53: Chapter 53 My brother delivered the complete set of files! The blueprints will arrive tomorrow.

Lu Chen turned the radio volume up half a notch.

Static from the radio waves echoed in the cockpit, mingling with the low rumble of the boiler idling.

Lin Xiao's footsteps faded away on the steel plates of the docking area, his signature loud laughter occasionally echoing from the distance.

The Polaris's door was relocked from the inside, the hydraulic lock making a steady click.

The interior of the vehicle returned to a silence shared only by two people.

Lu Chen leaned against the back of the driver's seat, his fingers tapping lightly on the metal handle of the fire control joystick.

He replayed every sentence and every detail of the conversation in his mind.

Lin Xiao was a man who was coarse yet meticulous, harder to deal with than he had expected.

But he was also more valuable as a partner than expected.

"City Lord," Lin Wan's voice came from the cultivation area, her tone hesitant.

"Speak."

"Is my brother gone?"

"He just left to get the Snow Shard Gang's archives."

Lin Wan stood up from beside the cultivation box, patted the nutrient substrate powder off her knees, and walked to the cockpit entrance.

She stood there, her mouth opening and then closing again.

Lu Chen glanced at her.

"Say what's on your mind, don't dawdle."

"City Lord, I want to meet with my brother," Lin Wan's fingers twisted the hem of her clothes, her speech faster than usual. "Just in the docking area, not far. We'll just sit by the vehicle and talk."

She paused and added, "After all, I haven't seen him in over half a month, and he traveled over a thousand kilometers to find me."

Lu Chen's fingers stopped on the joystick.

He didn't answer immediately, casting his gaze out the porthole.

The warm yellow industrial lights of the docking area reflected on the Polaris's armor, casting a soft glow. Most of The City-State guards in the distance had dispersed, leaving only a few on duty patrolling back and forth.

"Are you afraid I won't let you go?"

"It's not fear, it's the rules," Lin Wan said seriously. "You said that once we step out of the door, we're just ordinary people; protection only exists inside the vehicle. I don't want to make you worry."

Lu Chen turned his head to look at her.

This girl's learning ability was good; she remembered every rule he had mentioned before clearly.

"Go ahead."

"Really?"

"Stay within the docking area, and don't go beyond the line of sight of the Polaris," Lu Chen held up a finger. "Take your folding knife, take your communicator, and return to the vehicle immediately if anything is unusual."

"Understood," Lin Wan nodded vigorously and turned to leave.

"Wait a moment."

Lin Wan stopped in her tracks.

Lu Chen pulled something wrapped in oil paper from a storage compartment under the dashboard and tossed it to her.

Lin Wan hurriedly caught it and opened it to see a perfectly square brick of frozen beast meat.

"Take it and eat it with your brother."

"City Lord..."

"Don't dawdle. Come back early; the vegetables are waiting for you to water them."

Lin Wan held the meat brick, her face full of joy.

She pushed the door open and jumped down, her steps exceptionally light.

The door locked again behind her.

Lu Chen sat in the driver's seat, watching through the bulletproof glass as Lin Wan jogged across the steel floor of the docking area toward the industrial elevator in the distance.

She ran a dozen meters, stopped, turned back toward the Polaris, and shouted loudly, "City Lord, I'll be back!"

Her voice echoed several times in the empty docking area.

Lu Chen didn't answer.

He adjusted the radio frequency and continued to monitor the Snow Shard Gang's encrypted channel.

Amidst the static, there was no useful information.

But those four words still hung in his mind.

Target locked.

Lu Chen picked up his thermos and took a sip of warm water, his gaze falling on the golden number on the holographic panel.

465.

Only 35 points away from unlocking the next node.

But there was no rush now.

The pre-civilization research blueprints Lin Xiao promised hadn't arrived yet.

That was the real prize.

One blueprint was worth a month of hunting; the Memory Alloy Forging Diagram from Fernand was a prime example. If Black Rock City-State could provide more blueprints of the same or even higher level, the Truth Points gap would be filled instantly.

Lu Chen put the thermos back on the dashboard and crossed his arms over his chest.

Wait.

On the wasteland, patience was a weapon scarcer than firepower.

He closed his eyes, letting the low rumble of the boiler serve as white noise.

The hot water circulating in the heating pipes made a faint flowing sound, and the twenty-degree constant temperature air evenly enveloped his body.

