207: Chapter 207 The shock-absorbing padding layer is complete! Lu Chen decides to go racing.

Day 62, exactly 6:00 AM.

The communicator vibrated right on time.

Lu Chen propped himself up, his gaze immediately darting past the console to the bottom right corner of the panel.

Four dark red records sat there quietly. A fifth one hadn't arrived.

He reached out and pressed the communicator to answer.

"City Lord." Lin Wan's voice came through, sounding crisp. "The milk is on the console, and the Strawberry is next to it."

She paused for half a second, her tone sharpening. "It's your last one. You must finish it today."

Lu Chen turned his head.

That Strawberry sat beside the glass. It was smaller than the first one, but the flesh was plumper. The deep red skin was covered in tiny water droplets from the cold storage, and the leaves at the stem were still a vibrant green.

After sitting for two days, its quality hadn't dropped.

"Is Han Zhengqing finished with the springs?" Lu Chen asked, withdrawing his gaze.

"Finished," Lin Wan replied efficiently. "They worked straight through until 1:47 AM. Sixteen hundred springs, not one missing. Old Du came up at 5:30 AM to measure them; the errors are all within reasonable limits. They can be installed."

"What time do we start work?"

"I have an appointment with Old Du for nine o'clock. Six people, split into two groups. One group will lay the rubber mats, and the other will mount the springs," Lin Wan reported the progress. "Old Du estimates we'll be done by 4:00 PM."

"Oversee it personally."

"I'll be there keeping watch."

Lu Chen picked up the glass of milk. "Once they're installed, when will we test the results?"

"We have to get the Polaris moving," Lin Wan calculated on her end. "The speed needs to reach at least forty kilometers for the data to have any reference value." She paused, asking tentatively, "City Lord, when do you plan to move the vehicle?"

Lu Chen held the warm glass, not rushing to answer.

Right now, the Polaris was parked right against Black Rock City-State, with the main engine only at idle. To actually run it and test the shock absorption, he'd need to coordinate with Lin Xiao first, and the route would have to be strictly fixed—no wandering off.

"Finish installation at 4:00 PM today, test tomorrow morning," Lu Chen decided after swallowing a mouthful of milk. "For the route, choose the Snow-Free Zone on the side of Black Rock City-State. Push south for two kilometers, then double back. Keep the total distance under five kilometers."

"What time tomorrow morning?"

"Seven o'clock."

"Got it," Lin Wan agreed. "I'll go up to the Greenhouse at 6:30 AM tomorrow and keep a close eye on the Hydroponic Racks. Let me know when you hit forty kilometers, and I'll record the data."

"Good."

Lu Chen set down the glass, pinched the Strawberry, and popped it into his mouth.

The sweetness dissolved.

It wasn't as juicy as the second one, but the sweetness was more substantial. The wheat-flavored batter soup and bland Nutrient Bars couldn't compare at all; the flavor lingered on his tongue.

"Is it sweet?" Lin Wan's follow-up question came through the communicator.

"Sweet."

"Compared to the second one?"

"Sweeter."

"Then that's fine." Lin Wan's speaking speed slowed down, sounding lighthearted. "You've finished your three. Once the second batch ripens on Day 64, it's my treat. We should get thirty to forty berries then."

"You haven't touched your own two yet."

"Yeah, I'm saving them for Day 64 to eat with the second batch," Lin Wan said. "Eating three at once will be plenty."

Lu Chen didn't reply, finishing the remaining half-glass of milk.

"Let's organize today's tasks." Lu Chen pulled the conversation back on track. "Keep monitoring the seventh composting group; if there are no issues, we'll roll it out fully in three days. Keep grinding flour, minimum one thousand kilograms. Install the wire mesh and insulation mats in the Storage Area partitions today, so we can hand over Zhao Tiezhu's housing the day after tomorrow."

"One more thing," Lin Wan cut in. "Liao Dacheng reported that ZM07 started nesting this morning. The due date will likely be early, probably tonight or tomorrow morning."

Lu Chen flipped open his logbook, took a pen, crossed out ZM07's due date, and moved it forward by one day.

"Liao Dacheng will have to pull an all-nighter tonight."

"He barely closed his eyes last night."

"Tell Sun Ke to go over and lend a hand too," Lu Chen ordered. "If something happens, he can step in immediately."

"Alright, I'll go notify them."

The communication ended.

Lu Chen straightened his chair back and looked at the task list for Day 62, going down the items one by one.

4:00 PM, West Side of the Storage Area.

"Creak!" Ma Dong pressed down hard with the wrench in his hand, tightening the last nut onto the pillar of the third partition frame. The end of the wire mesh was pulled completely taut.

Han Zhengqing stood two steps away with his hands behind his back, bending over to run a hand along the seam between the wire mesh and the insulation mat.

It was a perfect fit, with no gaps left.

"Finished." He straightened up, slapped the dust off his hands, and scanned the newly partitioned territory.

