142: Chapter 142 Balance of 23,000! Farming and Pig Raising, I Want It All!

11:20 AM.

The degradation progress bar on the panel reached ninety-two percent.

Lu Chen had been driving the Polaris slowly through the debris field for over four hours, pushing all the way from the northern edge to the southern tip.

In every area he reached, the Mechanical Arm extended, blue light covered the area, and the debris vanished, leaving behind empty indentations in the ice.

The debris dispersal zone, which once spanned a square kilometer, was now over ninety percent cleared.

The communicator rang.

"City Lord Lu Chen," Zhao Tiezhu called.

"I'm moving steel plates in The City-State ruins area. I've been watching the blue light flashing on your side all morning from afar."

"It's almost finished."

"You've consumed the debris of an entire Lv.4 city?"

"All of it."

Zhao Tiezhu sucked in a breath on the other end.

"City Lord Lu Chen, this ability of yours would make you a national treasure in any faction."

"I can't suppress the Iron Hoof Legion."

"That's a difference in quantity, not quality," Zhao Tiezhu said with rare depth. "Given time, sooner or later you'll even be able to swallow the Iron Hoof Legion."

"There isn't enough time."

"Then steal some time."

Lu Chen did not respond.

11:40 AM.

The final piece of debris vanished without a trace in the blue light.

[Regional degradation fully completed.]

[Total degradation yield from Ice Thorn Lv.4 City-State Mobile City wreckage: 10,800 Truth Points.]

[Current balance: 23,835 points.]

Twenty-three thousand eight hundred and thirty-five.

Lu Chen looked at the number and tapped his finger on the armrest.

"It's enough."

He said those two words for the second time, but this time, his tone was more steady than yesterday.

Yesterday's thirteen thousand was the appetizer; today's twenty-three thousand was the main course.

The communicator switched to Lin Wan's frequency.

"Lin Wan."

"Present."

"Are you back?"

"On my way back, ten minutes."

"The soup is heated."

"Okay."

"City Lord, how much did we get?"

"Ten thousand eight hundred."

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

"Ten thousand eight hundred?" Lin Wan's voice rose half an octave. "Adding that to what we had..."

"Twenty-three thousand eight hundred and thirty-five."

"Heavens."

Lin Wan rarely used such a tone.

"What is that enough for?"

"Enough to solve the food problem for thirty thousand people."

Silence followed for three seconds on the other end.

"City Lord, are you saying the greenhouse's production capacity can cover the entire population?"

"We'll talk after you return. Eat first."

"Okay, the soup is on the kitchen stove, I've kept it covered."

The Polaris traveled north at forty kilometers per hour, returning to its designated position beside Black Rock City-State, its engine dropping to idle.

Lu Chen stood up from the driver's seat and walked to the second-floor kitchen.

A small stainless steel pot sat on the stove, steam rising from the lid.

He lifted the lid; potatoes were cut into chunks, Carrots into thin slices, and a few nutrition bars were broken up and tossed into the soup base as a side. The soup was a pale yellow.

He ladled out a bowl and sat at the folding table to eat.

The potatoes were stewed until soft and crumbly, falling apart at a bite. The nutrition bars had softened after soaking in the soup, their texture changing from hard to something like wheat gluten. It wasn't bad; it even tasted like the stews from his past life.

He finished one bowl and ladled another. While eating the second bowl, the communicator rang.

"City Lord," Zhou Yuan called.

"Go ahead."

"The third batch of eight agricultural technicians has arrived, and registration is complete. The total number of personnel at the greenhouse is now twenty-eight."

"The remaining ten arrive tomorrow?"

"Correct, the final batch arrives tomorrow morning."

"How much of the seedling transfer is complete?"

"The constant-temperature transport boxes have made six trips. The seedling arrival rate is eighty-five percent. The final fifteen boxes will come tomorrow with the last group of people."

"Good."

"There's one more thing Han Zhengqing asked me to tell you."

"The engineering team welded two hundred and ten beds today. Combined with the previous one hundred and twenty, that's a total of three hundred beds."

"Are the steel plates Zhao Tiezhu moved sufficient?"

"Yes, he moved three and a half tons today. Han Zhengqing says it can support three days of welding work."

"Did he come up with the plan for the ventilation duct modification?"

"Yes, he has handwritten blueprints. He says he can show them to you anytime."

"Tell him to come to the cockpit tomorrow morning."

"Understood."

Lu Chen washed the bowl, put it back on the rack, walked to the cockpit, and sat in the driver's seat.

The truth point balance on the panel glowed with five digits: 23,835.

He reached out and lightly pressed the technology tree icon. Four green icons, four gray icons, and eight even darker gray icons waited behind them.

"System, retrieve details for the second batch of nodes in the Lv.3 technology tree."

[Ecological Logistics Node 2: Genetically Modified Fast-growing Crops.]

[Node Description: Uses high-dimensional gene editing technology to modify the rice and wheat grown within the greenhouse dome. Modified crops can achieve a seven-day maturity cycle under constant 28-degree conditions, with yields three times that of ordinary varieties. Genetically modified seeds can reproduce independently without degradation and do not rely on external seed source replenishment. Upon unlocking, gene optimization will automatically be executed on all planted Gramineae crops within the greenhouse.]

[Unlock Cost: 7,000 Truth Points.]

Lu Chen read the description twice. Seven-day maturity, triple yield, independent reproduction without degradation.

His finger hovered three centimeters above the button. He didn't press it, instead switching to the Ecological Logistics branch of the third batch of nodes.

"System, retrieve details for the third batch of nodes in the Lv.3 technology tree."

[Ecological Logistics Node 3: Large-scale Fully Automated Breeding Farm.]

[Node Description: Generates an independent automated breeding space inside the Mobile City. The space area automatically matches the city's current level (Lv.3 standard area: 4,000 square meters; after over-specification bonus: 9,600 square meters). The farm is equipped with an automated feed mixing system, a waste recycling system, and growth acceleration modules. It can raise three standard types of livestock: pigs, cattle, and sheep. Initial breeding stock is generated by the system from the ecological sample bank. Standard output: Can meet the daily protein needs of 800 to 1,200 people.]

[Unlock Cost: 10,000 Truth Points.]

A nine thousand six hundred square meter farm, providing daily protein for eight hundred to one thousand two hundred people.

Lu Chen leaned back in the driver's seat and closed his eyes, making a final confirmation in his mind. Food first, military power second—the order must not be wrong.