Lu Chen pulled up the regional map of the Central Ice Field on the panel.

"The Rustwind Wasteland is at the very edge of the Central Ice Field," Lin Xiao's voice lowered. "Further south are the Pale Shoals and the Ash Rift Valley, which are also edges."

"To the east is the Broken Spine Highlands, the territory of the Storm Cult."

"To the west is the Iron Curtain Frozen Sea, the home base of the Dawn Legion."

"To the north is the Roaring Ice Abyss, the direction the Iron Hoof Legion is rolling in from."

"Flee? Flee to where?"

"The entire edge of the Central Ice Field is a dead end."

Lu Chen's finger traced a circle on the map.

"So you choose to fight."

"I don't have a choice at all," Lin Xiao's voice dropped half a pitch. "A Mobile City of thirty thousand people—running anywhere is a problem. The Iron Hoof Legion's Lv.5 Wonder-class speed isn't slower than ours. We can't outrun them."

"But we can't win in a direct fight either."

"One Lv.5, four Lv.4s, and over a dozen Lv.3s," Lu Chen said. "We have one Lv.3 and a transport vehicle."

"So we need helpers."

"Helpers?"

"The Dawn Legion."

Lu Chen's index finger stopped on the location of the Iron Curtain Frozen Sea.

"They're in the Iron Curtain Frozen Sea, about seven hundred kilometers from here."

"It's a bit far," Lin Xiao said, "but they have one Lv.5 and two Lv.4s."

"Why would they help us?"

"Because the Iron Hoof Legion entering the Central Ice Field isn't just our problem."

Lin Xiao's voice carried the weight befitting a City Lord ruling thirty thousand people.

"Iron Crown's ambition is immense. Occupying a single territory won't satisfy him; he wants the entire Central Ice Field."

"The Dawn Legion's Iron Curtain Frozen Sea research station is on the Iron Hoof Legion's path of advancement. Once Iron Crown finishes swallowing the edge zones, they'll be the next bite."

"If the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold."

"Exactly."

"Do you have a communication channel with the Dawn Legion?"

"Yes, but it's unstable," Lin Xiao thought for a moment. "The City-State's Staff Department has records of material exchanges with a Dawn Legion outpost research station in the Ash Rift Valley. The person in charge of that station has dealt with Zhou Yuan before."

"Can they be reached by communication?"

"Too far. The communicator's power isn't enough."

"Then how to contact them?"

"Send someone."

Lu Chen looked at the location of the Iron Curtain Frozen Sea on the map. Seven hundred kilometers.

"Send who?"

"I haven't decided yet," Lin Xiao paused, "but this matter can't be delayed too long."

"We'll discuss it after the food issue is resolved," Lu Chen said.

"Alright."

The communicator hung up.

Lu Chen sat in the driver's seat for ten seconds.

Then he reached out, picked up the cold nutrition bar, and took a bite.

On the panel, the total number of registered residents ticked up once more.

Four thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.