The thirty-six hundred square meter space had been sliced into four sections.

The first section, twelve hundred square meters, had a dry floor, the wire mesh was pulled straight, and two layers of insulation mats were laid down properly.

The second section, an eight hundred square meter material transfer warehouse, had a 1.8-meter wide opening left.

The third section, six hundred square meters, was specifically for the Relocation Team's temporary resettlement. With the wire mesh blocking it off, it was much more orderly than the messy floor mats on the north side yesterday.

The remaining fourth section, one thousand square meters, was left empty as a backup.

Han Zhengqing pulled out his communicator and turned it on.

"City Lord."

"Speak."

"The Storage Area partitions are all finished," Han Zhengqing reported the status. "The wire mesh and insulation mats are all laid properly, and all four sections are ready for people to move in. We're half a day ahead of schedule."

The Cockpit was silent for two seconds.

"Pass a word to Zhao Tiezhu," Lu Chen's voice came through. "Have his three hundred people move into the first section this afternoon. No need to wait until the day after tomorrow."

Han Zhengqing's fingers tightened around the communicator.

This wasn't just being half a day early; this was clawing back an entire day through sheer force.

"Alright, I'll go inform him right away."

"Chief Engineer Han," Lu Chen called out to him.

"I'm here."

"The Engineering Team worked hard today," Lu Chen's tone was steady. "Add an extra dish tonight; I'll have Lin Wan arrange it."

Han Zhengqing put down the communicator and turned to look behind him.

Twenty-three workers were scattered about, packing up their tools. Their work clothes were covered in welding soot and rust. Some were squatting on the ground wiping their hands with rags, others were tilting their heads back to gulp down cold water.

No one was pricking up their ears to hear what rewards the City Lord had promised.

To them, the work was done, so it was time to rest.

Han Zhengqing bent down to pick up his tool bag, walked to the entrance of the first section, ground the insulation mat on the floor with his toe to confirm it was flat, and then turned to walk out.

4:20 PM, Level 3 Greenhouse.

A crisp "click" sounded from the base of the hundredth Hydroponic Rack. The final shock-absorbing cushion layer snapped into its slot.

Old Du stood up, supporting himself on the rack, and slapped the dust from his knees.

"All set, everything's installed."

Lin Wan walked over quickly, squatted down, and scanned the floor level.

The rubber pads were tightly fitted, and the two springs stood perfectly straight, without any tilt.

She pressed her palm onto the base beam and pushed down hard. A sense of resilience pushed back against her hand; the springs gave a dampened feedback after being compressed.

It worked.

"Old Du, give me the bottom line," Lin Wan looked up. "Once we're actually running, how much of the bumping can this setup absorb?"

Old Du raised his thick-soled work shoe and stomped hard on the steel rail next to the base, watching the tiny vibration of the Hydroponic Rack.

"According to the blueprints, it can dissipate 30% to 35% of the force," the old man didn't make any absolute promises. "But how it actually performs when running depends on the vibration frequency of this iron beast. If the engine's vibration frequency happens to hit the natural frequency of these springs, that's resonance, and the racks could shake themselves apart."

"What's the resonance frequency range?"

Old Du squatted down again, his rough fingers pinching the spring coils to estimate the stiffness.

"About eight to twelve times per second," he stood up and looked at Lin Wan. "Do you know how many times the engine vibrates per second when this vehicle is running?"

"I don't," Lin Wan shook her head. "We've never measured that data while moving before."

"Then you'll need to use a stopwatch during tomorrow's test run," Old Du instructed. "If the vibration frequency really falls within that eight to twelve range, the shock absorption was for nothing, and we'll have to adjust the number of spring coils."

Lin Wan flipped open her notebook and jotted that down.

"If we do hit it, how do we adjust it?"

"Add another turn or two to pull the natural frequency down and avoid that deadly range," Old Du asked. "How much material does Old Han have left?"

"About five meters."

"That's enough to modify a batch or two, no problem."

Lin Wan stood straight and pressed the communicator at her waist.

"City Lord, the shock-absorbing cushion layers are all installed." She spoke quickly. "For tomorrow's test run at 7:00 AM, we need to simultaneously calculate the engine's vibration frequency. If we run into resonance, the spring specifications will need fine-tuning."

"Understood," Lu Chen replied curtly. "I'll push the throttle at 7:00 AM sharp tomorrow. You stay in the Greenhouse."

"Understood."

Lin Wan released the communicator and looked up.

Above the dome, the full-spectrum LED array cast down a warm yellow simulated sunlight.

Looking down, the third crop of wheat seedlings had already sprouted two centimeters high. Dense light green covered the hundred sets of Hydroponic Racks, forming a layer of vibrant, fine velvet carpet.

One run tomorrow morning.

Whether this hastily assembled shock absorption system can protect these several tons of rations depends on tomorrow.