262: Chapter 262 Degradation Crusher! Truth Points Soar to 100,000

12:00 PM, 74th day.

Cockpit.

Lu Chen woke up after sleeping for forty minutes.

The iron chair's armrest dug into his lower back, but his mental state was better than it had been in the past week.

Won.

On the panel, the signal sources in the northern sector had all dissipated, leaving only a silent gray-white background.

"City Lord." Zhou Yuan turned from the panel, "The Furnace and Observer have finished preliminary cleanup of the four lv.4 fortress wrecks, confirming no survivors. The five disabled lv.3 fortress units have also been controlled by the Vanguard Formation, no resistance."

"What about the remains of the crusher?"

"Disintegrated into three major sections, scattered one degree north-northwest, between 5.2 and 6.8 kilometers away on the ice." Zhou Yuan pulled up the schematic, "The largest section is the middle-rear hull, about 900 meters long, retaining most of the Industrial Zone and Storage Area structures. The second section is the forward Command Cockpit area, about 500 meters. The third section is the smallest, the Power Engine casing that broke off and was flung out, about 300 meters."

The 2,200-meter-long steel behemoth had shattered into three pieces.

"Cheng Zheng." Lu Chen pressed the direct communication button.

"Here."

"Degradation operations begin immediately. Polaris needs to move to the crusher wreck area. I cannot move during Degradation; your Vanguard Formation will continue to act as a shield."

"Received." Cheng Zheng replied crisply, "The Forge also has a message for you."

"Speak."

"He says there might be high-grade sourcefire coal crystal deposits sealed in the crusher's Power Engine core wreckage. The Iron Hoof Legion came south specifically to find coal crystal. If your Degradation ability can eat those too, the gains will be much higher than estimated."

Lu Chen's fingers paused on the control console.

High-grade sourcefire coal crystal.

The thing the Iron Hoof Legion had mobilized its entire force to seize was hidden in the belly of the crusher.

"Thanks." He only said two words and cut the communication.

"Zhao Tiezhu."

"Here."

"Start the Power Engine. Direction: one degree north-northwest, target: the largest crusher wreck section. Five-kilometer journey, proceed at low speed."

"Understood." Zhao Tiezhu pressed his hands on the control stick, "Power Engine starting, Omni-directional Tracks engaged, heading one degree north-northwest."

Polaris's engine ramped up from idle to cruising, the vibration underfoot shifting from a low-frequency hum to a steady pulse.

The 206-meter-long steel fortress slowly pulled away from its original spot, crushing the ice as it pushed north.

Eighteen minutes later.

Polaris stopped next to the middle-rear section of the crusher's wreckage.

Looking out from the Cockpit observation window, that 900-meter-long wreck lay across the ice field like a steel mountain cut in half.

Steel beams at the break were twisted and turned outward, with internal structures exposed in layers to the minus 60-degree air.

"Begin Degradation." Lu Chen sat back in the iron chair and opened the system interface.

Degradation function.

Target locked on the middle-rear section of the crusher wreck, estimated total mass approximately 42,000 tons.

Degradation range confirmed.

Confirmed.

[Degradation initiated. Estimated duration: six hours and twelve minutes.]

On the panel, the Truth Points balance began to tick up.

7274.

7312.

7401.

7523.

Not fast.

The outer armor was the first part to be gnawed off—large in volume but relatively low in density.

"City Lord." Lin Wan walked over from the side of the console, holding a bowl of flour soup, "Eat."

Lu Chen took the bowl and downed three gulps.

The flour soup had salt added and was warm.

"How is the Degradation speed?" Lin Wan looked at the panel.

"Slow on the outside; it will speed up once it bites into the Industrial Zone core." Lu Chen set the bowl down, "The crusher's Industrial Zone is the manufacturing heart of the entire Iron Hoof Legion; the metal density of the smelting Furnaces and military production lines far exceeds ordinary armor."

7698.

7845.

8034.

Balance broke eight thousand.

Twenty minutes since Degradation started.

"It's entered the Industrial Zone." Zhou Yuan stared at the Degradation layer markers on the system log, "The density just jumped a notch."

8234.

8567.

8901.

9345.

Speed almost doubled.

"Over three hundred points per minute." Lin Wan recorded rapidly in her notebook.

9801.

10234.

Broke ten thousand.

Then the balance suddenly jumped a big step.

10234 jumped straight to 11789.

"What was that?" Zhao Tiezhu stared at the panel.

Lu Chen looked at the line that refreshed in the system log.

[High-quality sourcefire coal crystal deposit detected, truth logic density extremely high, conversion efficiency increased.]

