170: Chapter 170 Seven Blueprints for Intelligence! The Iron Hoof Legion's Countdown

9:47 AM.

Lu Chen leaned against the back of his chair, his thermos placed on the left side of the console, its lid still screwed shut.

He had been staring at the communication frequency list for twenty minutes.

Zhou Yuan's frequency was green, but no signal was coming in yet.

9:51 AM.

The communicator still hadn't rung.

He picked up the thermos, unscrewed it, and took a sip.

The milk was warm; Lin Wan had placed it there at six in the morning, and it still retained most of its heat.

He put the cup back.

In the bottom right corner of the panel, two dark red records in the signal log column were still flashing.

One lasted 0.3 seconds, 15 degrees North-Northwest.

The other lasted 0.7 seconds, 13 degrees North-Northwest.

Five days apart, with no third entry.

"City Lord."

Chen Li's voice came through the communicator.

"What is it?"

"Two hundred and ninety-one people moved in this morning, bringing the total registered resident count to seven thousand two hundred and fifty-nine."

"The auxiliary engine coolant?"

"It dropped by 1.7 percent yesterday. I haven't received this morning's water level yet, but it's expected to be around 1.8."

"Hurry them for the data."

"Understood."

"Anything else?"

"Zhou Yuan's frequency has been green since eleven last night, but no signal has come in."

"I'm aware."

The communicator hung up.

He glanced at the clock.

9:58 AM.

The communicator rang.

"City Lord."

It was Zhou Yuan's voice.

It was very clear this time, without noise or interruptions—a stable communication quality within three hundred kilometers.

Lu Chen pushed himself up from the back of his chair.

"Zhou Yuan, position?"

"On the southern return route, roughly two hundred and eighty kilometers from Polaris. Will arrive in four hours."

"Status of the iron wall?"

"Engine is normal, tread wear is within acceptable limits. We have enough fuel to get back, with a hundred liters to spare."

"Are all three of you there?"

"We're all here. The two signalmen are right beside me, in normal condition."

Lu Chen tapped his finger on the armrest.

"The blueprints."

Zhou Yuan paused for a second on the other end.

"City Lord, let me talk about the situation with the Dawn Legion first. We'll save the blueprints for later."

"Speak."

"I didn't see Evening Bell."

Lu Chen didn't respond.

"The old man is in the core research area of the flagship Dawn; outsiders can't get in. Our iron wall was parked in the outer Docking Area, and the three of us could only reach the second-level reception area. But I did see Forge."

"Did Forge grant an audience voluntarily?"

"Not exactly." Zhou Yuan slowed his speech. "I laid out the signal parameters of the Iron Hoof Legion. Their communications department analyzed them for two hours, and after they were done, Forge came down personally."

"What was the conclusion of the analysis?"

"They confirmed our assessment. That signal was a report from a Scout Vehicle, definitely not an Automated Beacon. Their judgment is even more pessimistic than ours; they estimate the main force of the Iron Hoof Legion will arrive at the Rustwind Wasteland within twenty to twenty-five days."

Twenty to twenty-five days.

Lu Chen glanced at the date on the panel. Day 51.

Between Day 71 and Day 76, the Iron Hoof Legion would arrive.

The auxiliary engines of Black Rock City-State were expected to run out on Day 73.

The window was only a few days wide.

"Forge's conditions?"

"Three conditions."

"Go on."

"First, Polaris must share real-time monitoring data of the Iron Hoof Legion's scout signals. The parameters of each new signal must be synced to the Dawn Legion within twelve hours."

Lu Chen wrote a line in his notebook.

"The second?"

"Second, if the Iron Hoof Legion enters the Rustwind Wasteland, the Dawn Legion hopes Polaris will provide at least seventy-two hours of combat distraction to buy time for the strategic relocation of the Dawn."

Lu Chen's pen paused for a moment.

"A seventy-two-hour distraction."

"Yes." Zhou Yuan's voice was steady. "Forge's exact words were that they don't require Polaris to win against the Iron Hoof Legion, only to provide enough interference for the Dawn to complete its evacuation."

"They plan to run?"

"Preserving strength has always been the Dawn Legion's strategy. Evening Bell's path is to contract the defense lines; this condition is essentially in line with Evening Bell's approach."

"And Forge's own opinion?"

Zhou Yuan was quiet for two seconds on the other end.

"Forge wants to fight. But he is only the Chief of Weaponry; he can't win against Evening Bell in a council vote."

"The third condition."

