231: Chapter 231 Registrations Surpass 10,000! Lu Chen Keeps a Close Eye on Two Key Points

Day 68, 7:32 PM.

Cockpit.

Lu Chen sat alone, watching the control panel.

Steam still rose from the hot water in his thermos.

The communicator vibrated; it was Lin Wan's channel.

"City Lord."

"Speak."

"The blueprints have arrived." Lin Wan's side was windy, accompanied by the sound of her panting as she climbed stairs. "Lin Xiao sent over two large rolls of the full structural diagrams via the Relocation Passage. Master Wu Bingde received them and has spread them out on an empty table in the second-floor Residential Area."

"Has he started looking at them?"

"He just spread out the first roll." Lin Wan stopped walking. "The old man said he needs to review the general layout first and won't calculate the sectional stress until early tomorrow morning. The earliest he can give a preliminary conclusion is 6:00 AM tomorrow."

"Six o'clock." Lu Chen drew a line on a piece of paper with his pen.

"One more thing." Lin Wan lowered her voice. "While Master Wu Bingde was looking at the diagrams, someone passed by and nosily asked if they were blueprints of The City-State. The old man was quick-witted and said he was helping you look up old data. I immediately had Chen Li set up a curtain to screen off that table."

"Well done."

"City Lord, did Chen Li report today's registration numbers to you?"

"He did." Lu Chen flipped to the data page. "Three terminals ran for fourteen hours straight, processing eight hundred and seventy-three people. Adding that to our existing base, the total is ten thousand seven hundred and fifty."

"We've broken ten thousand."

"We have." Lu Chen drew a heavy circle around the number with his pen. "But we're still twenty thousand short."

"The fourth batch brought in one thousand and thirty-nine people today. One hundred and sixty-six didn't make the queue and were pushed to tomorrow."

"Arrange for them to stay first. It doesn't matter if the shield is applied a day late."

"Got it." Lin Wan continued, "The fourth crop was all planted this afternoon. Ninety percent wheat, ten percent rice. The Nutrient Solution was mixed at a three-to-seven ratio with compost, and the germination boxes are full."

"How many days until harvest?"

"Seven days—Day 75."

Day 75.

Lu Chen added this date to the bottom of the timeline.

Day 69: The main Iron Hoof force arrives at the border.

Day 70: The Dawn Legion appears.

Night of Day 73: Degradation.

Day 75: Harvest of the fourth crop.

Several timelines were tightly intertwined, tangled like a mess of hemp.

"City Lord," Lin Wan called out from the other end.

"Speak."

"This old man, Master Wu Bingde—do you really trust him?"

"What did you notice?" Lu Chen asked instead of answering.

"I was paying attention." Lin Wan took a breath. "When he came aboard and walked through the second-floor corridor, he stopped to check the welds whenever he saw a structural node. He even specifically asked Chen Li who did the work. Chen Li gave him Han Zhengqing's name, and he just nodded, not saying another word."

"What does that prove?"

"It proves he knows his stuff." Lin Wan laid out her logic. "To just glance and stop asking questions means either he has a sharp eye and can immediately judge the quality, or Han Zhengqing's craftsmanship silenced him."

"Did those two work together back in The City-State?"

"Lin Xiao mentioned it once. During the Industrial Zone renovation, they were on the same team. Old Han was in charge of welding, and Old Wu was in charge of the blueprints."

"As long as they can work together." Lu Chen made a note on his paper.

"City Lord, one more thing."

"Go on."

"Liao Dacheng revised the transport plan this afternoon." The rustling of paper came through the communicator. "Thirty-three Piglets, packed into seven cages. That ZM08 number twelve is too thin and needs a small cage to itself. Breeding pigs two to a cage, while pregnant sows number four and five are separated. Four cows will be led by ropes, with non-slip mats laid in the passage. The ewes and those two twin lambs will have to be carried by hand."

"How long will it take?"

"Two or three hours. It'll require twelve hands."

"Have Zhao Tiezhu provide the men."

"Noted."

"When does he plan to move them?"

"He suggested starting six hours before Degradation. They'll need another hour or two after being moved onto the Polaris to let the livestock settle down, for fear of stress."

"Start moving at 2:00 PM on Day 73; the engine burns out at 8:00 PM. The timing works."

"That's based on the premise that the livestock are still in The City-State's Livestock Farm," Lin Wan added.

Lu Chen's hand, which had been tapping the table, stopped.

"The livestock haven't been in The City-State for a long time." His voice turned heavy. "Ever since our Livestock Farm was completed on Day 40, those pigs, cows, and sheep have been raised on our own ship."

There was a stunned silence on the other end of the communicator.

After two seconds, the sound of someone vigorously crossing out writing came through.

"My brain has gone numb; I forgot about that." Lin Wan sighed. "Then this plan will serve as a backup, in case we need to move them within the ship later."

"Just have Liao Dacheng keep a record of it."

The communication cut off.

Lu Chen picked up his thermos and took a sip.

He lifted his eyelids, glancing at the electronic clock on the panel.

7:48 PM.

He opened his notebook and drew up a list at the bottom of the page for Day 68.

[Cleared Items]

Joint Strike formation finalized.

Relocation of the fourth batch of 1,039 people settled.

Fourth crop seeds planted.

Auxiliary engine deadline fixed: Day 73, 8:00 PM.

Master Wu Bingde in position; structural verification underway.

[To-Do List]

6:00 AM tomorrow: Wait for Master Wu Bingde's report.

Forge fleet departure time: TBD.

Sectional Degradation steps to be refined.

Reconnaissance Platoon deployment points: TBD.

Fifth batch relocation headcount: TBD.

He scanned this list twice.

Only two deadlocks remained.

The result of Master Wu Bingde's calculations.

The exact time the Forge people head out.

The former would determine life or death—whether The City-State could be severed.

The latter would determine the duration—how long the Polaris would have to face the Iron Hoof vanguard alone.

Everything depended on tomorrow.

He tilted the back of his chair two centimeters, finding a barely tolerable angle for his aching neck.

On the panel, the radar scanning line swept round and round.

Within eight kilometers, there wasn't even a ghost of a shadow.

He closed his eyes.

Less than three seconds later, his eyelids snapped open again.

Reaching out, he grabbed the communicator on the console and switched to Zhou Yuan's channel.

"Zhou Yuan."

"Here." The sound from the other end was muffled, as if coming through a pillow.

"What time are the Forge people moving? Any word?"

"None yet." Zhou Yuan's voice cleared up a bit. "That old fox was too busy cleaning up the Council's mess today; he probably hasn't gotten around to the deployment orders yet."

"Press him again tonight." Lu Chen gave the order. "Don't waste time chatting. Just ask three things: what time they strike camp, what gear they're bringing, and how many days they'll be on the road. I want straight answers."

"Send it now?"

"Now."

"Got it."

Communication cut.

Lu Chen tossed the communicator back onto the table and reached for the thermos again.

The water had long since gone stone cold.

He didn't mind, tipping his head back to take a gulp.

He picked up his pen and added a line at the very bottom of the notebook.

Day 68.

Wait for tomorrow.