54: Chapter 54: Get Rich Quick with 4300 Points! Blueprints are the Gold Mine of Truth

The next morning.

Lu Chen was woken up by the sound of the docking area's broadcast system.

A brief internal announcement from The City-State stated that Black Rock City-State would depart in three hours, and all field vehicles had to return to their positions within one hour.

He rolled out of the upper bunk, his feet landing on the warm metal floor.

Lin Wan, in the lower bunk, was already up, squatting by the cultivation box to check the root growth of the winter wheat seedlings.

"Good morning, City Lord."

"Morning." Lu Chen walked to the cockpit and scanned the various instruments.

Coal bin normal, cold storage normal, track lubrication system on standby.

The radio had been on all night, but no new signals from the Snow Shard Gang had been intercepted.

Just as he was about to go wash his face, there was a knock at the vehicle door.

Three shorts and one long.

This knocking rhythm was completely different from Lin Wan's usual style.

Lu Chen walked to the porthole and took a look.

Two people were standing on the steel floor of the docking area.

One was the grey-uniformed administrator he had seen yesterday, and the other was a young man in military uniform with a brass staff badge pinned to his chest, holding a metal box twice as large as the one from yesterday.

Lu Chen pressed the communicator button.

"What is it?"

"City Lord Lu Chen, City Lord Lin Xiao ordered me to deliver this batch of supplies." The young staff officer's voice came through the speaker, his tone respectful.

"Inside the box are Pre-Civilization scientific research blueprints from The City-State's warehouse, seven copies in total."

"City Lord Lin Xiao's original words: These things are just scrap paper to me; whether they can be used depends on your ability."

Lu Chen's finger paused for a beat on the communicator button.

Seven copies.

"Leave it at the door and step back five paces."

"Yes, sir."

The young staff officer gently placed the metal box in front of the Polaris's door, stepped back five paces, and stood at attention.

Lu Chen unlocked the door, leaned halfway out, and hauled the box inside with one hand.

It was heavy, at least fifteen pounds.

He placed the box next to the control console and relocked the door.

"Delivered. We shall take our leave."

"Give my thanks to City Lord Lin Xiao."

"Yes, sir."

The footsteps faded away.

Lu Chen sat back in the driver's seat and flipped open the metal lid.

The interior of the box was divided into seven compartments by moisture-proof oilcloth, each containing a Pre-Civilization scientific research document.

Some were sealed in metal tubes, some engraved on alloy plates, and some sandwiched between fiberglass sheets—they came in various forms.

He took them out one by one and laid them on the console.

"Lin Wan, come help me keep track of these."

"Coming."

Lin Wan trotted over and squatted beside him, holding a strip of paper torn from some packaging and a charcoal pencil.

Lu Chen picked up the first document. It was a silver-grey alloy cipher tube, similar to the one he had traded from Fernan before, but thicker in diameter, and the Pre-Civilization Federation serial number engraved on it was longer.

"System, scan."

[Ding! Scan initiated.]

[Target Identified: Pre-Civilization scientific research document, serial number FC-2271.]

[Content Summary: High-frequency resonance welding process parameter table.]

[Truth Density Assessment: Medium.]

[Estimated Conversion Value: 400 Truth Points.]

"Four hundred points," Lu Chen reported the number.

Lin Wan quickly scribbled it down on the paper strip.

The second item was a palm-sized alloy plate, with both sides densely engraved with miniature engineering blueprints.

"System, scan."

[Ding! Target Identified: Pre-Civilization scientific research document, serial number FC-3044.]

[Content Summary: Composite ceramic armor sintering formula.]

[Truth Density Assessment: Relatively High.]

[Estimated Conversion Value: 650 Truth Points.]

"Six hundred and fifty."

Lin Wan's charcoal pencil scratched across the paper.

The third item was a stack of film documents preserved between fiberglass sheets; the handwriting was blurred but mostly legible.

[Ding! Target Identified: Pre-Civilization scientific research document, serial number FC-1887.]

[Content Summary: Steam turbocharger improvement plan (Fragmented, 60% completion).]

[Truth Density Assessment: Medium-Low.]

[Estimated Conversion Value: 280 Truth Points.]

"Two hundred and eighty. It's a fragmented document, so it's discounted forty percent."

The fourth item was a slightly shorter alloy tube with rust marks on the casing, but the internal seal was intact.

[Estimated Conversion Value: 520 Truth Points.]

The fifth item was a finger-thick alloy plate, engraved on only one side.

[Estimated Conversion Value: 370 Truth Points.]

