232: Chapter 232 Degradation Cut Finalized! Polaris as Bait

Day 69, 5:04 AM.

The communicator on the console vibrated several times, its buzzing sound particularly piercing in the quiet cabin.

Lu Chen opened his eyes and tilted his neck to the right, his joints letting out a faint click.

The mark left on the back of his neck by the iron chair's backrest hadn't faded yet.

He reached out, grabbed the communicator, and pressed it open.

"Speak."

"City Lord." Lin Wan's background noise was quiet, her voice sounding dry after staying up all night. "Master Wu Bingde has reached a conclusion."

Lu Chen pushed the back of his chair upright.

"Read it."

"The old man calculated all night. The conclusion is split into three points." The sound of rustling paper came from Lin Wan's end. "First, the cut point is set at the 360-meter mark, the ninth set of horizontal frames. This frame has a cross-section of 1200 by 800 millimeters, double-layered reinforcement ribs with horizontal braces, and a load-bearing capacity margin of thirty-seven percent. Combined with the 1.8-meter-thick storage partition wall behind the frame and welded shut on both sides, it can form a complete closed load-bearing surface behind the front half's rear."

"Thirty-seven percent." Lu Chen picked up a pen and noted this number in his logbook.

"Second point. After the back half vanishes, the front half's self-weight will be around 14,000 tons. The front section of the main keel will bear all the pressure on the third to fifth sets of frames. The maximum bending moment at the rear cut surface of the front half is 4,800 kNm. The limit bending moment capacity of the ninth set of frames is 6,600 kNm. Calculated, the safety factor is 1.38."

"1.38." He finished writing the number, the tip of his pen hovering over the paper. "What's the engineering standard?"

Lin Wan flipped another page.

"Old Wu marked it on the side; the engineering standard should be 1.5. His exact words were: 'lower than standard, but it'll do.' Because the working condition is a static load, it won't take dynamic impacts, and it only needs to hold for three or four hours."

"In other words, if the front half just stands there still, it won't collapse for three or four hours. But if it encounters external force—say, shelling or ground tremors—this margin won't hold up," Lu Chen finished her thought.

"That's exactly what he meant."

Lu Chen stared at the numbers in the logbook.

1.38, a difference of 0.12.

Calculating this account in the wasteland, expecting the safety factor to meet standards was pure dreaming.

1.38 meant the probability of the front half collapsing on its own within three or four hours after Degradation was extremely low, but it wasn't foolproof.

"Third point." Lin Wan continued down the list. "Recommendations for cut point treatment. Old Wu said if conditions permit, weld four additional diagonal braces to the outside of the ninth set of frames before Degradation. Use three-meter-long angle steel and drive it directly into the foundation layer. Doing this can pull the safety factor up to over 1.6. The welding will take two hours and requires four skilled Welders."

"Four diagonal braces, two hours." Lu Chen noted this down.

"He also specifically marked one thing," Lin Wan added. "The diagonal braces must be welded inside The City-State. Drive them diagonally from the bottom of the frame into the foundation layer ahead. Absolutely do not weld outside; once a torch is lit outside, the Iron Hoof's people aren't blind."

During the Degradation period, the Iron Hoof's main force would be busy building a base outside.

Welding iron inside the belly of The City-State, they would neither hear nor see it.

"Alright." Lu Chen went over these three conclusions in his head.

Cut point at 360 meters, raw calculation 1.38, over 1.6 with diagonal braces.

The front half standing for three or four hours is stable; requires four Welders for two hours.

"Lin Wan."

"Present."

"Where is Master Wu Bingde?"

"Sprawled out asleep on that empty table on the second floor, the blueprints are still spread under his hands."

"Let him sleep. When he wakes up, have him go directly to meet Han Zhengqing. Turn the diagonal brace work into construction drawings, decide where the angle steel comes from, and let Old Han lead the men to weld."

"Okay."

"There is one more thing."

"Speak."

"The cut point for the partitioned Degradation is set." Lu Chen drew a circle in the logbook. "360 meters. The rear half is 440 meters. Go inform Lin Xiao and have him start driving the people inside The City-State toward the front."

"Move them right now?"

"Don't be in a hurry to move them all at once." He laid out the timeline. "Starting today, squeeze a little toward the front every day. Residents in the rear half of the fourth-floor Residential Area should move to the front half first. Supplies in the rear half of the Storage Area should also be moved forward. Do the relocation to Polaris and the internal transfer within The City-State simultaneously."

"Clear it out in five days?"

"Five days. Before the engines burn dry on the seventy-third day, the back half must be empty."

"People are easy, but what about the supplies?"

"Move what can be moved; throw away what can't." His calculation was extremely cold. "The back half is going to be decomposed anyway; the scrap metal left inside will all be converted into Truth Points. The scrap steel and old machinery that can't be moved out were originally just bonuses in the Degradation proceeds."

