184: Chapter 184 The Iron Hoof Main Force Moves Tonight! Lu Chen Decides on a Mass Retreat

2:50 PM. The Cockpit. Chen Li arrived ten minutes early. He had organized all of today's daily report data into two pages of paper and placed them on the console.

Zhou Yuan sat in the co-pilot's seat. On his lap was a summary of information on the Dawn Legion that he had compiled himself. It was handwritten, with neat penmanship.

Zhao Tiezhu stood to the side. In his hand, he held a status list of the Polaris's weapon systems, also handwritten. None of the three spoke.

3:00 PM sharp. The elevator doors opened. Lin Xiao walked in. He was wearing a thick black coat, and the scar on his chin was particularly clear in the blue light of the Cockpit.

Lin Xiao scanned the three people present, then turned to look at Lu Chen. "I'm here."

"Sit." Lu Chen pointed to a folding chair next to the console. Lin Xiao pulled out the chair and sat down. The space in the Cockpit was sufficiently spacious. The four of them were distributed in different positions, not crowded at all.

Lu Chen spread out his notebook and placed it on his lap. "City-State Leader Lin Xiao, at 8:03 this morning, the Iron Hoof Legion appeared with a fourth outpost signal."

Lin Xiao leaned forward. "The fourth one?"

"Yes." Lu Chen pulled up the signal log on the panel. Four dark red records were lined up on the screen.

"Direction: nine degrees north-northwest. Signal duration: 2.1 seconds. The waveform encoding level is one tier higher than the previous three. Zhou Yuan's judgment is that it is a call signal; the outpost vehicle is requesting advancement confirmation from the Iron Hoof Legion's main base."

Lin Xiao looked at the four signals on the screen, his lips pressed into a line. "What does 'advancement confirmation' mean?"

Zhou Yuan took over. "It means the outpost reconnaissance phase is completely finished. The outpost vehicle has compiled the target area coordinates, terrain, and obstacle distribution of the Rustwind Wasteland and reported it all to the Iron Hoof Legion's main base. Now it is waiting for the main force to reply with the next advancement directive."

Lin Xiao's fingers curled on his knees. "How long does it take for the main force to reply?"

"Hard to say. If fast, half a day; if slow, two to three days."

"In other words, the Iron Hoof Legion's main force could start moving as early as tonight."

"Yes."

Lin Xiao turned to look at Lu Chen. "Lu Chen, you said there were four options."

"Fight, Run, Hide, Talk." Lu Chen opened his notebook. "I will read through the prerequisites for each option and my preliminary estimate of resource consumption."

"Read it."

"First, Fight. The prerequisites are uniting with the Dawn Legion and the Forge route winning in the council; Zhou Yuan estimates the probability at twenty to thirty percent. If we fight, all ten Ray Cannon shots will be used up, all ten napalm charges will be used up, the Phalanx interception reserves will be depleted by over three thousand, and our Truth Points will drop to zero. Even if we unite with the Dawn Legion's Lv.5 and two Lv.4s, the probability of winning a direct confrontation against the Iron Hoof Legion's Crushers is extremely low."

Lin Xiao listened without replying.

"Second, Run. The prerequisites are that the total evacuation is nearly complete, the Polaris's main engine is at full power, and we head toward the Ash Rift Valley, using the complex terrain to hinder the Lv.5's pursuit. Diesel consumption is estimated at eight hundred to one thousand liters; currently, the main tank reserves are sufficient. The probability of success is medium-high. But if we are caught, it will be a direct confrontation."

"How far is the Ash Rift Valley from here?" Zhao Tiezhu asked.

"About two hundred kilometers. At full speed, it will take six to eight hours."

"Can the Iron Hoof Legion catch up?"

"The Lv.5's cruising speed is fifteen to twenty percent faster than the Lv.3. They can catch up, but it will take time, and the terrain of the Ash Rift Valley will significantly slow them down."

Lu Chen continued. "Third, Hide. The prerequisite is that there exists terrain around the Rustwind Wasteland capable of concealing a two-hundred-meter-long fortress."

