227: Chapter 227 Joint Strike: 7 to 5! Lu Chen Wants to Build Railway Cannons

Day 68, 9:07 AM.

Cockpit.

Lu Chen gripped the communicator, his knuckles protruding with force.

"Say that again," he spoke.

"Seven to five," Zhou Yuan ground out each word. "The Joint Strike proposal passed. Forge's exact words were that of Evening Bell's two abstentions, one changed to a vote in favor, and the other continued to abstain. Additionally, Evening Bell's own vote was still against, but with that one flipped vote, the pro-war faction scraped together seven votes—more than half."

Seven votes.

Seven out of twelve votes.

It passed.

Lu Chen set the communicator on the control console and leaned back into his chair.

Lin Wan sat beside him, the pen in her hand frozen in mid-air.

She turned to look at Lu Chen, her lips moving slightly, but no sound came out.

"City Lord," Zhou Yuan took a breath on the other end of the line. "Forge said that after the voting was over, Evening Bell smashed his cup on the spot, but he didn't leave the meeting; he sat there and listened to the rest of the plan."

"Evening Bell didn't leave."

"No, Forge said Evening Bell said one thing after smashing the cup."

"What was it?"

"We can fight, but Dawn will not be the vanguard."

Lu Chen closed his eyes briefly.

That old fox Evening Bell lost the vote but still wanted to impose conditions.

Not being the vanguard.

It meant the Dawn Legion would participate, but the Lv.5 Dawn would not be at the very front.

"Then who will be the vanguard?" Lu Chen asked.

"Forge didn't say," Zhou Yuan paused for half a second. "But he implied that Polaris would make first contact, and the Dawn Legion would provide support."

First contact.

Lu Chen mulled those two words over in his mind.

First contact meant that once the main force of the Iron Hoof Legion reached the Rustwind Wasteland, Polaris would be the first to engage them.

The Dawn Legion would wait on the flanks and join in depending on the situation.

"What kind of Joint Strike is that?" Lu Chen spoke up. "They're using us as bait."

"Not entirely," Zhou Yuan weighed his words on the other end. "Forge's exact words were that Polaris is closest to the target and holds the first-hand contact window. It will take the Dawn Legion's formations a day and a half to two days to redeploy from the Iron Curtain Frozen Sea to the Rustwind Wasteland; it's impossible to arrive simultaneously. Those who arrive first make contact, and those who arrive later provide support and reinforcements."

"A day and a half to two days." Lu Chen circled this timeframe in his notebook.

"The Iron Hoof main force will reach the Rustwind Wasteland on Day 69 at the earliest. The Dawn Legion's formations will take a day and a half to two days from the Iron Curtain Frozen Sea. If they leave today, they'll arrive at the earliest between the middle of the night on Day 69 and the morning of Day 70."

"Staggered by exactly half a day to a full day."

"Correct."

"That half-day to a day is the window where Polaris will face the Iron Hoof Legion's vanguard alone."

The other end of the communicator went silent for two or three seconds.

"City Lord," Zhou Yuan's voice lowered. "Forge's meaning is that we hold the line for half a day to a day, and his people will take over once they arrive."

"Half a day to a day." Lu Chen scanned the weapons panel above the control lever.

Ray Cannon: eight shots.

Napalm: ten uses.

Phalanx Close-In Weapon System: four mounts, one truth point per interception.

fragmentation grenades: fifty points per volley.

Harpoons: ten points per shot.

Balance: 2,622 points.

Not enough.

Nowhere near enough.

To hold off the Iron Hoof Legion's vanguard for half a day, given the firepower density of a Lv.4 level, the interception costs for the close-in weapon systems would be an astronomical figure.

"So this is the 'bigger gun' Forge was talking about," Lu Chen followed the thought.

"City Lord?"

"Forge said last night that Polaris needed a bigger gun. He knew then that the vote would pass, and he knew Evening Bell would set conditions to keep Dawn from being the vanguard." Lu Chen laid all of Forge's cards on the table. "He was telling us in advance that while the Joint Strike would pass, the Dawn Legion would be late by half a day to a day. During that time, Polaris has to rely on its own firepower to hold out."

