46: Chapter 46 The Blackrock City-State is at our doorstep! The city lord is actually his brother?

The Polaris sat quietly on the ice field.

The engine idled, its low boiler rumble completely drowned out by the sound of the distant Lv.4 City-State class Mobile City.

The tremors grew closer; every time the treads crushed the ice, a low boom echoed across the entire ice field.

Lu Chen sat in the driver's seat, arms crossed over his chest.

He didn't touch the fire control joystick or the steering wheel.

Facing a Mobile City of this level, thoughts of fighting or fleeing were an insult to one's intelligence.

"System, is the opponent slowing down?"

[Target movement speed is decreasing. Estimated stop at three kilometers from current position.]

It was already slowing down.

If their goal was to crush him, they wouldn't need to slow down at all; they could just drive straight through.

Slowing down meant they knew something was here and intended to communicate rather than act immediately.

"City Lord, are they here because of the missing person notice?"

Lin Wan's voice was trembling—the kind of trembling born of a mix of excitement and tension, having nothing to do with fear.

"They are here for that."

Lu Chen's tone remained steady.

"For a Lv.4 City-State class Mobile City to personally come to the Pale Shoals, it's either to find you and the seed vault, or for something even bigger."

"Regardless of the situation, we cannot act rashly."

Lin Wan nodded vigorously.

Five minutes later, the colossal steel city that blotted out the sky finally stopped three kilometers away from the Polaris.

After the final dull sound of the brakes, the ice field returned to silence.

But this silence was entirely different from before.

The previous silence was empty and lonely.

Now, the silence held a suffocating pressure; the giant city sat just three kilometers away, its smoke plumes still dispersing high in the air.

Lu Chen pressed the tactical binoculars tightly against his eyes.

He saw an armored door, dozens of meters wide, opening at the base of the giant city; the heavy roar of the hydraulic system could be heard even from three kilometers away.

No tanks rushed out.

No armed off-road vehicles.

Nothing at all.

The armored door stopped halfway, revealing a gap wide enough for a medium tank to pass through.

Then, the radio crackled.

It wasn't the looping missing person notice.

This time, it cut into a new frequency, a high-power short-range communication signal that directly overpowered all other interference.

"Hahahaha!"

A boisterous male laugh erupted from the radio, so loud it made the worn-out speakers vibrate.

A male voice followed.

He spoke quickly and with great vigor, every word manifesting the temperament of a natural commander.

"I am the City Lord of Black Rock City-State, Lin Xiao."

Lu Chen's eyes narrowed slightly.

The City Lord, Lin Xiao, Lin Wan's brother.

"Don't be nervous, I'm not here to cause trouble!"

Lin Xiao's voice continued to echo through the radio.

"I led thirty thousand people over a thousand kilometers to this godforsaken Pale Shoals for just one thing."

He paused, his tone growing urgent.

"My sister, Lin Wan—is she in your vehicle?"

The interior of the vehicle fell silent instantly.

Lin Wan stood at the cockpit entrance, her hands tightly gripping the edge of the partition wall, the veins on the back of her hands bulging.

Her lips trembled incessantly, but she couldn't utter a word.

"Brother..."

The words were barely a whisper.

Lu Chen didn't look back at her; he reached out and picked up the rugged microphone connected to the external communicator.

Before pressing the talk button, he glanced sideways at Lin Wan.

"Are you sure he's your brother?"

"Yes, it's his voice."

Lin Wan nodded hard, her eyes already reddening.

"It's him."

Lu Chen was silent for a second before pressing the talk button.

"Lu Chen, City Lord of the Polaris."

His voice carried through the worn-out speakers toward the steel giant three kilometers away.

"Lin Wan is in my vehicle."

The other end of the radio went silent for two seconds.

Then, that boisterous laugh erupted from the radio once more.

Lin Xiao's laughter was full of joy and immense relief.

"Hahahaha! Great! That's great!"

"Kid, you have no idea—to find her, I was ready to turn the entire Rustwind Wasteland upside down!"

He spoke quickly and urgently, with a clear sense of lingering fear.

"Based on information from others and a strange radiation signal fluctuation intercepted from the direction of the Pale Shoals, I took a gamble and drove straight here. I didn't expect to actually find her!"

Hearing the words 'radiation signal fluctuation,' Lu Chen's finger tapped against his thigh.

The fact that they could intercept radiation isotope signals meant the Black Rock City-State's scouting equipment was superior to the Snow Shard Gang's.

But what they intercepted was the radiation marker signal—the layer of Origin Fire radiation isotopes that the Polaris couldn't shake off.

In other words, like the Snow Shard Gang, the Black Rock City-State could find him through this signal.

"Brother Lu Chen!"

Lin Xiao's voice became eager.

"Could you let my sister come out and say a few words?"

"As her brother, I haven't heard from her in over half a month. I've been so worried I haven't slept for nights on end."

Lu Chen tapped his finger on the microphone.

"Alright."

He released the talk button and handed the microphone to Lin Wan.

"Don't mention too many details about the vehicle's equipment."

"I know."

Lin Wan took the microphone, paused for a beat on the talk button, and then pressed it.

"Brother."

She only said one word before her voice cracked.

The other end of the radio was silent for three seconds.

"Xiao Wan?"

Lin Xiao's voice became much softer, sounding like a completely different person from the boisterous City Lord who had been laughing moments ago.

"Is it you? Are you okay? Are you hurt? Are you hungry or cold?"

"I'm fine, Brother."

Lin Wan rubbed her nose hard.

"I'm doing very well now. I have plenty to eat and warm clothes to wear."

"Really?"

Lin Xiao's tone was full of disbelief.

"You ran out alone with two guards, carrying that heavy seed vault. In a hellhole like the Pale Shoals, how could you be doing well?"

"Sigh, in the end, it's all my fault. I was too hasty back then; my decision-making was flawed, and I caused you to suffer."

"It was City Lord Lu Chen who saved me."

Lin Wan glanced at Lu Chen in the driver's seat and continued.

"After I escaped, I was hunted by three Raiders from the Snow Shard Gang and nearly died in the snow."

"He killed those three men and brought me onto his vehicle."

The laughter from the radio stopped abruptly.

When Lin Xiao spoke again, his voice was thick with fury.

"The Snow Shard Gang?"

Three words, squeezed out one by one through gritted teeth.

"They dared to touch my sister?"