253: Chapter 253: Balance Exceeds 10,000! Gas Turbine Generator Online

3:07 AM.

Cockpit.

The Truth Points balance jumped to 8,034.

Lu Chen stared at the number, his pencil making a stroke in the logbook.

From the start of Degradation at 2:00 AM until now, in one hour and seven minutes, the front half had already yielded nearly eight thousand points.

The speed far exceeded expectations.

The bottom structure of the front half, comprising The City-State's main engine room and Industrial Zone core, was entirely a dense area for heavy equipment. Giant diesel generator sets, smelting furnace wreckage, military lathes, and tons upon tons of alloy steel components.

The Truth Points density of these things was significantly higher than the bottom structure of the Residential Area in the back half.

"City Lord," Zhou Yuan turned his head from the panel, "extrapolating from the current rate, the total yield from the front half could exceed twenty thousand."

"Over twenty thousand?" Lin Wan's pen tip hung in mid-air.

"The back half was four hundred and forty meters, with a total yield of just over seventeen thousand," Zhou Yuan broke down the calculations. "The front half is three hundred and sixty meters—twenty percent smaller in volume, but at least fifty percent higher in metal density. Offsetting the two and adding the system efficiency improvement, twenty thousand won't be a problem."

Lu Chen didn't respond, watching the balance continue to jump.

8067.

8112.

8156.

"Phalanx CIWS reserves," he spoke.

"Haven't exchanged them yet," Zhao Tiezhu replied. "You said to wait until five hundred to exchange, but the balance is over eight thousand now."

"Exchange one thousand points," Lu Chen changed his mind. "Bring the intercept reserves up to one thousand times."

Zhao Tiezhu performed a few operations in the system, and the balance dropped from 8156 to 7156.

Phalanx CIWS intercept reserves reached 1,000.

"That's enough," Lu Chen nodded. "Keep saving the rest. Once it hits ten thousand, unlock the gas turbine."

"At the current rate, it'll be about another twenty minutes," Zhou Yuan estimated.

Twenty minutes.

Before 3:30 AM, the Gas Turbine Generator Set could be online.

Lu Chen leaned back in his chair, his gaze scanning the Cockpit.

Master Wu Bingde had sat down on a low stool in the corner at some point, his head nodding as he dozed off. Since confirming the diagonal braces at 2:00 PM yesterday, the old man hadn't closed his eyes for thirteen hours.

Lin Wan stood by the console with her logbook open, recording the balance data every few minutes. There were dark circles under her eyes, but her hand remained very steady.

Zhao Tiezhu stood stiffly in front of the Fire Control Console, staring blankly at the status icon of the Railway Gun. Green, online, ten rounds of ammunition.

Zhou Yuan leaned over the Radar Panel, glancing north every ten seconds.

The Probe signals remained unchanged.

It had been over two hours since the test fire. The Probes hadn't moved forward, their numbers hadn't increased, and there were no new actions.

"Iron Hoof is digesting the information," Lu Chen said.

Zhou Yuan turned his head.

"It went quiet after the Probes sent back data three times," Lu Chen laid out the analysis.

"This means the main Iron Hoof force has received the images and is currently analyzing and judging." He tapped his knuckles on the table.

"They need time to assess the threat level of this gun before deciding whether to adjust their battle plan."

"Will they adjust?"

"Yes," Lu Chen nodded, "but they won't change their overall direction. Iron Hoof's goal in heading south is the Coal Crystal Vein, not Polaris. We are just a nail blocking their path. Iron Crown has only two choices: bypass us or pull us out."

"Can they bypass us?"

"They can't." Lu Chen pointed the tip of his pen at the map markers on the panel.

"South of the Rustwind Wasteland is the Coal Crystal Vein belt, and Polaris is stuck right in the middle." He looked up at Zhou Yuan.

"The Railway Gun has a range of thirty-eight kilometers, covering the entire east-west width of the wasteland. If Iron Hoof wants to pass, they must cross through my firing range."

"Then they can only pull the nail."

"Pull," Lu Chen set the pen down. "Iron Crown will concentrate firepower, attempting to destroy Polaris in the shortest time possible. But what he doesn't know is that his guns can't reach me, while mine can reach him."

7234.

7389.

7501.

"City Lord," Lin Wan spoke.

"Go ahead."

"The Reconnaissance Platoon—Cheng Kui and the others—have been hunkered down outside for nearly twelve hours."

Lu Chen checked the clock; it was 3:11 AM. Cheng Kui's group of twelve had set out at 5:40 PM yesterday and reached the preset six-kilometer point an hour and a half later. It had indeed been nearly twelve hours.

"Any signals back?" he asked Zhou Yuan.

"None," Zhou Yuan shook his head. "Receiving only, no transmitting—that's the discipline. No signal means no anomalies encountered."

"Good," Lu Chen noted this down. "After dawn, if Iron Hoof still hasn't made a move, have Cheng Kui withdraw and rotate shifts. Twelve hours at sixty degrees below zero—they can't hold out."

"Understood."

7688.

7845.

8012.

8234.

8501.

8789.

9034.

3:19 AM, past nine thousand.

9267.

9534.

9801.

3:24 AM.

9956.

9989.

10017.

Past ten thousand.

"City Lord," Lin Wan reported the number, her voice tight with suppressed excitement. "It's ten thousand."

Lu Chen decisively raised his hand.

The Truth Tech Tree system interface expanded.

Power Engine branch, Lv3.

Third node: Gas Turbine Generator Set.

Requirement: 10,000 Truth Points.

Unlock.

Confirm.

The balance dropped from 10,017 to 17.

A prompt popped up on the panel.

[Power Engine Lv3 Node 3 unlocked: Gas Turbine Generator Set. Physical modification initiated. Estimated time: 41 minutes.]

Forty-one minutes.

Online at 4:05 AM.

Beneath his feet, that characteristic molecular-level vibration returned.

Deep within Polaris, a brand-new gas turbine was growing out of the existing structure.

"Forty-one minutes," Zhao Tiezhu looked at the countdown. "At 4:05 AM, the power generation will double."

"And after it doubles?" Lin Wan asked.

"The Railway Gun's charging rate will double," Lu Chen clarified the benefits.

"Loading time will be compressed from ninety seconds to under sixty." He looked at the fire control panel.

"The Phalanx CIWS's continuous firing time will be extended, and the Ray Cannon's full charge time will be shortened from forty-five minutes to twenty."

"A comprehensive upgrade."

"A comprehensive upgrade," Lu Chen leaned back in his chair. "Once the gas turbine is online, the firepower output density of Polaris will reach a whole new level."

The balance began to climb again from 17.

17.

34.

56.

89.

The Degradation of the front half continued.

Half had already been consumed. The remaining half still contained the bottom structure of The City-State's fourth-layer Residential Area and the fifth-layer Military Zone wreckage.

Military Zone.

Communication Tower bases, Radar Array supports, Ammunition Depot remnants, and reinforced steel plates from the Command Center.

All good stuff.

Lu Chen watched the slowly rising number and wrote a line in his logbook.

3:24 AM, balance exceeded ten thousand, unlocked Gas Turbine Generator Set, balance cleared to 17.

He added another line below.

Lv3 technology tree progress: 11/16.