A list of needs automatically unfolded in his mind.

Ammunition, 85 rounds, far from enough.

Harpoon Cannon, 0 spare rounds; though it could be replenished, it was practically useless against a large number of Snow Shard Gang members.

Truth Points, 465, just a breath away from any Lv.2 node.

Radiation mark, seven to eight days remaining.

Snow Shard Gang advance force, three days at the earliest.

Time was racing against him.

But for now, all he could do was wait.

Wait for Lin Xiao's blueprints.

Wait for the next piece of intel from the radio.

Wait for the Botanist who ran out to see her brother to return and water her vegetables.

Forty minutes later, a familiar knocking rhythm came from outside the door.

Lu Chen opened his eyes and released the hydraulic lock.

Lin Wan slipped in from outside, her cheeks flushed from walking quickly, carrying a flat metal box in her hands.

"City Lord, I'm back."

"Mm." Lu Chen glanced at the item in her hands. "What's that?"

"My brother gave it to me." Lin Wan carefully placed the metal box on the empty space next to the dashboard. "He said this is the complete intelligence archive on the Snow Shard Gang, compiled by the staff department—the full set of originals."

Lu Chen sat up straight.

"There's one more piece of news." Lin Wan's expression was serious. "My brother said he's already sent someone to check the warehouse for the list of pre-civilization research blueprints, and they'll be delivered tomorrow morning."

"What were his exact words?"

"He said The City-State warehouse is piled with technical documents dug up from pre-civilization ruins, most of which their technicians are completely unable to decipher." Lin Wan tried hard to recall the phrasing. "His exact words were, those scraps of paper have been gathering dust in the warehouse for years; rather than let them rot there, he might as well let you try them out."

Lu Chen tapped his finger on his thigh.

Indecipherable pre-civilization blueprints.

To Black Rock City-State, they were waste paper; to him, they were a gold mine of Truth Points.

Information asymmetry.

The most profitable business in this world is always built upon information asymmetry.

"What else did he say?"

"He said Black Rock City-State sets out tomorrow to return to the Rustwind Wasteland."

Lu Chen raised an eyebrow.

"Return to the Rustwind Wasteland?"

"Yes." Lin Wan nodded. "My brother said the Pale Shoals isn't his home turf; the Rustwind Wasteland is the base of Black Rock City-State. He plans to withdraw the main force and wait for the Snow Shard Gang to come to him on his own territory."

Lu Chen was silent for a few seconds.

This decision made military sense.

The Pale Shoals was flat and open with no natural defenses, making it extremely unfavorable for the defender. The Rustwind Wasteland was Black Rock City-State's sphere of influence for many years, with familiar terrain, short supply lines, and outposts and resource points scattered everywhere.

If the Snow Shard Gang truly attacked in force, meeting them in the Rustwind Wasteland was much better than being a sitting duck in the Pale Shoals.

"Did your brother ask me to follow?"

"No." Lin Wan shook her head. "He said the Polaris's docking berth can be used until the radiation mark dissipates. Whether you leave or not is your own business; he won't interfere."

Lu Chen nodded.

He looked down at the flat metal box.

"Let's look at the archives first."

He reached out and flipped open the lid.

Inside were stacks of thick, handwritten documents, the paper yellowed and the corners worn, tied into three bundles with coarse hemp rope.

Each cover was stamped with the Fire Rock Totem seal of the Black Rock City-State military staff department.

The title of the first bundle was: Snow Shard Gang Main Force Composition and Troop Deployment.

The second: Snow Shard Gang Activity Trajectories and Expansion Routes over the Last Six Months.

The third: Known Snow Shard Gang Commanders' Dossiers.

Lu Chen picked up the first bundle and flipped to the first page.

"Go water your vegetables. I'll call you when I'm done reading."

"Okay." Lin Wan retreated to the cultivation area.

Outside the docking area, the Black Rock City-State operated dozens of meters above Lu Chen's head, the low-frequency vibration of industrial engines transmitting through the steel plates into the cabin, blending with the sound of the Polaris's own boiler.

Lu Chen flipped through the archives page by page, the hot water in the heating pipes circulating quietly within the walls.

The radio was still on.

On a certain frequency, the Snow Shard Gang's encrypted signal occasionally popped up with a syllable or two before being swallowed by the static.