200: Chapter 200: Eight hundred people board the ship every day! The signal from the iron hooves still hasn't arrived.

Day sixty-one.

Seven minutes past midnight.

In the signal log column, four dark red records were embedded on the panel screen.

The fifth one hadn't come.

Lu Chen's eyes were closed, but his mind was still racing.

He was calculating.

The second batch of the Relocation Team, six hundred people, arriving at seven tomorrow morning; the first frame of the Storage Area partition finished welding today, the second and third frames must be welded tomorrow; Old Liu is coming at eight in the morning for the ZM08 Farrowing Room position; the composting cycle temperature was forty-three point five today, and the valve will be opened tomorrow morning when it reaches forty-five; three hundred kilograms of flour produced today, and nine hundred kilograms will be ground tomorrow.

He went through the eight items on the list in his head. Every task had someone pushing it forward; he didn't need to watch them like a hawk.

What he truly had to keep an eye on was the fifth signal, the main force of the Iron Hoof Legion, and that fatal, unconfirmable question: where exactly was the main force now?

No answer.

The radar scan line completed a rotation; everything within eight kilometers was clean.

Lu Chen forced the thought out of his mind and adjusted his breathing.

Three minutes later, he fell asleep.

At exactly six in the morning, the communicator rang.

Lu Chen pushed himself up from the back of the chair, his gaze immediately scanning the bottom right corner of the panel.

Still four dark reds, no fifth one.

"Speak."

"Morning, City Lord," Chen Li's voice came through. "Signal monitoring started at midnight today; it's been scanned thirty-six times so far, all normal. No sign of the fifth signal."

"Good."

"There's one more thing."

"Speak."

"At five-thirty this morning, City Lord Lin Xiao sent a communication saying the second batch of the Relocation Team has finished assembling—six hundred and four people. That's four more than the six hundred set yesterday; they're elderly people not on the list who insisted on coming. He didn't stop them and asked if you could take them in."

Lu Chen was silent for a beat.

"Take them."

"Alright, I'll get back to him now."

"Chen Li."

"In."

"Starting today, the upper limit for each batch of the Relocation Team is raised to eight hundred."

There was silence on the other end of the communicator for two seconds.

"City Lord, if it's eight hundred a day, the pressure of reception registration and bed placement will be too great. The Storage Area partitions won't be finished until the day after tomorrow, and Battalion Commander Zhao's housing hasn't been handed over yet. If we cram eight hundred people in today, the placement space..."

"I know what I'm doing," Lu Chen cut him off. "Today is six hundred and four; starting tomorrow, aim for eight hundred. Keep a close eye on Han Zhengqing's partition progress for me. Zhao Tiezhu's housing must be handed over the day after tomorrow. Once his people move, space will open up in the temporary placement point of the Storage Area."

"Good."

"Report today's briefing on time."

"Understood."

The communicator hung up.

Lu Chen stood up, walked to the panel, and glanced at the radar.

Clean.

He lowered his head and opened his notebook, adding a line under yesterday's seventh task.

Relocation limit adjusted, upper limit of eight hundred per batch, effective tomorrow.

Closing the notebook, he sat there waiting for Lin Wan.

At six-eleven, the communicator rang on time.

"City Lord."

"In."

"The milk is on the console," Lin Wan's voice was steady. "No Strawberries today. Your last one is still in the Greenhouse cold Storage Area; remember to eat it within five days."

"Got it."

"What time did you sleep last night?"

"Around twelve-twelve."

Lin Wan didn't respond on the other end.

"I slept for nearly six hours."

"Mm."

"Better than the last few days," she didn't press the matter further. "As for today's schedule, I'll be mixing nutrient solution in the morning, continuing to grind flour at nine, checking the compost at the Livestock Farm at noon, and monitoring the flour output in the afternoon."

"Han Zhengqing is welding the second and third frames today. Go touch base with him about the vibration-damping layer. Have him send someone to the Greenhouse to take measurements today so they can start tomorrow."

"Alright, I'll go find him this morning."

"Old Liu is coming to weld the ZM08 Farrowing Room position at eight this morning; you don't need to worry about that."

"Okay."

"Lin Wan."

"In."

"If the composting cycle valve is opened for testing today, go supervise it personally. It's the first time; there can't be any mistakes."

"Understood, I'll be on guard at the seventh set of Hydroponic Racks." Lin Wan paused. "City Lord, you thought the relocation was too slow last night. Did you think of a way to speed it up?"

Lu Chen picked up the milk cup on the console and took a sip.

The temperature was the same as yesterday, neither hot nor cold.

"Increase the head count limit," he swallowed the milk. "Aim for eight hundred starting today."

"Eight hundred a day, plus the seven hundred fifty to eight hundred registrations from the three terminals, means the registration speed and relocation speed are basically equal."