The sixth item consisted of two fiberglass sheets sandwiching a film, with burn marks on the edges.

[Estimated Conversion Value: 480 Truth Points.]

Lu Chen's scanning speed grew faster and faster, and his reported numbers became shorter in tone.

Lin Wan's charcoal pencil could barely keep up with his pace, the numbers on the paper strip forming a crooked column.

For the seventh item, Lu Chen picked up the last cipher tube. This tube was heavier than the other six, and the serial number engraved on it bore a special prefix.

"System, scan."

[Ding! Target Identified: Pre-Civilization scientific research document, serial number MIL-0093.]

[Content Summary: Sourcefire Engine primary fusion confinement parameter manual.]

[Truth Density Assessment: High.]

[Estimated Conversion Value: 1,135 Truth Points.]

Lu Chen's fingers stayed on the cipher tube for a full three seconds.

One thousand, one hundred and thirty-five points.

The conversion value for this single item was over three hundred less than Fernan's Memory Alloy Forging Manual, but considering this was just one of seven, the total sum was the truly significant figure.

"City Lord? How much for the last one?"

"One thousand, one hundred and thirty-five."

Lin Wan's charcoal pencil hung in mid-air, her mouth slightly agape.

"City Lord, how much did you say?"

"One thousand, one hundred and thirty-five points," Lu Chen repeated.

"And including the previous six?"

Lu Chen quickly added them up in his head.

3,835, plus the 465 points currently in his account.

A total of 4,300 points.

Four thousand, three hundred.

He stared at the number, his chest heaving several times.

He picked up his thermos and took a large gulp of water, washing down the bitter saliva brought on by excitement.

"City Lord, what does four thousand, three hundred points mean?" Lin Wan asked tentatively, watching his expression.

"It means I have enough to activate four Lv.2 nodes, with three hundred points left over for ammunition."

Lin Wan didn't quite understand the specific calculations of Truth Points, but she understood one thing.

Lu Chen was going to upgrade the Polaris again.

Every time he showed this expression, earth-shattering changes followed.

"City Lord, are you going to convert them all?"

"All of them."

Lu Chen lined up the seven documents on the console.

"System, perform high-dimensional degradation on the above seven Pre-Civilization scientific research documents and convert them all into Truth Points."

[Ding! High-dimensional degradation program initiated.]

[Degradation Target: Pre-Civilization scientific research documents × 7.]

The seven cipher tubes and alloy plates on the console simultaneously emitted a faint blue glow.

The light wasn't blinding, but it had a penetrative power that made one's heart race.

The glow lasted for ten seconds.

Then, the seven documents silently dissipated within the blue light, turning into an invisible and intangible stream of data that surged into the system.

The console was empty, leaving only seven faint indentations.

[Ding! Degradation complete!]

[Truth Points Obtained: 3,835 points.]

[Current Account Balance: 4,300 points.]

The golden numbers flickered on the holographic panel, burning and bright.

Lu Chen looked at the number, his fingers silently tapping his thigh several times.

Four thousand, three hundred points.

The last time he held a number of this magnitude was after he got that blueprint from Fernan.

That time, he spent one thousand, four hundred points in one go to max out the entire Lv.1 tech tree, triggering a tier advancement evolution.

This time, four thousand, three hundred points.

It was enough to do a lot of things.

"Lin Wan."

"Present."

"Go finish your work, then sit in the cultivation area and don't move."

Lu Chen's voice was very low, his speaking pace half a beat faster than usual.

"You will see some things soon. No matter what you see, the rules are the same as before."

"No screaming, no running around, and do not touch anything that is glowing."

Lin Wan's heart raced.

She was all too familiar with these words.

The last time she heard them, the Polaris grew from eight meters to over twenty meters.

"Understood." She nodded vigorously and quickly retreated to the cultivation area.

Lu Chen turned around to face the holographic panel.

The four branches of the Lv.2 tech tree unfolded on the light screen, with two golden glowing nodes standing in stark contrast to the fourteen darkened nodes.

His fingers hovered over the light screen as he began the final trade-off calculations.

Four thousand, three hundred points.

The Snow Shard Gang's vanguard would arrive in three days at the earliest.

The battle was about to begin.

Right now, he didn't need a hydroponic garden for vegetables, nor did he need a converter for oil refining.

What he needed was to turn the Polaris into a steel monster that would be the Snow Shard Gang's nightmare.

Lu Chen's finger locked onto the first target.

Infrastructure Armor Lv.2, Node 2.