"The third is food."

Lu Chen looked up.

"What do you mean?"

"After Forge saw the wheat samples, he had them analyzed for three hours. Once they confirmed the seven-day growth cycle, he proposed the third condition." Zhou Yuan paused. "They hope that within a future cooperation framework, Polaris can engage in technical exchanges regarding seed cultivation."

"Impossible."

Lu Chen answered quickly.

"I know," Zhou Yuan said. "I rejected it on the spot. No talk of seeds, no sharing of technology. Forge didn't push it; he said this condition could be listed as a long-term topic and isn't a prerequisite for the current negotiations."

"So the final terms are just the first two?"

"Yes. Sharing signal data and a commitment to a seventy-two-hour distraction."

Lu Chen looked at the two lines in his notebook for three seconds.

Sharing signal data costs information.

A seventy-two-hour distraction costs firepower and time.

The signal data didn't matter; giving it to the Dawn Legion wouldn't cause any loss and would instead keep them engaged.

The seventy-two-hour distraction was another matter; whether to fight, and for how long, would depend on the situation at the time.

"The blueprints."

"Seven of them," Zhou Yuan said. "After I showed Forge the sample blueprints, he proposed that seven pre-civilization blueprints could be exchanged for the intelligence we provided on the Iron Hoof Legion, along with a signed letter of intent for cooperation."

"Which seven specifically?"

"I'm bringing the physical items back. You can scan them yourself once I'm there; I can't say for sure what the exact Truth Density is." Zhou Yuan's speech quickened. "But what I can tell you is that two of them are high-level blueprints for energy, personally handled by Forge himself. The quality won't be poor."

"And the other five?"

"Two for materials, one for weaponry, and two for power systems. I took a rough look at the two for power systems; they're related to engines and transmissions, which should be useful for Polaris."

Lu Chen wrote down the types of the seven blueprints one by one in his notebook.

Two energy. Two materials. One weaponry. Two power systems.

He quickly ran through an estimation of their value in his head.

High-level energy blueprints, personally handled by Forge—a conservative estimate of a thousand each. That's two thousand for two.

Materials were uncertain; assuming medium quality, five hundred to eight hundred each.

One weaponry blueprint—if it's related to Electromagnetic Cannons or long-range strikes, an estimated thousand plus.

Two power system blueprints—if they're related to transmissions corresponding to technology tree nodes, the actual conversion value is estimated between six hundred and a thousand.

The total valuation was conservatively four thousand five hundred, and optimistically over eight thousand.

Added to the existing one thousand two hundred and twelve.

Between five thousand seven hundred and over nine thousand.

Enough to unlock one node, with a chance for two.

He wrote a line of numbers in his notebook and then closed it.

"Zhou Yuan."

"Yes."

"Arriving in four hours."

"Correct."

"No need to contact me again until you're back. Just keep the communication frequency open."

"Understood."

The communicator hung up.

Silence returned to the cockpit.

The time on the panel showed 10:09 AM.

Lu Chen leaned back in his chair, picked up the thermos, and finished the rest of the milk.

He set the cup down.

Four hours.

He picked up his notebook, flipped to a new page, and began writing today's task list.

First: Zhou Yuan returns at 2 PM. Scan and degrade blueprints, confirm balance.

Second: Zhao Tiezhu's Patrol Car makes its final trip the day after tomorrow. Estimated eight to ten coal crystals.

Third: Signal monitoring every thirty minutes. Maintain status quo if no new signals appear.

Fourth: Bed installation completed in four days. Schedule time off for the Engineering Team.

He paused as he reached the fourth item.

What would be the next phase's task after the Engineering Team's break?

The hardware renovation of the residential area was basically wrapping up. Vents, lighting, beds—once those three things were done, what was the next major project?

He thought for three seconds and wrote two words under the fourth item.

Thermal insulation.

The density of the second-level residential area was increasing. Over seven thousand people had already moved in, and once the full migration was complete, thirty thousand people would be concentrated within Polaris. Air circulation was solved, but the wall insulation was still at the Lv.3 standard configuration and hadn't undergone specific optimization.

This wasn't urgent, but it could be added to the plan.

He was halfway through the fifth item when the communicator rang.

"City Lord." It was Lin Wan's voice.

"What is it?"

"Progress on the strawberries. I just measured them; the fruits are 4.5 centimeters now, 0.5 larger than yesterday, and the coloring area has expanded to 35 percent."

"Faster than expected."

