242: Chapter 242 Countdown: Two Days Left! Lin Xiao Ruthlessly Clears the Second Half

Day 71, 9:03 AM.

Black Rock City-State, Level 4 Residential Area.

Lin Xiao stood at the end of the corridor in District 15, facing Floor Manager Fang Xiulan and three young men from the Transport Team.

"How many people were moved from District 15 to District 20 yesterday?"

Floor Manager Fang Xiulan flipped through the register in her hand. "Between yesterday afternoon and night, we moved 2,100 people. Districts 17 through 20 are already empty, but there are still over 800 left in Districts 15 and 16."

"Clear them all out today." Lin Xiao tapped the metal wall of the corridor. "Move everyone from Districts 15 and 16 to the front this morning. Start moving Districts 11 through 14 this afternoon."

"Districts 11 through 14?" Floor Manager Fang Xiulan's eyelid twitched. "That's the area Floor Manager Qian manages. There are over 3,000 people there."

"Over 3,000 people, moved in two days." Lin Xiao set a hard deadline. "Before the night of Day 72, not a single living soul can remain in the area beyond the Ninth Framework."

Floor Manager Fang Xiulan's lips moved, but she didn't say anything.

She glanced at Lin Xiao and lowered her voice. "City Lord Lin, the pipeline inspection... is it going all the way to District 11?"

Lin Xiao stared at her.

"Floor Manager Fang," he said. "You're a smart person. You know exactly what 'pipeline inspection' really means."

The register in Floor Manager Fang Xiulan's hand trembled slightly.

"I'll only say one thing." Lin Xiao took half a step forward. "That area back there won't exist in three days. If those 3,000 people you manage are still huddled back there, they'll be gone along with it."

Only the low-frequency hum from the distant Engine Room remained in the corridor.

Floor Manager Fang Xiulan gripped the register tightly, her knuckles turning white.

"I... I understand," she swallowed hard.

"Good that you understand." Lin Xiao stepped back. "Hurry up with the relocation. Take what supplies you can, and leave the rest. People come first."

"If people ask..."

"Just say the rear half needs a major overhaul." Lin Xiao provided a new excuse. "Upgrading 'pipeline inspection' to 'major overhaul' sounds more intimidating. If anyone doesn't believe it, tell them to come find me."

Floor Manager Fang Xiulan nodded and turned to call the Transport Team toward District 15.

Lin Xiao watched her figure disappear around the corridor corner and pressed his communicator.

"Lin Wan."

"Brother."

"We've sped up the evacuation of the rear half. Districts 17 through 20 were emptied yesterday. We're clearing Districts 15 and 16 today, and Districts 11 through 14 tomorrow. Everything beyond the Ninth Framework will be cleared before the night of Day 72."

"That's a day ahead of schedule."

"A day early is safer." Lin Xiao leaned against the wall. "In case Iron Hoof makes a move early, we'll have an extra day of buffer."

"With everyone crowding into the front, is there enough room?"

"It's crowded." Lin Xiao emphasized the word. "The first ten districts originally held 14,000 people; now we've crammed in 20,000. Eight people to a room, and people are sleeping on floor mats in the corridors."

"Has anyone caused trouble?"

"They have." Lin Xiao chuckled with a touch of roughness. "Last night in District 18, an old man refused to move, asking why he should leave a room he'd lived in for three years. I sent two soldiers to carry him out along with his bedding."

"What happened after they carried him out?"

"They stuffed him into an empty bed in District 3. The old man cursed for half the night, but after a bowl of flour paste soup this morning, he stopped."

Lin Wan sighed on the other end.

"Brother, how many supplies have been moved?"

"We're moving everything we can." Lin Xiao flipped through the list in his hand. "The food reserves from the rear Storage Area were all moved yesterday—a total of 800 kilograms of coarse grains and two tons of dried meat. Half the tools and parts have been moved; the rest are too heavy to carry."

"Don't worry about the ones you can't move."

"I know." Lin Xiao closed the list. "They're all going to be converted into Truth Points anyway."

"Brother."

"About the diagonal bracess, have you met with Han Zhengqing yet?"

"We did." Lin Xiao took a breath. "Master Wu Bingde woke up yesterday afternoon and met with Han Zhengqing for an hour. The construction drawings are finished, with the positions for the four diagonal bracess marked on the inner side of the Ninth Framework."

He continued, "The angle iron is being pulled directly from the City-State Industrial Zone warehouse. There are twelve three-meter-long pieces in the warehouse, which is enough."

"When will they be welded?"

"On the afternoon of Day 72." Lin Xiao had the schedule set. "After the rear half is cleared of people, Han Zhengqing will take four Welders in and finish the welding in two hours. Master Wu Bingde will oversee the inspection afterward."

"Welding on the afternoon of Day 72, inspection that night, and Degradation on the night of Day 73." Lin Wan connected the timeline. "There's a full day in between, which is enough of a buffer."

"It's enough."

"Brother, there's one more thing."

"Go ahead."

"The City Lord wants over 3,500 people relocated to Polaris today. With all three passages open, do you have enough manpower on your end?"

"Plenty." Lin Xiao patted his chest. "I added four soldiers to the 80-meter open-air section of the Second Channel. For the 130-meter section of the Third Channel, I added six more. We've got 2,000 coats rotating in a loop, and over 1,200 people have already passed through this morning."

"1,200." Lin Wan noted it down. "With the volume from the Main Channel, hitting 3,500 today won't be a problem."

"No problem."

"I'm hanging up then."

"Wait," Lin Xiao stopped her.

"Speak."

"I heard the people from Shuguang arrived last night." Lin Xiao lowered his voice. "Six cities."

"Correct."

"What about Iron Hoof?"

"The north is still empty."

Lin Xiao paused for two seconds.

"Empty is good," he said. "Every extra day it's empty is another day I can move people."

"Brother."

"Move faster."

The communication ended.

Lin Wan tucked the communicator back into her waist and stepped into the Greenhouse.

The wheat sprouts on the Hydroponic Racks were already two centimeters tall, their tender green leaves stretching under the full-spectrum LED lights.

She crouched down and touched the tip of the nearest sprout with her finger.

Soft and warm.

Harvest on Day 75.

There are four days left.

She stood up and walked toward the Synthesizer.

Song Ya was pouring wheat into the hopper, and white flour was gushing steadily from the outlet.

"Today's volume?" Lin Wan asked.

"As of nine o'clock, 410 kilograms." Song Ya wiped the white dust from her face. "We'll definitely hit 1,000 before noon."

"Continue."

Lin Wan turned and walked toward the elevator.

The elevator doors opened to reveal Chen Li holding a stack of registers.

"Technician Lin." Chen Li nodded, his voice as raspy as sandpaper.

"How many registrations today?"

"As of nine o'clock, 520 people have gone through the three terminals." Chen Li opened the top book. "Adding yesterday's count, the total registration is 13,712."

"What's today's goal?"

"3,360—full capacity."

"Hold on."

Chen Li nodded and exited the elevator with the registers.

Lin Wan pressed the button for the third floor.

The moment the elevator doors closed, she leaned against the metal wall and closed her eyes for two seconds.

Day 71.

48-hour countdown to Degradation.