"Being equal is a good thing; at least it won't leave people waiting in the cold outside." Lu Chen put down the cup. "The bottleneck is the placement space. Han Zhengqing hands over the partitions the day after tomorrow. Once Zhao Tiezhu's three hundred people move in, the temporary placement point in the Storage Area can be cleared out, allowing for two hundred more people."

"Then from day sixty-three onwards, how many can be moved each day?"

"Theoretically, it could reach eight hundred, but it depends on the rhythm of material transport. Moving people and materials together easily leads to congestion. Lin Xiao said the materials will start moving today; people and materials must be staggered."

"The calculation you did yesterday showed only fourteen to fifteen thousand could be moved before day seventy-one." Lin Wan paused for half a beat. "If it's eight hundred a day, how many more can be moved before day seventy-one?"

Lu Chen went through the numbers in his head.

"Counting from today, from day sixty-one to day seventy-one is ten days. At eight hundred a day, that's eight thousand. Adding the current eight thousand four hundred-plus, the total is sixteen to seventeen thousand."

"Two or three thousand more than fourteen thousand."

"Yes." Lu Chen rolled the number on the tip of his tongue. "It's still not enough. There are still thirteen to fourteen thousand people left in The City-State."

Lin Wan didn't reply.

Both understood that this math problem didn't have a good result.

"Go get to work," Lu Chen said.

"Mm."

The communicator hung up.

Lu Chen leaned back in his chair, staring at the clock on the panel.

Six-twenty-three.

Thirty-seven minutes until the second batch of the Relocation Team arrives.

He opened his notebook, recalculated the set of numbers he had crossed out yesterday, and wrote them down beside it.

Day sixty-one to day seventy-one, eight hundred per day, total relocation volume sixteen thousand five hundred.

He added another stroke under this line of text.

Still thirteen thousand five hundred short.

The tip of the pen stopped. He stared at the line for a few seconds before putting the pen away.

Numbers are just numbers, after all.

Move those who can be moved first, save those who can be saved first.

At seven sharp, Zhao Tiezhu's communication came in.

"City Lord, the second batch of the Relocation Team is on the way. I'm at the main entrance on the first floor right now."

"Good. The placement plan remains the same. Prioritize the elderly and those with children for the empty beds on the second floor. The north side of the Storage Area will continue to serve as temporary placement. There are four extra elderly people today; have Sun Ke wait on the first floor and let him check on those with mobility issues first."

"Understood."

"Also, Han Zhengqing is welding the second and third frames today. Your people in the Storage Area will run into his. Coordinate the site just like yesterday."

"I've already spoken with Chief Engineer Han. He's welding from south to north, and my people are staying in the north, so we won't cross paths."

"Good."

Lu Chen put down the communicator and stood up to walk toward the elevator.

He planned to stand on the first floor for a while today.

There was no particular abnormality; it was just that the string of numbers calculated last night was weighing on his chest. He had to go see the people.

Only by seeing living people walk in could he truly feel that they weren't just a string of numbers.

The main entrance on the first floor.

The heavy airtight door was open, and the moist soil of the Snow-Free Zone stretched a hundred meters outside the door.

At seven-seventeen, the Relocation Team's column emerged from the temporary passage on the side of Black Rock City-State.

There were more people than yesterday.

Yesterday, five hundred thirty-two people walked over like a thin line. Today, with these six hundred and four people, the line was significantly wider. In the crowd, some carried two large bundles on their backs, some led a child in each hand, and some were half-carrying, half-supporting an elderly person who could barely walk.

The leader was a woman in her forties, wrapped in a thick fur coat, but her hair was completely white. She walked steadily, and as soon as she stepped into the Snow-Free Zone, she didn't even pause, walking straight inside.

Following behind was a father and son. A boy of seven or eight was perched on his father's shoulders, his head tilted as he examined the steel outer walls of the Polaris. Seeing the patch of warm orange light emanating from the Dome Greenhouse on the roof, the child's mouth hung half-open.

Lu Chen stood by the entrance, silent.

Six hundred and four people walked in one by one. As each person crossed the threshold, they would glance at the outer wall, or the dome, or look down at the dry ground beneath their feet.

No one looked at him.

Or rather, these people simply didn't know which one was the City Lord.

He stood by the flow of people, as cold and hard as an iron wall.

He didn't need anyone to recognize him either.

He just needed to count.

Six hundred and four.

After Zhao Tiezhu finished reporting the count over the communicator, Lu Chen turned and walked toward the elevator.

By the time he sat back in the Cockpit, the clock on the panel had jumped to seven-forty-nine.

His gaze swept toward the signal log column.

Four dark reds, the fifth one hadn't come.

He picked up his notebook and put a heavy checkmark next to the first task for day sixty-one.

Second batch of the Relocation Team, six hundred and four people, arrived.