245: Chapter 245 The reconnaissance platoon disappears into the snowstorm! Lu Chen uses the city-state as a human shield.

Day seventy-two, 5:40 PM, outside the main entrance of Level 1, minus sixty-two degrees.

Inside the two-hundred-meter Snow-Free Zone maintained by the Wide-area Dispersion Generator, the air was so cold it felt brittle.

Exposed skin would blister in just half a minute.

Cheng Kui huddled in the shadow of Polaris's right outer hull, wrapped in three layers of Arctic suits. His mask was pulled extremely tight, revealing only his eyes, with white frost clinging to his eyelashes.

Behind him, eleven people stood in two rows like a line of frozen iron stakes; no one spoke.

Rifles were slung across their chests. The lubricant in the bolts had long since been wiped dry, relying purely on the dry friction of metal on metal.

Magazines were fully loaded, grenades were clipped to belts, and communicators were all tucked against their skin under the innermost layer for warmth.

Zhao Tiezhu stood by the door frame of the entrance, not stepping outside.

"Cheng Kui."

"Here."

"Communication discipline. Say it again."

"Receive only, no transmission," Cheng Kui's voice sounded muffled through the thick mask. "If an anomaly is encountered, transmit via Shortwave, strictly under three seconds. Turn off after transmitting and relocate."

"Anomaly standards."

"Heat sources, engine noise, lights, ground vibration." Cheng Kui paused. "If any of the four are present, report immediately."

"Withdrawal conditions."

"If active radar sweeps us, or if the City Lord orders a withdrawal."

Zhao Tiezhu stared at the eyes exposed outside the mask.

"Come back alive."

Cheng Kui grinned. Though the mask hid it, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes crinkled together.

"Battalion Commander Zhao, I've run the perimeter of the ice field over thirty times. When have I ever failed to make it back?"

"This time is different." Zhao Tiezhu's hand, clad in a tactical glove, gripped the edge of the door frame. "Out there this time is an army capable of crushing the very ground beneath them."

"That's why you're sending me." Cheng Kui pulled the rifle on his chest tighter to his bosom. "If it were anyone else, even I wouldn't feel at ease."

Zhao Tiezhu said no more, stepping back half a pace to clear the doorway.

Cheng Kui turned and raised a hand to the eleven people behind him.

"Move out."

Twelve grey-and-white figures emerged from the shadows, crouching low and staying close to the ground as they advanced rapidly toward the north.

The camouflage patterns of their Arctic suits quickly blended into the background of the ice field.

Thirty seconds later, they crossed the thermal radiation boundary of the Wide-area Dispersion Generator, and the temperature plummeted.

The wind whipped ice shards against their masks with a sharp pitter-patter.

Cheng Kui led the way at the front, his feet treading on the rock-hard frozen ice crust. Every step was planted firmly; aside from the sound of the wind, no extra noise could be heard.

In less than a minute, the twelve men had completely melted into the grey-white horizon of the ice field.

Zhao Tiezhu stood at the door, staring in that direction for a long time.

Only when not even a grey speck could be found did he turn and return to the cabin.

The heavy hatch closed behind him, completely cutting off the wind and snow outside.

He pressed his communicator.

"City Lord."

"Speak."

"The Reconnaissance Platoon has departed. Twelve men, led by Cheng Kui, heading due north. Expected to reach the six-kilometer preset point in an hour and a half."

"Received." Lu Chen's voice was mixed with the sound of ventilation fans in the background. "From now on, keep the communicator on. If Cheng Kui sends back any signal, relay it to me immediately."

"Understood."

"Zhao Tiezhu."

"Here."

"Come to the Cockpit. You take the first half of the night shift tonight; I'll take the second half."

"Alright."

The communication cut off.

Zhao Tiezhu walked along the corridor toward the stairs.

As he passed the first section of the Storage Area, the faint sounds of soldiers talking in low voices drifted out.

Some were dry-grinding their rifle bolts, others were pressing bullets into magazines.

No one was nosy enough to ask where the Reconnaissance Platoon had gone.

They were all veterans; they understood the situation perfectly.

He went up the stairs to the third level and pushed open the Cockpit door.

Lu Chen was nestled in an iron chair, a logbook spread out on the console before him.

On the panel, the radar scan line rotated tirelessly in circles.

To the south, six light dots representing the Dawn Legion shone steadily.

To the north, that weak signal remained hanging on the eight-kilometer boundary, neither advancing nor retreating.

"Sit," Lu Chen said, lifting his chin and pointing to a low stool on the left side of the panel.

