246: The second half of Chapter 246 is cleared! Thirty thousand people prepare for a mass evacuation.

Day 73, 10:12 AM.

Black Rock City-State, Fourth Floor Residential Area, District 11 Corridor.

Lin Xiao stood in the middle of the aisle with his hands on his hips, his voice kept extremely low, yet each word carried weight.

"The last three hundred and twenty-seven people." He pointed his finger at the roster in Floor Manager Fang Xiulan's hand. "Clear everyone left in District 11 out within the hour."

Fang Xiulan flipped through the booklet with a rustle, her rough fingers tracing line after line of names.

"There are twelve elderly people who can't walk; they'll need to be carried."

"Then carry them." Lin Xiao tilted his head toward the transport team behind him. "Leader Yang, pick out six men, form groups of two, and go in to carry them out."

Leader Yang acknowledged him and waved his hand, leading his men deep into the corridor.

"There's another problem." Fang Xiulan snapped the booklet shut. "There's a woman named Meng in District 11 with three children; the youngest is only two. She refuses to take the Second Channel no matter what, fearing the minus sixty-degree temperatures will freeze the children."

"Let her take the Main Channel," Lin Xiao said without hesitation. "The Main Channel is enclosed and windproof. Have her line up for the Main Channel."

"How long is the line for the Main Channel right now?"

"It stretches all the way from this end of The City-State to the entrance of the Polaris, over a hundred meters." Lin Xiao glanced at his watch. "It'll take an hour and a half to move the whole way."

"An hour and a half... she can afford to wait." Fang Xiulan tucked the booklet under her arm. "I'll go tell her now."

"Be quick about it," Lin Xiao urged again. "By 11:00 AM, there shouldn't be a single soul left behind the Ninth Framework."

Fang Xiulan turned and quickly squeezed her way into the depths of the corridor.

Lin Xiao pulled out his communicator and pressed it on.

"Lin Wan."

"Brother."

"The last three hundred and twenty-seven residents of District 11 are being cleared. We'll be done by 11:00 AM. Once that's finished, everything behind the Ninth Framework will be completely empty."

"That's half a day ahead of schedule."

"Earlier is better." Lin Xiao leaned his back against the cold sheet-metal wall. "With an extra half-day, if any hiccups occur, at least we'll have a buffer."

"What about the supplies?"

"The supplies in the back half were moved yesterday. Everything that could be moved was moved; what couldn't be moved was left in place."

"How much was left?"

"Three large pieces of equipment, two old machine tools, and roughly five tons of scrap steel pipes," Lin Xiao reported the inventory quickly. "All dead-weight iron. Since it's all going to be converted into Truth Points anyway, we'll just leave it as a bonus."

"Alright." The sound of a pen scratching across paper came from Lin Wan's end. "Brother, the diagonal braces were welded yesterday, and Master Wu Bingde has inspected them. The City Lord wants Old Wu to do a final confirmation this afternoon. Find someone to take him there."

"What time this afternoon?"

"Two o'clock."

"Got it. I'll have someone waiting at the Ninth Framework to take him in for a look."

"Seal the back half completely immediately after the inspection. Not even a fly is allowed back in."

"Understood."

The communication cut off.

Lin Xiao stuffed the communicator into his pocket and started walking down the corridor.

He stopped at the junction between District 11 and District 10.

Blocking his path was a heavy fire door.

On this side of the door was the back half that was about to be emptied.

On the other side were twenty thousand mouths waiting to survive.

He pushed open the fire door and stepped into the aisle of the front half.

It was packed with people.

Along the walls on both sides of the corridor, floor mats were laid side-by-side; it was hard to even find a gap to step in.

Men, women, young, and old were huddled together—sitting, lying down, or dozing with their heads against the wall—there was every kind of person.

The air was stiflingly sour; the smells of sweat and spoiled food mixed with the metallic scent of rust, assaulting the nose.

Someone with sharp eyes recognized him and timidly called out, "City Lord."

Lin Xiao gave a distracted nod and didn't stop walking.

