229: Chapter 229 Degradation Timeline Set! Lin Wan Invites Engineers

Day 68, 10:41 AM.

Lin Wan left the Cockpit. Instead of heading to the Greenhouse, she first pressed her communicator.

"Lin Xiao."

"Here." On Lin Xiao's end, the background noise was chaotic, with the clanging of iron tools.

"Two things." Lin Wan walked briskly down the second-floor corridor toward the stairwell. "First, how much coolant is left for The City-State's auxiliary engines? The City Lord needs an exact number."

"How detailed?"

"Down to the hour." Lin Wan repeated the words exactly. "How many liters are left, how many milliliters are burned per hour, and projecting forward from now—which day, what hour, and what minute it will run dry."

Silence on the other end. Two seconds passed.

"Alright, I'll have Old Zhao from the engine room go measure it," Lin Xiao replied. "He has the records from the last refill; he can calculate it."

"Give it to me within today."

"So urgent?"

"The City Lord is planning the Degradation scheme," Lin Wan said, stopping there. "It needs to be detailed to the hour; not a single minute or milliliter can be off."

"Understood." Lin Xiao didn't pry. "The second thing?"

"The City-State's structure." Lin Wan halted at the stairwell. "The City Lord plans to perform Degradation in sections. Consume the back half first, then the front half. But The City-State is eight hundred meters long; if it's cut in the middle, can the front half's load-bearing capacity hold up?"

Only static remained in the communicator.

"Sectional... Degradation?" Lin Xiao's voice tightened.

"Yes."

"Sawing The City-State... in half?"

"Don't say 'sawing,' it's Degradation. The back half turns into Truth Points, and the people in the front half move forward." Lin Wan broke it down for him. "The premise is that when the back half is gone, the front half mustn't collapse. Over ten thousand people are still inside; if the load-bearing skeleton breaks and it collapses halfway through Degradation, everyone will be buried inside."

Lin Xiao sucked in a cold breath on the other end.

"We need someone to calculate it." He gritted his teeth. "The structural blueprints are in the Staff Department's Archives; I'll have someone look them up right now."

"Are there any engineers who know their stuff?"

"Yes." Lin Xiao thought for a moment. "There's a man named Master Wu Bingde under Old Han. He used to be a structural designer for the second-floor Industrial Zone and spent twenty years building load-bearing walls. He retired the year before last and has been repairing pipes in the Residential Area ever since."

"With The City-State's scale, can he figure it out?"

"He spearheaded the major renovation of the fourth-floor Residential Area; the housing for thirty thousand people is all supported by that level," Lin Xiao revealed. "When it comes to The City-State's skeleton, he knows it better than anyone."

"Can you get him onto the Polaris this afternoon?"

"I'll go call him now. He happens to be on the fourth relocation list and is boarding today."

"Bring him straight to the Cockpit once he's on board," Lin Wan instructed. "The City Lord wants to question him in person."

"Got it."

Just as Lin Wan was about to hang up, Lin Xiao spoke again.

"Lin Wan."

"Speak."

"About the sectional Degradation—has word leaked to the people in The City-State?"

"No. The City Lord just set up the framework; the details haven't been finalized yet."

"Make sure it doesn't leak," Lin Xiao whispered. "Ever since the relocation stopped yesterday, news about Iron Hoof has been spreading like wildfire. Today, 1,039 people are crowding onto the Polaris, and people are even cutting in line. If they find out at this critical juncture that The City-State is going to be dismantled, it won't be a relocation—it'll be a riot."

"My lips are sealed," Lin Wan replied curtly. "Give Master Wu Bingde a warning before he boards. This matter stays in the Cockpit; he's to take it to his grave."

"I understand."

The communication ended.

Lin Wan clipped the communicator to her waist, turned into the first-floor stairwell, and headed straight for the main entrance.

People were coming and going in the corridor. Newly boarded residents carried their bedrolls toward the Storage Area, their faces tense and their eyes glazed.