Zhao Tiezhu pulled the stool over and sat down, his gaze falling on the light dot to the north.

"The Unmanned Probe is still there."

"Yes." Lu Chen nodded. "From the moment it appeared yesterday afternoon until now—twenty-seven hours—it hasn't moved an inch."

"It's been staring at the The City-State the whole time."

"Correct."

Zhao Tiezhu rubbed his face and didn't respond.

"City Lord, to what extent has Iron Hoof... built their base?"

"I don't know," Lu Chen replied bluntly. "Regarding things eight kilometers away, the radar is blind. We can only infer based on the behavior of this probe."

"How do we infer?"

"If the probe doesn't move, it means the main force is still in place," Lu Chen broke down the logic step by step. "If the main force starts to expand outward, the probe will definitely move forward or increase in number. As long as this thing maintains its current position and count, it means Iron Hoof is still in the base-building phase and isn't ready to make a move."

"What if the probe moves forward tomorrow?"

"Then that's the signal to act." Lu Chen stared at the panel. "A forward move by the probe means the main force is following behind it. From the probe's advance to the main force entering firing range—calculating at twelve to sixteen kilometers per hour—it'll take at least half an hour."

"A half-hour warning time," Zhao Tiezhu calculated.

"Combined with Cheng Kui's warning line at six kilometers, the total warning time can be widened to forty-five minutes to an hour."

Zhao Tiezhu ran the numbers through his head.

What was forty-five minutes to an hour enough for?

It was enough for Polaris to start its engines, for the Phalanx CIWS to switch to firing status, and for the Ray Cannon to aim at its first target, but it wasn't enough to run.

During Degradation, Polaris would be a sitting duck, immobile.

"City Lord."

"Speak."

"If Iron Hoof makes a move during tomorrow night's Degradation, how do we fight?"

"We don't."

"We don't?"

"During Degradation, Polaris's primary task is to complete the process, get those 30,000 points, and unlock the Railway Gun." Lu Chen laid out the priorities clearly without any ambiguity. "Before the Railway Gun is online, Polaris's firepower isn't enough to face any of Iron Hoof's Level 4 Cities head-on. Fighting them directly would be suicide."

"Then what about taking fire?"

"The The City-State will block it." Lu Chen used the tip of his pen to tap the The City-State's marker on the panel. "Polaris is a hundred meters to the side of the The City-State. When Iron Hoof's shells fire from the north, the The City-State's eight-hundred-meter-long, four-hundred-meter-wide hull will be a natural shield. For shells to land on us, they have to penetrate the The City-State first."

"How long can the The City-State's hull hold out?"

"The front wall is ruined, but the sides and chassis are still there." Lu Chen had the The City-State's structural diagram memorized. "The side armor thickness is over two hundred millimeters, and the chassis is even thicker. If a 180mm shell hits the side, it can penetrate, but after penetration, most of its kinetic energy will be dissipated. By the time it reaches Polaris's side, it'll be a spent force."

"What if it's 300mm?"

"300mm is only found on that Level 5 Crusher." Lu Chen categorized the threat levels clearly. "The crusher's 300mm main gun has a range of thirty kilometers. Firing from such a long distance, accuracy will definitely drop. If it fires from twenty kilometers away, the spread will be large, and the probability of a direct hit on Polaris is extremely low. If it dares to approach within ten kilometers, Forge's Furnace can bite into it from the flank."

Zhao Tiezhu turned this logic over in his mind a few times until he fully grasped it.

"So during Degradation, we'll just huddle in the The City-State's shadow and use it as a meat shield."

"Correct."

"What about the people in the The City-State?"

"Before Degradation begins, everyone will be evacuated." Lu Chen re-established the timeline. "At 2:00 PM tomorrow, the final inspection of the rear half will take place. At 8:00 PM, the engines will be burned dry. At 9:00 PM, Degradation of the rear half begins. Before that, not a single living soul can remain in the The City-State."

"Thirty thousand people, all crammed into Polaris."

"They can stand for four hours."

Zhao Tiezhu let out a long breath of turbid air.

"City Lord, tomorrow... will be a very long day."

"Yes." Lu Chen picked up the thermos beside him, tilted his head back, and took a gulp of plain cold water. "That's why you're on the first half of the night shift. I'll sleep for four hours and take over at 2:00 AM."

"Alright."

Lu Chen pushed the back of his chair back two centimeters, found an angle that barely allowed his neck to relax, and closed his eyes.

On the panel, the radar scan line continued its tireless rotation.

To the north, that weak light dot remained, neither advancing nor retreating, silently watching the wasteland.