He paused for a beat. "Currently, no such terrain has been found. The Rustwind Wasteland is open, and the height of the pre-civilization industrial ruins is not enough to conceal the Polaris. The 'Hide' option is not viable."

"Eliminate it." Lin Xiao said directly.

"Eliminated." Lu Chen nodded. "Fourth, Talk. The prerequisite is that the Iron Hoof Legion is willing to talk, and we have enough bargaining chips."

"The Iron Hoof Legion's slogan is 'Crush Everything'." Lin Xiao's voice was heavy. "Are they willing to talk?"

"Hard to say." Lu Chen looked at his notebook. "The fundamental reason for the Iron Hoof Legion's southward movement is the depletion of the northern coal crystal veins; they need new sources of resources. If we can prove that the Polaris possesses the technology they need, there is a chance to secure space for negotiations."

"What technology?"

"Food technology." Lu Chen looked up at Lin Xiao. "Fast-growing crops that mature every seven days are a strategic-level resource for any faction. With a scale of over forty thousand people, the Iron Hoof Legion faces immense logistical pressure. If we use food technology to trade for the right of peaceful passage, there is a chance it could succeed."

"There is a chance it could succeed." Lin Xiao repeated those five words.

"The probability is also not high. The Iron Hoof Legion's style of operation is to crush first and talk later; they are more inclined to seize by force rather than exchange."

The Cockpit went quiet. Lin Xiao leaned back into his chair, arms crossed over his chest.

"Four options: the probability of 'Fight' is extremely low, 'Hide' is eliminated, 'Talk' is uncertain, 'Run' is the primary choice."

"Yes."

"Then get ready to run."

"There is a prerequisite for running." Lu Chen looked at him. "Total evacuation. Currently, eight thousand people are already inside the Polaris, and there are another twenty-two thousand in the Black Rock City-State. The three terminals register seven hundred fifty to eight hundred people per day; completing the entire migration will take over twenty-one days."

"Twenty-one days is too late."

"It is too late." Lin Xiao's fingers curled on his chest.

"Then what do we do?"

"Accelerate." Lu Chen turned the notebook to the next page. "Only accelerate the physical relocation; the registration speed has already reached its limit. Let the people over at The City-State move into the Polaris first and live there; registration can be done later. Get the people in first, then register them slowly."

Zhou Yuan chimed in from the side. "City-State Leader, unregistered residents lack system shield protection, which poses a higher risk in extreme situations."

"I am aware." Lu Chen glanced at Zhou Yuan. "But being alive without a shield is better than staying in The City-State waiting for the engine to run out."

Lin Xiao looked at Lu Chen. The two met each other's eyes.

"It's your call," Lin Xiao said.

Lu Chen shifted his gaze to Zhao Tiezhu. "Zhao Tiezhu, weapon list."

Zhao Tiezhu unfolded the paper in his hand. "Eight Ray Cannon shots, needs forty-five minutes to fully charge. Ten napalm charges. Two thousand six hundred twenty-two Phalanx interception reserves. Heavy Machine Gun ammunition needs to be exchanged, Harpoon Cannon ammunition needs to be exchanged, fragmentation grenade ammunition needs to be exchanged. Omni-directional Tracks are activated, eighteen seconds for a spot turn. Reactive Explosive Armor is completely immune to Lv.3 and below, reduces damage by sixty percent against Lv.4, and the effect against Lv.5 is unknown."

"Two thousand six hundred twenty-two interceptions." Lin Xiao stared at this number.

"How many artillery pieces does the Iron Hoof Legion have?"

"There are at least two hundred fixed artillery positions on the Lv.5 Crusher," Zhou Yuan said. "Plus four Lv.4s with one hundred twenty each, and over ten Lv.3s with sixty to eighty each; if they all aim and fire simultaneously at the Polaris, it would be over a thousand rounds in one volley."

"Two thousand six hundred twenty-two against over a thousand."

"It would be empty after two volleys."

The air pressure in the Cockpit dropped a notch. Lu Chen closed his notebook. "So we need more Truth Points."