Someone recognized Lin Wan and timidly called out, "Miss Lin."

Lin Wan nodded and didn't stop.

Passing the Public Living Area, she glanced at the bulletin board on the wall.

The notice Chen Li had just posted was still hanging there, stating in black and white that the City Lord was negotiating cooperation with outside allies and that the situation was improving. Six or seven people gathered under the notice, whispering to each other.

Lin Wan didn't join the crowd. She crossed the corridor and headed into the Greenhouse Corridor.

Song Ya was standing in front of the Synthesizers. Six machines were in grinding mode, buzzing loudly as white flour sprayed from the outlets directly into bags.

"Is the yield on track?" Lin Wan approached.

"Four hundred and thirty kilograms produced this morning." Song Ya haphazardly wiped the white dust from her face. "We'll definitely reach a thousand kilograms before noon."

"Good. Don't turn them off after grinding." Lin Wan bent down to check the outlet; it wasn't clogged. "The 7.8 tons from the third harvest are drying. We'll thresh them this afternoon and pour them straight into the machines to keep grinding."

"Got it."

Song Ya rubbed her hands together, her movements hesitant. "Miss Lin, over a thousand people moved in today. Is there enough... flour to go around?"

"Enough." Lin Wan's mental ledger flipped rapidly. "We had 1,800 kilograms in the warehouse yesterday, plus another 1,000 today, making 2,800. For over ten thousand people, calculated at 150 grams per person, it's 1,600 kilograms at most. We have plenty to spare."

"That's good then." Song Ya breathed a long sigh of relief.

"Song Ya."

"Huh?"

"Has anyone asked you about the Iron Hoof Legion?"

Song Ya's hand, which was patting the flour, froze.

"Yes," she whispered. "While I was grinding flour early this morning, a woman who just boarded came over to the Hydroponic Racks. She said there were rumors in The City-State that the Iron Hoof Legion was coming to attack and asked me if it was true."

"How did you respond?"

"I said I'm just a farmer and flour grinder, and that outside matters aren't for me to manage." Song Ya wrung her hands together. "She didn't believe me and kept pestering me with questions."

"From now on, if anyone asks, stick to the official line: say the City Lord is making arrangements, and an official announcement will be made once there is definite news." Lin Wan laid down the law. "Don't say you don't know, and definitely don't say there isn't any news. Just stick to one thing: the City Lord is making arrangements."

"I've got it."

Lin Wan patted Song Ya's shoulder and turned toward the Hydroponic Racks.

The third harvest had been reaped clean. The fourteen rows of racks were bare, with the LED panels casting a cold light into the empty troughs.

She knelt down, swiped a finger across the bottom of a cultivation trough, and brought it to her nose to sniff.

The slightly sour scent of the Compost Liquid was just right.

"The fourth crop, we'll sow it this afternoon," she muttered.

The communicator at her waist vibrated. It was Lu Chen.

"Lin Wan."

"Here."

"Is the matter with Master Wu Bingde settled?"

"Settled. Lin Xiao said he's in today's group; he'll be taken straight to the Cockpit once he boards."

"Good. The auxiliary engine data?"

"Lin Xiao sent someone to measure it. He'll give us the final word today."

"Hurry him," Lu Chen's voice was heavy. "The faster, the better. The framework of the Degradation scheme is only missing this one number."

"I'll push him right away."

"Sow the fourth crop this afternoon; oversee it yourself. Keep the area and varieties the same as before."

"Ninety percent wheat, ten percent Rice."

"Correct."

"City Lord." Lin Wan squatted by the rack, her fingernail picking at the edge of the iron trough. "Processing these 1,039 people today is a massive task. With all three Registration Terminals running, how many can we finish by midnight?"

"Running at full capacity, 850 to 900 at most." Lu Chen's calculations were clear. "The remaining hundred or so will be settled in first, and we'll continue with them tomorrow."

"But there's a fifth batch tomorrow."

"The number for the fifth batch hasn't been determined yet." Lu Chen didn't follow her lead. "Let's finish what's in front of us first."