"The temperature stability of the Dome Greenhouse is better than I estimated. The day-night temperature difference is only one degree. Under these conditions, the coloring and sugar accumulation of the strawberries will accelerate."

"Is the estimate for Day 78 still valid?"

"Expected to be moved up to Day 75. I'll observe for two more days to confirm."

Lu Chen added a line to his notebook: Strawberry ripening on Day 75 to be confirmed.

"And the Watermelons?"

"Expanding at a normal rate. The rinds already have faint patterns—green and very light. The fruit is about the size of a fist now."

"How much longer?"

"Same period as the strawberries, between Day 75 and 78. I'll need to wait until the fruit gets a bit larger to make a precise judgment."

"Alright, report noted. Anything else?"

"The second crop of wheat." Lin Wan flipped through something, her voice sounding a bit more distant. "The root systems look great this morning, nutrient solution concentration is normal. It's the third day of the seedling stage, everything is proceeding as planned. Harvest on Day 57."

"Day 57."

"Yes. Yield will be twelve to thirteen tons, double that of the first crop."

"Good."

"City Lord, is Zhou Yuan coming back today?"

"Around 2 PM."

Lin Wan was quiet for a second on the other end.

"How long did you sleep last night?"

"Long enough."

"I passed the cockpit before I went to measure the strawberries. Your light was still on at 2:30 AM."

"I was writing something."

"What could you be writing until 2:30 in the morning?"

"Planning."

"What planning?"

"The response plan for when the Iron Hoof Legion arrives. The first draft."

Lin Wan didn't respond.

The cockpit was silent for three seconds.

"Is it finished?"

"The first draft is done. I'll revise it after Zhou Yuan returns and we cross-reference the intelligence."

"Did you eat breakfast?"

"A Nutrient Bar."

"I'll bring you a bowl of porridge in a bit. Song Ya used some rice to make porridge this morning; it's Brown Rice, and there isn't much left. You should eat first, City Lord."

"I don't need it."

"You slept for less than five hours, spent three hours writing plans, and only had a cup of milk and a Nutrient Bar. That's not enough."

Lu Chen didn't reply.

"City Lord."

"Bring it up, then."

"Alright, ten minutes."

The communicator hung up.

He leaned back in his chair.

The data on the panel ticked away quietly.

Outside the window, the Rustwind Wasteland stretched to the horizon under the grayish-white sunlight. Rust-colored winds blew past the silhouettes of pre-civilization mechanical wreckage, swirling fine rust dust into the cold air.

Twenty to twenty-five days.

He looked down at the line of numbers in his notebook.

In four hours, Zhou Yuan would return, the blueprints would be scanned, and the balance updated.

Then came the nodes.

Then more nodes.

And then, that window of opportunity.

The clock showed 10:17 AM.

The elevator doors opened.

Lin Wan walked in carrying an iron bowl. It was filled with porridge, its surface still giving off fine wisps of steam.

"Put it here." She placed the bowl next to the console. "Don't drink it until it's cooled down; it's a bit hot right now."

"Mm."

She didn't leave immediately.

She glanced at the panel, then at the two flashing dark red records in the signal log.

"No new signals from the north today?"

"None."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"Uncertain." Lu Chen picked up the porridge bowl and tested the temperature. "Silence either means there's no movement, or the main force no longer needs reports from the scouts."

Lin Wan was quiet for a moment.

"City Lord, you said just now that you wrote a response plan."

"I did."

"May I ask, is 'retreat' one of the options in there?"

Lu Chen took a sip of the porridge. The aroma of the Brown Rice spread through his mouth, feeling much more substantial than a Nutrient Bar.

"Yes."

"How many options are there?"

"Four." He put the bowl back. "Fight, Run, Hide, Talk. Each option has corresponding prerequisites and resource consumption estimates."

Lin Wan looked at him.

"Which one are you leaning toward right now?"

"It depends on how many Truth Points the blueprints Zhou Yuan brings back can be exchanged for, when the auxiliary engines of Black Rock City-State run out, and the scale and advance speed of the Iron Hoof Legion's main force."

"When will those three things be certain?"

"This afternoon at the earliest, within twenty-five days at the latest."

Lin Wan turned toward the elevator.

As she reached the door, she paused.

"City Lord, finish the porridge."

The elevator doors closed.

Only the blue light of the panel remained in the cockpit.

Lu Chen picked up the bowl, finished the porridge sip by sip, and placed the bowl on the console.

Then he flipped open his notebook and continued writing the fifth item.