172: Chapter 172 Three Thousand Beds Secure the Holiday! The Iron-Heeled Legion Countdown

7:00 AM.

Second-level residential area.

Three thousand beds.

The last batch completed today was from the 2,947th to the 3,000th.

Fifty-three beds.

It took the Engineering Team's last three-hour shift from last night.

Han Zhengqing stood on the west side of the residential area, watching the weld joint of the final bed light up with an electric arc, then cool and dim.

The Welder retracted the welding torch, took off the mask, and nodded to him.

"Chief Engineer Han, it's done."

Han Zhengqing walked over, knelt down, and touched the fillet weld of the bed frame with his thumb.

Smooth. No bumps. No slag.

He stood up.

"Good."

He pressed the communicator.

"City Lord, the 3,000th bed is complete; all three thousand have passed inspection."

Lu Chen's voice came from the cockpit.

"What time is it?"

"7:03 AM."

"Take a day off today. Notify your people that no tasks are scheduled for today; eat and sleep, no working allowed."

"Understood."

Han Zhengqing put away the communicator and turned to look at the circle of Welders, electricians, and plumbers surrounding him.

About thirty people, all from last night's final shift, some with bloodshot eyes. A young Welder leaned his torch against his leg, already nearly asleep while standing.

"Did you hear that?" Han Zhengqing's voice was raspy. "The City Lord said we have the day off today."

No one spoke.

Then there was a burst of laughter.

There was no explosive cheering in that laughter.

Only the gasps of sudden relaxation after dragging along in exhaustion.

Several people sat directly on the empty bed frames nearby.

The young Welder who was about to fall asleep didn't laugh; he tilted his head against the bed frame beside him and fell asleep three seconds later.

Han Zhengqing stood in the middle of the residential area, looking at the three thousand neatly arranged steel-frame beds. The spacing between each bed was sixty centimeters, lined up perfectly straight according to his requirements.

Three thousand beds.

Polaris could now officially house people.

He walked out of the residential area and toward the second-level public living area.

Lin Wan was already in the kitchen, adding brown rice to the pot to make today's breakfast.

"Chief Engineer Han," she didn't even look up, "a holiday?"

"A holiday, the City Lord said so."

Han Zhengqing sat down at the folding table, pulling out a chair.

"Technician Lin, what's for breakfast today?"

"Brown rice porridge with leftover minced beast meat from yesterday."

"No more noodles?"

"There're still noodles, but I have to cook porridge first this morning; the remaining flour will be distributed this afternoon."

"Fine, porridge is fine too."

Han Zhengqing leaned back against the chair.

"I'll wait here for a bit."

Lin Wan stirred the pot a couple of times with a spoon and asked.

"The Engineering Team is off today; what's scheduled for the day after tomorrow?"

"The City Lord hasn't said yet, so I don't know either."

"Do you have any ideas yourself?"

"I have a few ideas. One is to add an insulation layer to the residential area walls; the scrap steel and insulation materials can be requested as another batch from the Black Rock City-State. Another is to organize the first-level storage area; Zhao Tiezhu's three hundred men are sleeping on the floor there, and we need to clear space for partitions to replace those floor mats with beds."

"Which of these two things will be done first?"

"If you ask me, the storage area partitions should come first so Zhao Tiezhu's three hundred men can move in. How long have they been sleeping on the floor?"

Lin Wan scooped a spoonful of porridge, tasted it, and added a pinch of salt.

"Is it your call, or the City Lord's?"

"The City Lord's."

Han Zhengqing chuckled.

"I just give the City Lord suggestions."

"Then you tell the City Lord."

"When he's free."

The kitchen's aroma spread through the hallway.

The scent of brown rice porridge wasn't strong, but it had a comforting depth in the morning air.

People were moving about in the hallway one after another, mostly Engineering Team members who had just finished the last shift, dragging their exhaustion back to the residential area to find an empty bed and lie down.

There were also some newly moved-in residents walking toward the kitchen with bleary eyes, their pace quickening slightly after smelling the porridge.

Lu Chen's communicator rang at exactly 8:00 AM.

"City Lord," Chen Li's voice came through, "today's daily report is moved up to eight o'clock; there are a few things from yesterday that need supplementary reporting."

"Speak."

"First item: move-in progress. Three hundred and seven people moved in yesterday, bringing the total registered residents to 7,566. The third day of the second registration terminal's operation met expectations, with daily registrations stabilizing at 500 to 550 people."

"Second item."

"The City-State's auxiliary engine coolant dropped by 1.9% yesterday, higher than the previous two days; we need to continue monitoring today."

"Watch it. Report to me immediately if it exceeds 2.5%."