He waded through the crowd all the way to a corner in District 3.

This area was a rare quiet spot, with no floor mats, only an old folding table and two iron chairs.

He pulled out a chair and sat down, taking a crumpled slip of paper from his pocket.

On the paper was a list written by Lin Wan.

Day 73 Timeline.

10:00 AM, Back half clearing complete.

2:00 PM, Master Wu Bingde final confirmation of diagonal braces.

2:30 PM, Back half sealed.

8:00 PM, Auxiliary engine coolant depleted, The City-State completely loses power.

9:00 PM, Degradation begins.

1:00 AM, Back half Degradation complete.

He flipped the paper over.

On the back were two lines he had scribbled himself with a charcoal pencil.

Thirty thousand people standing for four hours.

Better than freezing to death outside.

He stared at those two lines for a few seconds, folded the paper back up, and tucked it into his pocket.

The communicator at his waist buzzed.

Fang Xiulan's voice came through, sounding slightly out of breath: "City Lord Lin, the last group from District 11 has finished withdrawing. All three hundred and twenty-seven people, not one missing, are now in the front half."

Lin Xiao glanced at his watch.

10:48 AM.

Twelve minutes earlier than the 11:00 AM deadline.

"Good." He stood up, pushing off his knees. "From this moment on, put heavy locks on every passage behind the Ninth Framework. Don't let anyone in, not even the King of Heaven himself."

"Understood."

He switched channels to Lu Chen's private line.

"City Lord."

"Speak."

"The clearing of the back half is settled. There isn't even a ghost left behind the Ninth Framework. Twelve minutes ahead of schedule."

There was a pause on the other end.

"Good," Lu Chen's voice was extremely steady. "At 2:00 PM, Master Wu Bingde will do the final confirmation. Seal the back half immediately after he's done."

"Already arranged."

"Lin Xiao."

"Present."

"Tonight at eight, the engine runs dry and The City-State loses all power. Once the power is out, the lights and heating in the front half will fail. How long will these twenty thousand people have to endure in the darkness and cold wind?"

Lin Xiao quickly calculated in his head.

"Counting from the power outage at eight until all twenty thousand have retreated into the Polaris, it will take at least two to three hours."

"Without heating for two or three hours, how low will the temperature inside The City-State drop?"

"The City-State's insulation layer is still fundamentally there," Lin Xiao knew the figures clearly. "Relying on residual heat after the power cut, within two or three hours, the temperature will drop from twenty degrees to around ten degrees at most. It'll be a bit chilly, but it won't kill anyone."

"Ten degrees." Lu Chen repeated on the other end. "That'll do."

"City Lord, how will these twenty thousand people retreat into the Polaris?"

"All three channels will be open." Lu Chen revealed his plan directly. "The Main Channel, Second Channel, and Third Channel will all open simultaneously. Dividing twenty thousand people into three streams, an hour and a half to two hours will be enough to drain the area."

"An hour and a half to two hours..." Lin Xiao laid out the timeline in his mind. "Power out at eight, retreat starts at eight-thirty, clearing finished between ten and ten-thirty. After ten-thirty, The City-State will be an empty shell."

"Correct. By the time Degradation starts at nine, the back half will have been empty for a long time. The people in the front half will be moving toward me; decomposing the back half won't interfere with their retreat."

"This timing is seamless."

"It must be precise," Lu Chen said without nonsense. "Continue the normal relocation during the day today; squeeze in as many as possible. Once 8:00 PM hits, the full-scale retreat begins."

"Understood."

Communication cut off.

Lin Xiao stuffed the communicator back into his pocket and leaned back against the iron chair.

He tilted his neck and stared at the ceiling.

The ceiling of the Fourth Floor Residential Area was a vast expanse of dusty metal plates, covered in pipes and cables of varying thicknesses.

Twenty-three years.

He had endured in this iron shell for twenty-three long years.

After tonight, this shell would be turned into a pile of data.

He closed his eyes, his chest rising and falling sharply as he exhaled all the stale air from his lungs.

When he opened his eyes again, there was no trace of hesitation left.