141: Chapter 141 Earning 10,000 Points! Total Balance Exceeds 23,000

At 5:15 AM, Lu Chen opened his eyes.

On the radar panel, three scanning lines rotated at a constant speed; everything within an eight-kilometer radius was normal.

He sat up and glanced at the data in the corner of the panel.

Inside the vehicle was twenty degrees, outside was minus forty-three degrees.

The communicator rang.

"City Lord," Lin Wan spoke.

"You're up at five again?" Lu Chen asked.

"Four-fifty."

"The greenhouse?"

"Mhm, the second batch of seedlings were all placed on the racks yesterday afternoon. Twelve Agricultural Technician finished registering this morning and have all reported for duty."

"How many people have arrived in total?"

"Including Song Ya and me, twenty."

"What about the remaining eighteen?"

"They'll arrive in two batches, this afternoon and tomorrow morning."

"Good."

"City Lord, are you going to decompose the Ice Thorn wreckage today?"

"Yes."

"How long will it take?"

"Four to five hours."

"I'll save some food for you at noon."

"No need to go out of your way, I'll heat it up myself when I get back."

"You won't be able to. The nutrition bars from the Synthesizer can be eaten cold, but I plan to make carrot and potato stew today."

"Potatoes?"

"We harvested eight potatoes from the first batch yesterday." Lin Wan's speaking pace quickened slightly. "The yield of the cold-resistant potato variety from the grade a seed vault exceeded my expectations. The average weight of the eight potatoes was three hundred grams, with the largest being half a catty."

"How many will you use for the stew?"

"Four is enough."

"Four." Lu Chen calculated the data. "Will the remaining four be kept for seeds or put into storage?"

"Kept for seeds. First-generation seed potatoes can be propagated by cutting. Four seed potatoes can produce thirty-two to forty seed pieces, which will quadruple the planting area for the next round."

"Alright, keep them for seeds."

"Then I'll save some stew for you at noon."

"Fine."

Lu Chen stood up and walked toward the wash area.

After washing his face, he took a nutrition bar from the Synthesizer's outlet and ate it as he walked.

Six o'clock sharp.

Polaris's main engine ramped up from idle to cruising power.

The two-hundred-and-six-meter steel colossus began to move.

The communicator switched to Battalion Commander Zhao's frequency.

"Battalion Commander Zhao."

"Present."

"No need to follow today."

"Not following?"

"The Ice Thorn wreckage is two to three kilometers south of the front of The City-State, not far. Decomposition is a system operation; no transport is needed."

"Then what should I do today?"

"How many of your three hundred men can do manual labor?"

"Manual labor?"

"Han Zhengqing needs to transport scrap steel plates from the collapsed area of The City-State to the side of the Polaris. It's a large volume. After the Cutting Team finishes, they'll need people to move them."

"My men are best at things like moving steel plates." Zhao Tiezhu's loud voice radiated drive. "How about I send a hundred men?"

"That's enough. Coordinate with Han Zhengqing."

"Will do."

Polaris traveled south at thirty kilometers per hour.

Five minutes later, a large area of metal fragment signals appeared on the radar panel.

Densely packed points of light covered an area of one square kilometer.

Lu Chen slowed down and parked the Polaris at the northern edge of the fragment zone.

Outside the windshield was a desolate expanse of ice.

But this ice surface was littered with countless steel fragments of all sizes.

The largest piece was an entire section of side armor plating, seven or eight meters long and three meters high, embedded crookedly in the ice.

The smallest fragments were no larger than a fist, scattered sporadically on the ice, reflecting a grayish-white light.

These fragments used to be the Ice Thorn Lv.4 Main City.

That madman had used six tons of shaped charges plus the chain explosion of the entire city's ammunition depot to blow himself and the entire city into smithereens.

Now, this pulverized steel lay quietly on the wasteland, having become a graveyard.

"System, High-dimensional Scan. Target: Ice Thorn Lv.4 Main City wreckage fragment zone."

[High-dimensional Scan in progress. The target area is large; scanning will take approximately 30 seconds.]

Thirty seconds later.

[Scan complete.]

[Target: Lv.4 City-State class Mobile City wreckage scattered in fragments.]

[Fragment distribution radius: Approximately 1200 meters.]

[Fragmentation degree: Extremely high. Maximum fragment mass approximately 12 tons, minimum fragment mass less than 1 kilogram.]

[Estimated total decomposable mass: 5900 tons of steel and composite materials.]

[Decomposition feasibility assessment: Feasible. Fragmentation degree does not affect High-dimensional Decomposition function. However, due to the excessive distribution range of fragments, decomposition must be executed zone by zone. Estimated total decomposition time: approximately 4 to 5 hours.]

[Estimated total decomposition yield: 10,800 Truth Points.]

Ten thousand eight hundred.

Lu Chen looked at this number; it was eight hundred higher than even his conservative estimate.

"System, execute High-dimensional Decomposition. Start from the northern edge and advance southward zone by zone."

[Executing High-dimensional Decomposition. Current zone fragment mass: approximately 480 tons. Estimated decomposition time: 18 minutes.]

Mechanical Arms extended from both sides of the Polaris.

A blue light spread from the tips, covering the fragments in the northern zone.

The steel fragments turned into micro-particles within the blue light and were harvested by the system's force field.

Lu Chen leaned back in the pilot's seat, watching the decomposition progress bar advance on the panel.

The communicator rang.

"City Lord Lu Chen," Zhou Yuan spoke to report.

"Regarding this morning's migration progress, the fifth batch of eight hundred people has departed and is expected to arrive by nine o'clock."

"Has Han Zhengqing's steel arrived?"

"The Cutting Team began work at 5:00 AM. The first batch of scrap steel plates has been cut, and Zhao Tiezhu's men are moving them to the Snow-Free Zone."

"Is the volume sufficient?"

"Two tons were cut in the first batch. Han Zhengqing said it's enough for today."

"Good."

"There's one more thing."

"City Lord Lin Xiao asked me to ask you for a number."

"What number?"

"If the decomposition of the Ice Thorn wreckage goes smoothly, what will your total balance be?"

"Thirteen thousand plus ten thousand eight hundred." Lu Chen did the mental math. "Twenty-three thousand eight hundred and thirty-five."

"Twenty-three thousand eight hundred," Zhou Yuan repeated on the other end. "Lin Xiao said he has an idea now."

"What kind of idea?"

"He didn't elaborate, but he mentioned needing to find time to discuss the response plan for the Iron Hoof Legion in detail."

"We'll talk after the decomposition is finished."

"Alright."

The communicator hung up.

On the panel, the decomposition progress bar for the first zone reached thirty-seven percent.

Blue light flickered outside the vehicle as the fragments on the ice disappeared bit by bit.

Lu Chen closed his eyes, but his mind didn't stop.

Twenty-three thousand eight hundred.

Genetically Modified Fast-growing Crops: seven thousand.

Large-scale Fully Automated Breeding Farm: ten thousand.

Totaling seventeen thousand, leaving six thousand eight hundred.

Six thousand eight hundred and thirty-five points.

Save them, keep them for the next opportunity.