"Understood. Third item: Iron Hoof Legion signals. No new signals appeared from yesterday afternoon to this morning; monitoring frequency remains once every thirty minutes."

"Continue."

"Fourth item: there is something I need to confirm after Deputy Chief of Staff Zhou Yuan returned yesterday afternoon. He mentioned the Dawn Legion's latest assessment of the Iron Hoof Legion's main force's position: within twenty days. Should I include this data in today's general daily report for City Lord Lin Xiao to know?"

Lu Chen paused for two seconds in the pilot's seat.

"Notify Lin Xiao to come to the cockpit at 2:00 PM today; I'll tell him directly."

"Understood. One more thing: Liao Dacheng sent a communication this morning saying ZM-05 finished breeding last night at 3:41 AM with breeding boar YM-02; the process went smoothly."

"Both sows have been bred."

"Yes. ZM-04 and ZM-05 are one day apart. Pregnancy confirmation will take twenty-one days, around the 73rd day."

"Good, noted."

"Last thing: Chief Engineer Han reported this morning that all three thousand beds are finished. Chen Li needs to perform a full registration update for the residential area's bed capacity, which requires the City Lord's authorization for temporary access."

"Granted."

"Thank you, City Lord."

The communicator hung up.

Lu Chen leaned back in his chair.

7,566 people.

Three thousand beds.

He had to meet Lin Xiao at 2:00 PM and tell him directly about the twenty-day estimate for the Iron Hoof Legion.

Lin Xiao's reaction wasn't hard to predict; he would ask if Polaris could fight.

Lu Chen wrote a line in his logbook.

Meet Lin Xiao at 2:00 PM.

Iron Hoof Legion timeline update.

Prepare to explain the tactical value of the Omni-directional Crawler.

He closed the logbook.

A coarse laugh came from the hallway, sounding like one of Zhao Tiezhu's men, with a light tone; he couldn't hear what was being said through two levels.

It was the sound of the Engineering Team being on holiday.

He picked up his thermos, took a sip of the milk Lin Wan had brought this morning, and stared blankly at the data on the panel.

Balance: 2,622 points.

There's another trip for coal crystal the day after tomorrow, which will add four to five hundred.

A total of just over three thousand.

Next node: Radiation-proof Lead-lined Inner Shell.

Still short by less than two thousand points.

Twenty days.

He put down the thermos, picked up the logbook, flipped to the page for the 52nd day, and began writing the second item under the first.

Second item: Meet Lin Xiao at 2:00 PM to report the Iron Hoof Legion timeline.

Third item: Contact Liao Dacheng this afternoon to confirm the ZM-05 breeding record update.

Fourth item: Direction of next phase tasks for Han Zhengqing's Engineering Team after their holiday ends. Storage area partitions take priority over wall insulation.

While writing the fourth item, the communicator rang.

It was Lin Wan.

"City Lord."

"What is it?"

"The porridge is ready. Should I bring it up to you, or will you come down yourself?"

"Bring it up."

"Okay, two minutes."

The communicator hung up.

Lu Chen flipped the logbook to the next page and continued writing the fifth item.

Fifth item: The day after tomorrow, the Patrol Car's last trip for coal crystal; Zhao Tiezhu to confirm manpower.

The elevator doors opened.

Lin Wan walked in carrying a bowl.

Brown rice porridge with minced beast meat, with two green leafy vegetables she had picked from the greenhouse floating on top—some unknown variety with narrow, long leaves.

She placed the bowl next to the control console.

"It's still hot, don't burn yourself."

"Mm."

She glanced at the panel, her gaze pausing on the balance figure.

"How did seven thousand plus become two thousand plus?"

"Unlocked a node."

"Which node?"

"Omni-directional Crawler Transmission Module. Eighteen seconds for a Stationary U-turn."

Lin Wan was quiet for a moment.

"What does 'eighteen seconds for a Stationary U-turn' mean?"

"It means if the Iron Hoof Legion attacks from the front, I don't need to drive out and circle around to adjust my attack direction. A Stationary U-turn, eighteen seconds, and I can point any side of the city wall at the target."

Lin Wan looked at him.

"That's a critical node."

"Yes."

"You confirmed it yesterday afternoon?"

"Confirmed it after the blueprints were degraded yesterday."

Lin Wan didn't press further and turned toward the elevator.

At the door, she paused.

"City Lord, I added salt to the porridge. It's the level of saltiness you can eat, not too heavy. Taste it and see if it's right."

"Okay."

The elevator doors closed.

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

Lu Chen picked up the bowl and took a sip.

The saltiness was just right.

He put the bowl down, picked up the logbook, and wrote another line after the fifth item.

Omni-directional Crawler unlocked.

Next: Radiation-proof Lead-lined Inner Shell, 5,000 points.

Currently short by 2,378 points.