143: Chapter 143 Ripening every seven days! Thirty-five thousand people won't starve.

Three o'clock in the afternoon.

Third level, cockpit.

Lu Chen sat in the pilot's seat, the technology tree icon on the panel expanding in the center of the screen.

Three frequency bands were simultaneously connected to the communicator.

Lin Xiao.

Zhou Yuan.

Lin Wan.

"I'm unlocking two nodes now," Lu Chen spoke.

"Two?" Lin Xiao asked.

"Unlocking the first one first."

"Which one?"

"Genetically Modified Fast-growing Crops. Seven thousand points."

The other end of the communicator was silent for two seconds.

"Are you sure you want to spend the most expensive points on farming first?" Lin Xiao's tone was one of final confirmation.

"Sure."

His finger tapped the panel.

"System, unlock Ecological Logistics Level 3 Node 2, Genetically Modified Fast-growing Crops, consuming seven thousand Truth Points."

[Unlock confirmed, consuming 7000 Truth Points, current balance: 16835 points.]

[Ecological Logistics Level 3 Node 2 unlocking in progress.]

A slight resonance came from the steel skeleton of Polaris.

This was by no means the vibration of the engine; a physical change was occurring in a certain area within the entire fortress.

Lu Chen noticed a slight tremor in his seat from the pilot's position.

Ten seconds later, the tremor stopped.

[Unlock complete: Genetically Modified Fast-growing Crops.]

[The Dome Greenhouse has been connected to the High-Dimensional Gene Editing Module. All planted Gramineae crops are undergoing a genetic optimization procedure. Optimization is expected to take 6 hours.]

[Once optimization is complete, rice and wheat will enter a seven-day maturation cycle. Yield will increase to three times that of ordinary varieties. Seeds can reproduce autonomously without degradation.]

The sound of Lin Wan's hurried breathing came through the communicator.

"City Lord."

"What's wrong?"

"The lights in the greenhouse have changed."

"Changed?"

"The color temperature of the full-spectrum light strips shifted from warm yellow to a purplish frequency band. It lasted for three seconds and then recovered."

"That was the activation pulse of the gene editing module."

"I see it," Lin Wan's voice was trembling. "The leaf color of the Winter Wheat on the seventh Hydroponic Rack is changing, from deep green to a brighter yellow-green."

"That is the phenotypic response to genetic optimization."

"City Lord, what did you say this node is called?"

"Genetically Modified Fast-growing Crops."

"Fast-growing? How fast?"

"One harvest every seven days."

The other end of the communicator went completely quiet for a full five seconds.

"Seven days?" Lin Wan's voice changed pitch. "You said seven days?"

"Seven days."

"Winter Wheat ripens in seven days?"

"Rice is also seven days."

"Impossible," Lin Wan's professional instinct made her blurt out. "The complete growth cycle of wheat needs to go through six stages: seedling, tillering, jointing, heading, grain filling, and ripening. This is the basic developmental rhythm of plants; it can't be finished in seven days."

"Genetically modified ones can."

"How was it modified?"

"High-dimensional gene editing. You don't need to know the principles; what you need to know is that in seven days, you will have a batch of ripe wheat in your greenhouse."

Lin Wan let out a breath on the other end.

"City Lord."

"What?"

"If ripening in seven days is true, with the fourteen thousand square meter greenhouse entirely planted with fast-growing wheat and rice, we can harvest fifty-two crops a year."

"I've done the math."

"Fifty-two crops multiplied by triple the yield... I can't even calculate it anymore, it's too massive."

"I'll calculate it for you," Lu Chen's tone was steady. "Based on current greenhouse area and standard plant spacing, the annual yield of fast-growing wheat is three hundred and sixty tons. Adding the output from the rice intercropping area, the total grain can cover the staple food needs of thirty-five thousand to forty thousand people."

Lin Xiao's voice came through the communicator.

"You said forty thousand people?"

"A conservative estimate of thirty-five thousand."

"Thirty-five thousand."

Lin Xiao's loud voice echoed twice in the communicator.

"Brother Lu Chen."

"I, Lin Xiao, have never knelt to anyone in my life."

"You don't need to kneel."

"But in my heart, I have."

"Kneeling in your heart is useless; having your people speed up the migration is what's useful."

"Right, right, right, migration, migration," his voice was full of excitement. "Zhou Yuan, did you hear that?"

"I heard it," Zhou Yuan's voice carried a rare trace of emotion. "The food problem for thirty-five thousand people solved by a single node."

"It's not just one node," Lu Chen corrected him. "That's seven thousand Truth Points, plus the three-shift management of Lin Wan and Song Ya's thirty-eight agricultural technicians, plus the constant temperature environment of the greenhouse dome, plus the nutrient solution circulation system."

"Relying on the node alone isn't enough; we can't do without the people either."

"Understood," Zhou Yuan replied. "I'll update the data; the food accounting report will be out tonight."

"Report it to me once it's out."

"Okay."

"Lin Wan."

"Genetic optimization takes six hours. During the optimization period, do not touch those crops that are changing color."

"I understand. Any external interference will affect the stability of the gene editing."

"As long as you understand."

"City Lord, this node..." Lin Wan didn't continue.

"What?"

"Thank you."

"Thank you for what?"

"You spent seven thousand points on farming instead of installing cannons."

"It wasn't spent for you," Lu Chen's tone was steady. "It was spent for thirty thousand people."

"I understand."

The communicator hung up.

Lu Chen looked at the balance on the panel.

Sixteen thousand eight hundred and thirty-five.

His finger moved over the technology tree icons and stopped at the position of the third batch of nodes.

Large-scale Fully Automated Breeding Farm.

Ten thousand points.

After unlocking, the balance would be six thousand eight hundred and thirty-five.

Is that enough to unlock another node from the second batch?

Not enough; the second batch costs seven thousand.

Six thousand eight hundred and thirty-five is short by one hundred and sixty-five, short by one hundred and sixty-five points.

He looked at the numbers on the panel.

If it's short by one hundred and sixty-five, then so be it. Unlock the livestock farm first; the gap of one hundred and sixty-five can be made up later.

"System, unlock Ecological Logistics Level 3 Node 3, Large-scale Fully Automated Breeding Farm, consuming ten thousand Truth Points."

[Unlock confirmed, consuming 10000 Truth Points, current balance: 6835 points.]

[Ecological Logistics Level 3 Node 3 unlocking in progress, estimated modification time: 15 minutes.]

Polaris began to vibrate again.

The vibration was much more noticeable than before.

The steel skeleton of the entire fortress emitted a low-pitched hum.