"The 155mm Electromagnetic Railgun," Lin Wan interjected from the side.

Both Lu Chen and Zhou Yuan fell silent.

"City Lord, you mentioned this node before," Lin Wan flipped through her notebook. "Unlocking it requires 10,000 Truth Points. The estimated yield from the Degradation of The City-State's remains is over 30,000 points. That's more than enough after the Degradation is done."

"Provided the degradation window still exists," Lu Chen picked up the thread.

"The scout vehicle left yesterday, and there's been no new signal today. The main force arrives Day 69 at the earliest." Lin Wan organized the timeline. "The City-State's auxiliary engines will be exhausted by Day 73 or 74. Degradation must be carried out after the engines stop running."

"Engines exhausted on Day 73, Degradation takes five to eight hours, main force arrives Day 69—that's a four-day gap." Lu Chen did the math. "The main force won't attack immediately upon arrival; they'll need to establish a base first, which takes three to five days. If they arrive on Day 69 plus three days for base construction, they'll start expanding on Day 72."

"Expansion on Day 72, engines exhausted on Day 73—there's only a one-day difference."

"A one-day window," Zhou Yuan chimed in over the communicator. "On the fourth day of the main force's base construction, The City-State's engines run out and we begin Degradation. During those five to eight hours of Degradation, the main force will still be building their base and won't take the initiative to attack."

"That's assuming Forge is right about the Iron Hoof Legion not attacking during base construction."

"He's checked their records; the standard base construction procedure is to set up defensive lines first before expanding outward."

Lu Chen arranged these timelines neatly in his notebook.

Day 69: Main force arrives, base construction begins.

Day 72: Base construction complete, expansion begins.

Day 73: City-State engines exhausted, Degradation begins.

Day 73 to 74: Degradation complete, gain over 30,000 points.

Unlock 155mm Electromagnetic Railgun: 10,000 points.

Unlock Radiation-proof Lead-lined Inner Shell: 7,000 points.

Unlock Gas Turbine Generator Set: 10,000 points.

Three nodes total 27,000 points; 30,000-plus points is enough.

The remaining points can be used to exchange for ammunition and upgrade other nodes.

"City Lord," Zhou Yuan said, "the degradation window is the final link. Now that the Joint Strike has passed, the risk of Degradation has a safety net. The Dawn Legion's formations are on the way, the Iron Hoof Legion is building its base, and we are performing Degradation. All three parties are preparing simultaneously; whoever is ready first will seize the initiative."

"I know." Lu Chen closed his notebook.

He pressed the communicator button.

"Zhao Tiezhu."

"Here," Zhao Tiezhu's voice came through, with the sound of people rummaging through equipment in the background.

"The Joint Strike passed, seven to five."

There was silence for two seconds on that end.

"City Lord, are you serious?"

"Forge cast his vote at 9:03; the news just arrived."

Another two seconds of silence.

"Good," Zhao Tiezhu spat out a single word.

"What's the status of the Reconnaissance Platoon's preparations?"

"We finished checking the equipment last night. Twelve men, each with three days' rations, a canteen of water, 120 rounds of rifle ammunition, two grenades, and a communicator."

"Good. Don't head out today. We'll wait until the timing for the degradation window is set in stone before we commit."

"Understood."

The communication disconnected.

Lu Chen then pressed the button for Chen Li's channel.

"City Lord."

"Notify the managers on each floor that today's flour distribution will proceed as usual. Add a message: the City Lord is discussing cooperation with outside allies, and the situation is improving. Do not mention the Joint Strike or the Dawn Legion; just say we're discussing cooperation. Put a positive spin on it."

"Understood."

The communication disconnected.

Lu Chen put down the communicator, opened his notebook, and wrote a line in large characters on the page for Day 68.

Joint Strike passed seven to five.

He set the pen down.

He stared at those words for five seconds.

Then he flipped to the next page and began listing the execution plan for the degradation window.