71: Chapter 71 Two thousand five hundred in hand, time to prepare for battle! Lin Xiao shouts, "No retreat in the whole city!"

After the communicator cut off, the cabin remained silent for over ten seconds.

Lin Wan leaned half her body out from the cultivation area, still clutching a glass straw, the flush on her face fading slightly.

"City Lord, is the Snow Shard Gang really coming?"

"The vanguard, five Lv.2 vehicles."

Lu Chen's tone was devoid of any emotion.

He didn't look at Lin Wan; his gaze was fixed on the storage compartment beneath the dashboard.

Six pieces of intermediate coal crystals were neatly arranged in two rows of three, and three intermediate beast cores, wrapped separately in oil paper, sat beside them.

"City Lord, should we..."

"Don't speak yet."

Lu Chen took out all the unconverted materials from the storage compartment and laid them out one by one on the metal panel of the dashboard.

The six pitch-black intermediate coal crystals pulsed with a dark red light under the warm yellow glow of the cabin.

The three blue-glowing beast cores varied in size; the largest was as big as a hen's egg, while the smallest was as thick as a thumb.

"System, execute full high-dimensional degradation conversion."

A pale blue light shone from the dashboard panel, enveloping all the materials.

The coal crystals and beast cores vanished silently within the radiance, erased directly from the material plane.

A holographic panel popped up with the statistics.

[High-dimensional degradation complete.]

[Intermediate sourcefire coal crystal × 6: Conversion obtained 312 Truth Points.]

[intermediate beast core × 3 (including 30% bonus from High-Energy Fuel Converter): Conversion obtained 1133 Truth Points.]

[Total conversion: 1445 Truth Points.]

[Current account balance: 2478 points.]

Lu Chen stared at the number for two seconds.

It was three hundred points higher than his previous estimate.

The quality of the largest of the three beast cores was better than he had expected, and with the 30% converter bonus, that single core contributed 507 points.

"Two thousand four hundred and seventy-eight."

He muttered the number, tapping his finger on the armrest.

It was enough to do many things.

But he was in no rush to open the technology tree.

Because the communicator lit up again.

The public broadcast channel of Black Rock City-State aired an emergency announcement for the second time, and the content was longer than the first.

The announcer's voice shifted from urgency to a different tone.

Lu Chen turned the radio volume up half a notch.

"Attention all residents of The City-State, the following is a recorded speech from City Lord Lin Xiao."

After a burst of static, Lin Xiao's voice came through the speaker.

Unlike the private conversation on the communicator, this was a public broadcast to thirty thousand people.

Lin Xiao's voice was steady and powerful, each word striking with the weight of metal in the broadcast.

"All residents of Black Rock City-State, all soldiers."

"I am City Lord Lin Xiao."

"Dozens of minutes ago, our Seventh Patrol Fleet engaged the vanguard of the Snow Shard Gang seventy kilometers to the northeast."

"The enemy deployed five Lv.2 combat vehicles."

"Our patrol fleet disengaged decisively after confirming the enemy's identity. Two infantrymen were injured and are receiving treatment; there were no fatalities."

There was a beat of silence in the broadcast.

"Some will be afraid."

"It is normal to be afraid."

"But I want to tell you one thing."

"Two years ago, when the Snow Shard Gang raided that scavenger outpost of two thousand people in the Ash Rift Valley, the people there were also afraid."

"They were afraid, and then they ran."

"Those who didn't escape—not a single one survived."

Another beat of silence.

"Black Rock City-State will not run."

"A city-state of over thirty thousand people, one hundred and twenty cannons, and a wall eight hundred meters long."

"We do not need to run."

"This city is home to all of us, built rivet by rivet by thirty thousand pairs of hands!"

"Anyone who wants to tear down our home, let them try!"

"Effective immediately, Black Rock City-State enters full combat readiness."

"All combat personnel report to your posts immediately."

"All logistics personnel allocate supplies according to wartime rations."

"A curfew is in effect for all residential areas."

"The iron wall fortress has departed and is maneuvering toward the point of contact."

"Our cannons are loaded."

"If the Snow Shard Gang wants to fight, then we fight."

"Black Rock City-State will not retreat!"

The broadcast ended.

Silence returned to the cabin.

Lu Chen adjusted the radio volume back to its original level.

Lin Wan stood at the entrance of the cultivation area, her hands clasped tightly in front of her chest, fingers twisting together.

"City Lord..."

"Don't be afraid." Lu Chen didn't look back. "Your brother is right; one hundred and twenty cannons are by no means just for show."

"I'm not afraid, I'm..."

"You're what?"

Lin Wan bit her lip.

