158: Chapter 158 The First Day of Disconnection! Countdown to the First Bite of Steamed Buns for 30,000 People

4:00 PM.

The communicator rang on time.

"City Lord Lu Chen, this is Chen Li with the four o'clock daily report."

"Speak."

"Item one, migration progress. Two hundred thirty-one people moved in today, bringing the total registered residents to six thousand four hundred eighteen. The passage congestion issue has been resolved, and the migration speed has returned to normal."

"At this rate, when will the full migration be completed?"

"There are approximately twenty-three thousand five hundred people remaining. Based on two thousand people per day, it will be completed in twelve days."

"That's four days later than scheduled."

"The seedling transfer over the past two days occupied the passage and slowed us down. If no similar situations occur, we can make up two days."

"Item two."

"The coolant level of The City-State's auxiliary engine dropped by 1.5% today, which is better than yesterday's 2%. The overall trend is stable."

"Item three."

"A minor fault occurred in the heating pipeline of the fourth-floor residential area of Black Rock City-State this morning, interrupting heating in the seventh district for two hours. City Lord Lin Xiao has already arranged for repairs; it doesn't affect the overall situation."

"Item four?"

"There is no item four."

"What's Zhou Yuan's communication status?"

"The iron wall passed the three-hundred-kilometer marker at 10:00 AM, which was the last clear communication. The signal has since decayed and can no longer be received."

"Proceed as planned."

"Yes, as planned."

"Good. Continue tomorrow at four."

"Understood."

The communicator hung up.

Lu Chen leaned back into the pilot's seat.

On the panel's communication frequency list, Zhou Yuan's frequency was displayed in gray.

Contact was lost.

He shifted his gaze to the radar panel.

No anomalies within an eight-kilometer range.

The north was empty.

That dark red signal log was still flashing quietly.

Since that 0.3-second encrypted signal two days ago, no new signals had appeared from the north.

This didn't mean it was safe.

It meant that the Iron Hoof Legion's outposts didn't need frequent communication.

He took out the signal interpretation standard sheet Zhou Yuan had left from the drawer.

Pulse width: 0.04 milliseconds.

Signal duration: greater than 1 second.

Direction: 15 degrees west of true north.

Three indicators.

He put the paper back.

The communicator rang.

"City Lord," Lin Wan's voice called.

"What is it?"

"The grain filling of the Fast-growing Wheat has reached 80%, and the ear length is 6.5 centimeters."

"Another centimeter longer than yesterday."

"Yes. The grain filling speed is accelerating; it's the final sprint before maturity."

"Is harvesting on the forty-seventh day no problem?"

"No problem. We can even harvest on the afternoon of the forty-sixth day."

"Half a day early?"

"Once the starch accumulation in the grains reaches over 90%, they can be harvested; we don't need to wait for them to dry out completely. After harvesting, they can be threshed after air-drying in the greenhouse for six to eight hours."

"Can flour from the first harvest be ground?"

"There's no milling equipment in the greenhouse, but the Protein Synthesizer can be modified into a simple grinding mode. I've confirmed this with the system."

"Meaning flour can be produced on the same day as the first harvest?"

"The first batch of coarse flour can be produced that evening."

"What can be made with coarse flour?"

"Noodles, steamed buns, pancakes. As long as there's water and a heat source."

Lu Chen tapped his finger on the armrest.

The first bite of hot steamed buns for thirty thousand people.

"City Lord?"

"I'm listening."

"Will you come to the greenhouse to watch on harvest day?"

"I'll watch the surveillance from the cockpit."

"Surveillance can't see the color of the grains."

"Then take a picture for me."

"There's no photography equipment in the greenhouse."

"Then describe it to me."

"Okay," Lin Wan's tone dropped half a degree, revealing a very slight smile.

The communicator hung up.

Lu Chen closed his eyes.

Two days later.

The first batch of Fast-growing Wheat would be harvested.

Seven tons dry weight.

Enough to feed seventeen thousand five hundred people for one day.

Or enough to feed three thousand people for six days.

He opened his eyes.

The balance on the panel glowed with a faint blue light.

Four hundred forty-seven.

Spent down to only four hundred forty-seven.

The cheapest next node cost seven thousand.

Short by six thousand five hundred fifty-three.

He had to wait for Zhou Yuan to bring back blueprints from the Dawn Legion.

Or continue hunting.

Or wait until Black Rock City-State's auxiliary engines were completely exhausted, then decompose the remains of The City-State.

That was a Lv.4 City-State eight hundred meters long and four hundred meters wide.

The main engine was broken, but most of the main structure was intact. The decomposition yield was conservatively estimated at over thirty thousand points.

Thirty thousand points.

Enough to light up four of the remaining nine nodes.

But he had to wait at least until the auxiliary engines ran out.

Twenty-eight days left.

The Iron Hoof Legion was expected to arrive within thirty days.