157: Chapter 157 Iron Wall Departs! 700-Kilometer Countdown to Disconnection

Six o'clock in the morning.

Third-floor greenhouse.

Lin Wan squatted in front of a Hydroponic Rack of Fast-growing Wheat, holding a pair of small scissors. The wheat ears before her were already seventy percent full, six centimeters long, with rounded grains covered in a thin, pale gold husk.

She pinched the base of the first wheat ear with two fingers, and the scissors bit into the stalk.

Snip.

The entire wheat ear, along with fifteen centimeters of stalk, was cut off.

She placed the wheat ear into an insulated airtight bag, squeezed out the excess air, and sealed it.

The second one.

The third one.

The three wheat ears were packed into three separate airtight bags, with the date and serial number written on the bags in stylus.

The communicator rang.

"Lin Wan." It was Zhou Yuan's voice.

"The ears are picked—three of them."

"I'll come up and get them."

"Just come straight to the greenhouse."

Two minutes later, Zhou Yuan appeared at the greenhouse entrance, wearing a gray-blue winter coat with a sidearm and communicator hanging at his waist, carrying a canvas backpack.

Lin Wan handed him the three airtight bags.

"Keep them warm. Do not open them before you reach the Dawn Legion. If the grains are exposed to sub-zero temperatures for more than ten minutes, the filling layer will freeze and crack."

"Put them in the innermost layer of your backpack, close to your body."

"Right."

Zhou Yuan stuffed the airtight bags into the inner pocket of his backpack and zipped it shut.

"Lin Wan."

"Yes?"

"Your brother asked me to tell you that he ate the Cabbage and stewed meat you sent last night. He said it was ten times better than the food in The City-State's cafeteria."

"He says everything is ten times better."

Zhou Yuan chuckled and turned toward the elevator.

"Zhou Yuan."

"Come back alive."

"I promise."

First-floor main entrance.

The iron wall's engine was already idling, its low roar echoing through the steel corridor.

Zhao Tiezhu stood by the airtight door, arms crossed, watching Zhou Yuan step out of the elevator.

"Deputy Chief of Staff Zhou, the fuel is topped off—eight barrels, sixteen hundred liters. Four hundred nutrition bars, forty liters of water, and one medical kit."

"Thank you for your hard work, Battalion Commander Zhao."

"Don't mention it. This is your vehicle; I just helped with the inspection."

Zhou Yuan walked to the cockpit door of the iron wall.

Two signalmen were already in position inside the cabin. Zhang Lei sat in the co-pilot's seat, while He Ping was in the back row tuning the communication equipment.

"Are all communication frequencies calibrated?"

"Calibrated. Communication with Polaris will remain clear within three hundred kilometers. Beyond five hundred kilometers, we'll switch to the emergency frequency," Zhang Lei replied.

Zhou Yuan nodded and turned to look toward the Docking Area.

Lu Chen stood before the airtight door of Polaris, thirty meters away from the iron wall. Their eyes met.

He pressed his communicator.

"Zhou Yuan."

"City Lord."

"Route confirmed?"

"Confirmed. Outbound via the northern route around Ash Rift Valley—fifty kilometers longer, but safer. Return via the southern route through the edge of the rift to save fuel."

"Communication blackout duration?"

"Thirty-six to forty-eight hours."

"Did you bring the signal interpretation standard paper?"

"I have it. Chen Li also has a copy."

"Good."

"City Lord."

"Yes?"

"If the signal density of the Iron Hoof Legion increases after I leave, don't wait for my return to make a decision."

"You don't need to worry about that."

"Understood."

Lu Chen looked at him for two seconds.

"Go."

Zhou Yuan turned and boarded the vehicle, and the cockpit door closed.

The iron wall's engine revved from idle to operating speed, and the tracks began to turn. This former lv.3 fortress Mobile City had its front walls stripped down to the frame, but most of the side and rear armor remained. The engine sound was deep and powerful, and the sound of the tracks crushing the ground was steady and solid.

The war machine slowly drove out of Polaris's first-floor exit, crushing the moist soil of the snow-free zone and onto the ice of the wasteland. Its speed increased to forty kilometers per hour, heading northeast.

Northern route, around Ash Rift Valley.

Zhao Tiezhu stood by the airtight door, watching the silhouette of the iron wall grow smaller.

"City Lord Lu Chen."

"Yes?"

"Zhou Yuan is a reliable man."

"I know."

"Seven hundred kilometers, one man with two signalmen... they'll encounter all sorts of situations on the road."

"He chose the route himself. I trust him."

Zhao Tiezhu nodded and said no more.

Lu Chen watched the iron wall disappear over the horizon.

An unfamiliar voice came over the communicator.

"City Lord Lu Chen, Chen Li reporting. Deputy Chief of Staff Zhou Yuan has departed. I have temporarily taken over the daily affairs of the Staff Department and will report to you every afternoon at four o'clock."

"Good."

"There are two items in today's report that I need to inform you of in advance."

"First, migration progress. As of this morning, the total number of registered residents is 6,187. Yesterday, 174 people moved in—the speed is somewhat slow because seedling transfer and ventilation renovation construction are occupying some corridors."

"Can the corridor occupation issue be resolved today?"

"Han Zhengqing's second and third ventilation renovation teams are working on the east side of the second floor today, which won't affect the migration corridors on the first floor. I've already coordinated with him."

"Good. And the second item?"

"Second, the coolant level of The City-State's auxiliary engine dropped by another two percent this morning."

Lu Chen's finger tapped on the armrest.

"What was Zhou Yuan's previous assessment of how much longer the auxiliary engine could last?"

"About thirty days."

"Has the rate of coolant level drop accelerated?"

"It's consistent with the past two days; no acceleration."

"Continue monitoring. Report the coolant data once a day."

"Understood."

The communicator disconnected.

Lu Chen stood before the airtight door, facing the wasteland.

The iron wall had already vanished beneath the grayish-white horizon.

Seven hundred kilometers to the northeast was the Iron Curtain Frozen Sea, where the Dawn Legion's Polaris was stationed.

He turned and walked back inside Polaris, the airtight door closing behind him.