"The Forge was right." Lu Chen narrowed his eyes, "The crusher's Storage Area contained high-grade sourcefire coal crystal ore."

11789.

13456.

15023.

17891.

Balance was skyrocketing.

The Degradation density of coal crystal deposits is five to eight times that of ordinary steel structures.

20345.

23012.

25678.

Degradation reached fifty-two minutes, balance broke through twenty-five thousand.

"City Lord." Lin Wan's voice sounded a bit airy, "At this rate, the balance will exceed eighty thousand by the time the middle-rear section finishes Degradation."

"More than that." Lu Chen looked at the mineral deposit scan data in the system log, "The crusher's Power Engine core uses high-grade coal crystal as reactor fuel rods; the truth logic density of those fuel rods is even higher than the ore. Once it bites into the Power Engine core, the speed will have to double again."

28901.

31234.

35678.

One hour. Balance: thirty-five thousand.

"Unlock." Lu Chen did not hesitate.

Infrastructure Armor lv.3 top core, Heavy Mobile Fortress Base.

Cost: 15,000 Truth Points.

Confirmed.

Balance dropped from 35678 to 20678.

[Infrastructure Armor lv.3 top core unlocked. Heavy Mobile Fortress Base. Physical modification initiated, estimated duration: fifty-two minutes.]

That familiar vibration at the molecular level came from beneath his feet.

Deep in Polaris's chassis, a brand-new Heavy Mobile Fortress Base structure was growing out of the existing frame.

"Infrastructure Armor is full." Lin Wan noted in her notebook, "Four of four."

"Keep saving." Lu Chen watched the balance continue to jump.

20678.

22345.

24901.

27234.

One and a half hours of Degradation, balance returned to twenty-seven thousand.

"Unlock."

Ecological Logistics lv.3 top core, Medium All-Weather Ecological Circle.

Cost: 12,000 Truth Points.

Confirmed.

Balance dropped to 15234.

[Ecological Logistics lv.3 top core unlocked. Medium All-Weather Ecological Circle. Physical modification initiated, estimated duration: forty-seven minutes.]

Faint sounds of structural expansion came from the Greenhouse dome area on Polaris's third floor.

"Ecological Logistics is full." Lin Wan's pen tip pressed hard on the paper, "Four of four."

"Only one left." Lu Chen stared at the panel.

Power Engine lv.3 top core, High-pressure Thunder Power Hub.

15234.

17890.

20345.

Two hours of Degradation. Balance: twenty thousand.

The crusher's Power Engine core was finally bitten into.

The Degradation density of high-grade sourcefire coal crystal fuel rods was ridiculously high.

20345.

24567.

29012.

35678.

It rose by fifteen thousand in ten minutes.

"City Lord." Zhou Yuan's voice went up half an octave, "This rate is not right. It's three times faster than the ore layer."

"Fuel rods." Lu Chen watched the skyrocketing numbers, "Reactor fuel rods made from refined and concentrated high-grade coal crystal have a truth logic density ten times that of the raw ore."

35678.

41234.

47890.

Two and a half hours. Balance approached fifty thousand.

"Unlock."

Power Engine lv.3 top core, High-pressure Thunder Power Hub.

Cost: 12,000 Truth Points.

Confirmed.

Balance dropped from 47890 to 35890.

[Power Engine lv.3 top core unlocked. High-pressure Thunder Power Hub. Physical modification initiated, estimated duration: fifty-five minutes.]

A large line of red text popped up on the panel.

[lv.3 technology tree 16/16 nodes all lit. Upgrade conditions met.]

[City Upgrade Evolution: lv.3 → lv.4. Will automatically trigger after all current physical modifications are complete.]

It was quiet in the Cockpit for two seconds.

Then Zhao Tiezhu's fist slammed onto the Fire Control Console.

"Sixteen of sixteen."

"Upgrade conditions met." Zhou Yuan's voice was trembling.

Lin Wan clutched her notebook.

Lu Chen looked at that line of red text.

The physical modifications of the three top cores were proceeding simultaneously.

Heavy Mobile Fortress Base had thirty-one minutes remaining.

Medium All-Weather Ecological Circle had twenty-eight minutes remaining.

High-pressure Thunder Power Hub had fifty-five minutes remaining.

When the slowest one finished, the upgrade would automatically trigger.

Fifty-five minutes later.

Polaris, lv.4.

The crusher's Degradation was still continuing.

The balance was already climbing back up after the modification deduction.

35890.

38234.

42567.

Lu Chen leaned back into the iron chair, staring at the countdown.

Fifty-five minutes.