144: Chapter 144 The Pig Farm is Completed! 30,000 People Will Finally Have Meat to Eat

The vibrations lasted for a full fifteen minutes.

During those fifteen minutes, Lu Chen stood up from the driver's seat and walked to the windshield, watching the modification progress bar on the panel advance cell by cell.

The floor beneath his feet was shaking, rising and falling.

The internal space of the Polaris was being reshaped by some invisible force.

The sound of clashing steel came from the direction of the first floor.

There was no battle, nor any accidental collision.

It was the sound of structural growth.

New steel beams extended from the existing skeleton, new wall panels rose from the floor, and new piping systems threaded through the walls.

Fifteen minutes later, the humming sound disappeared.

A system prompt indicated that the unlock was complete: Large-scale Fully Automated Breeding Farm.

The breeding space had been generated in the area behind the Main Engine Compartment on the first floor.

The space covered nine thousand six hundred square meters.

Equipped facilities included a Fully Automatic Feed Mixing System, a Waste Recycling System, Growth Acceleration Modules, and Independent Ventilation and Temperature Control Units.

Initial breeding stock was generated by the system from the Ecological Sample Library: thirty pigs, twelve cattle, and forty sheep.

The standard output was an average daily protein supply for eight hundred to one thousand two hundred people, including meat and dairy products.

The system specifically noted that the farm's feed source could be connected to the Agricultural Waste Output Pipelines of the Dome Greenhouse, achieving an integrated agriculture-livestock cycle.

Nine thousand six hundred square meters.

Thirty pigs.

Twelve cattle.

Forty sheep.

Lu Chen looked at the data on the panel, his fingers pausing on the armrest for three seconds.

Then he pressed the communicator.

"Lin Wan."

"Present."

"Go down to the first floor right now."

"Where to?"

"Behind the Main Engine Compartment."

"That area used to be the storage zone."

"It just changed."

The sound of Lin Wan's hurried footsteps came from the other end of the communicator.

Three minutes later.

"City Lord." Lin Wan's tone rose.

"Did you see it?"

"I see it."

"What does it look like?"

"A new airtight door, one that wasn't there before." Lin Wan's breathing was rapid.

"There's a sign on the door that says 'Breeding Zone'."

"Open it."

The sound of the airtight door opening came through the communicator.

Then followed a short gasp of surprise.

"Heavens."

"Tell me what you see."

"A vast space, the ceiling height is at least eight meters." Lin Wan's voice was excited.

"The floor is covered with a dark gray non-slip material, not steel plates at all."

"The space is divided into three areas, with fences separating each one."

"The nearest area has pigs in it."

"Live pigs."

"Real live pigs."

"City Lord, the last time I saw a live pig was when I was eight years old." Lin Wan's voice was trembling.

"The Experimental Ranch on the sixth floor of The City-State used to raise three, but they were all slaughtered later because of a lack of feed."

"Now there are thirty."

"Thirty." Lin Wan repeated the number, "And cattle and sheep?"

"Walk further in."

Footsteps sounded, and a gate opened.

"Twelve cattle, standing in the second area." Lin Wan lowered her voice.

"They're not very large, around three hundred kilograms, with brownish-yellow coats."

"What are these pipes next to them?"

"Automatic Feed Distribution Troughs; the pipes come out of the walls." Lin Wan leaned in to take a closer look.

"They're connected to a Metal Feed Tower, and there's something inside the tower—compressed fodder pellets."

"That's the initial feed ration provided by the system," Lu Chen explained.

"Subsequent feed sources will be connected to the greenhouse's Agricultural Waste Output Pipelines."

"The greenhouse and the farm can be linked?"

"The residual roots and stems of crops and the stalks after threshing are transported through pipelines to the farm as feed," Lu Chen said.

"Livestock waste is processed through the Waste Recycling System and converted into organic fertilizer, which is then sent back to the greenhouse."

"It's a closed loop." Lin Wan spoke very quickly, "A complete closed loop."

"Go look at the sheep."

Another set of footsteps.

"Forty sheep, a size larger than the breeds I saw on the sixth floor of The City-State." Lin Wan crouched down.

"The wool is very thick; they're a breed specifically adapted for cold environments."

"Standard breeding stock from the system's Ecological Sample Library."

"City Lord, will raising these livestock require manpower?"

"The automated system manages feed distribution and waste processing, but inspections and veterinary work will need people."

"Are there any veterinarians in The City-State?"

"I don't know, ask Lin Xiao."

"Okay."

"Lin Wan."

"The daily protein production is enough for eight hundred to one thousand two hundred people."

"Plus the six hundred from the Synthesizer?"

"Plus the Synthesizer, one thousand two hundred plus six hundred equals protein coverage for one thousand eight hundred people."

"Plus the staple food coverage for thirty-five thousand people from the Fast-growing Crops."

"What does that add up to?"

Lin Wan was silent on the other end for five seconds.

"The food problem for thirty thousand people has been completely solved."

"Not completely yet," Lu Chen corrected. "The minimum survival needs have been basically addressed."

"When can milk be produced?"

"The system says four of the initial cattle are adult cows; under full-load conditions, they will begin lactating in three days."

"There will be milk to drink in three days?"

"Yes."

"City Lord."

"I thank you on their behalf."

"No need for thanks."

The communicator hung up.

Lu Chen leaned back into the driver's seat.

The technology tree icon on the panel had updated.

The progress of lit nodes had reached six out of sixteen.

All three nodes of the Ecological Logistics branch were lit, making it the fastest-progressing of the four branches.

Only one node was lit in each of the other three branches: Armament and Weaponry, Infrastructure Armor, and Power Engine.

His gaze swept over the three gray 'Node 2's.

Phalanx Close-In Weapon System.

Radiation-proof Lead-lined Inner Shell.

Omni-directional Crawler Transmission Module.

All required seven thousand.

He only had six thousand eight hundred and thirty-five in hand.

One hundred and sixty-five short.

He tapped his fingers twice on the edge of the armrest, stood up, and headed toward the first floor.

He wanted to see that farm with his own eyes.