"Alright."

Ending the call, Lin Wan stood up, brushed the dust off her pants, and walked to the central tool cabinet.

She opened a drawer and took out a pipette and a dispensing box.

Inside the incubator, the Fast-growing Wheat seeds were neatly stacked, with batch dates clearly labeled.

She pulled out a box, felt its weight, and opened her logbook to write.

"Fourth crop sowing: 90% wheat, 10% Rice. Expected harvest in seven days. Estimated yield: 18 to 19 tons."

By the time these seeds were sown, the main force of Iron Hoof would be stepping into the Rustwind Wasteland. By the time of the harvest, the grand game of the Joint Strike should have already reached its conclusion.

She pushed the box back into the cabinet and closed the logbook.

2:10 PM.

Lin Xiao's call came in.

"Lin Wan, the engine data is out."

"Give me the numbers."

"117 liters of coolant left. At 11% load, providing only lighting and heating, it burns 0.93 liters per hour."

Lin Wan tilted her head to hold the communicator with her shoulder, freeing her hand to grab a pen.

"117 divided by 0.93..." Her pen scratched across the paper.

"126 hours," Lin Xiao revealed the final answer directly.

"126 hours." Lin Wan's pen paused. "Projecting forward from now, that's five days and six hours."

"Day 73, around 8:00 PM."

Lin Wan drew a heavy circle on the paper.

Day 73, 8:00 PM. Coolant runs out.

"There's one variable," Lin Xiao added. "If we cut the heating midway, we could last a bit longer. But there are still twenty thousand people huddled in The City-State; if the heat is cut, many will freeze to death."

"We can't cut it."

"Then it's fixed for the night of Day 73," Lin Xiao decided. "The margin of error is four hours at most."

"I'll report this to the City Lord right away."

"I've found Master Wu Bingde. He'll be on the Polaris at 3:00 PM sharp."

"Good."

Lin Wan ended the call and immediately switched to Lu Chen's channel.

"City Lord."

"Speak."

"Engine data. 117 liters left, 0.93 liters per hour. At the current rate, it will run dry at 8:00 PM on Day 73. The error won't exceed four hours."

Silence on the other end for a full three seconds.

"Day 73, 8:00 PM." Lu Chen's voice was very steady, devoid of any emotion.

"Yes."

"Note it down."

"It's noted."

"What time will I see Master Wu Bingde?"

"He boards at 3:00 PM."

Lu Chen didn't respond; only the faint sound of a pen scratching on paper came through the communicator.

"Runs out at 8:00 PM. Degradation starts at 9:00 PM at the earliest." He sounded like he was reading a ledger. "The first round will consume the back half; three or four hours, taking us to 1:00 AM on Day 74."

"Working in the early morning..." Lin Wan's pen followed his words.

"There are advantages to working in the early morning," Lu Chen said at a measured pace. "If Iron Hoof is camping, there will be less noise in the middle of the night. Conversely, the ears at Forge's Beacon Station are sharper at night."

"And the disadvantages?"

"We'll be half-blind. If the Reconnaissance Platoon is sent out, they won't be able to see more than two hundred meters with the naked eye in the pitch black."

"Is the radar not useful?"

"The radar runs 24/7; it doesn't care about the time."

The sound of the pen on the other end stopped.

"Day 73, 8:00 PM." Lu Chen pondered the words again. "All in all, five days and nine and a half hours."

Lin Wan's palms were slightly sweaty, and she gripped the communicator tightly.

"Is this time... enough?" she asked.

Lu Chen didn't give a definite answer immediately.

Two seconds passed.

"Wait for Master Wu Bingde's word," he said firmly. "If the skeleton can hold up, it's enough. If not, we start over."

The communication was cut.

Lin Wan stuffed the communicator into her pocket and stared intently at the numbers in her logbook.

Day 73, 8:00 PM.

Five days.

She turned a page and wrote down two words.

Enough.

Her pen paused, then she added a heavy question mark at the end.