"Understood." Lin Wan complied. "I'll go find Lin Xiao now."

"Wait." Lu Chen stopped her.

"Something else?"

"About Zhou Yuan's side—is there any definite word on what time Forge's formation will break camp?"

"I'll ask."

Lin Wan's side was quiet for a few seconds as she switched channels and then back.

"Zhou Yuan said Forge sent word last night; the formation sets out this morning."

"What time this morning?"

"They didn't give a hard number. Just said the transfer order was issued last night, and they'll assemble and break camp this morning."

"How is the formation organized?"

"They gave it." Lin Wan read according to the message Zhou Yuan relayed. "Three lv.3 fortress-class cities leading the charge, two lv.4 city-state-class cities as the main force. Dawn is bringing up the rear. All in all, six mobile cities."

"Six." Lu Chen noted the number on the paper.

"Dawn bringing up the rear." He chewed over the words. "Evening Bell insisted Dawn wouldn't be the vanguard, and he actually pulled it off."

"Using three Lv.3s as the vanguard." Lin Wan hesitated for a moment. "Is the firepower of a Lv.3 enough to face an Iron Hoof Lv.4?"

"They definitely can't take them head-on, but they're enough for containment." Lu Chen rapidly arranged the firepower network in his mind. "Three Lv.3s supporting each other in a triangle, with two Lv.4s biting from the flanks. Dawn's Lv.5 long-range artillery suppressing from the rear. The combined firepower projection of these six cities surpasses any single Lv.4 of the Iron Hoof."

"What about the Iron Hoof's side?"

"Zhou Yuan calculated it before." He flipped back to previous record pages. "One Lv.5 crusher, four Lv.4s, and about ten Lv.3s. Their total firepower is at least three times that of this Dawn formation."

"Three times..."

"That's also why Evening Bell absolutely refused to let Dawn lead at the front." Lu Chen stripped away the underlying logic. "With a three-fold firepower gap, if Dawn charged at the very front and took focused fire, even a Lv.5's shell would be peeled off. Keeping it in the rear for long-range suppression is the proper way to fight."

"Then what about that half-day Polaris has to hold out alone?"

"First contact doesn't mean you charge in and trade fire with them." His speaking speed was steady. "The bottom line for first contact is to pinpoint the position and formation of the Iron Hoof's vanguard and feed target data to the Dawn formation behind us."

"Acting as the eyes."

"Acting as the eyes, and incidentally, acting as a decoy." Lu Chen completed the thought. "In the eyes of the Iron Hoof's main force, there is only the wreckage of The City-State. What the scout vehicles reported back was also The City-State. When they press over, the first round of artillery fire is guaranteed to all smash into The City-State's head."

"We just nestle in The City-State's shadow."

"Correct."

Lin Wan was quiet for a few seconds on the other end.

"City Lord."

"Speak."

"This tactic has a fatal prerequisite."

"Say it."

"The City-State must remain there in one piece before Degradation." Lin Wan pointed out the sticking point. "Degradation is scheduled for the night of the seventy-third day. The Iron Hoof's main force arrives on the sixty-ninth day at the earliest, then they'll spend three to five days building a base. They'll expand outward from the seventy-second to the seventy-fourth day."

"The dates might clash," Lu Chen followed her train of thought.

"What if the Iron Hoof is quick and starts using long-range artillery on the seventy-second day? If The City-State is blown to bits, can it still be decomposed?"

"Yes." He completely smoothed over this concern. "Degradation isn't a picky eater. It can eat intact wreckage, and it can eat scrap iron blown to dust just the same. As long as the stuff is still within that range, the Truth Tech Tree can swallow it."

"Then what's the difference?"

"The difference is that after being blown apart, the Truth Points from Degradation might fluctuate a bit." Lu Chen calculated in his head. "But the fluctuation won't be that large. The foundation of those tens of thousands of tons of iron in The City-State is there; even if shells blow it to dust, the total weight hasn't changed. The proceeds won't drop by much."

"Then we don't need to fear them shelling it."

"Let them shell it as they please." He set the tone firmly. "The City-State taking fire will at most affect whether the front half's skeleton can hold up. But by the night of the seventy-third day, during Degradation, the people inside will have evacuated long ago."

"Once the people are gone, it doesn't matter if the skeleton collapses into a mess."

"Correct."

The rustling sound of a pen tip moving across paper came from the communicator.

"Alright." Lin Wan complied. "I'll go corner Lin Xiao now."

"Go ahead."

The communication cut off.

Lu Chen flipped the logbook to a brand-new page and wrote a few words at the very top.

Partitioned Degradation plan, feasible.

He drew a heavy timeline underneath it.

Day 69.

Today.

Iron Hoof main force approaching at the earliest.

Dawn formation breaks camp this morning.