"I'm afraid I won't be of any help."

"Who said you won't be of help?" Lu Chen turned his head and glanced at her. "Your task is to grow the vegetables well."

"What does growing vegetables have to do with fighting a war?"

"War is fought on logistics." Lu Chen picked up his thermos and took a gulp of water. "A city-state of thirty thousand people only has enough food to last three months; consumption is even faster during wartime."

"Every cabbage and every potato you grow will be strategic material in the future."

"So the most important thing for you right now is to stay in the cultivation area and tend to those seeds."

"Do you understand?"

Lin Wan's fingers loosened, and she nodded.

"I understand."

"Get to work."

"Okay."

Lin Wan turned and ducked back into the cultivation area, crouching in front of the hydroponic racks to start checking the pH levels of the nutrient solution.

Lu Chen watched her figure disappear behind the partition wall and then withdrew his gaze.

He summoned the holographic panel and scanned the status of the four branches.

Armament and Weaponry was missing one top-tier core.

Infrastructure Armor was missing two.

Ecological Logistics was missing three.

Power Engine was missing three.

Two thousand four hundred and seventy-eight points.

According to the known progression, the node costs for Lv.2 were 500, 1000, and 2000.

The cost for the top-tier core was unknown, but it certainly wouldn't be less than 2000.

If he wanted to light up the top-tier core of the Armament branch, he would need at least two thousand points.

After that, he would have over four hundred left.

No matter how he calculated it, this amount was barely enough.

But war waits for no one.

Lu Chen closed the panel and leaned back in his seat.

He didn't make a decision immediately.

Because he needed more information.

The five Lv.2 combat vehicles were just the vanguard scouts.

What was the scale of the main force following behind, when would they arrive, and from which direction?

The answers to these questions would determine his every next step.

The communicator lit up again.

It was Zhou Yuan's frequency.

"City Lord Lu Chen."

"Chief of Staff Zhou."

"I have an update."

"What is it?"

"Those five combat vehicles did not pursue after contact; they have halted in place."

"Halted?"

"Halted. Our outposts are currently maintaining continuous surveillance."

"What are they waiting for?"

Lu Chen's tone was a statement, not a question.

Zhou Yuan was silent for a second.

"Waiting for the main force."

"When will the main force arrive?"

"Based on the Snow Shard Gang's previous marching speed, if both the Ice-Rift Swarm and the Icebreaker Swarm are deployed simultaneously, twenty-four to thirty-six hours at the earliest."

"And if only one of those clusters is deployed?"

"Twelve to twenty hours."

Lu Chen's finger stopped on the armrest.

Twelve hours.

Counting from now, that would be tomorrow morning.

"Any other findings from the outposts?"

"None for now. Our reconnaissance doesn't cover areas beyond seventy kilometers to the northeast."

"Understood."

The communicator cut off.

Lu Chen sat in the driver's seat for a full five minutes, motionless.

The only sounds in the cabin were the flowing water in the heating pipes and the faint rustle of Lin Wan moving cultivation boxes in the planting area.

Five minutes later, he stood up.

He walked to the cold storage, opened the door, and scanned the stock of frozen beast meat blocks. Full.

He walked to the coal bin and checked the stock of sourcefire coal crystals. Full.

He walked to the power core area and checked the status of the High-Energy Fuel Converter. On standby, with two liters of diesel fuel perfectly reserved.

He walked back to the cockpit and confirmed each item of the weapon systems on the fire control panel.

All six weapon sets were online, ammunition was sufficient, and the Ray Cannon was fully charged for three standby shots.

Everything was ready.

Lu Chen sat back in the driver's seat and took a final sip of water from his thermos.

"City Lord."

Lin Wan's voice came from the cultivation area.

"The root systems for the fourth crop of cabbage have stabilized. I estimate the first batch of leaves can be picked in forty-three hours."

"Noted."

"Also, the watermelon seeds have been in the soil for nearly thirty hours. I just checked the surface of the substrate; one seed has developed a micro-crack, and we'll see a sprout by tomorrow."

"Good."

"City Lord, what are you eating tonight?"

Lu Chen thought for a moment.

"Is there any wolf meat left in the cold storage?"

"Yes, hind leg meat from an Iron-Spine Wolf, it's frozen."

"Cut out two pieces and make a meat broth, no vegetables."

"You got it."

Lin Wan replied and ducked into the cold storage to pick out the meat.

The sounds of Lin Wan quietly cutting meat came from the cultivation area.

The cracking furnace in the power core area hummed on standby.

Everything was in its place.

Lu Chen's thumb rubbed against the metal handle of the control lever.

He was waiting.

Waiting for the moment to make his move.